Ultimate Slice & Grate Warning!!!! Got This From One of My Groups

[ItalianChef]

Hey!

Just wanted to let our group know what happened at my office today regarding the US&G. I work for a plastic surgeon who is also a nerve specialist. We rec'd a phone call from the local ER today saying that we needed to see one of their patients ASAP! She had sliced the tip of her pinky off. We squeezed the patient in today (didn't help that the dr was stuck in surgery with 2 emergency cases from the ER very early this morning, we were about 2 hours behind this afternoon....ugh!) ----anyways, this patient comes in this evening around 5pm and I took her back into the room and asked her what had happened.
Here is what she told me:
"I recently purchased the US&G from my consultant (she said they are in Maryland) and wanted to "impress" my friends & family today while we were prepping for our big 4th of July bash. She pulled out her US&G and having never used it before, emailed her consultant and asked about the "thingy" that goes on top (the protective cover).....the consultant told her "Oh, that's just a nuisance, you don't even need that piece. Just slice your items like you would any other slicer". (OMG I almost had a heart attack!) So, the patient proceeds to show her friends this "cool contraption" and that you don't even need the "thingy" to go on top. One of her friends had her daughter in law there and she has one of the US&G. The D-I-L said "you NEED that protective cover so you don't slice YOUR fingers in the process". The patient told her "my consultant said I don't need that!" Well, she is missing about 1/4 of her pinky and is in emergency surgery now having her pinky amputated.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE -- anytime you have a customer purchase the US&G, warn them about the hazards of NOT using the protective cover. Yes, it CAN be difficult to get the hang of putting the whole mechanism together, BUT, it WILL save your fingers!!!!

I can't show you the pictures from this wound that we took today, but I CAN tell you that this patient will have to have mulitple surgeries to TRY and rearrange the nerves in hand so that the pinky won't be numb the rest of her life. Today's surgery is strictly amputating the pinky (which will leave her with half of her pinky at best, next week, she'll have the first nerve surgery to see how many nerves will have to be "sliced" and moved to save the finger/hand.

Just wanted to let everyone be aware that there are precautions for a reason -- I have no clue who the consultant is that told the patient this, but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about the incident in my office today. This sn't the first time we've had a patient who sliced themselves with a PC item and i'm sure it won't be the last

 

[jenniferlynne]

Oh my gosh!!!!!

 

[Cindycooks]

OMG that makes me cringe to think about it. What in the world was her consultant thinking!! I used the USG at my show last week and the second I pulled it out, a guest started talking about how important it was to use the guard, even before I could say something. She said she knew someone that ripped the skin off the back of her index finger once.
Oh and this guest bought a USG! LOL....
Please keep us updated on how the lady is doing. Did you tell her that you sold PC and that the consultant was wrong??? Thats awful!

 

[strasfamily]

Ugh, all I read is horror stories about the USG. I don't think I will ever demo one...too scary.

 

[AJPratt]

I LOVE my USG, but after one near-slice, I always always always use the food holder. SHAME ON THAT CONSULTANT. They should send her the bill!

 

[Chef Becca KY]

Plunger/Food HolderYIKES! I've heard of many battle wounds from the US&G but amputation is definitely a new one. Bless her heart!

Most guests and Consultants don't realize that the guard is two pieces (a food holder and a plunger) and that they should be used seperately at first. The reason most people don't like to use the "little thingy" as she called it (which I think is cute) is that it's akward. The plunger tends to push the food out of the holder making it very difficult to slice without losing your food. The plunger needs to be pulled out until the food holder is flush with the US&G. For instance, when slicing a cucumber (which is one of the trickiest items I think), take the plunger out of the guard and place the cucumber in the food holder itself. This will allow the prongs on the holder to truly hold the cucumber. Begin slicing, reminding guests that the key is speed not pressure. I find that if you slowly work the first slice through the blade, then immediately pull back and begin slicing that your hand will get in a groove and it happens effortlessly. Once all that remains of the cucumber is left in the holder, place the plunger back in the holder and continue slicing. The plunger will push the remaining food out of the holder, and it's done.

If you begin teaching this at your shows, and at your Cluster Mtgs, you'll see AHA moments all over the room. It's quite fun!

 

[Jayne]

I have a US&G and I love it!! The problem is that people don't listen. I had a BBQ a couple of weeks ago and was cutting veggies, a bunch of my friends were helping and two of them cut themselves on my US&G and can you guess why they cut themselves? That's right!! They were not using the "little thingy"!! I specifically said, "do not use this without the gaurd"!! Some people are slow. Thank God none of the cuts were bad enough to go to the hospital!! I have cut myself on other PC items, one being the Apple Wedger. The old ones that you can get at stores are not very sharp and I would turn it over and pop the core out b/c it was easier. Well my sister warned me, she said do not cut yourself on your Apple Wedger, it is extremely sharp!! (Dah) it has a protective cover right? Well I did it out of habit and sliced my thumb but good. It probably could have used stitches. It took 2 weeks before I quit spliting it back open. So be careful w/PC products, they work real good!!

