Restaurant refuses to sing happy bday to 6 yr old

[kazana]

... so you say 'Dance, monkey, dance!' But, oh, this monkey ain't dancin' no more...

OP: Got unlucky there, and things went wrong with the staff not knowing about the policy, but I really doubt this will end in a trauma even for a 6 yr old attention whore. Get over it. C'mon, you can do it.

[Blarg]

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Blarg,

LOL at your last paragraph. Seriously wtf from anyone else Id think that was an awesome level.

The kid picked what kind of food he wanted, the parents picked the restaurant. They then confirmed with the hostess that the kid would get what he wanted.

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This changes what? Nothing.

The dad went to the restaurant without knowing that it was going to do this or not. This makes the dad responsible ... how?

The hostess(allegedly) made a promise. It's up to the owner whether he wants to do that kind of thing, not the hostess. What's the point of owning a business if you can't run it how you like? (as long as you're not breaking laws or something) What's the point of being a hostess if you do things that make the owner and the restaurant look bad?

The father and the hostess were both f*ck-ups. The kid and the owner were the ones who had to pay the price by dealing with the consequences. Not fair to the kid - father's responsibility and nobody else's. Not fair to the guests -- hostess's responsibility and nobody else's.

Hostess deserves a dressing down and possibly a warning.

Neither father nor hostess have any right to make the owner the bad guy here. THEY are the two f*ck-ups. Hopefully they both learned a lesson.

[Blarg]

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you need to realize that just becaue you have a a couple bucks to spend in a restaurant doesn't make you king of the world.

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LOL

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heheh, I dug this response too

[siccjay]

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LOL at the suggestion that the dad somehow should have known not to take the hostess' word for it.

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If you are talking about me, then your reading comprehension is pretty bad.

Owner's policy > Hostess' word.

[Blarg]

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It's unfair to expect others to fulfill your voluntary obligations to someone else for you.

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The guy didn't expect them to do anything. That is why he specifically confirmed that they were willing to do it ahead of time.


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No he didn't. He confirmed it after everyone was already there. That's not ahead of time. Ahead of time is, pick up the phone. It doesn't get much easier than that. You'd think your own kid was probably worth at least that much trouble.

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Once they have agreed to do something then, yes, it is reasonable to expect that they will either fulfill that agreement or at the very least the owner will be nice about it and apologize for her restaurant making a mistake.


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Apologize for the hostess making a mistake? The hostess should do just that, instead of making management look bad. What am I paying her for if she creates situations with the customers instead of handling them? How the hell did this situation get past the hostess in the first place? WTF at employees not doing the job they're paid for and passing it along to the owner. Holy crap. That's a lousy employee who better clean up her act before she gets told to hit the bricks.

We have no reason to believe that the owner/manager was not nice at first. However, the argument continued after the owner/manager's refusal. At this point, characterizations of whether someone is polite are not are virtually always worthless. People get characterized simply accordingly to whether you get your way or not. For anyone with any experience in these things, you'll know that these characterizations tend to be manipulative and done to shoot angles and express anger.

Once the owner/manager said no, that should be it. Further arguing is juvenile, and can only lead to -- well, as stated, a characterization of management as a bunch of evildoers virtually regardless of their further responses as long as the guest does not get his way.

Never trust someone's characterization of another's behavior after they have not gotten their way. It's rarely not vindictive and is usually close to worthless, if not clearly there already.

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I can't fathom how anyone thinks it reasonable for the restaurant to not only not do what they agreed, but then afterwards to act like a dick to the guy when he nicely (at least according to OP) asks what happened. I also don't think it is relevant to that whether singing is a good or bad policy or whether the kid is a brat.

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This was addressed more than adequately above for the most part, though I agree that whether the kid is a brat is irrelevant. What policies to set is kind of ridiculous for us to discuss, because we don't really know much about the goals of the owner or how and why they were chosen. So our talking about what his policies "should" be, as if we really know, is dopey.

[Blarg]

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If I ever open a restaurant, I think that because of this thread, any kid that comes in and wants to have his birthday sung to him is going to be in for a treat.

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Awesome, thanks for the memories!

[Blarg]

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I still think everyone is jaded towards this topic because its a six year old. Plus they're huge life nits.

If the situation was something like the following you'd be pissed. You are taking your girlfriend for her birthday and were going to a restaurant where you know they will sing her happy birthday. It is very important to her that they sing happy birthday. You arrive and confirm with the staff that they will indeed sing to her. When the dessert comes there is no singing. When you talk to the owner she informs you that they no longer sing I think you'd certainly be a little fired up.

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A little bummed, but I doubt I'd be very fired up. I'd apologize to my girl and pay three homeless guys in a row a couple bucks each to sing her happy birthday.

[El Diablo]

quids: You are in the wrong here this time. I do not think this should have been a big deal for the kid and I think that staff happy birthday singing in restaurants is idiotic. However, once the hostess tells them they will sing happy birthday, the owner should either have them make an exception and sing happy birthday or otherwise compensate them by comping some stuff or giving them a gift cert or something. Just saying, SORRY, LOL, WE DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE isn't acceptable. I'm confident every bar or restaurant owner I know (a lot) would all agree with me. The restaurant screwed up, it is their responsibility to try and make it right.


All: FYI, the restaurant in question: http://www.eltorero.com/

[bobbyi]

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Apologize for the hostess making a mistake?

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It is probably the hostess's mistake, but it is ultimately the owner's restaurant. She has the responsibility of making sure competent employees are hired. She gets credit (and money) when they succeed and it is completely reasonable and appropriate for her to apologize to customers on behalf of the restaurant when they screw up, even if it isn't her fault.

[guids]

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quids: You are in the wrong here this time. I do not think this should have been a big deal for the kid and I think that staff happy birthday singing in restaurants is idiotic. However, once the hostess tells them they will sing happy birthday, the owner should either have them make an exception and sing happy birthday or otherwise compensate them by comping some stuff or giving them a gift cert or something. Just saying, SORRY, LOL, WE DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE isn't acceptable. I'm confident every bar or restaurant owner I know (a lot) would all agree with me. The restaurant screwed up, it is their responsibility to try and make it right.


All: FYI, the restaurant in question: http://www.eltorero.com/

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I never said they shouldnt be compensated in some way, id agree to that. Give them an extra free dessert, or comp the kids meal, something like that, but if they are trying to change the image of the restaurant I dont know any owner who would be bossed around like that when it comes to something that really interferes with the ambiance (especially while in transition)


Im really more pissed that people think that business owners should cater to the every whim of some nickel and dime suburban douche bag.