Mohammed Zaman, owner of the Indian Garden restaurant, was sentenced to six years in jail in May for killing Paul Wilson. What happened was Wilson had a lifelong allergy to nuts and requested a nut-free curry. What he received was a chicken tikka massala doused in groundnut powder. You won’t believe what happened next! He ate it, went into anaphylactic shock and died.
In what will later be used as a case study on how not to run a business, Emraz Zaman, Mohammed’s son, came up with a bright idea of sending out an email apologizing for Wilson’s death. But not before criticizing the six-year jail sentence and then advertising their new dessert menu.
[We]…sincerely apologise to all our loyal customers for the recent heavy press surrounding the Easingwold branch and the somewhat disappointing decision for our founding father Mr Zaman. Mistakes have been made and this is no excuse but now is a time to move on as Mr Zaman so wishes.
Yea, that wasn’t totally kosher, but if it had ended there, it’d be sort of fine. It didn’t though.
We are now in the process of launching a new dessert menu and have hired an exclusive pastry chef from London to design this. Our philosophy, started by our founder, [Mohammed] Khalique Zaman, was and still is to create real quality Indian cuisine of the highest standard.
So you’re using your apology email as an opportunity to promote desserts. You might as well have given everyone a coupon for a free pitchfork too. Crafted by an exclusive pitchfork maker from London, of course.
With exhilarating flavours and subtle aromas…Jaipur Spice will transform your perception of Indian food…You’ll spot the difference the moment the food arrives ! !
That sounds great! Will I die a horrible allergy-induced death though? Is this what makes it so exhilarating?
Emraz admitted the email was inappropriate and issued another apology to Wilson’s parents. “We know that no words can rectify what has happened. This has broken our hearts.” Surprisingly, he didn’t go on to advertise their new gluten AND nut-free curry. “You’ll love it to death!”