Dear Prudence,
I have a low-stakes etiquette question. I’m not lactose intolerant, but I am sensitive to foods that are rich in dairy (causing a few hours of discomfort to slight pain/nausea). My best friend is actually severely allergic to dairy. An ice cream place in our area just started selling dairy-free ice cream, and it’s amazing, we’ve been a couple of times together already!
I went by myself today, and when I asked for the “dairy-free chocolate,” the server went to scoop it out. I noticed she was going to the main freezers when usually they had gotten the dairy-free from the back. I was debating whether to ask, “This is dairy free, right?” I decided against it as I know how frustrating it is when a client second guesses your work, and when I tasted it, it was dairy free. My question is, if I think a food server gave me the wrong order/misheard my order in a different setting, should I double-check even though I’m not severely allergic? Worst case scenario I have some short-lived stomach issues, and I don’t want to butt in on their work when I can deal with a mistake. What’s the protocol here?