Jaguar Victory
Member
Do you pay the restaurant more if you spill something on their table?
Having to pay someone to clean up a really dirty table obviously sucks.
This logic is terrible.
Do you pay the restaurant more if you spill something on their table?
Having to pay someone to clean up a really dirty table obviously sucks.
So if you make an honest mistake as a waitress you should be punished in your already low pay? I think we found another flaw of the tipping system.
I am considering it from her perspective. I'm saying from her perspective, she took a risky gamble. In this case, things worked out well for her, but it could have been worse.
I was having a brain fart, just came from work.What are you talking about?
Maybe that's how it works in america. That explains a lot actually.
No idea how America works, never been.
Anywhere in this world, if people don't know what you won't, you will rarely ever get it.
There is no reason to assume management was informed. Obviously, he should have said something.
If the waitress apologizes and he cheerfully accepts it, he can't assume that she'll think he wants more.
I don't think she took a risky gamble. I mean, it's not that you should have to complain about stuff to be shown that extra degree of hospitality, but it was an accident not an oversight, she apologized profusely, and you didn't make a big deal of it. In her eyes, she probably thought that was it/enough. I've worked in restaurants before and employees don't report every little thing to managers. Honestly, they only say something if they think it was bad enough to warrant such a comp. In your case, I don't think she was 'hiding' it or trying to avoid alerting management but more she thought she'd done what she had to. As it didn't seem a particularly pricey place and you made so little of it, I wouldn't be surprised if it was forgotten two seconds later. It's one of those on the edge scenarios. It could have resulted in a comp but to expect one with those details is probably wrong. Not saying you don't have the right to be annoyed just that the expectation is probably off given what happened/where it was.
It's not subjective whether or not getting hot soup spilled on your back is a good or bad. It doesn't matter if he said it's fine, it's obviously not fine and he's just being polite.
I've worked in a lot of restaurants. Even if they subtracted the cost of the dry-cleaning, I'd have expected them to comp something just to be nice and secure return custom.
Yeah. So the waitress, a single person, might have made a wrong assumption.
In this case, all OP had to do was speak up later. He obviously saw that he wasn't getting anything when the bill came, yet he said nothing.
If you let "politeness" stop you from getting what you want, it's on you.
(and who said it's subjective? What?)
I'm so confused. Is it not common in America to comp a mistake even if a fuss isnt made? I live in the UK and any time anything has ever been even slightly wrong with my order the servers have bent over backwards to make things right and I never complain beyond making them aware of the mistake (and sometimes not even that, the restaurant will notice something went wrong and immediately offer to compensate). Like I've experienced this to the point of embarrassment where I've had to insist it's not a big deal and there's no need for further compensation.
Hell, a few months ago I went to McDonald's drive thru and asked for some of the cheesy bites. Paid and when we got to the window they said the vat needed cleaning and literally offered us anything off the menu we wanted. We got some free cheeseburgers and stuff and they kept offering to the point we were like dude this is too much food, we're cool here.
I just find this odd. Then again I don't believe any of my servers have ever been fired for a mistake before (we frequent a lot of the same places) so maybe there's less tolerance for mistakes on management's part.
This guy just quoted politeness as if it is some concept that he doesn't entirely accept as a real thing. It reads like when people put quote marks around "evolution" because they think it is bunk.
I live in the U.S. and my experiences have been more in line with your's. I have had meals comped proactively many times in my life due to accidents or errors by restaurant staff. I'd expect any restaurant that considers itself to have good customer service would proactively comp a portion of the meal extend another sign of goodwill (e.g., a free dessert). I have actually never had to request a comp from a restaurant in my life because every time I would've considered it, they proactively took care of things.
It's funny that you used the McDonald's example because I had a similar story happen with Papa John's, of all places, recently. Apparently, they gave away my take-out order to someone else who was "posing" as me to get a free pizza (I prepaid via credit card online). So, I had to wait about 10 minutes or so for them to make/bake an entirely new one for me. They offered to make me an extra-large (I ordered a large) or throw in a side/dessert item for free, both of which I declined because I didn't really want the extra food and waiting wasn't a big deal; I was in no rush, could browse GAF for the 10 minutes, and I felt a little sorry that the cashier got duped by the person that stole the pizza. When the pizza was done, they ended up reversing the credit card charge and giving me the pizza for free.
