Sun 15 Apr 2007
Whence Customer Service? or, Crying Over Spilled Cocktails
Posted by Fredric Koeppel under Restaurants , Service , WaitersOne of my colleagues at the office related this incident:
He and three friends had gone to a restaurant to celebrate his birthday. The restaurant is a fairly sleek and contemporary place that serves upscale French bistro fare. It’s moderately expensive and fields a good (and more expensive) wine list. The chef is well-known in town for his talent and affability.
The group ordered martinis, and my colleague had taken a sip or two — in other words, he was not inebriated — when, in making some expansive gesture, he knocked over his cocktail glass and spilled the martini. He used his nakpin to sop up the liquid, called over the waiter, explained what had happened, and asked for a new napkin, which the waiter promptly brought.
At this point in the narrative, I interrupted and said, “And of course they replaced your martini.” A statement, not a question.
“Uh, no,” said my colleague. “The waiter asked if I wanted to order another one.”
All right, this is a simple incident, an accident that could happen to anybody, and I certainly don’t think the restaurant should replace the spilled cocktail of a knee-walking drunk (if such has not already been ejected from the restaurant). But the good will, the rapport that would have been established by replacing my colleague’s spilled cocktail would have been enormous, perhaps incalculable. It’s the sort of unspoken but deftly performed gesture that brings customers back and earns loyal patronage, compared to which the cost of a jigger of call-brand gin and a smidgeon of vermouth is nothing.
We posted this story on the food and dining blog at the newspaper where I work (and which is not connected with biggerthanyourhead.net), and I was surprised by how many responders said, essentially, “Let the guy buy his own drink! Why should the restaurant pay for his clumsiness?”
Well, O.K., you can take that view, but I think it’s ungenerous. No, one doesn’t want our fine restaurants filled with people who sip half of their Cosmopolitans, knock them over and expect a free replacement. I think the ideal is that we would never expect this sort of magnanimity but that it would be extremely gratifying if it happened. And waiters would appreciate the tip such generosity generated in turn.
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April 15th, 2007 at 10:34 am
How timely this is.
Last evening we were having a quick bite before a play* when I took out my cell phone and spilled my half-drunk Campari all over the bar. The bartender replaced it immediately, with a little quip but at no extra charge. The place was Junior’s on 45th St., by the way. Bravo for Junior’s.
* Terrence McNally’s new “Deuce” with Marian Seldes and Angela Lansbury. They were good, the play still needs a lot of work. Second week of previews.
April 15th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Amusing AND timely are my by-words, sir.
April 15th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
A restaurant would certainly be within its rights not to replace the drink, but a too-scrupulous insistence on one’s rights would in this case be counter-productive. You’d be passing up the opportunity to generate goodwill at very little cost and quite probably be generating some bad feeling as well. Of course, I wouldn’t buy a second drink if the maladroitness manifested itself again.
April 15th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Well, maybe for some customers I would.
April 15th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
You have to know where to draw the line.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I don’t know I think it is time for people to take responsibility of their action.
Now you are right it doesn’t cost a lot to replace a drink, but if the costumers feel entitle to an “accident replacement policies” I’m sure the spilled drinks average will be much higher. Again with a good costumer you do it out of courtesy but I don’t think it should be a granted rule.
I used to bartender few years ago in the lower east side and trust me at that time it seemed to be in Naples with people trying with you all the time, a free half drink it is still free after all…
April 16th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Suppose, dear Fredric, it’s not a cocktail. Suppose it’s a nice glass of wine? Someone orders a $10 or $15 glass, knocks it over, ruins his date’s dress, makes the server show up with towels, then expects another drink. Would you feel the same way? “Oh, have one on the house!”
Free refills for accidents will probably always be discretionary. You’re at the mercy of a person who works in a restaurant, God’s most judgmental creature.
Servers/bartenders can do anything they want if they like you — comp you food, free drinks, etc. If they don’t like you, they treat you like crap (then you don’t tip, and then they write about you on Bitter Waitress.)
