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Waitress poured hot soup on me, restaurant did absolutely nothing
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Subpar Spatula
Banned
if you truly accepted her apology and moved on then this thread is not necessary. let's say someone spills their drink on me at the bar. they apologize, i accept, and things go fine. what would you think of me if i turned to my friends and started saying, "do you think he should have done more to compensate me?"
always crazy bacon
Banned
The "feedback" you wanted was for everyone to tell you that the manager should have given you a freebie. The "feedback" you're getting is that you should have said something at the time and you don't like it.
I would've expected a free dessert or something, just to acknowledge something happened and to show good will. Though whoever made those decisions may not have even been aware of the situation, and the waitress probably would've gotten into trouble if they did.
I do think most places realize that it looks really good to go out of your way when something happens. Like the time one of the Illegal Fish Companies in Boston's airport accidentally cleared my table when I was just about done (I'd told them I was using the restroom). They apologized profusely, and because I had another 90 minutes until my flight, they remade my a whole entire meal. The whole thing, soup, bread and 2 martini's because I'd drank one and had a few tablespoons left in the one I'd been drinking. I sat there and worked on it while I watched a Red Sox game. That stuck out in my mind and I give them good publicity often because of it.
The worst experience? Bonefish Grill. I was with my GF (on our first dinner after I'd been out of town on business for nearly 3 months, so a pretty special occasion). After letting the waitress know that my GF was severely allergic to onions, she recommended a specific dish, it sounded good, but we asked that she double check with the kitchen since onions are common AF. She brought the food and confirmed she had done that.
Roughly 30 minutes in my GF starts showing symptoms, when I asked the waitress, she said she thought it was fine but she hadn't been able to find anyone to ask and said "things happen" several time. Not one single "sorry", I was in disbelief and figured the manager was going to go in on her when I told him what happened. He double and tripled down on all of it instead.
I debated this with him in front of a full restaurant. We weren't particularly loud, but when I'm angry I get very matter of fact and stern. Ultimately he didn't think that onions were anything they had to worry about. In his eyes if it wasn't alcohol or a nut, it wasn't a big deal. When I suggested leaving without paying because their actions made my GF sick, he said they had cameras in their lot and they would call the police. I was pissed and dramatically said "good, can you get an ambulance while you're at it?"
He walked away and muttered something. This was a young guy, so maybe he didn't know what the right thing to do was? I don't know, but at this point it wasn't about the cost or the food, it was more that I was in such disbelief that they could admit to this and not even try to appear empathetic or apologetic that I wanted to make sure everyone around there knew what was going on as well. I've never seen someone double down on something they were clearly in the wrong about, especially with so many customers watching. Keep in mind this is while my GF is visibly sweating, experiencing bad stomach cramps and breaking out in hives.
After another 5 minutes or so I gave up because I needed to get her home. I paid the bill and left a $0.01 cent tip with a note about Yelp on the receipt with both their names on it, circled. I waited outside while my GF was in the bathroom and talked to anyone who was going in to tell them the type of person the manager was, and where they could find better seafood. I know one couple took my advice because they'd heard mixed things about Bonefish.
Yeah, don't go to Bonefish Grill.
I do think most places realize that it looks really good to go out of your way when something happens. Like the time one of the Illegal Fish Companies in Boston's airport accidentally cleared my table when I was just about done (I'd told them I was using the restroom). They apologized profusely, and because I had another 90 minutes until my flight, they remade my a whole entire meal. The whole thing, soup, bread and 2 martini's because I'd drank one and had a few tablespoons left in the one I'd been drinking. I sat there and worked on it while I watched a Red Sox game. That stuck out in my mind and I give them good publicity often because of it.
The worst experience? Bonefish Grill. I was with my GF (on our first dinner after I'd been out of town on business for nearly 3 months, so a pretty special occasion). After letting the waitress know that my GF was severely allergic to onions, she recommended a specific dish, it sounded good, but we asked that she double check with the kitchen since onions are common AF. She brought the food and confirmed she had done that.
