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YOU THINK IT'S EASY?
Restaurant servers everywhere are challenged by distinguishing the "Sparkling" from the "Still" (or "Tap") when refilling waters. Example; You order sparkling water. The soon empty bottle is promptly cleared by the busser. Moments later, a server trying to help out and offer exemplary service, comes by and refills your 1/2 full, but indistinguishable sparkling, with still. A common mistake. And no more bubbles for you.
At moonstones, we use a system of different straws, signifying one from the other, so as we constantly refill water glasses, in our ever-attempt to be better, we don't fill your seltzer or Sprite. (Although my secret shopper spy tells me that servers commonly mess up the designations anyway)
Last night, while dining out at an upper scale restaurant (research!) the server actually refilled our wine glass, with water. (And then took at least 5 minutes to replace the wine, brought the wrong appetizer, told us the cut of beef was "from Colorado", and was generally nice but too sweaty)
We once upon a time attempted a better-class-of-restaurant system of "no straw in the water" at moonstones, but too many customers request straws. (or so we were told) Which, in itself is mind boggling. Does anyone, and I mean ANYONE, use a straw for their glass of water at home? So, if not, why in a nice restaurant?!
Of course, then we have to decide whether it truly was "many" customers requesting straws, or just the ones chewing gum (as was suggested last night at our table by a snob). Or possibly, could it be that the lazier of the servers exaggerate because they don't want to go fetch a straw upon request?
Seriously, you would think this is simple, but not so much. Someone suggested last night; "Why don't the servers just ask?"
Bad idea. You would have to interrupt every person drinking still water in order to do so.
Thoughts?
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2 comments
Thanks so much for the worthy suggestion, and we should take a look at that possibility. The problem is that it is not efficient, and especially given storage challenges, to have too many varied glasses. There needs to be some degree of "cross utilization". We already use a separate glass for bottled still and bottled sparkling, versus what we use for tap water, and carbonated soft drinks (such as Sprite). Soooo, in order to fully achieve the goal of taking all guess work out of the equation, we would need a still glass, a separate bottled still, a bottled sparkling glass and a soft drink glass. Your suggestion would most sensibly be employed if we had a tap water glass that ONLY received tap water.
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