[Blarg]

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Driving out to the restaurant without knowing for sure if they'd be willing to do it was pretty thoughtless.

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Seriously Blarg what is wrong with you today?

The restaurant used to sing Happy Birthday. It used to be a crazy family place. This was known ahead of time. The main clientèle is still families.


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I didn't read this in the OP. Even so -- if so -- restaurants are allowed to change. They do it all the time. I still feel that a comped dessert is fine.

I don't feel any customer should think they have the right to insist on being an exception to a policy once it has been set or hassle multiple employees or the owner about it. The customer does not own the business.

Further, the employees this type of thing is usually complained about to generally have zero authority to change a policy anyway, so getting on them about it is a complete waste of time that can only lead to multiple people getting tense and upset.

A policy is a policy. No means no. This is not a big deal. An apology is in order from the hostess. A comped dessert would be a nice gesture. There's really no profit in just pushing and pushing it past there.

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They were prepared to go somewhere else if the restaurant said no. The hostess said yes. I don't know what more you expect the guy to do.


Answer me this:

What is the difference between calling and having the girl say yes and getting there and having the girl say yes, in terms of the fathers culpability?

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At the point he arrives, or before?

If he called before going, he had a chance to hear NO and not waste anyone's time. That's a positive outcome.

If he went there before knowing because he didn't call, then on his arrival, whether he was told there would be singing or not, there is no positive outcome. He has either wasted his family's time by immediately leaving a place he never should have gone to in the first place, or had the bum luck to have his kid disappointed by being told there would be singing. Zero positive outcome versus possible positive outcome. Clear choice.

This isn't really the crux of the matter anyway though. Dad's a poor planner vs. Dad hassles service employees -- the hassling part comes out worse. So does hostess's two screw-ups: 1) Telling customer the wrong thing, and 2) not handling it herself when it blows up in her face.

And from all accounts, this sounds like a blow up to me. It not only goes through waitstaff AND the hostess, but then when it manages to work it's way up to the owner, and dad STILL gets told no, he STILL keeps arguing! Yeesh. And now suddenly we hear that it's the owner who is stubborn or rude? You gotta be kidding me.