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.

I would review them on trip advisor be clear and fair about what happened and include the picture

How dare you have an expensive coat. How dare you go to upmarket restaurants. How dare you have a dog. Christ, some of the people dripping with jealousy on here...

I do have expensive coats — though I'm not sure that £175 actually counts as expensive, does it? I do occasionally go to upmarket restaurants, though those take my coat and keep it in a cloakroom on arrival to avoid situations like this. I do have a dog.

The idea that people who don't agree with you must be jealous reeks of narcissism.

I also know that accidents happen and that I don't have special immunity from being on the receiving end of unfortunate events. Sometimes there's no one to blame and no recompense to be had. Life isn't fair and writing so unpleasantly about a person earning minimum wage does you no favours, OP.

and hang it in their special upmarket coat hanging area

😂😂 that's made my day! I'm also wondering why there wasn't an upmarket dog waiting room as well?

Just to add, the second scenario they gave me after suggesting the stains were already on the coat before I arrived, was that I had dropped my own knife. Aside from the fact that I would have had to throw it up behind me for it to land on my coat sleeve, if I had dropped my knife do they not think I might have asked for a replacement? They clearly think (if this is the actual version of events), I picked it up from the floor, licked it and cracked on with my meal. Their suggestions don't stand up to scrutiny.

Those saying it's too stained to be just a knife brushing against it, by the time I noticed the stains they had had around an hour to really sink in. Had they been seen or pointed out sooner, I might have stood a chance of getting them off.

Exactly - common sense, I'd say. Perhaps send a letter/email to the restaurant too.

This is a good approach. The restaurant lied and dismissed your valid claim. I'd also leave a review stating the facts.

What the hell difference does it make whether there's a dog or a cloakroom? The restaurant employee ruined the coat.

I can’t believe some of the batshit replies you have had on this thread OP. The restaurant’s response also ridiculous.

In your situation I would do this:

Go to the restaurant with the coat at a quiet time and politely ask to speak to the manager.
Explain calmly that you are very sorry but you don’t accept their statement that the cutlery did not fall anywhere near your coat.
(It’s a shame you mentioned the dog licking it, that has muddied the waters).

Remind them that there were lots of people in the restaurant who will remember the cutlery being dropped. (I know no witnesses to the actual damage, but it all builds a picture that points to the obvious conclusion)

Say you understand that it was an accident but the outcome is damage to your property, which will cost xx to replace. Take evidence of replacement cost.

Say you will give them another chance to make you a reasonable offer otherwise you will have no option but to go to small claims court.

If the restaurant is part of a group or chain, say that you are happy to take this up further with their head office.

Don’t threaten a bad review, that just looks petty.

In your position I might have let this drop if they had just said “sorry but we’re not paying”. However that ridiculous denial meds to be challenged.

Maybe chalk it up to experience now.

I think in these situations you have to sort it out in person, the same day. Don't let them get away with it, I think they'd rather sort it out for you there and then rather than risk you make a big fuss infront of other customers. If done via email/phone, they will try to deny and change the version of events.

Possibly leave a factual review for them with photos? Nothing nasty though.

to put your boat over the chair

The OP took her boat with her to the upmarket restaurant as well?? Blimey, this must be some upmarket restaurant that can not only cater for luxury coats, but allow you to bring your own minesweeper boat in with you! I need the name and address, immediately! (Private jet owner, here).

Some right cunts on here, because the OP had the temerity to go to a nice restaurant, take a dog and own a Toast coat.

The management sound fly as all get-out.

I'd ask for advice on cleaning from a good dry cleaner and from Toast. If it can't be cleaned, see if there's a coat still available at Toast (doubt it though if it was in the sale). Then write to the restaurant saying you will go to small claims court if necessary, to claim the cost of either cleaning, replacement or loss. I'd also make clear that I wouldn't want the waitress to bear personal or financial responsibility and say that her reaction suggests she is either inadequately trained or she is worried about being made to pay personally, which are both the restaurant's fault/responsibility, not hers. And point out that they must, presumably, have public liability insurance, which should cover the costs.

Oh come on, people are having a joke because there's common sense things you can do - and your own post mentions most of them, especially the very important point of giving the restaurant the chance to try to resolve something first. The second point is that if the restaurant is 'upmarket', I would not be impressed to see people being allowed to routinely bring dogs in, unless they are sight/hearing dogs, of course, (and the OP said herself that her dog probably licked the coat, which didn't help matters). I also wouldn't be impressed by having to hang my coat over my chair back in a so-called upmarket restaurant.

But surely the knife would have had to stay against it for a considerable time to stain that heavily? This could be a complete coincidence. How can you be 100% certain the stain wasn't picked up elsewhere on the way there? Did you inspect the coat for any stains before sitting down? Either way the burden of proof here is impossible to ascertain. You heard the cutlery, saw the waitress and put 2 and 2 together after the event, but you can't PROVE this is how it happened. And that I'm afraid is your problem here, the burden of proof.

What is your ideal outcome? New coat or payment for cleaning? I’d go back them and tell them exactly what you want and also what will happen if you don’t get it. (Never return, poor yelp review). It would be less expensive to compensate you than to loose your business permanently and have you telling others about your bad experience.

I do think you can get the stains out and relax it. I’d keep going with the fairy liquid if you can see that helped.

A dog! In a restaurant that allows dogs? Heaven forbid.

Unfortunately you have to chuck it up to a poor experience and move on. You had to see the greasy cutlery staining your coat and explicitly bringing it up with the waiter (and the manager) right then and there, to discuss a claim.

Most restaurants don't accept responsibility for accidents to personal clothing unless discussed on the spot with a manager.

I get that you are not happy but move on.

The civil standard of proof is “on the balance of probabilities”. As a lawyer, I think that OP could easily meet this.

She did bring it up that evening, as soon as she saw the stain. It’s nonsense to suggest her “window” was the 60 seconds after the cutlery fell.

The OP tried to discuss it, but there apparently wasn't a manager on duty at the time, which is pretty rackety if true – and, if it's a lie, obviously even more rackety. And they took days to respond.

But the OP has admitted she didn't see what happened and is only surmising that the stain was caused by a knife.
Wouldn't stand up in court, and all those thinking OP is in the right - I hope you never do jury service because based on the assumptions OP has made, every bastard would be going down

How much did the meal cost? I’d suggest they compensate you and make a specific suggestion.

One boxing day meal out, a young waitress dropped a whole glass of Red wine over my MIL, she was wearing a white jumper. We didn't even get a discount on the food. Looking back I can't believe we didn't ask!

False comparison – this is a civil matter, not criminal; the burden of proof is different.

The OP wasn't aware of any stain before the restaurant visit. A waitress dropped a pile of cutlery from dirty plates right behind her. Then the coat is stained. As a lawyer says above, look at the balance of probabilities.

We're doomed,doomed I tell you.

Very odd a knife dropping can leave that kind of stain. It falls so fast. Generally it would need contact longer , that looks like a spill or that you leaned on something.

@VestibuleVirgin you do realise reviews are opinions?