If I ever felt that a restaurant committed an error where some sort of comp was necessary and it wasn't proactively taken care of, I'd request one without a second thought, though. I'm actually pretty surprised of the number of people in this thread that think the OP shouldn't have been comped. Either we have a lot of pushovers in this thread, or taking the contrarian side to someone who feels "entitled" to something must be popular online. I expect the vast majority of people I know would consider it obvious that the restaurant should offer a comp in the OP's situation. Hell, I've been at a table where a free app was brought out merely because a glass of water was knocked over by the waiter onto a friend. Now that I'm thinking of it, just last month a bartender made my friend an entirely new cocktail just because she answered honestly, yet politely, when he asked her how he liked the one she initially ordered (she didn't care for it; it was much sweeter than she was expecting).
It's not subjective whether or not getting hot soup spilled on your back is a good or bad. It doesn't matter if he said it's fine, it's obviously not fine and he's just being polite.
She seemed pretty troubled about it. Regardless of how I reacted, she seemed pretty aware of the fact that spilling a bowl of hot soup on a customer is a pretty big mistake. It was an accident, and I didn't want to hold it against her so much for it, but she seemed pretty aware that it wasn't a tiny accident. I would feel the same way if I did something similar even if the person spilled it on did not make a scene about it. I would not think "oh, the guy just doesn't mind it when hot soup is spilled on him. That's neat." I would have thought that the person obviously does not like that hot soup was just spilled on him, but he doesn't want to make a scene or maybe even doesn't want me to get in trouble. If the waitress didn't tell management, I think it is far more likely because she did not want to get in trouble instead of thinking "oh, I guess it really didn't bother him at all."
Yup people can politely ask for a compensation. This dude in the OP fucked up.Phew, aren't you fond of bullshit assumptions?
And, apparently, of complaining without addressing the person directly. "This guy".
I don't think it's impolite to complain when you are wronged, and thus, in this scenario, I don't view shutting your mouth (when you still feel like you are owed something) as politeness. Thus: "politeness".
Or, you know, it was a joke.
Phew, aren't you fond of bullshit assumptions?
And, apparently, of complaining without addressing the person you have a problem with directly. "This guy".
I don't think it's impolite to complain when you are wronged, and thus, in this scenario, I don't view shutting your mouth (when you still feel like you are owed something) as politeness. Thus: "politeness".
You keep framing it so extreme. I doubt her thought process was "oh, the guy just doesn't mind it when hot soup is spilled on him. That's neat." She knew she messed up, knows it's a big mistake, and gave what was probably a very sincere apology, and your reaction/degree of whatever happened may not have looked as bad to her as it felt to you, especially if you downplayed it. Again, if it wasn't a particularly pricey place they're not going to be as accommodating for every little thing that happens. I'm not saying that's the way it should be, but it's perfectly understandable why that might have been the case. It doesn't have to be a case of malicious or willing oversight.
If you are saying, spilling hot soup on someone is bad, then yes, I think your statement holds.
It's not obvious at all that he's "just being polite". I've told some waiters that something was fine when it was not, just to be nice. And I've told some that a situation was fine when they were freaking out, but it really wasn't a big deal from my vantage point. Waiters are having to constantly make judgment calls about situations and sometimes they get it wrong. They have to rely on what customers are telling them and how they are reacting. It's a very reasonable response to let something like this drop if the customer says it's fine.
You keep framing it so extreme. I doubt her thought process was "oh, the guy just doesn't mind it when hot soup is spilled on him. That's neat." She knew she messed up, knows it's a big mistake, and gave what was probably a very sincere apology, and your reaction/degree of whatever happened may not have looked as bad to her as it felt to you, especially if you downplayed it. Again, if it wasn't a particularly pricey place they're not going to be as accommodating for every little thing that happens. I'm not saying that's the way it should be, but it's perfectly understandable why that might have been the case. It doesn't have to be a case of malicious or willing oversight.
