What’s worse, finding a maggot in your first class salad on Delta or only being offered $50 for the inconvenience?
Delta brought a whole new meaning to the word “organic” for one Washington, DC-based Delta flyer on a flight from Detroit to Seattle this past Friday.
The passenger, who made me personally aware of the mishap, shared the following video:
You can see the maggot just crawling out of the salad bowl.
Delta Responds
He wrote Delta and quickly received the following response:
Thanks for your recent travel with us. On behalf of our CEO, Ed Bastian I would like to offer a sincere apology for the unpleasant meal you were served on-board Delta flight 2892.
We’re working hard with our food vendors to offer consistent, quality lunch and dinner portions that appeal to all of our passengers. However, it’s clear we dropped the ball during this trip. Please know that I’m passing your concerns directly to our In-Flight and Catering Vendor leadership team, in hopes of preventing this type of event from happening again in the future.
While I can’t go back and change your experience, I’d like to provide you with a $50 Delta Choice gift so you can have a better meal on us. You will receive a Delta Choice gift code, from delta@deltachoices.com, in a separate email within three business days and you can select the gift card of your choice within 60 days of receipt.
We value your SkyMiles loyalty and we look forward to welcoming you on another Delta flight soon-one that exceeds your expectations!
Regards,
Delta Customer Care
Fair Compensation?
First, I appreicate Delta’s rapid and direct apology. In one sense, I understand Delta’s rationale: sorry, we messed up your meal, have a decent one on us. This seems almost in the vein of Lufthansa compensation for poor service in first class, though not nearly as generous. And isn’t that the point? This passenger was not an elite member of the SkyMiles program. In other words, he paid for first class and it was a lot more than $50 over economy class. Of course, first class is about more than lunch but the live creature in the meat-based salad certainly raises questions.
And there’s another dimension. The passenger told me, “Who is really thinking about dining out when you’ve just eaten a tainted meal?” That’s quite a good point.
CONCLUSION
Thus, I’m torn. I like that Delta apologized and I like that they thought outside of the box instead of just throwing miles at the problem. At the same time, Delta routinely throws miles at far smaller problems and in far mroe generous quantities. It seems to me that $50 simply doesn’t account for the reality that the salad was not washed or the meat not inspected prior to serving…
What do you think about Delta’s choice of compensation here? Would it bother you to find a maggot in your meal?
Horrifying. This is that passenger’s wife.
Thank you for sharing it and as a new business owner but already versed in excellence in customer service that was
an unacceptable response from Delta.
The response is appropriate….the payout should be a bit more generous. When i was a restaurant manager, we used organic lettuce that once had a spider in it. I comped the entire meal for guest and gave $100 GC hoping to bring them back for a better experience. It was a nicer restaurant.
I think everyone agrees that this is not a good situation. Unortunately, Delta contracts with a catering vendor to do their meal service…..they do not make the meals themselves. It is ridiculous to think that Delta should check every meal for quality. They rely on their vendors for this.
What would happen if you found a maggot in your meal at a restaurant? They would comp your meal…..that is an equivalent standard. That is what Delta appropriately did
Asking for additional compensation is assisinine. Social media has gotten crazy with an entitlement mentality, by shaming a business for something out of their direct control. Yes, they are ultimately responsible. Yes, they should provide an appropriate level of compensation. Which they did. Quit whining.
If you buy a first class ticket for the meal experience, you will be sadly disappointed.
I could not agree more with your comments. And BTW, although finding a maggot in the salad is disgusting the fact it was alive is a good one since it shows the salad had no pesticides. 🙂
It is a less than desirable experience but I 10o% agree with Mike M..If people saw restaurant kitchens most won’t eat anywhere else but home. Period..Delta did the right thing….and swiftly!
Just wondering how would Ed Bastian feel about a maggot crawling out of his salad? Would $50 be enough for him to feel better? This is freaking ridiculous!
The passenger should have tweet @delta . Any time I have any issues, I tweet and they get back within minutes, and in most situations, I have been awarded generous amounts of miles
Published the video on YouTube seems designed to get publicity.
But regardless, I’ve received $200 in travel credits from Delta when my special order meal wasn’t catered and 7,000 miles when they’ve ran out of wine or had catering issues like that. But I have diamond status. I’m sure there’s a sliding scale for compensation based on elite status (if any) and fare class of the ticket purchased.
PLEASE OFFER AN EMAIL BLOG SUBSCRIPTION LIKE EVERY OTHER BOARDING AREA BLOG.
I really think that is the main point. Such uneven compensation including for far more trivial matters like loading special meals.
I fly 1st class mostly Delta but FOOD SUCKS!!!! I had traveled to the top hospitals in 4 states over 20yrs to get advice from my biopsies changing till it was almost too late. My serious meat eating &Italian luncheon meats were the cause but not one Dr. told me.We’re both older physicians but MEDICAL SCHOOLS DON’T TEACH PLANT BASED PROTEIN(PBP)!& getting HEALTHY FOOD ON PLANES isn’t a possibility till we demand it. I’m vegan&gluten free since 2007,totally reversed my cancerous cells esophagus and stomach, 100%normal after going vegan. Not one physician told me I had options. Big PHARMACEUTICAL ,medical equipment, hospital,meat,dairy industries lobby hard against healthy plant based products bc IF YOU’RE NOT SICK ,THEY DON’T MAKE $$$$$$$. GREED GREED GREED.My husband waited 2 change till his 3 coronary arteries clogged &TYPICAL WESTERN DIET DISEASES,watching FORKS OVER KNIVES he did& reversed or stopped acceleration of dx&stopped or decreased most meds(if did b4 turned 55 even better results). We all must eat healthier!!& Airlines must hire better VENDORS.
