The customer described the incident last Friday on Facebook as ‘‘Another Fergburger horror movie’’.
‘‘I had the most horrible experience.’’
She said she ordered a Bullseye burger - a 200g Prime New Zealand ribeye steak burger - from the popular Queenstown takeaway and was told they did not make steak burgers.
‘‘They were making fun of me saying, ‘Oh she wants the meat’, and asking me why I only want the ‘meat’, laughing at me and repeating loud, ‘She wants the meat, she wants the meat'.
‘‘I felt so awkward. I couldn’t understand why they were doing that to me.’’
She said the staff member finally took her order.
‘‘He took my order and I stood there in front of the counter for more than 30 minutes. He pretended I wasn’t there, giving me his attitude over nothing.
‘‘Meanwhile, he was being extra nice to all the drunk girls and asking them for tips over the counter.
‘‘I felt abused, and as a seven-year local coming to this establishment, I’m absolutely disgusted in how I was treated tonight.
‘‘And to make it worse, I didn’t even get my food as they ‘accidentally’ gave my food to someone else.
‘‘After I waited over 40 minutes for my order, my number never, never came up in the screen.’’
Ferg Foods group general manager Clair Burke was unavailable for comment today, but the Otago Daily Times understands Ferg Foods is conducting an investigation into the incident.
It comes less than a month after the popular burger joint fired another staff member and promised to do better after a racial slur was left on a customer’s docket.
The Taiwanese tourist was shocked when she saw the server had written a slur used against Asian people on her receipt.
Soon after the incident, Fergburger management said they had investigated the incident and subsequently dismissed the employee involved.
At the time, Ms Burke said Fergburger ‘‘deeply regretted’’ the incident.
‘‘We extend our sincere apologies to the customer affected and to anyone else who may have been hurt or offended.
‘‘The behaviour displayed in this incident is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the values we uphold.
‘‘We have expressed our gratitude for their feedback, extended a sincere apology for the distress caused and reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring that no customer experiences a similar situation at Fergburger.’’
Ms Burke said the company was also implementing additional cultural sensitivity training for all staff to prevent similar incidents and would review internal policies and procedures.
