July 28, 2006
Inside the House: To Comp Or Not To Comp?
Inside the House is a DCist feature offering an insider's view of fine dining issues by the hostess at a D.C. restaurant.
It is an inevitable fact of the restaurant business that, even at the best-run establishments, things can and will go wrong. Orders will be lost. Wine will be corked. Guests will get displeased. What do restaurants do to set things right?
It’s called a "comp," a four-letter word meaning the provision of something complementary that’s well-known to every restaurant pro. It's a frequent cry, and a most popular Band-Aid freebie for the wounds of afflicted customers. Things can go wrong in any number of ways, but the solution is nearly always the same -- a comp.
The toughest thing about the comping is that there are few hard and fast rules. It always depends on the discretion of the management, the severity of the miss, and the willingness of the customer to speak out. The growing trend of giving out gift certificates by the fistful as a knee-jerk response to any complaints exacerbates the challenges of applying good judgment to the problem on the side of the restaurant, and forming reasonable expectations on the side of the customer. With that in mind, what is fair?
An off dish comes off the bill. If your steak isn't cooked right, if the fish is rancid, if the wine is undrinkable or the soup tastes clearly off, send it back or order something else -- the sooner the better. Timing is important because the wrong taste should be obvious at the first bite, and complaints about a bad-tasting dish that’s nearly finished don't pass the giggle test. No restaurant should make you pay for the dish it messed up if you speak up early.
The admittedly gray area occurs when you try a new dish that’s cooked as it should be, just not to your taste. Should a restaurant comp a plate of rare tuna that was too raw for your liking, even though the menu unequivocably describes it as “rare?" Most restaurants, particularly outposts of big corporate chains, will readily swallow that cost. But in reality, it’s an imposition on the bottom line and a waste of an often high-cost food item.
A returned dress goes back on the rack. A returned bottle of wine can at least be sold by the glass, assuming the wine is not corked, just not up your alley. But a returned dish lands in the trash can. A restaurant needs to sell three new plates of the same dish to break even on one wasted one, so keep that in mind, and understand that eating new things involves a risk.
Have a cake on your birthday -- and expect to pay for it. Expecting the restaurant to send free desserts just because it’s your birthday is a moan-inducing practice for many pros. It’s still a food cost, and it doesn’t go away on your special day. So enjoy your free candle, but don’t forget to pay for the cake it’s in.
Regulars should get rewarded. Anyone who clocks regular hours at the same bar or dining room will enjoy an occasional freebie. If your regular bar or restaurant doesn’t indulge you from time to time, then your loyalty may be better spent on a more deserving outlet.
Photo by flickr user nailbender and used under a Creative Commons license.
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Wow, these get more tiresome each time they show up. It's a restaurant, not brain surgery.... not that hard, nor that interesting.
It'd be nice if melodramatic assertions like "a restaurant needs to sell three new plates of the same dish to break even on one wasted one" were backed up with some evidence. Even assuming a certain class of dining, it certainly isn't obvious that this is an appropriate rule of thumb.
I don't necessarily disagree with the points the author of these things is trying to make, but it is drab stuff to put on DCist.
Pizza: What do you want? The balance sheets from 30 area restaurants averaged together to determine the exact number of plates needed to recoup a lost one? The only change I suggest would be adding something like "In general".
Seriously, this isn't a Ph.D. thesis.
Whatever, why should the customer care if they have to sell three dishes. That's just the cost of doing business. I hate this feature. It's so highbrow, and appears as if she is talking down to people. My GOD, what about the customer?
Too much comping going on in this town, but I guess that's a function of too many priveleged jerks with more money than dignity. I've seen people eat 3/4 of a meal, whine about some slight, and expect to be comped. And of course any lame excuse to leave a lousy tip: not enough water, grubby fork, my cellphone has lousy reception. Any wonder why you have some restaurants with wait staff hovering like flies over a turd?
Politburo:
All I need is some context that makes it believable and give the claim some currency -- otherwise, as Rick has pointed out, who cares? Why should I, as a customer care how well-tuned the business model is?
But the reason I sort of care is that I suspect that if you DID give me balance sheets from 30 restaurants that wouldn't be the rule of thumb. I'm sure there are plenty more mitigating factors as to how much it costs to toss a served dish that wasn't paid for, and I bet it varies depending on a lot things.
And whatever that number is -- the impact of that number varies based on a lot of things.
