An uninvited dinner guest
Sabal Palmetto (credit: Wikipedia)
Well, here’s the oldest service problem in the book.
I was eating dinner recently on the patio of a restaurant when a palmetto tree — oops, I mean a palmetto bug — skittered across the table just as the server was delivering an appetizer.
There was a brief moment of stunned inaction, as we leapt back from our seats and the server called a manager over and asked how to handle the situation.
The manager was deeply apologetic, but she really didn’t do anything beyond saying, “Well, this is Atlanta in the summer. It can be so hard to keep them away.”
My friend, who had earlier said she only wanted to drink water that night, opted for a strong cocktail. And we went on to have a pretty good meal.
I think the manager should have at least offered to move us to another table, if not buy a round of drinks. But she did neither.
It can be such a difficult split-second decision on how to handle incidents like this. But when restaurants make an immediate move to rectify the situation, they tend to earn your patronage.
Waterbugs don’t totally freak me out — they are a fact of life here — but you really don’t want to see them on your dinner table. The ones who occasionally make it to my back patio at home have the good manners to stay on the floor…
accessAtlanta Partner Sites
Sections
Advertise on accessAtlanta.com »
Reach the audience you want by advertising on accessAtlanta.com
Join the Access Atlanta Network »
Advertisers and Publishers, expand your reach by joining the Access Atlanta Network.
Tell us what you think about the site
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement | About our ads
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
38 comments Add your comment
Theresa
June 11th, 2012
10:53 am
The manager showed poor judgement, but I notice you didn’t reveal the name of the restaurant. Will you go back?
Love to eat well
June 11th, 2012
11:18 am
Yes that was a bad call on the manger’s part. They should have offered something besides an excuse. There is such a lack of customer service skills nowadays.
Typical Redneck
June 11th, 2012
11:28 am
Weak, be thankful they weren’t the smaller roaches. Those are the infestation variety.
Bob from Accounttemps
June 11th, 2012
11:41 am
@Typical Redneck – correct; I learned that during my years living in So. Florida. Not sure why the server’s reaction to a palmetto bug should be any different than had you encountered a moth, mosquito, ant or other outdoor pest. If there’s vegetation around the patio, expect bugs. If you don’t want them, then eat inside. If you see them inside, then that’s a bug of a different color. Me — I’d probably have moved indoors and expected an offer from the server to do so. I lived in So. Florida, with the bugs — I didn’t say I liked it!
Judge Smails
June 11th, 2012
11:43 am
When you choose to eat your meal OUTDOORS, you will have to consider the option of sharing your mealspace with a critter or two.
Managers can (and should) be able to control pest INSIDE the restaurant. Outside, you are on your own.
Still, a free app would have been a nice touch.
SP
June 11th, 2012
11:57 am
Sorry, but I’m with the manager on this one. You should expect some “guests” if you’re going to be dining outside. They can’t control a bug crawling on your table anymore than you can. Be glad it wasn’t in your food and enjoy the story you get to tell.
Right on
June 11th, 2012
12:01 pm
Bob and Judge Smails hit this one on the head.
John-you were eating outside, which by definition, means no barriers to the elements. You DEFINITELY don’t deserve a round of drinks, but an offer to move the table inside (not to another table on the patio) would have been appropriate. You mentioned that the manager was deeply apologetic, which is probably more than enough and to which you could have been more appreciative.
Perhaps they didn’t recognize you, but it sounds like you were treated better than most so maybe they did.
Doc
June 11th, 2012
12:03 pm
It is unrealistic to expect that a restaurant can control the outside environment. You’re at the moral equivalent of a picnic. Deal.
Judge Smails
June 11th, 2012
12:03 pm
In the eighties, I worked as a server and bartender at a steakhouse concept in Dunwoody. Our lunches were packed every day. Our patio, which seated about 30 guests, was completely full when a swarm of yellow jackets attacked. It was quite the sight to see these diners fleeing (with meals in hand) to where ever they could go.
I don’t recall comping any meals that day.
Also, how about birds and their little bombs?
Barbara
June 11th, 2012
12:05 pm
I agree with several of the other posters here. If you have chosen or allowed yourself to be sat on the patio then you shouldn’t have any issue with outdoor bugs. If it wasn’t in your food then it really is beyond the restaurants control. Now, if it had run across your eating utensils, I would expect the server to replace those, or if it had jumped into your beverage … but just running across the table? That is simply something that happens outside. Especially if there are plants on the patio for “ambiance”.