 

[pcjeanie]

I hesitated to demo my US&G at first, but do it regularly now. I ALWAYS stress safety and using the guard. Sorry to hear about such a horrible accident with our product, but I do feel we should be responsible about giving out precautions. I still keep my US&G in the box just for safety at home.

Jeanie Gay

 

[ItalianChef]

Update on storyI have no idea, the patient was asking me what her "rights" were as far as the consultant giving negligent advice. I honestly don't know and can't be involved in this one since she is a patient of ours....so, I gave her the home office phone # and told her to contact them on Wed. to see what can happen in this instance. She is wondering if this will be like a worker's comp case where PC pays for all the hospital, etc fees....who knows? I certainly don't have any idea on this one. I wouldn't think they would pay for any of it....they can contact her consultant (I didn't ask for her name) and talk to her about it. I really don't know. It's a very upsetting case that's for sure! If she wouldn't have rec'd the advice to NOT use it, she would most likely have her full pinky.

To update -- I just rec'd a text message on my cell phone, the patient is in the recovery room and doing well. They were actualy able to start on the nerves tonight as she didn't sever the main one that we had originally anticipated she had....so, that's VERY GOOD NEWS from that standpoint. We'll know more over the next few days as the patient starts recovering.
Please keep this patient in your thoughts & prayers, she's going to be in ALOT of pain when she comes out of her morphine drip!~ (

Hey!

Just wanted to let our group know what happened at my office today regarding the US&G. I work for a plastic surgeon who is also a nerve specialist. We rec'd a phone call from the local ER today saying that we needed to see one of their patients ASAP! She had sliced the tip of her pinky off. We squeezed the patient in today (didn't help that the dr was stuck in surgery with 2 emergency cases from the ER very early this morning, we were about 2 hours behind this afternoon....ugh!) ----anyways, this patient comes in this evening around 5pm and I took her back into the room and asked her what had happened.
Here is what she told me:
"I recently purchased the US&G from my consultant (she said they are in Maryland) and wanted to "impress" my friends & family today while we were prepping for our big 4th of July bash. She pulled out her US&G and having never used it before, emailed her consultant and asked about the "thingy" that goes on top (the protective cover).....the consultant told her "Oh, that's just a nuisance, you don't even need that piece. Just slice your items like you would any other slicer". (OMG I almost had a heart attack!) So, the patient proceeds to show her friends this "cool contraption" and that you don't even need the "thingy" to go on top. One of her friends had her daughter in law there and she has one of the US&G. The D-I-L said "you NEED that protective cover so you don't slice YOUR fingers in the process". The patient told her "my consultant said I don't need that!" Well, she is missing about 1/4 of her pinky and is in emergency surgery now having her pinky amputated.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE -- anytime you have a customer purchase the US&G, warn them about the hazards of NOT using the protective cover. Yes, it CAN be difficult to get the hang of putting the whole mechanism together, BUT, it WILL save your fingers!!!!

I can't show you the pictures from this wound that we took today, but I CAN tell you that this patient will have to have mulitple surgeries to TRY and rearrange the nerves in hand so that the pinky won't be numb the rest of her life. Today's surgery is strictly amputating the pinky (which will leave her with half of her pinky at best, next week, she'll have the first nerve surgery to see how many nerves will have to be "sliced" and moved to save the finger/hand.

Just wanted to let everyone be aware that there are precautions for a reason -- I have no clue who the consultant is that told the patient this, but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about the incident in my office today. This sn't the first time we've had a patient who sliced themselves with a PC item and i'm sure it won't be the last

 

[agw]

I just posted recently about slicing the top of my bird-finger knuckle off. I was doing a carrot and foolishly didn't switch to the guard soon enough. In the future I will absolutely NOT use the USG without the guard - it's too dangerous.

I now have a keloid scar where the wound was - it was deep but thankfully not to the bone. I'm probably going to have to use some steroid strip stuff from the dermatologist to get it to thin out so it doesn't hurt every time I make a fist.

Shame on the consultant for giving her such poor advice. I wonder how many other USG veterans (consultants or not) give the same ill-advised information.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I hate it for this lady and I hope that she will be okay....but.....the instructions specifically say to always use the food holder when using this product! Regardless of what the consultant says (which I agree was VERY BAD advice), this person did use the product improperly. I have a feeling that HO will only refund her money and that's probably all the financial recap she will get.

