An Iowa woman says she was belittled and treated unfairly at a Subway restaurant because she’s pregnant, when a worker told her he was too busy to accommodate her request to heat the deli meat on her sandwich.

She told WHO-TV that she went into a Subway on Saturday afternoon and made a special request as part of her order.

“I’m expecting and doctors recommend that you don`t eat deli meat unless it’s thoroughly heated,” she said. “Usually when I eat at Subway I ask them to microwave my meat then toast it.”

She claims he told her that he was too busy, and besides, Subway is fast food and not fine dining.

He would only toast the sandwich, she says, and tried to prove the meat was hot enough by pulling out a thermometer to show it was at 140 degrees.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, pregnant women should heat deli meat to 165 degrees to prevent the risk of potentially harmful bacteria like Listeria.

The customer says she left the restaurant in tears, eventually, without her food. She posted her experience on social media in the hopes of raising awareness about customers’ medical needs and the value of good customer service.

“Maybe someone will read it and now when someone makes a request they will do it more happily instead of putting down the person for whatever they are requesting,” she says.

A Subway spokesman tells Consumerist the company is “aware” of the customer comment.

“he franchisee apologizes for the incident and is using this opportunity to refresh his staff’s training on the importance of excellent customer service and creating great sandwiches,” the spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Subway Employee Allegedly Denies Pregnant Customer’s Medical Request [WHO-TV]

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