Vamonos Taqueria Vamonos, Groupo Anderson unhealthy food quality, and horrible customer service lake mary, Florida

I am taking the opportunity to respond to this report filing.

First, it is clear from your wording that you are an employee that was recently released from employment. A typical customer would not have intimate knowledge of product that we use to prepare our recipes, nor would they have intimate knowledge of our food storage practices or areas. Disgruntled employees are rarely sources of accurate information, but we appreciate the confirmation that we made the correct decision in releasing you from employment.

Second, the claim that we "cook with rotting tomatoes, peppers and serve you food that has been sitting for 4 days or more in the cooler that is not cleaned at all" [sic] is an outrageous claim. For starters, we have strict policies in place to ensure that all food served in our restaurant is served in a sanitary condition. Why would a restaurant make it a policy to serve sub-standard food? Doesn't that go against the entire logic of running a restaurant? You have to ask yourself how accurate this claim can be -- it is clear from the hyperbolic nature of the statement that it is being made falsely with the intention of "hurting" the company. As far as cooking with "rotting tomatoes, peppers...," again, this goes against the entire principle of running a restaurant. If we didn't serve top-quality produce, how would we ever hope to build a return guest base? Isn't that the backbone of a restaurant of our nature? As for the condition of our walk-in cooler, everything is stored neatly, labeled, and is handled to HACCP standards, from receipt from the distributor to receipt of the customer.

Regarding the cleanliness of our restaurant, we invite anyone to look at our kitchen, at any time during business hours. In fact, we are so proud of the condition of our kitchen that we incorporated full-size window-fronts on the main sidewalk of Colonial Townpark. This way, every person that passes by our windows can look in and see the condition of our kitchen at all times. We're proud of our kitchen, and we don't hide it.

As for the description of your meal, the "steal," (or what I assumed to mean "steak"), and it being "raw and cold in the middle," we cook all of our steak to medium doneness, or 145°F, which is described as having a pink center. As for it being "cold and dry from sitting all day," I can't imagine this being the steak we hold for customer service, as that steak is held in a steam table, much like you would find at any other restaurant similar to us. It is also held to time controls, ensuring maximum quality before we dispose of the meat. We take pride in our food. Why would we ever serve food that is cold or doesn't taste good? See my argument from the first paragraph.

Saying "the managers take advantage of everyone" is quite a broad statement. We are a fully staffed restaurant, and I find it hard to believe that we could remain fully staffed if we mistreated our employees. It goes back to the previous argument: How could we hope to stay in business if we did not maintain a positive work environment and keep our employees happy and free from abusive language?

Speaking of abusive language, I would like to defer attention to your last statement: "...unless you['re] a dirty mexican who likes nasty food and disrespect!" Regardless of your feelings on Vamonos, or whether you were previously employed here or not, this is a racially hateful statement. It is a disgusting thing to say, and if you were indeed an employee of Vamonos, we would not tolerate that kind of speech in any circumstance. The fact that you even say this shows that your "report" was done in anger and hatred, and that you are clearly seeking revenge for a perceived wrong. Again, that statement is a disgusting and hurtful thing to say, and whether you were an employee or a customer, Vamonos *WILL NOT* tolerate speech like that within our restaurant.

Please take a long, hard look at your posting and ask yourself if any of this is true, or if it is merely a soft-witted attempt at revenge. The statements made are clearly an outrageous and false attempt at defaming a company. Why would a restaurant serve bad food? Why would a restaurant have floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking their entire kitchen if that kitchen was as filthy as you described it? Why would a restaurant have so many happy and successful employees if they took advantage of them? Why would you resort to hateful and disgusting language if you were doing anything other than seeking attention and revenge?