If you are saying, spilling hot soup on someone is bad, then yes, I think your statement holds.
It's not obvious at all that he's "just being polite". I've told some waiters that something was fine when it was not, just to be nice. And I've told some that a situation was fine when they were freaking out, but it really wasn't a big deal from my vantage point. Waiters are having to constantly make judgment calls about situations and sometimes they get it wrong. They have to rely on what customers are telling them and how they are reacting. It's a very reasonable response to let something like this drop if the customer says it's fine.
It's very telling that you think "making a scene" is the only way to speak up or complain.The politeness is not trying to make a scene at the cost of the waitress. I think the waitress screwed up by not telling the manager, if that is what happened, but I don't want to be involved in something that is going to get her into trouble. I'm sure its not easy making dues when you're working in the service industry. Having soup spilled on you is a non-trivial inconvenience, but losing a job is far worse. So yeah, I feel like I am being polite by trying to not make a scene about it. I feel that it would have been much worse for the waitress if I were the one bringing it up to the management later than if the waitress did it herself right after it happened.
But spilling a bowl of hot soup on a customer isn't one of those "every little thing" situations. I think we should be able to agree that is a rare and significant thing that management and the waitress should feel is an exceptional incident that should be further addressed.
I live in the U.S. and my experiences have been more in line with your's. I have had meals comped proactively many times in my life due to accidents or errors by restaurant staff. I'd expect any restaurant that considers itself to have good customer service would proactively comp a portion of the meal extend another sign of goodwill (e.g., a free dessert). I have actually never had to request a comp from a restaurant in my life because every time I would've considered it, they proactively took care of things.
It's funny that you used the McDonald's example because I had a similar story happen with Papa John's, of all places, recently. Apparently, they gave away my take-out order to someone else who was "posing" as me to get a free pizza (I prepaid via credit card online). So, I had to wait about 10 minutes or so for them to make/bake an entirely new one for me. They offered to make me an extra-large (I ordered a large) or throw in a side/dessert item for free, both of which I declined because I didn't really want the extra food and waiting wasn't a big deal; I was in no rush, could browse GAF for the 10 minutes, and I felt a little sorry that the cashier got duped by the person that stole the pizza. When the pizza was done, they ended up reversing the credit card charge and giving me the pizza for free.
If I ever felt that a restaurant committed an error where some sort of comp was necessary and it wasn't proactively taken care of, I'd request one without a second thought, though. I'm actually pretty surprised of the number of people in this thread that think the OP shouldn't have been comped. Either we have a lot of pushovers in this thread, or taking the contrarian side to someone who feels "entitled" to something must be popular online. I expect the vast majority of people I know would consider it obvious that the restaurant should offer a comp in the OP's situation. Hell, I've been at a table where a free app was brought out merely because a glass of water was knocked over by the waiter onto a friend. Now that I'm thinking of it, just last month a bartender made my friend an entirely new cocktail just because she answered honestly, yet politely, when he asked her how she liked the one she initially ordered (she didn't care for it; it was much sweeter than she was expecting).
Pretty much.......Thank you. Exactly this.
I've been showered in beer before. But as I was close to going home, and no damage was done, I said it was fine, and I meant it.
They dropped the problem like they dropped the tray, and I was okay with that.
It's very telling that you think "making a scene" is the only way to speak up or complain.
Why not pull the waitress aside, voice your issue to her, and then she can inform management?
Sounds very mountain-out-of-molehill-y to me.
There are easy ways to handle this, if you feel it has to be handled.
And yes, I agree that the waitress screwed up. But I also feel that by not doing anything about it when it would have been so easy, you lose the right to feel as wronged as you appear to feel.
People make mistakes. If you feel it's not worth speaking up, don't speak up. But it seems like you regret not doing so now, so... that's on you.
Thank you. Exactly this.
I've been showered in beer before. But as I was close to going home, and no damage was done, I said it was fine, and I meant it.
They dropped the problem like they dropped the tray, and I was okay with that.
