What is fair compensation for waitress drink spill?

[shenaniganzz]

Speaking as a former waitress, I would totally expect to comp the bill of any person that I spilled drinks on. In fact, I once worked at a Mexican restaurant and dumped a strawberry marg on a woman in a cream coloured business suit. She was totally peeved and why shouldn't she be?

As for the sweatshirts, I totally think it was reasonable to ensure she didn't have to return to the hotel to change, etc.

Who cares why the bill was $500? Totally off topic and irrelevant!

Of course it was an accident and the OP wasn't calling for the girl to be fired, but the customers were inconvenienced and I don't think it would be unreasonable to comp the meal for two people as a good faith gesture.

 

[kirstenb1]

I think the sweatshirts was a minimum attempt to set things right. I mean, they walked into the restaurant with dry clothes, and apparently had to leave with a voucher, in search of a dry sweatshirt. I can't imagine walking around WDW with my hair and face covered in a wet sugary mess. Unless the friend was staying at a resort like DVC with in-room washer and dryer, now she gets to wait while her clothes are at the resort's laundry room, taking more time from her vacation.

It's not a fair comparison to describe what happened at a restaurant back home. Presumably, back home, you just drive to your house and throw the sticky discolored clothes in your own washer/dryer.

She was at the Candlenight processional, so out for a special evening. I honestly don't know what fair compensation would be, but at least the meal for she and her daughter, and the sweatshirts would be a start. I think a followup call the next day by the manager would be nice.

 

[Allison]

I think the sweatshirts were adequate.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Unbelievable! I can't believe that the manager had to be sought out

bare minimum, comped meal (IMHO) While a dry shirt is nice, she has a huge mess to deal with later. She may also have a ruined bad (I know mine would not survive and ever be the smae) not to mention tkaing every blessed thing out of it and having to clean it later that night, when the sticky was really sticked

So disappointed in Disney over this one

OP, please tell your friend I hope the rest of her trip is more magical!

 

[undertheradar]

Say another patron's child was wandering around and spilled something on you, what would you expect? The sweatshirts are more than enough. Accidents happen and they should not be the entitlement opportunity that so many people view them as.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Hopefully a child will not be carrying an entire tray of drinks that would land on someone's head

 

[undertheradar]

Hopefully a child will not be carrying an entire tray of drinks that would land on someone's head

I don't recall those details in my scenario.

 

[carrie1626]

I think the compensation they received was fair.
The fact that they had to seek it out was not. The server should have told them she would get a manager over to speak with them immediately.

It may just be there is not a standard way of handling this type of situation..... I can only imagine how my father would act....and I would be motified. Me, more likely to roll with it and take the sweatshirt graciously!

 

[carrie1626]

Speaking as a former waitress, I would totally expect to comp the bill of any person that I spilled drinks on. In fact, I once worked at a Mexican restaurant and dumped a strawberry marg on a woman in a cream coloured business suit. She was totally peeved and why shouldn't she be?

As for the sweatshirts, I totally think it was reasonable to ensure she didn't have to return to the hotel to change, etc.

Who cares why the bill was $500? Totally off topic and irrelevant!

Of course it was an accident and the OP wasn't calling for the girl to be fired, but the customers were inconvenienced and I don't think it would be unreasonable to comp the meal for two people as a good faith gesture.

what if the cost had to be paid by the server? for an accident? good servers would be next to impossible to hire.

 

[shenaniganzz]

[/B]

what if the cost had to be paid by the server? for an accident? good servers would be next to impossible to hire.

Never, ever (in 10 years) did I work in a place that required servers to pay OOP for accidents... probably for the reason you stated.

 

[K&D'smom]

Speaking as a former waitress, I would totally expect to comp the bill of any person that I spilled drinks on. In fact, I once worked at a Mexican restaurant and dumped a strawberry marg on a woman in a cream coloured business suit. She was totally peeved and why shouldn't she be?

As for the sweatshirts, I totally think it was reasonable to ensure she didn't have to return to the hotel to change, etc.

Who cares why the bill was $500? Totally off topic and irrelevant!

Of course it was an accident and the OP wasn't calling for the girl to be fired, but the customers were inconvenienced and I don't think it would be unreasonable to comp the meal for two people as a good faith gesture.

I totally agree. Yes, it is not a requirement for Disney to do the right thing in these cases but considering what I (and others) happily pay to Disney for products/food that cost far less elsewhere....I do expect their service recovery to be at a higher standard and it usually is. However, they certainly fell short this time IMO

 

[rentayenta]

Comped meals and a dry shirt. Accidents happen. Servers are human. Been on both ends of this situation just not at WDW.

