Chipped glass in Toronto restaurant

[Bissel Sedrate]

Just finished a disappointing dinner in a highly rated Toronto restaurant that shall remain nameless however it's south of King and west of Bathurst.
I don't want to get into all of the details but my main beef, aside from the food being cold, was that when one of my dining companions complained to our server that his beer glass was chipped and he was worried there might be glass in his drink she proceeded to pour what was left of his beer into another glass and said 'I can guarantee there's no broken glass in it".
We were shocked that she didn't offer him a fresh drink. Were we wrong to assume that would be in order?

[Bissel Sedrate]

Thanks for all the input..and yes the remaining beer was not touched! I feel vindicated as I thought perhaps I was just being too persnickety. I won't bother complaining further as it was just a tiny chip that had it actually been in the beer wouldn't have caused any esophageal damage. However, I will speak to the owner of the restaurant when I see him at an upcoming food symposium. I feel that had he known what the server was up to he would've intervened and comped a fresh drink .
BTW, we joked that the only way the server could have guaranteed that there was no broken glass in it is if she had knowingly poured the beer into a glass she knew was already chipped!

[ipsedixit]

Just to freak out the restaurant, call the management and tell them that your friend spent the night in the ER because of a severe impingement in his esophagus from ... a shard of glass!

[jfood]

you should consider calling and asking to speak with the manager or owner. this behavior has their liability on the line, not the server's. it would be interesting to hear their take on the rogue server's actions.

[Googs]

Workplace liability in Ontario is joint and several. The server would be in for a mighty big surprise if you did take action.

[jfood]

joint and several, wow?

[ipsedixit]

Makes little difference if it is joint and several b/c in most (all?) situations the restaurant owner will be in a far better position to satisfy any money judgment than the server.

[jfood]

one would hope that if the server knows their finances are on the line as well, they may hove a little more caring.

[ipsedixit]

Even without joint and several liability, a plaintiff could still just sue the server separately -- i.e. for assault and battery, or intentional infliction of emotional distress.

So even without joint and several liability, some enterprising plaintiff's lawyer out there could still make a buck out of the server if there was money to be had under that option.

[wontonfm]

WOW. I think a new beer was in order. What if there was glass in the beer? The lawsuit would have been a lot more expensive than the $10 replacement beer.

WON
http://whatsonmyplate.net

[Atahualpa]

The one and only time I've walked out without paying is when a friend was served beer in a chipped glass (and the wrong type of beer too). The waitress argued that it was the beer he'd ordered even though all four of us confirmed that he had, in fact, ordered something else. Then, my friend said it didn't matter since they'd have to get him a new beer anyways because the glass had a huge chip in it that looked very fresh. The waitress flat out refused to get a new one on the house and my friend sent it back anyways.

We actually tried to flag someone else down and pay for what we'd had for over ten minutes. No one would acknowledge us and the waitress never returned, so we walked out.

The place has since gone under, re-opened and the new owners and service staff are very nice. We're already on very friendly terms with them and have been by several times.

[smartie]

great name by the way OP!

I really dislike chipped glasses, cups and plates in restaurants and they should never be served to a customer.
The server should have brought a fresh beer and fresh glass immediately. She cannot 'guarantee' anything.

[givemecarbs]

Heck no. That is ridiculous. Nobody drank that beer right?