WWYD if a waiter at a high end restaurant spilled drinks on you?

[Big Cuddly Bear]

My wife was out today for her yearly holiday brunch with her friends. The waiter spilled 2 drinks on her not long after she sat down.

My wife is VERY non confrontational in public. Anyway, she needs to send one item to the cleaners to get a small stain out. She didn't even see the stain until she got home.

So, because she is non confrontational, I guess, the only thing the waiter did was apologize. No offers to pay for any cleaning bills, and no offers to deduct anything off the bill.

She just got home 6 hours after it happened, and she still smells like alcohol.

So, she is going to write a letter to the restaurant, at least asking for her cleaning expenses.

If it happened to you, what would you do, or what would you have expected the restaurant to do?

This is the kind of place where lunch is priced fixed at $45, plus whatever you order for drinks.

 

[NMAmy]

I'd call the restaurant this evening, ask to speak with a manager, and explain the situation and ask to be reimbursed for the cleaning fees. It was an accident so I wouldn't fuss.

I've had a glass of water spilled on me at a restaurant before. The server was mortified but I knew it was an accident and, luckily, it was just water so no big deal.

 

[Grand Duke]

i'd rearrange his face

lol

jk

 

[metalis4ever]

If it was a pure accident and that is the only thing the waiter/waitress did wrong and genuinely apologized I wouldn't do anything whether it was a local diner or a 5 star resturaunt. By nature I am a VERY confrontational person when wronged and will not hesitate to say speak my mind but an accident is an accident, and a genuine apology would be all that I would have personally expected.

Having said that if the Waiter was otherwise rude or incompetent, I would have said something then and there and I most certainly would have done what your DW is doing and written a letter to the Manager or Owner explaining the situation.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

What would I do? I'd do nothing. Accidents happen. The guy apologized and should have offered a free dessert or something but in the end it's just a drink.

As far as the cleaning bill - don't you clean your clothing anyway?

 

[eliza61]

accidents happen. If the guy apologized, I'd call it a day.

 

[Magic Mom]

My wife was out today for her yearly holiday brunch with her friends. The waiter spilled 2 drinks on her not long after she sat down.

My wife is VERY non confrontational in public. Anyway, she needs to send one item to the cleaners to get a small stain out. She didn't even see the stain until she got home.

So, because she is non confrontational, I guess, the only thing the waiter did was apologize. No offers to pay for any cleaning bills, and no offers to deduct anything off the bill.

She just got home 6 hours after it happened, and she still smells like alcohol.
So, she is going to write a letter to the restaurant, at least asking for her cleaning expenses.

If it happened to you, what would you do, or what would you have expected the restaurant to do?

This is the kind of place where lunch is priced fixed at $45, plus whatever you order for drinks.

So ask her to take a shower.

Really all I would have expected is a simple apology and for them to pay for anything that needed to be dry cleaned. Accidents happen. Even at high end restaurants.

 

[kieras nana]

i also would expect nothing,but an apology.as others have said,accidents do happen & thats all it was,an accident!
tracy

 

[Hannathy]

accidents happen. If the guy apologized, I'd call it a day.

Agree and if they offered I would let them pay for dry cleaning if it really needed it. For a spot so small she didn't even notice it are you sure it wasn't there already?

And I would also let my wife who is an adult handle it however she feels comfortable handling it.

 

[Mermaid02]

So ask her to take a shower.

Really all I would have expected is a simple apology and for them to pay for anything that needed to be dry cleaned. Accidents happen. Even at high end restaurants.

Or offer her a tic-tac.

 

[java]

Call and speak to the manager tonite. Tell them what happened and ask if they are willing to cover the dry cleaning bill if the stain is in fact a result of the spill.

 

[disneychrista]

As far as the cleaning bill - don't you clean your clothing anyway?

 

[AKL_Megs]

You're kidding, right?

Accidents happen. It's part of life and being human. The waiter apologized. A dessert would have been nice, but like you said, your non-confrontational wife was just that and didn't make a big deal, so neither did the waiter.

Take it to Dryclean Depot, spend $1.99 and get it clean! If you must, then call the place and ask for the nominal fee back.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

What would I do? I'd do nothing. Accidents happen. The guy apologized and should have offered a free dessert or something but in the end it's just a drink.

As far as the cleaning bill - don't you clean your clothing anyway?

It is stained, with cherry juice... I doubt that is coming out in the wash, if at all.

BTW, in the interest of customer service, if I owned a restaurant, I am sure I would have comped at least 25% of the meal ( her meal ), and the customer would not have had to even ask.

 

[okeydokey]

I would have accepted the waiters apology and gone on with my life.

 

[Christine]

I had it happen to me many years ago. At a high end Thai restaurant for lunch. The waiter spilled a coke on my dress. He apologized but didn't offer anything.

I didn't do anything either. The outfit I had on was washable and cleaned up just fine. Had it been a dry clean item, I may have asked the manager on the way out for the money for cleaning. I mean, if *I* spilled a drink on someone's nice outfit, *I* would offer to pay to clean it.

But, truly, besides the discomfort, it wasn't a big deal to me.

 

[RitaE]

I'd ask for a towel.

 

[Pakey]

I think its very sad that every accident now must result in compensation.

There are so many worse things in life to deal with.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

It is stained, with cherry juice... I doubt that is coming out in the wash, if at all.

BTW, in the interest of customer service, if I owned a restaurant, I am sure I would have comped at least 25% of the meal ( her meal ), and the customer would not have had to even ask.

I've gotten worse out of my kids clothing. I agree with you on the discount, but unfortunately that did not happen.

I would imagine being a waiter/waitress is a tough job regardless of the level of restaurant you are working at and they are human they make mistakes. It's not easy for any person to apologize and try and deal with a situation that is also embarassing for them. If it were me I'd be more concerned about making the waiter feel better about the mistake and less concerned about seeking out some compensation.

 

[Magic Mom]

I'd ask for a towel.

Perfect!