It's very telling that you think "making a scene" is the only way to speak up or complain.
Why not pull the waitress aside, voice your issue to her, and then she can inform management?
Sounds very mountain-out-of-molehill-y to me.
There are easy ways to handle this, if you feel it has to be handled.
And yes, I agree that the waitress screwed up. But I also feel that by not doing anything about it when it would have been so easy, you lose the right to feel as wronged as you appear to feel.
People make mistakes. If you feel it's not worth speaking up, don't speak up. But it seems like you regret not doing so now, so... that's on you.
This keeps reminding me of the weird passive aggressive friend who says something is fine and then flips out about why you didn't ask what was wrong or what did you still do whatever thing you were asking about because it was clearly bothering them.
It's not on someone else to decipher whether you are lying or not, you could have respectfully asked for a manager as soon as it happened but instead you said you were fine and acted as if you were completely fine with it. People have to stop being so afraid of human interaction and just actually convey what is the problem instead of thinking people can read your mind if you just stay completely quiet.
This whole deal is just sounding like a big "can I have my cake and eat it too" situation.
Be polite to the waitress but expect the business to comp you out of the goodness of their heart despite saying everything was OK. It's a business. They don't want to lose money.
The scene is the manager chewing out the waitress later for not telling management.
Restaurants are full of new, inexperienced staff. Insecure people. Dumb people.
Management can't comp anything if they don't know.
Blame the waitress if you feel like it, don't blame anyone else.
Did you miss where I said you could pull her aside and ask her to inform management?
"Ah, I forgot to tell you earlier, but XY happened an the person is about to leave, what should we do?"
Problem solved.
This whole deal is just sounding like a big "can I have my cake and eat it too" situation.
Be polite to the waitress but expect the business to comp you out of the goodness of their heart despite saying everything was OK. It's a business. They don't want to lose money.
I am clarifying that I am not talking about me making the scene by yelling.
I don't think I blamed anyone; just explaining that I would've expected the restaurant to comp something. I'd be very surprised if someone with the authority to offer a comp didn't know about it.
Did you miss where I said you could pull her aside and ask her to inform management?
"Ah, I forgot to tell you earlier, but XY happened an the person is about to leave, what should we do?"
Problem solved.
Honestly: Why? Why would you be surprised about that?
Hell I was in a sandwich shop, ordered my sandwich, sat down and maybe 5 minutes go by. I start noticing they are calling orders behind me. So I go up and ask about my sandwich. Seems they lost the ticket so they appologize and make it double quick. When it's ready they gave me a few cookies for the trouble.
idk what the hell is wrong with people on this thread. You absolutely should not have to ask for a manager when someone fucks up your shit.
Yes. How was management supposed to know, if the waitress screwed up by not saying anything? But hey, sure, blame the whole business.It's like the Twilight Zone. All these stories of food being comped for far less, and people still stanning for how the restaurant reacted. "How were they supposed to know that there was a problem?"
Wrong. I've seen and personally lived similar scenarios where people said "It's fine" and meant it.Uhh....common sense? Any idiot knows that "accepting someone's apology" after such a mishap is just an empty gesture. I'd say it's almost reflexive. "Oh, it's fine," instead "You fucking moron."
And obviously, this experience is representative of every other scenario.My car got T-boned a few years back, my knee was a little bloody and the other driver profusely apologized. I reflexively (but in a very annoyed manner) said, "It's fine." I bet she didn't think, "I guess it's fine then."
It's like the Twilight Zone. All these stories of food being comped for far less, and people still stanning for how the restaurant reacted. "How were they supposed to know that there was a problem?"
Uhh....common sense? Any idiot knows that "accepting someone's apology" after such a mishap is just an empty gesture. I'd say it's almost reflexive. "Oh, it's fine," instead "You fucking moron."
My car got T-boned a few years back, my knee was a little bloody and the other driver profusely apologized. I reflexively (but in a very annoyed manner) said, "It's fine." I bet she didn't think, "I guess it's fine then."
Did you miss where I said you could pull her aside and ask her to inform management?
