This past week we went to Swiss Chalet - our usual one at 267 Weber N Waterloo - since it was about 10 jillion degrees out (Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin, take your pick) and nobody felt like doing anything in the kitchen. My wife got a glass of water and a coffee. She was slurping away on her water, then all of a sudden stopped, spat something out into her hand, and showed it to me. A little tiny dull piece of glass.
We didn't fuss, but the next time our waitress (Lina) came by, my wife showed the glass to her. She looked concerned, apologized, and took it and my wife's drinks away, returning a minute later with fresh drinks and another apology. We resumed eating, but about 5 minutes later Lina returned with some plantation sugar in her hand, saying maybe that's what my wife had found. My wife was quite clear: no, it was definitely glass. Lina looked disappointed, but left.
Once we'd finished, Lina asked if we wanted free dessert: no thanks, we're full. She left, returned with our bill - 20% off, which came to about \$7.
Not a lot, but enough - we'll return. Swiss Chalet is one of my favourite restaurants (white chicken on a kaiser and a monkey milkshake for me, I don't need a menu thanks), and we've usually had great service there. I left a larger-than-usual tip.
Maybe we should have made a scene, held out for more, sworn to never return, but to hell with that. Stuff happens, and no harm, no foul - my wife is perfectly fine. I prefer quietly acceptable to good customer service over browbeating waiters and waitresses into giving better service (at the cost of probably worse next time). Contrast to the one time we went to a different SC (525 Highland West, Kitchener), I ordered my usual, and got a pina colada shake instead of my monkey milkshake. I hate pina colada. I told the waitress, and she assured me no, that's not pina colada, that's banana, she made it herself. No, I said, that's definitely pina colada. She actually turned her back and left. I barely touched my drink, which she noticed but didn't comment on when the bill arrived, so she got no tip, and we'll never ever return to that restaurant. Again, I could have made a scene, but why? My blood pressure's quite high enough as it is, thanks.
Next Life post, an example of some of the worst customer service I've ever personally witnessed, never mind gone through.