Advice please - tricky situation with restaurant

[hairbearbunches]

Any advice on this welcome. I'm not sure what to do next other than chalk it up to a poor experience and move on, but I'm pretty cross about it. Went to a pretty upmarket restaurant last week not far from where we live. Second time I've been. DH has been a few times more with work colleagues. The waitress dropped some cutlery behind my chair as she was clearing away the plates of the table next to us - group of 5 women. Loud noise, nothing more than that or so I thought at the time. As we were leaving, DH went to loo and asked me to take the dog who had been sitting underneath his side of the table the entire meal. I took her lead and she started paying serious interest in my coat which was hanging off the back of the chair. When I looked down, it was covered in grease marks, there was pretty much a perfect imprint of a greasy knife up the left hand side of the sleeve as well as other biggish greasy marks. It was quite obvious what had happened so I went and told the waitress who had dropped the cutlery. She looked a bit rabbit in headlights and I got the distinct impression she knew it was already there and had been hoping we weren't going to notice. The coat is a waxed coat from Toast. I got it in the sale but it still cost £175. It can't be dry cleaned, hand wash cold only. I've tried to get the grease out and made a decent stab of it, but it's not the same coat. There are still stains on it.
Anyway, long story short, I finally got an email back from them tonight saying they'd spoken to the waitress and the knife (singular) she dropped was nowhere my coat and therefore they believe that my coat was already greased up before I got there and the dog licking it has made it worse (the dog licked it once).
What would you do? Put it down to bad luck and accidents happen or pursue it further. I'm pretty hacked off with their dismissive attitude. I walked in to their restaurant with a pristine coat and walked out with it in a right mess and they've made me feel like I'm trying to pull a scam on them.

Totally missing the point of this thread.

Reading OP’s first post, I had my heart in my mouth when the dog was first mentioned. I thought it was going to be the dog injured badly by the falling knife, so I was relieved it was just the jacket which got damaged.

To get back to the point, yes the restaurant should have done more. Although this is not an upmarket place if it permits dogs in an area where food is being served.

I think you should just cover the grease thickly with cornstarch and leave it overnight. Brush off and repeat. It may take a few goes but that should help. Cornstarch not talc.
The mark on your jacket could well have been caused by the cutlery but I would let that go.now.
You made a mistake leaving the jacket dangling near the floor.

I know the coat can't be drycleaned but I would try taking it to a professional cleaner/laundry for advice (also consult online cleaning gurus). Then I would contact the manufacturer of the fabric to inquire about rewaxing once it has been cleaned.
Cleaning might involve applying heat and tissue paper??

You might have to be happy wearing it knowing the coat is cleaned as best as it can be. You might also want to applique birds, flower pattern or dots design over the stain. Do you know any crafty person?

You can't sue. You have no proof.

Tell me about it, I made the mistake of buying a waxed jacket. Looks lovely, completely stumped about washing it.

OP can you try to spot clean?

I would contact them again, politely asking for resolution to the situation by way of a replacement jacket as you would rather this than take them to small claims court.

It is your word against the waitress’s although they probably believe you. However, the dog licking it confuses the issue and therefore I would let it go. What do you want from them? A Cleaning fee or a new coat. You need to say exactly what you want if you write to them again.

A similar incident happened at a festive work do I attended. Everyone dressed in their best for the occasion. The meal bit was effectively over and so everyone was changing seats to chat but still having a drink. One of the waitresses spilled red wine over one of my colleagues expensive coat hung over the back of her chair which stained. Restaurant refused to admit any kind of liability because she was not sitting in her original seated position. The back and forth with the restaurant carried on for several days afterwards but she didn't get anywhere with it. Needless to say they didn't get a tip and it has never been frequented again.

@hairbearbunches
That’s a lovely looking coat! It looks like a grease stain, not from a dog.
I think it’s worth

1. pointing out that it wasn’t a single knife that was dropped ( say that you have a witness to this)
2. state that the mark is definitely a food grease stain (and you’ve have a professional check this)
3. ask their restaurant policy on items they damage, and whether signs are visible to the public as to the restaurants liability I don’t think their response was great and I think the waitress probably did know/has played it down.
   What would stop me complaining is - knowing restaurants are struggling, that the waitress could get blamed : but I think a restaurant should have this covered and have some sort of liability insurance/policy. Is it part of a chain of other restaurants? Other branches? Is there someone higher up in a head office?

That's not a stain from something falling. It's too well defined. That's something that has pressed against it.

just rewax it

https://www.barbour.com/us/wax-hub-classic-6oz-wax-care#:~:text=We%20recommend%20you%20re%2Dwax,for%20many%20adventures%20to%20come.

i know different brand but process is the same

That's been confusing me, too! It definitely is a nasty stain but, if the coat' waxed, it should have sponged off easily

How long have you had this coat, OP? Should you have re-waxed it by now?

FWIW, I do think you've got cause to push the restaurant to send it for cleaning, at least, or partial replacement cost.

My dogs have probably been to more Michelin star restaurants than the posters here that are shocked by a dog at a restaurant. The fancier ones even give them bread and scraps.

In fact, the only places they've been turned away are fast food places.

@hairbearbunches What happened is annoying, but personally I wouldn't want someone on minimum wage who made a mistake to have to pay for it. You've let the restaurant know what happened and they haven't made right, so I would leave the restaurant a bad review and not return there.

And GDPR actually means you can't just provide CCTV to any old person 🙄

Lots of people take dogs to restaurants, just read about them on MN!

While the waitress probably panicked and their attitude wasn’t great (putting it mildly) I’m another that would be afraid if you pursued it the waitress would be hit for the costs or even fired. I’d let it go personally (sorry op!)

You'll need evidence to be honest.

Before and after pictures of your coat. You should have complaint there and then when the incident happen

Small claims court

Service dog ?

OP says it’s the outline of a knife. Possible if a load of cutlery has been dropped I think.

If it’s a service dog they don’t have much choice. Why is everyone focused on the dog ?

She arrived by boat??!! And she had to pur it over the back ofcthe chair because they didn't have a eesignated boat-room??!
Dreadful restaurant, despite being upmarket

I'm with the 69% who think YANBU

Hey, what's wrong with old people asking for date?!! 😃

That is not knife-shaped. That is something that had dropped onto the coat
To get any proper outline, you'd have to really press against material with a shape to get a firm outline