Roughly 30 minutes in my GF starts showing symptoms, when I asked the waitress, she said she thought it was fine but she hadn't been able to find anyone to ask and said "things happen" several time. Not one single "sorry", I was in disbelief and figured the manager was going to go in on her when I told him what happened. He double and tripled down on all of it instead.
I debated this with him in front of a full restaurant. We weren't particularly loud, but when I'm angry I get very matter of fact and stern. Ultimately he didn't think that onions were anything they had to worry about. In his eyes if it wasn't alcohol or a nut, it wasn't a big deal. When I suggested leaving without paying because their actions made my GF sick, he said they had cameras in their lot and they would call the police. I was pissed and dramatically said "good, can you get an ambulance while you're at it?"
He walked away and muttered something. This was a young guy, so maybe he didn't know what the right thing to do was? I don't know, but at this point it wasn't about the cost or the food, it was more that I was in such disbelief that they could admit to this and not even try to appear empathetic or apologetic that I wanted to make sure everyone around there knew what was going on as well. I've never seen someone double down on something they were clearly in the wrong about, especially with so many customers watching. Keep in mind this is while my GF is visibly sweating, experiencing bad stomach cramps and breaking out in hives.
After another 5 minutes or so I gave up because I needed to get her home. I paid the bill and left a $0.01 cent tip with a note about Yelp on the receipt with both their names on it, circled. I waited outside while my GF was in the bathroom and talked to anyone who was going in to tell them the type of person the manager was, and where they could find better seafood. I know one couple took my advice because they'd heard mixed things about Bonefish.
Yeah, don't go to Bonefish Grill.
teruterubozu
Member
She probably would have gotten some shit at work, maybe even fired if they gave you a free meal. Is that what you wanted?
I literally made a post saying people shouldn't waste their time conversing with you because you simply play the contrarian, and you still make a post. That's dedication, I guess.
Because the further into this thread we delve the clearer it becomes that's why you made the thread?
If you live somewhere that doesn't give waiters minimum wage then you are morally obligated to tip. Otherwise you're essentially free riding on everyone else.
We should change that system, but that's not a get to avoid the moral problems with being a leech on society free card.
That's his MO.
teruterubozu
Member
He's not wrong in this case though.
n00bsauce87
Member
That title click bait.
I fell for it.
What do expect to happen? To get get a free meal?
I fell for it.
What do expect to happen? To get get a free meal?
Beerman462
Member
This is probably pretty true. It is with me anyway.
crisdecuba
Member
I don't follow how all other comparatively trivial conversations are now invalid... on a forum whose primary focus is a non-essential entertainment activity?
I see two groups here. Some people, several who have or currently work in the service industry, saying that the restaurant didn't handle the situation right. And other people trying really hard to turn this into a back-fire thread. You have people here calling me whiney and that I deserved to have the soup spilled on me. If you're going to try and deeply analyze me, why don't you go ahead and take a temperature of the room while you're at it?
Beerman462
Member
Westbahnhof
Banned
See, now there's a thread worthy story.
Holy crap. Terrible. What a piece of crap manager.
I'd make sure to contact the actual owner.
TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
So you paid for a soup that was spilled on you that you didn't eat? Why didn't they comp it?
Ugh what? Of course it should be free if it was spilled on his clothes and he didn't eat it.
Ugh what? Of course it should be free if it was spilled on his clothes and he didn't eat it.
teruterubozu
Member
What did you expect posting this on GAF? Seriously.
Does it matter though? It's not affecting the waitress or the restaurant or anyone else for that matter. They're just thoughts being exchanged by strangers on the internet.
It's no secret that I have an opinion on what should have happened. I don't see why that is wrong when asking what others that have worked in the industry would have done.
You're right, there are two groups here. But let's not paint this as if everyone who agrees with you have a more valid opinion.
