In-N-Out customer Eric Williams (@ericwillztt) isn’t very happy with the burger chain’s attempts at making things right with him after, he claims, its food left him “poisoned” and dealing with a week’s worth of diarrhea.
He posted a viral TikTok venting his frustrations with the brand where he calls out its “gift card apology.” The clip has garnered over 1.3 million views as of Thursday afternoon.
“Get ready with me to find out how much In-N-Out Burger gave me after they poisoned me for a full week. We’ve had guesses come in for anything from $5 to $20 to $100. Comment below,” he says, with the inflection of his voice moving upwards.
“And let me know how much you think a week of diarrhea is worth. OK, we’ve got two cards,” he says, showing the contents of the opened envelope up to the camera.
He begins reading from what appears to be a letter that came with the envelope: “Thank you for taking the time to contact us, please accept our apology for your experience. We’re enclosing two single use valued guest cards that are redeemable at any location. No cash value, single us,” he says, holding up the front of the cards for viewers to see.
The meaning of these cards was first unclear to Williams. “Does that mean I can run up the bill?” he asks, wondering if he can place a massive In-N-Out order on these cards if he were to return to the location after enduring a “week of diarrhea” as he claims.
“Hold on. Upon further inspection, it says there are two single-use valued guest cards redeemable for the items indicated on each card. Please enjoy up to a double-double, regular fries, and beverage on our menu,” he says.
“The diarrhea was not worth it,” Williams concludes.
This isn’t the first time an In-N-Out Burger guest complained of experiencing food poisoning at one of the popular SoCal based burger chain’s locations. Nation’s Restaurant News reported that in 2017, a Livermore, California In-N-Out Burger store purportedly served food to its guests that caused a number of them to fall ill.
“Alameda County health officials reportedly suspected norovirus in the incident, which included members of a college softball team who ate at the restaurant on May 6, and suffered severe gastroenteritis,” the website read.
As a result of the purported illnesses, the store ended up being temporarily closed down and employees were prompted to thoroughly clean the establishment. “The unit closed voluntarily on May 9, in accordance with safety protocols. Denny Warnick, In-N-Out Burger’s vice president of operations, said in a statement that the restaurant has been cleaned and disinfected,” Nation’s Restaurant News wrote.
One Redditor uploaded a post to the r/In-N-Out sub complaining that every single time they dine at one of the restaurant’s locations they experience a “pain” in their “gut” along with discomfort.
Another commenter who responded to their post said that they, too, have the same experience, but there were throngs of others who said they’ve never had that problem while others attempted to try and iron down what could specifically be aggravating the person’s stomach whenever they chomp down on some In-N-Out.
@ericwillztt Spoiler alert: it’s not enough! #innout #innoutburger #foodpoisoning #storytime #foodhaul #reveal ♬ original sound – Eric Williams
Several TikTokers who responded to Williams’ post expressed how they would not want to return to a restaurant they believe gave them food poisoning.
One user on the application joked: “They really said ‘double or nothing.’”
Another quipped, “It’s so you can go back and experience it all again for free!”
There was another user on the app who remarked, “If I get food poisoning somewhere I’m not going back.”
Others shared their own experiences with companies trying to make up for customer dissatisfaction.
One wrote, “lmaoo Hagen daaz gave me $100 for putting too much green tea in thier green tea ice cream after I complained about staying up past my 10:30 bedtime.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to In-N-Out Burger via email and Williams via TikTok comment for further information.
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