 

[Micca]

For me, it's not so much a matter of what they should have don, but what they could have done. An apology and the sweatshirts are adequate. But this is Disney World, where adequate is not the rule. Sweatshirts, a comped meal for the poor person drenched in drinks, and perhaps a pass of some sort to attend a different performance of the CP(giving the person an opportunity to skip the schedule performance in favor of getting cleaned up at their resort).

This was an opportunity for Disney to take an unpleasant situation and make it into something positive. They could have had 5 people from that party telling their friends and family how awesome Disney was when the drinks got dumped. Instead, they have a story about how the server spilled the drinks and all they got were a couple of sweatshirts.

There was a time when guest recovery was a specialty of WDW. Maybe it still is, but they fell short on this particular occasion.

 

[Spacepest]

I have a friend who is a restaurant owner, and this is what she would do:

1. Apologize profusely
2. Not expect the server to be tipped
3. Offer to pay the customer's dry cleaning bill (customers can and will take you to court over this, its happened)
4. Give clean tshirts if they were available

Depending on the situation, she might comp the whole bill.

Considering its Disney, for onsite visitors I'd be shocked they didn't dry clean the customer's clothes and then send them back to their room free of charge.

 

[fairestoneofall]

I had this happen to me once (not at WDW). All I got was a free dessert, which was perfectly acceptable to me.

I think the sweatshirts were a nice apology.

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

Stuff happens. For wet clothing I'd expect nothing more than dry clothing (the sweatshirt) and an offer to clean my wet clothing.

 

[candielips]

Say another patron's child was wandering around and spilled something on you, what would you expect? The sweatshirts are more than enough. Accidents happen and they should not be the entitlement opportunity that so many people view them as.

But the restaurant didn't hire the patron, the restaurant hired the server and is responsible for any and all accidents caused by all employees. Except in extreme circumstances.

 

[canopynut66]

One of my good friends is at Disney right now with her DH and 4 teenagers. I planned their trip for them. They were at Coral Reef last evening on the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package. The bill was about $500. The waitress spilled an entire tray full of drinks down over my friend's head, back and into her bag, soaking her. Only after seeking out the manager, did my friend's DH get them 2 vouchers for sweatshirts (hers and her daughter's were soaked). That's it. Don't you think at least her dinner should have been taken off the bill? Her hair and parts of her body were wet and sticky when they went to see the Candlelight Processional. I don't think 2 sweatshirts was enough, considering how it made her evening less than pleasant.

This needs to be addressed in written form to guest relations. two sweatshirts would not cut it for me. To then pay the bill was really bad for Disney manager on duty there to even take and clothes that got wet should have been cleaned for them as well...Have only had to contact guest relations once and heard back from them in short time and they took care of the problem 100%...

 

[3floridarays]

Did the sweatshirts say this?

I got dumped on at Disney World and all I got was this lousy sweatshirt!

Might as well have, because that's the story that everyone is going to hear from this family. If it happed to me at a local restaurant, I would expect a comped bill and dry-cleaning paid. The manager should have comped the bill and arranged for CP tickets on an alternate night, since this lady should not have had to spend the rest of the night with sticky hair - yuck.

The manager dropped the ball on this one.

 

[BriarRosie]

I totally agree. Yes, it is not a requirement for Disney to do the right thing in these cases but considering what I (and others) happily pay to Disney for products/food that cost far less elsewhere....I do expect their service recovery to be at a higher standard and it usually is. However, they certainly fell short this time IMO

Finally, someone mentioned that we should hold Disney's guest recovery at a higher standard than your local restaurant.

And I do have a story to share, something that happened on December 8th, the day I arrived on my most recent vacation. This happened to my friend at Teppan Edo. I had dinner with him and his wife, and poor Jeff had sticky dressing or dipping sauce (couldn't tell which) spilled on him and a woman from another party seated next to him.

Teppan Edo staff couldn't have been nicer or more apologetic. Not just the server who spilled, but management, too. What did they do for the two people (different parties) that had been spilled upon? Their entrees were comped. The rest of us were charged, which was fair. Comp the meals of the people who have been inconvenienced.

That is exactly what I'd have expected from Disney. And the best part is, Teppan Edo is a third-party participant, not owned by Disney. But they handled guest recovery like pros.