For all the restaurant knows he just wanted to use the soup for cologne in the first place.
In this case they do though.
Surface of Me
I'm not an NPC. And neither are we.
Plenty of feedback is in agreement with OP. Most of the people saying the restaurant was right also take the time to shit on the OP. So it seems one side leaving feedback is being reasonable and oneside isnt. Hmmm.
Nah, if they give shit service they getting a shit tip, or none at all. I will say my anecdote in a post earlier is the 2nd time Ive ever not left a tip
crisdecuba
Member
It's not weird. People talk about all sorts of trivial stuff that isn't really super important to them but that they're curious to unpack it a bit.
Plus he totally may have accepted the apology and moved on on a personal level re: the waitress, but wondered about whether it was normal for the establishment to not take any other action.
I don't think you're reading him right.
teruterubozu
Member
Thanks for agreeing with me. High five, my friend!! ✋️
I don't get why everybody thinks the soup was for me. I said in the OP that a different waitress spilled soup on me. It wasn't may soup.
I honestly didn't expect people on GAF to say they hope the waitress did it on purpose.
I work for Hilton and I've had guests stay at my particular hotel that remind me a lot of you and this thread, or rather vice versa. For example:
Guest returns after a long day of vacationing with family to see that housekeeping fucked up and didn't put new towels in their room.
Guest calls me to inform me of this. They are actually quite pleasant and understanding about the issue but regardless, I apologize and offer them new towels and ask if there's anything else I can do for them.
They thank me and say that it's okay, don't worry about anything other than bringing new towels. I told them I'd still inform the housekeeping manager about this mistake, and if they want they can talk to MGMT themselves tomorrow. They decline this as well and never do.
They check out. A week later, a negative review shows up on trip advisor mentioning the towels and about 5 other small problems they never bothered to inform anyone of. The review reads like it was written by a totally different person as the person I dealt with was so friendly and understanding.
Guest returns after a long day of vacationing with family to see that housekeeping fucked up and didn't put new towels in their room.
Guest calls me to inform me of this. They are actually quite pleasant and understanding about the issue but regardless, I apologize and offer them new towels and ask if there's anything else I can do for them.
They thank me and say that it's okay, don't worry about anything other than bringing new towels. I told them I'd still inform the housekeeping manager about this mistake, and if they want they can talk to MGMT themselves tomorrow. They decline this as well and never do.
They check out. A week later, a negative review shows up on trip advisor mentioning the towels and about 5 other small problems they never bothered to inform anyone of. The review reads like it was written by a totally different person as the person I dealt with was so friendly and understanding.
Audioboxer
Member
OP I believe this traumatic event probably did happen to you, but sometimes on GAF you don't know if someone is spinning quality writing to fish for a tag.
Two Worlds
The soup guy.
As said a few times by now it appears you behaved in a way that suggested you were happy with a sincere apology. As you're in America though you should sue for literally millions for damages and the suffering you've had to share on GAF. Or, next time, if you're unhappy assert some of your dissatisfaction and see where it leads you.
Often, if it's a low paid low appreciated member of staff who has made a mistake and you go ham it'll be them in a disciplinary or worse later on. That doesn't mean you should never open your mouth, but some spilled soup isn't exactly malice or serious incompetence. More a case of shit happens and most people will brush it off and move on.
Edit: It appears management never found out either? Well, the waitress would probably be terrified to say, so your verbal acceptance of her apology was probably her hoping your goodwill to her was genuine. Not you sitting stewing hoping she herself would go and hand herself in for the crime and get management out to serenade you and offer free shit. Depends on the place you were in and what management is like. If she's genuinely liable to have been disciplined, treated poorly or even fired you can hopefully somewhat understand why she wasn't doing cartwheels to get the manager. Your mileage may vary with low-end staff wanting to grass themselves in, especially after the customer accepts the apology. Ultimately, if you had asked for a manager I'm sure she would have gotten one.