You can’t beat them.
But you can put the odds in your favor.
You’ll have a better chance with a free replacement at a chain restaurant where there are corporate policies keeping customers happy. Service in trendy little places tends to come with more attitude.
Also, if you dump your drink on account of table clutter, or being in a packed restaurant with no elbow room, or having a tippy table, then you’ve got a better case than if you’re just spastic, awkward or Italian.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Ah, well, Gabrio, you were bartending on the LES. If I were working there I, too, might have a different policy.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Naples! You know how I love that city and its warm, cultured people.
How far the LES has come, eh, Gabrio?
April 17th, 2007 at 4:24 am
I remember years ago buying an ice cream for my young son while travelling. Once outside, my young son managed to dump the ice cream all over the sidewalk. I went inside to buy another and the owner would not take my money… we remained loyal to that place for years.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
I’m with Fred and el Jefe. Replace the drink, for goodness sake. Provided the customer is not tipsy, at which point don’t even sell the person a drink. #1 Fan also has a point: be nice to your servers and they will be more likely to be nice to you. The job is a killer, and people can be unbelievably rude. I personally believe if everyone in America worked in food service at least once there’d be less problems in the world.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Thanks, Doc, I mean one hates to be a complete dweebish Pollyanna, but usually kindness repays kindness and generosity is (one hopes) not misplaced.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I’m coming to this thread late, but it struck a chord. Last month, my girlfriend and I ate at Front Porch in San Francisco. The restaurant is new and very much a hit. It is also small and crowded. The staff had to add a two-top to a booth in order to seat a large party next to us. This was not a problem in any way. We were not crowded. But the manager came over and apologized and offered to comp us a round of drinks. When the check came, it turned out she comped us the drinks and our dessert. The food was great but this unexpected generosity really made me a fan - and completely canceled out the annoying hipster hostess.
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Thanks for looking in, Patrick, and what you experienced is service at the highest level. What a great manager, one who is obviously trusted by the owners to take the initiative and make such decisions on the spot. That’s the kind of generosity and thoughtfulness that keep people coming back.
May 4th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
While I have no opinion on the whole “I split my own drink so the restaurant should comp me one”, I do take umbrage at this:
Servers/bartenders can do anything they want if they like you — comp you food, free drinks, etc. If they don’t like you, they treat you like crap (then you don’t tip, and then they write about you on Bitter Waitress.)
First off: It’s bitterwaitress. All one word, all lower case. Thank you.
Secondly: Servers/bartenders in most places cannot just comp someone for any reason any time they like. They must get a manager who must approve the comp. 9 times out of 10, my manager will. But to comp someone just because I feel like comping a drink? Not without a good, valid reason.
Thirdly: I don’t treat people like crap, even when they are screaming in my face about the 2 hour wait they had for a table. Nor when they literally throw a plate of food at me, screeching about how inedible it is, and I don’t even lose my cool when they attempt to sexually harass me. None of those things are my fault, and yet my tip gets docked.
And you bet I write about those people on bitterwaitress.
May 5th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Hey, BWF, thanks for a view from the other side; you have clearly been in the trenches where the fighting can get dirty. People, for some reason, believe that waiters have more control over such matters — comping drinks or dessert or whatever — than they actually do. And, as you vividly imply, some people just shouldn’t go to restaurants; they behave like children. On the other hand, there are incompetent waiters (and poorly trained waiters) that can make a meal hell even for a sympathetic diner.
Even though this is an old post, I would be interested in hearing from readers in response to BWF’s comments.
May 21st, 2007 at 1:15 pm
In college, when I was a waiter at The Country Squire, I routinely replaced inadvertently spilled drinks on my own dime. I more than made it up in tips.
May 21st, 2007 at 6:31 pm
The Country Squire! That’s a blast from the past for long-time Memphians. And thank you for telling us that Charles, especially the point about more than making up the cost of the drink in tips. That’s what good service is all about and the benefits that it brings.