1164mgc
June 11th, 2012
12:15 pm
If you concede that “bugs happen” outside, then you SHOULD concede that they will also get into your food, run across your utensils, etc. If a restaurant is going to have outdoor seating, then they should have the place bug controlled. My next door neighbor spends a fortune on pesticides for his lawn, and I get the benefit because they don’t come into mine.
The server here should have at least offered to move you inside – something he should have known even before getting the manager. And I think the manager should have comped your drinks, since it was brought to their attention.
Kar
June 11th, 2012
12:17 pm
The good thing about palmetto bugs is that they’re too big to be missed. You notice if they’re sipping at your soup, hanging out on your fork, etc. They’re also too big to slip into your ear canal.
Just saying.
Debbie
June 11th, 2012
12:20 pm
If a bird landed on your table and snatched a crum and flew away, would you have the same reaction? No. You’d think it was cute. If you choose to sit outdoors, you choose to expose yourself to the elements. The manager/restaurant owns you nothing, except the offer to move INSIDE.
Judge Smails
June 11th, 2012
12:21 pm
Yeah, the little German ones are the ones to be scared of. They are the disease carriers!
missnadine
June 11th, 2012
12:39 pm
Really John? You except to get a comped for a bug in an outdoor space? Now I’ve heard it all.
Sensationalistic
June 11th, 2012
1:11 pm
You should also get comped whenever you sit outside and the person next to you decides to light a cigarette.
You should also get comped whenever they bring out your food and the au jus is on top of the sandwich instead of in a cup.
You should also get comped when the salt on the margarita rim is table salt and not salt flakes.
How about we stop expecting that we can receive compensation for everything that doesn’t go to our wishes? This attitude breeds kids that get mad when they don’t have their own car at the age of 15.
Bob from Accounttemps
June 11th, 2012
1:27 pm
@Sensationalistic – well said. I consider cigarette smoke to be much worse than a rogue palmetto bug. But again, if I choose to eat outdoors…
JimmyZ
June 11th, 2012
1:50 pm
At the resort I go to in Mexico, there are two birds that have been there for years, hanging out at the outdoor restaurant. It’s hilarious to watch them. One will start sauntering (yes, walking) towards a table that has not been cleaned yet while the other one keeps watch. He gets to the table, hops up, and grabs the biggest piece of leftover he can carry and flies out-fast. Then they’ll swap, and the other one will eat. Goes on all day long.
You’re outside, critters are a fact of life. Best I would have expected would be an offer to move inside.
Dena
June 11th, 2012
1:51 pm
it was your decision to eat outdoors, moving to another table should have been offered, but why expect something for free? you’re outside, there are bugs out there.
John Kessler
June 11th, 2012
1:51 pm
No, of course I don’t expect to get comped, and I liked the restaurant a lot, will go back and would never mention the cockroach in a review if I choose to write one, because it wasn’t a big deal. I’m pretty sure they didn’t suspect a food writer was at the table.
But once I was in a restaurant where the people next to us got in a huge fight, and when the guy got up to leave, he broke a wine glass. The manager took care of this situation, and when it was over, he came to our table with a bottle of whiskey and some shot glasses and said, “I think we all need a shot after that.” Such a classy and unnecessary move, not their fault at all, yet it was a gesture that really earned my loyalty.
I know that every time I bring up the notion of a comped drink or dessert, it stirs up a hornet’s next here. My point is more that restaurants send out drinks and dishes all the time to industry friends and VIPs (which I refuse if they come my way, fwiw). I do think the occasional small overcompensation for an average Joe is a classy move that turns a visitor with an unfortunate experience into a regular.
Native Atlantan
June 11th, 2012
1:56 pm
Sorry John — I”m with most of the others. Sitting outside does come with risks. A table inside should have worked….
elmer
June 11th, 2012
2:12 pm
I thought John’s point a good one. The customer isn’t “owed” compensation. Instead, it’s a smart marketing move – making the customer feel special. And when businesses do that the relatively cheap investment of a drink, free desert, etc., probably pays off.
Baltisraul
June 11th, 2012
2:17 pm
Regular pest control on the outside of the resturant will solve many if not all creepy crawlie problems.
The only problem I ever had sitting outside was in Hilton Head. An employee came by with a blower to clean off the patio. He blew dirt into our breakfast. The mgr. said the patio needed to be clean for the lunch crowd. Unable to finish our meal, no comps or an offer to replace the tainted meals was offered and we checked out of the hotel and went next door. Mgr had no clue!!!!!!!!!!!!
pssully
June 11th, 2012
2:22 pm
if the manager comped a drink for every bug that was seen on an outside patio, they would run out of business!
