One of my favorite blogs of late is WaiterRant, which goes over the life of a professional waiter/maitre’d in New York. It’s a fascinating look at life on the other side of the table, if almost always humorous, gives good advice, and is generally a fine read.
So, anyway, last night we had a very nice (and pricy) dinner. The service from the waiter was adequate — I felt neither neglected or cherished, and the food, updates, dessert list, and check came in a timely fashion. Cool by me.
I glanced at the check, and realized it was (while not cheap) oddly low. And when I looked more closely, I realized that the bottle of wine we’d ordered hadn’t been rung up.
Hmmm.
I was pretty sure we hadn’t been comped the wine (there was no reason to, and nobody had said anything), so obviously it just hadn’t been rung up. And while it wouldn’t break the bank of the restaurant, I knew that if the slip was spotted somehow, our waiter would get stuck with the cost. Now, we don’t go crazy on wine, but this was not a cheap bottle, either. It was, in fact, about as much as both of our entrees combined, and would set the waiter back at least four or five tables worth of tips if he had to pay for it.
And, as I said, the waiter was a nice enough guy. I ranked him a straight middle-of-the-road tip (a subject for another day).
So I called him over and pointed out the flub and he thanked me (sincerely if not profusely) and rang it up.
And I’m goofy enough to feel good about having done so.
Now, on the other hand, if he’d been a jerk and the service had sucked …