The London-based burger chain Byron currently has nine different “proper hamburgers” on its menu, with toppings ranging from BBQ beef brisket to Bulleit bourbon-glazed beef patties to something it calls Byron cheese. What it doesn’t formally offer is a burger served with a side of human hair, although that’s what one customer received in his delivery order.
If that’s not enough to make you consider cooking your own meals from here on, consider that Deliveroo declined to offer the man a refund, because according to its customer service department, declining to eat a stranger’s hair is “a matter of personal taste.”
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According to Metro, Darren Wood paid to have Deliveroo bring him a bacon cheeseburger from his local Byron location, and he was juuuust about to bite into it when he saw the hair. He contacted Deliveroo customer service, and the first representative who responded more or less considered hair to be just another condiment. “I’m sorry to hear you weren’t happy with your order however I’m unable to offer a refund or credit as this is a matter of personal taste,” the rep wrote. “Please accept our apologies.” (Like, uh, sorry you don’t enjoy a mouthful of hair?)
Wood then tweeted a photo of the hair—complete with bits of what looks like a fried onion attached to it—back to Deliveroo. “I assume you’re trying to find someone that has a ‘personal taste’ that includes hair burgers before you reply,” he wrote. “If it helps, here’s a picture of the offending hair.”
The next time the company got in touch with him, it offered to refund £5 since the delivery was late—and said that he could have two free deliveries as well. (But he might have to pay for the next hair out of his own pocket.) But on Wednesday morning, Wood confirmed to MUNCHIES that Deliveroo had since refunded his entire bill. “It’s all been sorted,” he said. “Both Byron and Deliveroo have been very helpful since they got in touch.”
A spokesperson for Byron said that the chain would like Wood to visit one of its restaurants in person, and it promised a less-gross experience. “We are absolutely horrified to hear one of our customers found a hair in their food, and would like to offer our sincere apologies,” the spokesperson told Metro. “We will of course investigate. Our General Manager would very much like to extend an invitation to join him and his team for dinner, on us, and be assured that this was a very regrettable, but isolated incident.”
Good luck, Darren. Hope the next time you find a hair in your food, it’s one of your own.
