ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - September 8, 2000

WHAT THEY SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
The scene: I am having dinner in a chain restaurant (with one of the chain execs, yet)
Situation: My medium rare steak is closer to medium well.

Waiter (dully): "How's everything?"
Me: "The steak certainly is on the far side of medium rare."
Waiter (dully): "Oh" and walks away.

Cut to the table about five minutes later.

GM: "I understand your steak was overcooked."
Me: "Well, the steak is tasty but we didn't even come close to medium rare."
GM: "I'll take it off the check."

What's wrong with this picture?
As one of you so aptly pointed out awhile ago, people do not want bad food for free! What ever happened to plain old personal concern about a breakdown in hospitality to a guest in our house? In this case, all it would have taken to bring this around was some expression of personal concern"I'm sorry that the steak wasn't the way you like it" followed by a generous offer to make it right. I wasn't really upset that the steak was overcooked -- it happens -- but I was stunned at the apparent lack of concern on the part of management who clearly should have known better. The server also mis-handled the situation . . . but who is his role model?

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES
In case you have been on another planet, we are in the middle of the election season in this country. All those candidates need a place to hold their $500-a-plate dinners and their fund-raising receptions. Have you contacted their campaign managers and offered your restaurant as a site?

DOING RIGHT BY THE DISABLED
Finally, my colleague Richard Schenkar recently told me about a really helpful Disability Etiquette Handbook that answers questions that people seldom ask or deal with when handling these issues. Check it out at http://www.ci.sat.tx.us/planning/handbook.

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