But PBP
Found the vegan. Loved how you made your comment about your veganism and not the actual issue. Cheers.
It’s a bug in a salad… I get that it’s gross, and that they should make it right, but no one has a right to be outraged by it. I think we have a false idea that our food is somehow sterile or perfect when it gets to us because it’s often packaged and pretty…
I hear you, but shouldn’t it have been washed?
Nice clickbait, Matthew.
Maggot has a specific meaning, and we all know it is associated with rotting meat. And that isn’t what this is at all. And you damn well know it.
It’s a bug in a salad. If you’ve never found one before, it means you don’t pay close enough attention, and you’ve probably just eaten it without knowing it.
Stick to what you know, and maybe consult with a food service expert before posting stuff like this.
Blah blah blah. I consulted others. This is maggot.
Pretty sure that’s not a maggot. I’m no entomologist, but the critter in the video is green and moves with an “inching” motion, while maggots are white or cream-colored and just wriggle. I’m guessing based on the green color that it came from the salad greens and not the meat, and is likely harmless. I mean, it’s gross, and I’d be squicked out and probably wouldn’t eat salad for a few days, but a good portion of the worldwide population eat insects, grubs, and larvae on purpose, so…
Being compensated for an “unpleasant” meal is one thing (your lettuce is wilted, or a strawberry was rancid). $50 is acceptable in this case. However, when there is a LIVE ORGANISM crawling out of your food that is usually associated with varying levels of decay, it begs the question of how long it incubated in the product it was served with before finding it’s way onto that plate. I would say that Delta trusts its food vendors and has high expectations on freshness; however, once that is compromised, the Vendor should also step up and offer (at least) compensation for a medical check up to verify that what may have been consumed from that plate may not contain some spore or other parasitic organism. I appreciate the prompt response of the carrier, but I would offer a little more than a consolation prize for what could be a future issue.
Excellent response. Very thoughtful solution. First class should certainly be above a sub-standard meal with maggots from a decayed creature.
Delta’s response was fine; maybe $50 and a 1000 miles, but honestly, Delta has to rely on its vendors. We all get inconvenienced in life – this is a small thing (literally) in the grand scheme of things.
lol, I flew frontier the other day. My flight got delayed 4 hours (that I spent drinking at a Priority Pass lounge) and they gave me $75 flight voucher without even asking. When an LCC beats you in customer service…
I think outage, anger or any such emotions is indicative of how entitled people are. There are people in the world who eat maggots and your flying in the air, watching movies, eating pretty good food, getting served alcohol, but one oversight, it’s the end of the world. Call me crazy but that seems like major bitching. In my experience Delta deals with problems quickly and I think generously. I’ve ridden many airlines that won’t do a damn thing for far more aggregious issues and they have to be hounded and I’m put on hold just to be told they won’t do anything. The latest is Viva Aerobus.
Let’s separate outrage and compensation levels here please.
Yes it would be stupid to get “outraged” about this – as many others point out Delta has to rely on their vendors and sh*t happens sometimes.
However, fair compensation is another question – I think it’s more than fair enough to write back thanking them for a quick response but pointing out that $50 doesn’t account for such a big failure of hygiene standards in First class, especially in light of usual compensation levels to frequent flyers for far smaller inconveniences.
First world issue
Mike M and others here… this is not about whining or making a case… This it’s about “What if?” A passenger get sick from eating that disgusting creature… What is the quality on the product?.. Independently that is contracted by DL at the end It’s DL responsibility and $50..almost give him a “gift card” of outback… The amount it’s not accurate… Why not $100? With a personalised letter and not the same they send to everyone for other CS issues…with some changes.
DL knows how they are exposed today and they should mitigate and content a bit more… believe me that Mr. Bastiene doesn’t knew about it despite the letter had his name on it… But now he will hear more…
Dont be ignorant when confronted with truth!
What’s worse than finding a maggot in your salad?
Finding half a maggot.
Bravo!
Obviously, Delta relies solely on its food vendors and would not take the time to check prepared food they serve. I think Delta’s response is egregious that they will hopefully lose many a passenger over this. I don’t eat airline food at all, ever!
I once found pieces of dirt and a maggot in my salad at the Doubletree Santiago hotel. The worst thing they were in the middle of a bowl, so I had already eaten a solid part of it. That was disgusting and I almost barf on site.
No apologies on site, a waitress just took a dish and that was it. A restaurant manager didn’t come to apologise. When I asked for a bill they didn’t even removed a salad from it, so I paid for it. After I complained via Hilton with pictures the hotel’s manager accused me of milking.
If you want to see some disgusting pics – let me know ;).
Um, my vote is: not a maggot.
Check the spelling on the last paragraph as the word problem is misspelled.
Do people think that a maggot can only appear in an airline meal and never in a restaurant meal? This didn’t deserve to go further than you, the passenger and Delta.
Dr.Toula?????what??????????????