The shift from comping meals to sticking to the policy has gotten weird at my diner

I started waiting tables back in 2014 at a local spot in Cleveland, and back then if a customer complained about anything, my manager would just tell me to comp their meal or dessert to keep them happy. No questions asked, no limits. Fast forward to last Tuesday at the same place, new ownership came in six months ago, and now I have to call a manager over for even a $3 coffee refund. A guy burned his mouth on soup that was clearly too hot, and I couldnt just take it off his bill without a whole process. Now I am stuck wondering if the old way was too loose or if the new way just makes customers angrier at me personally. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden policy flip like this at their job, and which side do you lean on?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas2756d ago

My buddy works at a car dealership and they did the same thing. Used to be if a customer complained about their oil change they'd throw in a free wash and a coffee mug. Now they need three signatures just to refund a lousy tire pressure check. I get that the old way let people take advantage, but the new way makes employees look like the bad guys for something we didn't decide. Your soup burn story reminds me of when a lady at the dealership got hot coffee spilled on her and they made my pal fill out a whole incident report form while she just stood there soaking wet.

hugo_bennett6d ago

Man that's brutal. I feel for your buddy having to jump through all those hoops while the lady's just standing there dripping coffee. It's like companies tie your hands so tight that doing the right thing takes forever.