Edward
June 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
Sitting outside on a nice patio, especially one that is surrounded by flowers and plants (with mulch!), one should expect those beasts to roam. Palmetto Bug is just a nice euphemism for American Cockroach. They like the outdoors, the flower beds, the mulch. That’s their habitat. I don’t like them, of course, and prefer they wouldn’t make themselves known at my table, but it can happen. I wouldn’t expect a comp from the restaurant for the occurrence, though. Now, if the manager did offer something, that would be nice and could definitely cement a return visit. But, I wouldn’t hold it against them for not doing so.
Kirk
June 11th, 2012
3:09 pm
Palmetto bugs can fly. You would have to spray the whole neighborhood with enough bug killer to destroy all life to “control” them. Think moths and butterflies. When all the pests are gone, we will be too!
Sorry John
June 11th, 2012
4:19 pm
I just can’t get over the fact that you felt entitled to something due to the fact that you saw an insect while dining outside.
You said that you don’t expect to be comped anything, yet you write: “I think the manager should have at least offered to move us to another table, if not buy a round of drinks. But she did neither.”
?
Normally I think your points are spot on, but I think it’s safe to say that most people disagree with you on this one. I get it that the comping topic gets people all fired up for the wrong reasons, but a bug on a patio? Come on….
th
June 11th, 2012
4:45 pm
I don’t think that a comp drink, app etc was warranted in this situation but I agree with John that sometimes a freebie thrown your way is a classy move. I had it happen last week at (shout out!!) Sage Woodfire Tavern. Our server surprised us at the end of our meal with a comped round of chocolate martini shots. It was unexpected, not at all neccessary but it definately made a great impression.
Barbara
June 11th, 2012
4:50 pm
@John. In this response you make an excellent point – and had you made it in your initial article I think that the conversation here in the comments would be completely different. Now that I go back and read with that in mind I can see where the 2nd to the last paragraph was wandering in that direction. If, instead of saying “I think the manager should have at least offered to move us to another table, if not buy a round of drinks.” you had said “I think the manager missed an excellent opportunity to turn an unfortunate incident into a loyalty winning opportunity.” then you would not have come across as a gimmie, gimmie.
well said
June 11th, 2012
5:05 pm
Barbara….
and we still love you John, by the way
JOM
June 12th, 2012
9:47 am
I agree about restaurants earning your loyalty when situations are handled gracefully. We were just finishing a so-so meal at Iberian Pig in Decatur when a roach crawled up the wall next to our table. The manager apologized profusely and comped a round of desserts for our large party. That act, more than the meal itself really, earned our repeat business.
Chris
June 12th, 2012
10:10 am
JOM,
Good for Iberian Pig. I was in a Decatur noodle restaurant years ago and the same thing happened–a roach crawled up the wall next to our table. Our waitress took off her sandal and obliterated the bug, leaving a nice schmear as a reminder on the wall. We weren’t offered a different table or any comped drinks, which we could have used. As you might guess, we’ve never been back. I’m with John on this one, it’s better to err on the generous side than risk losing a customer for life or ruining your restaurant’s reputation.
Edward
June 12th, 2012
11:21 am
How about the waitress at the Cheshire Bridge Waffle House who killed the roach on the table with the cloth she cleans the tables with, then proceeded to wipe the table with that cloth. Yeah, we got up and left.
Baltisraul
June 12th, 2012
4:26 pm
Edward…….it is the Waffle House, stuff happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A reader
June 12th, 2012
5:54 pm
When I traveled to a beach resort in Thailand, one morning my breakfast came with a cockroach fused onto the bacon. I called the waitress over who lamely said “We have bugs here.” She did not take the plate away and did not offer to get me something else. And yes, I had to pay for the meal that I did not eat.
I have low tolerance for crawling bugs in restaurants, even in an outdoor patio. “Palmetto bug” is just a nice term for a wood roach which is still a roach! I don’t think I would have been able to stay and eat after one ran across my table.
Baltisraul
June 13th, 2012
7:35 am
A reader…..it is Thailand, stuff happens.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did they have their Healthe Dept. Inspection sticker displayed, so all could review? lol
Ann
June 13th, 2012
10:37 am
@1164mgc Re: “My next door neighbor spends a fortune on pesticides for his lawn, and I get the benefit because they don’t come into mine. ”
Yes, you and the rest of us will get the benefit of “cancer” one day due to excessive pesticide use.
Baltisraul
June 13th, 2012
8:03 pm
Ann……we live for the moment. Kill the bugs, save the Bar-B-Que weekend!