It was my way of saying, not only was it melodramatic, it in no way reinforced the points being made.
It doesn't have to be a friggen thesis. It should be credible and sensical, even if it's going to be boring trite stuff many people don't identify with.
Is this seriously being debated? Is there nothing better we can post on this website?
I would agree with some of the criticism here. I can see how this would be an Ok article on DCist - everyone not interested could skip it - but this (and this isn't the only example) could use some editing.
A lot of the opinion pieces, and other entries that advocate or tell and inside-story, have pretty weak form.
So Rick, a plate should be comped if you decide that you don't like it after eating 1/2 or 3/4 of it? Seems to me that many customers don't think one bit about their actions when they are in restaurants.
From what I've seen, I think the customer could use a lesson in humility--few people seem to understand how hard it is to turn a decent profit in the restaurant business, or how physically exhausting the work can be.
I like these columns because they encourage the customer to learn proper etiquette, which shouldn't be a burden, but something that can make dining out more enjoyable for everyone. Also, as for the criticism that the articles are too snobby or authoritarian, read the sub-head, which specifies a fine-dining perspective. Four-star restaurants require, and deserve, beter etiquette; the insider's view here helps one understand the rationale behind it.
Ignoring all the whining ninnies, I found this writeup to be pretty on-the-mark. As someone who's worked in food service and restaurant management in DC, I can tell you that the boo-hoo-hooing about "what about the customer?" is exactly how the most inconsiderate, self-important, pain in the ass customers always sound when you try to explain to them that you can't accomodate their fifth asinine demand of the meal.
Here's another tip from the inside: if you're a nice, polite customer and something's screwed up, I'll give you a comp and bring you a little something extra on the house to ensure that you come back and give the restaurant more business despite our error.
If you're a douchebag, though, I'll treat you like one, try to talk you into keeping whatever you sent off, ask questions like "I'm sorry sir, didn't you notice that ingredient when you read the menu?" and "sir, you are familiar with [exotic item ordered], aren't you?"
Plenty of people will tell you the same thing: sometimes it's worthwhile to lose a tip in order to make an obnoxious customer suffer. And if the demanding asshole vows to never come back, the restaurant saves the money and extra man-hours necessary to accomodate somebody who is unreasonably demanding.
Bloody hell, the people who comment on Nadya's article are approximately the most distasteful people I regularly come across on the Internet. And I read FARK threads. With customers like you, you wonder why articles like these are nessesary.
Please, please, PLEASE stay in Adams Morgan for pitchers of Miller Lite and ten cent wing Thursdays, and leave actual restaurants for people with some thought and sensitivity.
Pizza: I think it makes sense on its face. The profit margin for a dish isn't 100%, therefore it's going to take more than one sale to make up for a thrown out dish. Yes there are many factors at play.. so a better phrasing may have been "It takes several sales to make up for a dish that must be thrown away." Remember, this is being written by someone who works at these establishments. Therefore, imo, we shouldn't be to harsh about demanding proof. That doesn't mean that everything written is gospel, of course.
As for why you should care.. From my pov, if I like a restaurant, I want them to stick around. So I would try to avoid having them throw away money because of some frivilous item that I wasn't satisfied with. I'm also not a big fan of waste in general. Had a meal last night where the steak was not cooked as ordered, but I didn't have any compelling reason to have them toss it out and cook a new one.
Yeah, not the most provocotive of entries. However, as a long time restaurant worker, I can say that the practice of demanding free stuff for every little mishap has gotten WAY out of hand. Granted, I strongly believe that customer satisfaction should be paramount in this industry, but too many people see an opportunity to take advantage of an establishment's hospitality and leverage it for a free entree every time they go in.
I was once out for lunch with co-workers (something I'm LOATHE to do for many reasons) and my meal arrived quite a bit later than those of the rest of my party. The manager apologized and offered compensation. I thanked him and declined. It wasn't that big of a deal. Shit happens. One of my co-workers pulled the manager over and demanded that EVERYONE in the party be given a gift certificate because they were "inconvenienced" by having to wait until I got my food before they could eat.
I never went to lunch with them again.
Thanks for covering this topic. I think DCist is a perfect place for this discussion. (Everyone who reads Tom Sietsema's regular chats on the W Post Web site knows that this is a huge issue here in DC.)
