Tag Archives: Letter

Sonic – Allergen Information?

Posted on by Standard Reply


Dear Mr. Carroll,

Thank you for your inquiry below. Sonic
allergen information can be found at www.sonicdrivein.com
under the menu and nutritional tab. From this tab choose Quick View tab at the
top. All Sonic allergen information can be found on the left hand side of this
web page.

From reviewing the allergen statement, the
only product that may contain a fish allergen is the fish sandwich. As the fish
sandwich is not a menu item at this Sonic, Sonic may run local promotions for
fish from time to time.

Best Regards,

David

David Abney

Sonic Quality Assurance Department

From: Eric Carroll
[mailto:my@ddre.ss]
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 3:34 PM
To: Sonic PR; T Lemley Sonic
Partner Net
Subject: Sonic – Allergen
Information?

Ominous Sonic Allergen Warning

Ominous Sonic Allergen Warning

Hello
Good Citizens at Sonic,

I’m writing to ask about an ominous little warning that I noticed yesterday
afternoon on the Sonic menu board in Bridgeville ,
PA.

I was so stricken by the statement, that I took a photo with my cell
phone.  (I’ve cropped to &
highlighted the pertinent information for your reference.)

The warning (as I’m sure you’re familiar with) reads:

Products
containing allergens (e.g. peanuts, fish, eggs, milk, soy, wheat, etc.) are
used in this restaurant and may come in contact with your food or drink.


I’d like to ask why this is so vague.  I can assure you, the
“etc.” at the end is quite ominous for someone that’s deathly
allergic to something like myself.

Some restaurants feature
allergen info. quite prominently on their websites&menus.  I
would like to respectfully encourage you to do the same in future
re-vamps/revisions of your menu boards & website.

I would also like to ask exactly where
fish is used in the restaurant?  I can’t seem to find any on the menu…
unless it’s in the hot dogs.  (I only suggest this because I have read
allergen information that states that hot dogs may contain a trace amount of
fish and/or shellfish.)

I ask because the allergen that holds me in its powerful grasp is shellfish.

Does shellfish fall under the dreaded “etc.”?  I can assure you,
that if I were to consume some tater-tots fried in the same fryer as a nice
tasty-yet-deadly crustacean, my next destination would be the nearest hospital.

I beseech you to be more forthcoming and informative with your allergen
disclosure policy… and use it as a tool instead of a legal “CYA” (if you’ll
pardon the expression).

I know I’m more prone to dine at and suggest to my friends the places that take
allergies into consideration.  As you may be able to imagine, I have a
very limited selection of establishments where I feel comfortable eating.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the subject!

Inquisitively,
-Eric

.seitilibasid gninrael
fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI

Senator Wayne Fontana Reads His Mail.

Posted on by Standard 9

I had posted the following on my Facebook page and PittsburghBeat.com while ago, and wasn’t really sure if I’d get a response. Enough people seemed to be entertained by it, that I thought it did its job. Today, I got a letter in the mail from Senator Wayne Fontana. It’s also following the following.

So, tonight the doorbell rings… Bethany answers, and it’s a young woman from Clean Water Action. The girl at the door proceeds tell Bethany that she’s out raising support to clean up our waterways, and that if we like clean drinking water we ought to sign this petition.

Bethany signed after the girl at the door pointed to some bulleted talking points on her clipboard saying pollution is bad, and she then asked for a donation. Bethany, agreeing that clean water is good (and just wanting the girl to go away) gave her a check for $5.

The young lady at the door was very polite, and probably out for a good cause that she believes in wholeheartedly. I applaud her conviction and dedication.

Then, Bethany was given the following pamphlet and asked to write a letter to PA State Senator Wayne Fontana and leave it out on the porch for the young woman to pick up on her way back through in about a half hour.

The young political activist even handed Bethany a blank sheet of paper on which to write the letter. I found this very considerate.

Bethany sat down, perplexed at what to write. It’s hard to write a letter about an issue that you’ve just learned of minutes ago, mere seconds of those minutes being devoted to actually explaining the issue. She considered aloud just copying the text outlined in the “Tell Them” section of the handout and singing her name, and laughed.

You all know I like to write letters, so I happily offered to write in her stead.

I wrote:
Dear Senator Fontana,

My wife was asked to write this letter by a door-to-door political solicitor about an issue that was explained to her in less than 30 seconds with talking points laid out that (of course) over-simplify some situation about clean water initiatives.

She was asked to donate money to their cause, which she did, under duress.

I do not support their cause, and most likely their proposed bill includes some kind of legislation that will take property out of private hands for government use, or raise our taxes.

I’m sure there’s something that we’re not being told, or some sort of political affiliation or philosophy that’s not anything like mine behind this agenda.

Do I want clean water? Of course I do. Do I want anything else these people are pushing for? Probably not.

Perhaps a bigger issue to tackle would be to pass laws saying that people can’t solicit political issues door to door.

So, in closing, I apologize for wasting your time, my time, this envelope, a stamp, this ink, and this paper. I’m sure a Prius-driving sandal & socks wearing liberal is crying somewhere at my waste of precious resources.

Don’t you guys have e-mail addresses? I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue, and these “Clean Water Action” people. You can waste more ink, paper, stamps, & time by contacting me at the address above, or via email at my_email@ddre.ss.

Annoyed,
-(mE.)

We addressed it to Sen. Fontana, placed it in a sealed envelope, stamped it, and placed it on the porch for pickup by the young activist.

I do hope to get some sort of reply. Thanks to that woman for prompting this action, and for delivering my important message to the senator.

And, as promised, the response…

Yours is not the first story I've heard about the organizations's tactics in garnering support for their efforts.

Yours is not the first story I've heard about the organizations's tactics in garnering support for their efforts.

I think it’s awesome that the senator took the time to not only read my letter, but also to form a well-thought-out response.  This certainly does not appear to be a standard reply letter, and it’s good to know that others feel the same way.  Maybe something does get done by writing to your local politicians.

The last paragraph may not be what I needed to hear.