Burger woes

Abraham just returned from Malibu, California. Yes, he was gone for another trip, this time to help his brother get moved and situated before he starts law school at Pepperdine.

I was glad he was able to go, if for no other reason than to use up some complimentary In'N'Out Burger coupons that I have had for over 5 years. This is how I got 7 free meals to my favorite burger joint...

We were on a lacrosse trip for a tournament in Santa Barbara, California. We left straight from school with a van full of my teammates. I drove the entire way from Provo to SB. Upon our arrival, the host family we were staying with suggest we go to the nearby In and Out since that would "be fun for us." I was starving after a long and stressful drive through the deserts of Utah and Arizona and Cali traffic. I eagerly ordered a burger.

After half way through my meal I noticed that my hamburger was pink inside. Upon questioning, 4-5 out of the 7 of us had pink burgers. We wondered if this was okay until one teammate approached the counter and a burger maker yelled, "We've got pink burgers!" The manager got very mad at this...we figured this wasn't okay. She got a replacement sandwhich so we all expected to get one, as well. They ignored us until they finally, one by one, replaced everyone's burger but mine (after many attempts of asking, waiting, etc). I was furious I had spent the money for food when I was very hungry and had nothing to eat. We left the restaurant with me very frustrated by the lack of customer service and a very hungry belly. I wasn't about to order another "E. coli burger" like my dad would have called it.

The morning we were set the leave the tournament I woke up about 4 am with exquisite belly pain. Food poisoning! We left soon after for our long drive home. I chugged on a bottle of pepto-bismol and drove in agony for the next 14 hours. At one point through the windy canyons and desolation of Arizona, I begged to be let out to relieve myself over the cliff side if necessary. To my great relief and what I still consider a miracle, we pulled over where a random port-o-potty just happened to be, in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness!

I had the worst of it, although another 2 girls who had more pink burgers were ill on the way home as well. What a horrible 14 hours!

My feelings of being wronged prompted me to contact the corporate offices and complain. They were very happy to give me 7 complimentary meal passes. I explained the closest In and Out was over 4 hours away and that I was not sure I wanted to return, considering my great experience. They told me the coupons do not expire and that was the only compensation they could give.

So...five years later, at least my husband got a few free meals out of it. Maybe with inflation, it was worth it.