I thought I had seen it all.
Guy in a Tommy Bahamas shirt and flip flops at Ledbury.
Guy wearing a ball cap at Eleven Madison Park.
But this tops them all. Upon entering Central in Lima (when it was in Miraflores and before it moved to Barranco) I was seated at a lengthy row of tables stretching from nearly the front door to the kitchen space.
Elevated by a step is a platform of additional tables. These tables are on "full view." of the restaurant.
Greeting me was the most obnoxious, audacious table I've ever seen.
Let's bypass the running trainers, shorts and Panama hat for minute.
Let's focus on the half-filled STARBUCKS CUPS... while a lovely glass of red is on the table.
I watched in abject horror as this couple took turns moving between merlot and iced macchiato.
Perhaps woffee will be the next big thing (wine-coffee duh).
So let's turn this in to a training lesson. Now, I have no idea what, if anything, was said to this table about the coffee cups.
If I was managing the floor, the interaction would go something like this, with comments gently escalating:
"If it's not too much trouble, may I please pour your coffee in to one of our cups so you can continue to enjoy it throughout your meal?"
"We have the most amazing and rare coffee blend in house. I'd be happy to make you two complimentary cups to replace your Starbucks."
"Have you finished with these so I can remove them?"
The point is to be friendly, but firm and use language that would appear "beneficial" to the guest.
Have you had something similar happen in your restaurant? E-mail me at ceo@thesingletable.com and tell me what happened and how you dealt with it.