This weekend, my wife and I visited one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants for one its always excellent breakfasts. Though some have complained about this establishment's level of service, we've never had a problem, and in fact, I'm not sure Saturday was a problem, either.
Actually, the waiter was conversational, attentive and even brought crayons for our daughter to play with. I won't mention where I went, because my goal isn't inflict any wrath upon this restaurant. Instead, my reason for blogging this topic is to see if you readers agree that we had the right to be slightly perturbed.
A few minutes after I placed my order, our waiter returned to apologetically tell me that the bakery hadn't delivered the ingredients necessary to complete the dish. That's OK, I told him, and ordered another breakfast.
Our food arrived promptly, though the waiter delivered me the wrong meal. I told him that I ordered something else, and he politely offered to take it away and bring me the correct dish. Again, I told him that it was OK; I didn't want to waste the food. I'd had this dish before, and even though it wasn't my first or second choice, it would be fine.
After the meal, the waiter brought us the bill. Not only did he not take anything off for bringing the wrong food or for not having my original order in stock, the third dish was actually more expensive than my first or second choice. The waiter didn't apologize for the mistake, either, though he was just as nice at the end of the meal as he was throughout the process.
I'm wondering if I should've expected a little something for this lapse. Maybe a free coffee or a dessert. Or my dish for free, or at least at the price of either my first or second choice breakfasts. It's not a huge deal, but I think if the situation was reversed, I might do it a little differently.
Still, I plan on coming back to this restaurant many more times, and mistakes certainly do happen. But am I wrong to be just a tiny bit miffed? I'd love to hear what you think in the Talkbacks below.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
