Sandwich order gone wrong? Peel police say it’s not a reason to call 911

Peel Regional Police are requesting people not call 911 to air their complaints about restaurants.

“A restaurant getting your order wrong is NOT an emergency,” Peel police tweeted Saturday, linking to an audio clip of a 911 call.

“A better way to deal with it would be to speak to the manager or call head office.”

In the 911 call in the tweet, an operator is heard asking the caller whether they need fire, police or ambulance.

The caller asks “Can you come to Queen Street?” and says “I just want to talk to someone because I’ve been threatened by an owner. Regarding my food.”

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The caller confirms they’re a customer and proceed to explain that they ordered a chicken sandwich with no tomatoes.

“I told him right before I ordered I can’t eat tomatoes ’cause I’m allergic,” the caller says. As the operator listens, the caller explains they ordered a sandwich last time and got tomatoes.

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The operator then tells them: “This has nothing to do with the police, OK sir? Much less 911. Please don’t call 911 in the future for fried chicken mishaps.” The caller seems to get the message and hangs up.

Peel police spokesman Const. Akhil Mooken said the call is from Wednesday afternoon and is “definitely real.” Getting unwanted tomatoes on a sandwich is “not a threat,” he said.

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“It’s something that should be dealt with the manager of the store or with head office for the restaurant,” he said.

Peel police tweeted the audio of the call to educate people about when to call 911.

“We want people to understand that 911 is meant to be used for life-threatening emergencies only where someone’s own life or someone else’s life is in danger, and not for disagreements with restaurants,” Mooken said.

“I spoke the other day about another call we received and, again, it had to do with a restaurant where someone called 911 because the restaurant didn’t put their apple pies in their takeout bag. Definitely not a reason for 911.”