Two Worlds
The soup guy.
As said a few times by now it appears you behaved in a way that suggested you were happy with a sincere apology. As you're in America though you should sue for literally millions for damages and the suffering you've had to share on GAF. Or, next time, if you're unhappy assert some of your dissatisfaction and see where it leads you.
Often, if it's a low paid low appreciated member of staff who has made a mistake and you go ham it'll be them in a disciplinary or worse later on. That doesn't mean you should never open your mouth, but some spilled soup isn't exactly malice or serious incompetence. More a case of shit happens and most people will brush it off and move on.
Edit: It appears management never found out either? Well, the waitress would probably be terrified to say, so your verbal acceptance of her apology was probably her hoping your goodwill to her was genuine. Not you sitting stewing hoping she herself would go and hand herself in for the crime and get management out to serenade you and offer free shit. Depends on the place you were in and what management is like. If she's genuinely liable to have been disciplined, treated poorly or even fired you can hopefully somewhat understand why she wasn't doing cartwheels to get the manager. Your mileage may vary with low-end staff wanting to grass themselves in, especially after the customer accepts the apology. Ultimately, if you had asked for a manager I'm sure she would have gotten one.
teruterubozu
Member
Guess I've been here too long then, cuz I'd expect those kind of snarky comments too.
Subpar Spatula
Banned
You are not asking that:
"To those that have had similar experiences or work/have worked in restaurants, should I have expected something like the meal being free?"
the bolded is absolutely key. you're not phrasing it as a general "what is good customer service in the restaurant industry?" but "is the rest of the OP evidence enough that the restaurant should have given me a free meal?"
people see through that. it's a very singular tone throughout.
so, what's the goal? you already admit people agree with you. now you're defensive on people believing it's you looking for validation or being passive aggressive -- which there are many signs of that.
what kind of discussion about customer service were you looking for when using such a singular example?
You're not given that option anywhere else in society. Clearly you're using the fact that tipping exists to skirt around your societal obligation here, even if you only do it rarely and as a matter of principle.
Perhaps I phrased this wrong. I'm saying the OP asked for opinions and now they're claiming that everyone who agrees with them are more qualified to give an opinion. That's not conducive to anything other than validation.
TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
Oh your OP confused me. So a waitress that wasn't your own spilled soup on you that didn't belong to you but to someone else instead? In that case, yeah, an apology should have sufficed, but a manager should have actually offered a comp of some sort to ease it over, even if you were calm about it. It's the hospitality industry for a reason and having worked in it, spilling food on someone is one of the most notorious reasons to comp an item or offer something complimentary.
I don't think I'm anything like those guests. I wouldn't care about something so small like that. I wouldn't have been impacted in any real way having to call for clean towels. And I don't have the intention of leaving a yelp review.
DizzyCaffeine
Member
You certainly have a knack for starting threads that backfire, OP.
And I do think she should have given you a discount on the meal without you having to ask for it. But so it goes...
And I do think she should have given you a discount on the meal without you having to ask for it. But so it goes...
Management didn't notice. If they had (like, if they saw it happen, or if you had complained about it) then they would've given you a free meal or dry cleaning or something like that, whatever it takes to solve the problem, and they would've turned around and taken some sort of retribution out of the waitress's hide. Maybe docked her pay. Maybe yelled at her. Maybe made her go scrub the toilets. Maybe inched her slightly closer to getting fired.
She (with no power to fix her own mistake, beyond an apology and/or ratting herself out to her boss, because she's just the waitress) personally and genuinely apologized to you, and you seemed to accept her apology and non-verbally agreed to keep quiet about it, to sweep the problem under the rug. You did her a favor. I'm sure she appreciates it. Probably not enough to earn you a blowjob. Maybe not enough for her to even remember your face the next time you eat there. But you did another human a favor and I'm sure they appreciate it.
I suppose there's still time for you to go back in and complain to the manager, and trade that goodwill for some free pie.
