Waiter dropped a pizza on me and caused a burn and ruined my dress (Joe browns) what is the least you would expect?

[snoopywife]

this happened yesterday. We just arrived in Pisa and went for lunch. The waiter brought the food over and as he was leaning over an entire, burning hot pizza slid off the plate and all down me. He apologised and started crying so went inside. I have a nasty burn on my tummy, plus it ruined my dress, bag and trainers. We were given a bill for the full amount, and we queried it with the manager. What would you expect in this situation?

Nothing some vanish and a good wash won’t fix.

You’ve said accidents aren’t okay, but they are!

He was most likely mortified by the accident.
Of course the OP deserves some sort of compensation, I'm not disputing that at all. Just saying why the waiter would have been upset. I would have cried too if I had unintentionally burnt someone.

A similar thing happened to me as a child. I must have been about eight and was in a small shop choosing uniform with my mum.
The shop assistant (young man) accidentally spilled his hot coffee over me. Luckily the burn wasn't too bad (as in it didn't cause lasting damage) but I remember him being upset by the incident and my mum trying to reassure him that "accidents happen".

Did you tell anyone at the time of the accident what happened?
Did you really sit there and eat a meal covered in tomato sauce and cheese with a bad burn on your tummy and eat a ruined pizza?

The waiter is only human and obviously they have a shitty employer, they must have been panicking.

Easy to yap when you’re not in a situation where finding a new job can be a massive struggle and have serious consequences.

CoffeeCantata

your ‘but hey it was an accident’ given you worked in risk assessment- it sounds like you don’t believe in accidents- so basically you will always attribute blame to someone? Is that how all people in ra do their jobs? (Am actually curious!!!) You’ll never ever show empathy to the other person whose life was ruined? When we were growing up we were taught in most cases you shouldn’t be mad if it’s an accident because it could happen to everyone.

Why would you pay in full?

I would complain loudly in Italian, gesticulate wildly and burst into tears. That usually does the trick.

And that’s the point - it’s not high end enough to warrant a mention.

tomato stain on Joe Browns clothes is probably an improvement to be fair.

But yes of course hot pizza dropped in your lap can cause burns. And yes I would expect at least free meal plus cleaning costs covered the very least. Seriously some people think it's fine if a waiter ruins your clothes because it was an accident? And you would also not complain when your car is rear ended, because it was an accident? Or how does that work?

I don't think OP was asking if she should shout at the poor waiter for this accident, but she can reasonably expect the restaurant to try to fix the damage caused.

This!

I worked with a chef who sobbed when he made a mistake once so it does happen.

What would I have done? Told the waiter not to worry about it, wash my dress and get on with enjoying my holiday!

But realistically the stain will wash out

personally at least the spoiled meal free

I think I've explained clearly that accidents are always due to carelessness somewhere along the chain. How can they not be?

They can be trivial - I remember urging my sister not to keep putting her cup of coffee on the floor when there was a table...but she persisted and sure enough, she kicked it over. That wasn't an accident - that was rank stupidity. No-one died, so no real problem.

But the accident I witnessed involved a flare going through someones intestines. That was an accident - there was no intention to injure, obviously. The group involved had no safety equipment with them, not even a basic FA kit - despite being involved in making a 'safety video' about flares used at sea.. That was culpable, as was he firing of the flare. It couldn't have happened if some precautions and procedures were being followed carefully. My poor boss was traumatised (had to take time off work) after having to go down and minister to the victim while the air ambulance arrived. It was horrific.

It was an accident, but an avoidable one. The person survived - just.

I also witnessed a case where a driver hit the wrong pedal on their automatic car and reversed into a line of people at a bus stop, mowing them down. Some died. Yes, it was an accident. There was no intention to kill and maim. But it was culpable and the driver was prosecuted.

I'm adamant that an accident is culpable - it's different from an Act of God - and of course, accidents can be incredibly trivial. It's just the principle I feel strongly about.

This is all going a bit cancel the cheque, FFS @snoopywife come back and explain before posters start saying YOU should have paid the waiter compensation (the way it's going). Surely you said something? So little detail in OP!

it may not, plus she said also her bag and shoes were stained. Not always possible to clean

What would happen in the UK is very different from what would happen to you as a tourist in a foreign country. You should have got a free meal and your cleaning covered. The restaurant knows you won’t be back and will find it very hard to follow up, unless you speak Italian.

I’ve got a red burn on my tummy and it’s still painful. I asked for ice when it happened x

What is the point of asking us what we would expect?! The incident was yesterday so presumably has already been dealt with in some fashion by the restaurant after you queried it? So surely best to tell us how they dealt with it and then people can give more informed answers? And if you didn't like the resolution what are you going to do now? You are on holiday, are you even still in the same city, are you planning on suing them?

You haven't said if they tried to help you clean your dress and trainers. If that burn is still visible and causing pain, I hope you have been to the hospital/clinic to have it treated.

Stomach. Is it a burn or just a mark?

I would expect an apology and for the bill for my group's meals to be waived. I hope you didn't actually pay the bill?? Please tell me you didn't!! Surely you didn't.

I do have a certain amount of sympathy for the waiter who was probably a young person learning the job on a very low wage, but it stops there. None for the restaurant management and I would still not pay for the privilege.

You should never put ice on a burn.

How old are you out of interest? Just because I’d assume most adults would know not to put ice on a burn or use the word “tummy”.

Soak your dress in some Vanish with cold water. I'm sure they must have an equivalent in Italy.

The trainers are more difficult but I would try upholstery stain remover on them- make sure you scrape all the tomato off first but gently.

I would expect the restaurant to pay for cleaning costs. But I expected the man whose dog pissed on my friends suede shoes at a wedding to pay but he didn't.

When similar has happened, I’d have expected the duty manager to come to our table personally to apologise check for injury/damage, first aid (ice etc for any risk of scold from the food) to be offered, the bill to be written off, my contact details taken and the incident recorded in their accident log book with my signature taken to evidence that I agree with the logged description.

Subsequent to that I would have hoped to receive a follow up email from the over all manager or head office to apologise for the incident, enquire whether there was any lasting injury or damage and offer compensation for any clothing damage/injury. Some businesses might have offered a free meal/voucher for use at time of my convenience. If none of this was forthcoming, I’d be writing to head office with a report on the incident, a list of injuries (with photo evidence) and ask them about how they would like to proceed regarding settling a compensation claim.

Yes, it was an accident, but just as car collisions are “just accidents”, it doesn’t remove liability or duty of care. And restaurants have insurance for these sorts of issues, just as we have car insurance. If you had a lasting injury, were required to pay for the meal and/or were unable to remove stains from your clothing/accessories, you are entitled to claim.

If none of that applies, I’d leave it and take my custom elsewhere.

You're missing the point of my posts. Of course I've made mistakes/had accidents - but they were my fault! I've run out of petrol (when young and silly) because I was stupid.

I'm only arguing for the principle that an accident is culpable - that's all. I'm not suggesting the perpetrator should be hanged, drawn and quartered - just that they need to accept culpability.

I've had little things happen to me personally and I'm always nice (as long as the person acknowledges it). The only time I'm stern is if they just carry on regardless, which has also happened. A man once barged into me and knocked me over while I was in a queue and didn't acknowledge or apologise.

Have a saucer of milk!