Everyone,

I usually lurk here, but since I just posted, I figured I'd start a
thread. This is mostly for those of you who own a restaurant or work
in food service.

A couple of weekends ago, I was meeting friends for dinner and then a
night at the local symphony. I was told we had reservations at 6:00
about half a block down from the theater, and the symphony started at
7:30. The time would be tight, but it would work.

We meet at the restaurant, one of the best in the area, were seated
fairly promptly, and ordered at about 6:15. I had never eaten there
before, but my friends were all regulars and on a first name basis with
the staff. The waitress kept coming by and apologizing that the
kitchen was backed-up, and they'd get our food soon. (I later learned
that the waitress owned the restaurant with her husband, the chef.)
After quite a while, I told my friends we should leave and get a quick
snack somewhere close and get to the symphony because they're not going
to seat us until the intermission. My friends told me not to worry
because it's just a local symphony, no ushers, no doors to lock. We
can seat ourselves any time. The staff was very aware we were headed
to the symphony and we needed to go. One of my friends even got up,
got the check before the food was served, and we paid in advance so we
could leave right after our meal.

The food finally arrived at 7:20, over an hour after we ordered.
Needless to say, I didn't enjoy a fairly pricey dinner which I had to
wolf down in ten minutes. We were charged full price, but the
waitress/owner was very apologetic, as were my friends to me, and said
we should come back after the symphony and dessert was on the house.

We came back and had dessert. This time, we had a waiter and he told
us how nice and understanding we were, and of course dessert is comped.
And then he put down the holder for the bill. I thought this a bit
odd since it was comped. I saw paper sticking out and thought maybe
there was a thank you note or something inside. So I look inside and
there's a bill for $4.40.

The desserts were comped, but not the two coffees. I couldn't believe
it.

My friends insisted on paying full price for the desserts since they're
regulars and have had great service many times. They just wrote it
off. It was my first time there, and let's just say I'm not rushing
back any time soon.

I just thought some of you in the food service business might want a
reason to shake your heads in amazement. Comped deserts, but not the
coffee. That's a good one.

Ken