"Ah, I forgot to tell you earlier, but XY happened an the person is about to leave, what should we do?"
Problem solved.
The politeness is not trying to make a scene at the cost of the waitress. I think the waitress screwed up by not telling the manager, if that is what happened, but I don't want to be involved in something that is going to get her into trouble. I'm sure its not easy making dues when you're working in the service industry. Having soup spilled on you is a non-trivial inconvenience, but losing a job is far worse. So yeah, I feel like I am being polite by trying to not make a scene about it. I feel that it would have been much worse for the waitress if I were the one bringing it up to the management later than if the waitress did it herself right after it happened.
But spilling a bowl of hot soup on a customer isn't one of those "every little thing" situations. I think we should be able to agree that is a rare and significant thing that management and the waitress should feel is an exceptional incident that should be further addressed.
This keeps reminding me of the weird passive aggressive friend who says something is fine and then flips out about why you didn't ask what was wrong or what did you still do whatever thing you were asking about because it was clearly bothering them.
It's not on someone else to decipher whether you are lying or not, you could have respectfully asked for a manager as soon as it happened but instead you said you were fine and acted as if you were completely fine with it. People have to stop being so afraid of human interaction and just actually convey what is the problem instead of thinking people can read your mind if you just stay completely quiet.
My friend the other week got part of her bloody mary spilled on her at a michelin star restaurant and they didn't comp her since she kept telling them it was fine. Even at more expensive places, unless something was ruined or you make a stink they probably aren't to make a big deal either if you keep saying it's no big deal.
JesusI am considering it from her perspective. I'm saying from her perspective, she took a risky gamble. In this case, things worked out well for her, but it could have been worse.
These are two ways that things could have played out.
1. Let's say I later make a complaint after I see that I am still billed. This wouldn't be an unusual reaction, like most people in this thread have said. The conversation could have gone like this.
Me- I need to speak to your manager
Waitress- Okay, one moment
Manager- How can I help you?
Me- Earlier, a waitress spilled hot soup on me by mistake and you can see all of this soup on my back. I did not want to make a scene about it, but to be honest, I did expect management to do something about it discreetly.
Manager- I'm sorry, this is the first I am hearing about this. You're saying a waitress spilled hot soup on you? Are you okay?
Me- Yes, I'm fine. It was hot, but not skin burning hot.
Manager- Okay, I am VERY sorry that this has happened to you. I am also very sorry that it has gotten to this point. I should have been informed about this right away.
Later, I would imagine that the manager would have chewed out the waitress for trying to hide the incident. The manager is obviously going to feel that it is incredibly important that the staff does not try to hide mistakes like this because management will want to do something about it. That is a bigger issue than the honest mistake because it was a dishonest action.
2. Let's say the waitress decided to tell the manager.
Waitress- Boss, I accidentally spilled hot soup on a customer.
Manager- Oh my god, is the customer okay?
Waitress- Yes, he said it didn't burn him. I am really sorry that this happened and I kept apologizing and tried my best to clean it up. He took it pretty well, but I still feel bad about it happening.
Manager- Okay, you need to be careful. We can't have customers walking out on us upset. Plus hot foods can be very dangerous. I expect you to be more careful, got it? It can't happen again. Thanks for telling me. I'm going to check up on him and see if I can smooth things over with him and his group.
Obviously, these are just two examples, but I think it is clear that a manager would be far more upset if he/she found out that the waitress was trying to hide the mistake regardless of how the customer reacted.
I went to Montanas...
What kinda shitty restaurants yall goin to?
This whole deal is just sounding like a big "can I have my cake and eat it too" situation.
Be polite to the waitress but expect the business to comp you out of the goodness of their heart despite saying everything was OK. It's a business. They don't want to lose money.
:lol Yes, injuring someone with a car where they're standing there bloodied is the same as accidentally spilling something at a restaurant. Holy shit people.
Have you tried the anojitos?Well it's hard to top the establishments that write on the tables with crayon. I don't think it's a bad restraint but I just do not understand that place.
Honestly: Why? Why would you be surprised about that?