People think they are due free stuff every time a restaurant makes a teeny tiny mistake. But why? Should the Gap give you free clothes if they bring you the wrong jeans size? If we have to wait more than ten minutes for a Metro, should we all get free rides? Puh-leeze.
I think the article makes obvious points that don't need to be made. And I do agree that it has a kind of attitude that seems ego-inflated.
I'm sorry to see so folks have gotten caught up in it... but since I am here now... well, shit, I'm caught up in it. Every one of us posting something could be considered suffering a bloated ego. Now that I am in the shit, I'll wade deeper:
I think the appreciation of the article expressed here is entirely to optimistic. It probably hasn't reached, and if it has, made an impression upon, the worst offenders.
I think it would be a mistake to classify all those who have had pedantic problems with the piece as also being the worst kinds of customers a restaurant employee might encounter. They're just cynical and punching holes in something already like swiss cheese.
I'd be loath to disagree with Nadya's assertion as to how may dishes it takes to make up the one thrown out, after all , she's the pro. Besides, what does it matter if it is 3 or 4 or 2 and a half?
What I do find irritating are customers (and I'm a customer, not a restaurant worker) who insist on getting something free. If my steak is overcooked, I can tell at the first bite or two, and if I send it back then, so much the better, but if I eat it, I should pay for it. I never send back a wine because it wasn't to my liking as long as it isn't corked or cooked, unless the sommelier has lied to me, and that has only happened once and he was not what I would call a good example of the profession. I will complain if something is way out of whack, but small things happen and I'm not perfect either. If it is a special occasion, I let the restaurant know, but I don't expect anything free. If they do provide a free drink, or a dessert, I thank them and accept it, but I'd be very embarrased to demand something. I think there are just to many folks out there who think that the world owes them something.
Keep on writing these things Nadya, I like reading them, as well as reading your stuff on other fora, and those of you who have to make a snide comment, bug off.
"People think they are due free stuff every time a restaurant makes a teeny tiny mistake. But why? Should the Gap give you free clothes if they bring you the wrong jeans size? If we have to wait more than ten minutes for a Metro, should we all get free rides? Puh-leeze."
I think it depends on where you're eating. If you're at Ben's Chili Bowl, not so much. If Galileo--where "service" is a fundamental part of package--then maybe yes.
Look at it this way: if you hire a limousine to take you to your wedding, and they show up an hour late, should they offer you a discounted rate? A gift certificate? An offhand "sorry" and a shrug?
ibc: Why use an analogy? An analogy should be used where the audience may not understand the situation. However, we all understand restaurant screwups, I hope.
Not only that, the analogy doesn't fit. You even threw in the 'wedding' to make the situation even more outrageous. We're talking about everyday meals here. No analogies needed, thanks.
I tend to think that the comment threads on these "Inside the House" posts are a function of too many priveleged jerks who feel that free online community "blogs" owe them something.
If you don't like the Inside the House posts - that is, if you "hate this feature," or you find that "these get more tiresome each time they show up" don't read future posts with the same title. I enjoy them and don't feel like being insulted for it, and obviously there's an audience for "Inside the House" on DCist. Vote with your feet.
If you go to wal mart, have a long wait in line, get annoyed by others in line, not get a smile when you reach the register, drink a half a can of coke that you bought and decide you didn't like it, you get nothing for free.
Comps should be rare, people are expecting the world for free while dining.
I love being lectured to by a hostess at a restaurant. I wonder what time each night she regrets that decision to get a studio art degree while in college. Guess what babe, I have a real job, I can afford to eat at your restaurant, hence, you work for me...so shut up.
Can we maintain some civility here?
Many people actually choose to work in restaurants, even the lovely, charismatic, multilingual, Nadya who is writing articles more provocative and interesting than those in the Washington Post Food section, which has been limping along on a skeleton staff.
For god's sake, tvg, with comments like that, Nadya might just comp you some hemlock tea to go with your dessert. Please be kind or at the very least, have the guts to write your real name.
From my past days as a food and beverage manager and my current life writing about hospitality, my feeling is the same -- people go out expecting to pay for their food. Complimentary food (with a i not an e) does not need a policy or a rulebook, nor does it solve a problem. What is needed is an obsession with perfection and a drive to get it right the first time. Then, when you make a mistake (and we do), you take care of it immediately, with humility and sincerity -- you want that person to believe that they can come back and you have learned from the experience. It should be the owner, chef or manager on duty accepting repsonsibility ... no excuses. That's more important than comps.