She (with no power to fix her own mistake, beyond an apology and/or ratting herself out to her boss, because she's just the waitress) personally and genuinely apologized to you, and you seemed to accept her apology and non-verbally agreed to keep quiet about it, to sweep the problem under the rug. You did her a favor. I'm sure she appreciates it. Probably not enough to earn you a blowjob. Maybe not enough for her to even remember your face the next time you eat there. But you did another human a favor and I'm sure they appreciate it.
I suppose there's still time for you to go back in and complain to the manager, and trade that goodwill for some free pie.
"Two groups. One that agrees with me and one that's wrong."
I mean obviously that statement can run into problems, but so far in this case it seems to be right. People that have worked or are working in the service industry seem to be overwhelmingly taking his side here. At least insofar as to what common practice is.
I don't think whether the soup was mine or not or whether the waitress was the one that was serving me should play a role in how the restaurant should have responded.
Exactly. The service industry is about selling a good time. If the customer doesn't have a good time, then you lose business.
Not every customer speaks up on how they feel on the spot. You have to be careful because you can get bad reviews and word of mouth, which can possibly hamper sales and growth.
Everything is binary for Gaf. "You didn't say anything. Why can't people speak up?" That's not how the world works. A lot of people have manners. Not making a big deal out of it is to protect a low paid service industry worker from an already embarrassing situation. Asking for comps is the "whiney baby" begging in this case. It's not the customers responsibility to see that they are taken care of, it's the restaurant who is selling you the good time.
The restaurant should have compensated the OP by comping that meal regardless of how "satisfied" they looked on the outside, AND added 1 free launch/dinner special at a later date. That would have negated the scenario, this thread, the customer would be happy, and most people don't eat out alone so guests would be brought giving even more business.
Come on guys, this stuff isn't rocket science. But no, everything is LOL Millennials and OP is a wimp.
PatThePassive
Member
Damn FAKEThreads trying to slander OP
TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
Of course it plays a role. If it was your own that spilled on you that you didn't eat yet got charged for, of course you'd want it comped. But because it wasn't, an apology sufficed (assuming it wasn't excessive and just a tad bit and not the entire thing); however to instill good will a manager should have gone above and beyond to turn a shitty situation into a better one.
I'm very puzzled by how people are treating this as some complex moral question. Service industry = pamper your customers who are paying over the odds for your product.
I don't really see why the ownership of the soup matters. If it was his soup, they'd just bring out another bowl. Most places would still comp it regardless. Or offer vouchers or dry cleaning or whatever.
I don't really see why the ownership of the soup matters. If it was his soup, they'd just bring out another bowl. Most places would still comp it regardless. Or offer vouchers or dry cleaning or whatever.
teruterubozu
Member
You could always write them a letter on behalf of the OP. That would be supportive.
Dash_Riprock
Member
And round the world goes.
Some people here said they should've refunded you the soup.They aren't going to pay for your soup when it's not your soup. It is a relevant detail.
I'm pretty confident that management knew. The place was small, a lot of employees were around, and she didn't quietly apologize. She was pretty loud about it and was quickly racing back and forth around the restaurant to try and clean it up.
I ordered a different meal. That is the meal I am talking about. Other people are talking about a soup I never ordered or said I ordered.
Well, if you ran a restaurant where you were spilling hot soup on customers and thought an apology was sufficient and even added a tip onto the bill I don't see you staying in business too long with that kind of shitty customer service. Its been proven people are generally more apt to talk about or give their opinions on bad customer service experiences to others than good ones. In a service industry you try your hardest to make sure your customer happy and if you fucked up you bend over backwards for them to correct the mistake. Spilling hot soup on a customer? That would be a mortifying situation for a manager. That is also why i'm thinking the waitress never told the manager and tried to keep this quiet to avoid getting reprimanded.
That would be a pretty shitty ass manager then, though its certainly not unheard of in the industry.
Serial soup-spillers.
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