Last Friday evening, wife Peggy and I went to a restaurant for dinner. It was Friday night, in Carson City, at dinnertime, so we expected a bit of a wait, but that was OK because it had been a busy week and we were looking forward to some time to “conversate.”
We were a bit surprised to get right in and get seated at a comfortable booth. We settled in, ordered our meals and began to relax and enjoy. The salads were good, as usual. We enjoyed talking and watching the restaurant fill up with couples and families out for a good dinner.
We didn’t think much about the time, but the waitress came by our table and apologized about the delay for our main course … no problem, it was Friday night, they were busy, we were enjoying each others company. Time passed, she came by again and said it would be just four more minutes … about 10 minutes passed. No problem. Yes, it was Friday night, they were busy, we were enjoying each others company.
Then something totally unexpected happened. The manager of the restaurant came up to our table, along with the waitress, and apologized for the long wait, said that it was “totally unacceptable” and that she was going to pay for our dinner. Again we said it was not a problem, but she insisted. We thanked her, enjoyed our dinner, and left a larger than usual tip.
Slow service at Olive Garden resulted in a comped dinner, not because we complained, but because we didn’t ... hmmm.
Louie J. Locke is pastor at Fountainhead Foursquare Church.