Several years ago my neighbor had the older style USG (I think it used to be called the vario slicer?) Anyhow, she sliced her finger pretty badly too and wrote a letter to HO about this product, they refunded her money to her. When I do shows in my neighborhood (and I do alot of them out here as everyone loves PC), I am not allowed to even talk about the USG.

I like this product, but am still a little intimidated by it....I am probably over-careful when using it! Especially after reading these horror stories!

I hope this lady will be okay.

 

[apriljc]

I don't have the Us&G but I have seen and have heard of people using them and they tell me that they always use the protector. I always tell them good job and to keep on using it. I can't believe that the consultant told he to not use the protector. I think that she should have to pay half of the bill for giving the buyer the wrong information. Just my thought.

 

[gilliandanielle]

Please, please, please don't hold the USG hostage over this!! In my opinion it is the best tool that PC has! I love mine, use it every day, and sell 3-4 at every show. As long as you use the guard when demonstrating, and advise everyone to use it at home, you'll be fine! When you get one try it at home with a potato or whatever you have to learn how to work it, and for god sakes---USE THE GUARD!!!

 

[AJPratt]

Please, please, please don't hold the USG hostage over this!! In my opinion it is the best tool that PC has! I love mine, use it every day, and sell 3-4 at every show. As long as you use the guard when demonstrating, and advise everyone to use it at home, you'll be fine! When you get one try it at home with a potato or whatever you have to learn how to work it, and for god sakes---USE THE GUARD!!!

I second that. I LOVE MY USG. But I also read the care and use instructions. So its important to know what you're doing, as with any sharp object.

 

[ItalianChef]

Please, please, please don't hold the USG hostage over this!! In my opinion it is the best tool that PC has! I love mine, use it every day, and sell 3-4 at every show. As long as you use the guard when demonstrating, and advise everyone to use it at home, you'll be fine! When you get one try it at home with a potato or whatever you have to learn how to work it, and for god sakes---USE THE GUARD!!!

I do not have it yet but it has not changed my mind on getting it.....I belive that is what instructions are for as well as the consultant being very clear on the proper way to use any of or products safely,

 

[jdavis]

I doubt that HO would have anything to do with this, except for what was said above about refunding her money. We are Independent Consultants which means that HO can't control everything we say or do since it is OUR business. That being said.....I cannot believe that this woman was told that she didn't have to use the guard 'thingy'.

 

[Cindycooks]

She will be in my prayers tonight. Please continue to keep us updated. I still am floored that the consultant would actually tell her the guard is not needed! But I do agree that all she will probably get from PC is a refund - afterall we are "Independent Consultants" and like you said, the use and care card clearly states to use the guard, keeping PC from being liable.

 

[Harrle]

YIKES!***the guard is two pieces (a food holder and a plunger) and that they should be used seperately at first.***
The reason most people don't like to use the "little thingy" as she called it (which I think is cute) is that it's akward. The plunger tends to push the food out of the holder making it very difficult to slice without losing your food. The plunger needs to be pulled out until the food holder is flush with the US&G. For instance, when slicing a cucumber (which is one of the trickiest items I think), take the plunger out of the guard and place the cucumber in the food holder itself. This will allow the prongs on the holder to truly hold the cucumber. Begin slicing, reminding guests that the key is speed not pressure. I find that if you slowly work the first slice through the blade, then immediately pull back and begin slicing that your hand will get in a groove and it happens effortlessly. Once all that remains of the cucumber is left in the holder, place the plunger back in the holder and continue slicing. The plunger will push the remaining food out of the holder, and it's done.

If you begin teaching this at your shows, and at your Cluster Mtgs, you'll see AHA moments all over the room. It's quite fun!

Thank You so much for the clear direction of this - I have always cut my 'longer items' in half and tried to get them to stay on the prongs!! I will remove the plunger part from now on and make sure my fingers are safe!!!

 

[soonerchef]

I do not have it yet but it has not changed my mind on getting it.....I belive that is what instructions are for as well as the consultant being very clear on the proper way to use any of or products safely,

Victoria will be borrowing my USG for her first show and I have given her the warning on USG's and first shows...she is still bound to use it, and I am sure that she will earn it for free soon!!

By the by, are you coming by to pick up the stuff you need?

 

[Chef Becca KY]

Thank You so much for the clear direction of this - I have always cut my 'longer items' in half and tried to get them to stay on the prongs!! I will remove the plunger part from now on and make sure my fingers are safe!!!

I'm so glad it helped. I picked up that tip at a workshop at Conference a few years ago and it changed me...hehe... Glad to pass it on!

 

[DebbieJ]

If any of you run into Feriale Yan at conference, or go to her workshop---she'll teach you how to use the US&G.