Compensatory Damages

comp: :"complimentary, free"
comp: "short for compensatory"
com.pen.sa.to.ry:"payment intended to compensate someone who has experienced loss, suffering or injury."

My wife and I redeemed a restaurant gift card last night at a Chattanooga restaurant where we enjoy eating from time to time.  They think very highly of their food, so we don't go there very often. But we had a gift card so we went. During this very enjoyable meal, we talked and laughed about another  Chattanooga dining experience several years ago.

If  a restaurant manager "comps the table" then normally that means to compensate for problems experienced, the dinner is now "complementary"; to the patrons it's "free." In this case it was the other definition. He "comped the table" as "payment intended to compensate someone who has experienced loss, suffering or injury."

I seldom complain about anything in a restaurant.  If I do it's usually because the music is too loud or it's too cold and not about the food.  First of all, there are millions of  people in the world who have nothing to eat, so I hesitate to complain about food.  The other reason I seldom complain is to "compensate" for all the chronic complainers.  I have come to realize that there are many people who enter a restaurant with the sole intention of getting something free. And they usually do.  So for these two  reasons and others I eat the food that is served and try to be happy with it. And like you, I've heard some of the stories about what happens to food that you send back to the kitchen.

On this night several years ago we were dining with good friends at a downtown Chattanooga restaurant.  This restaurant is near the Tennessee River and is a part of the downtown renaissance after the opening of the Tennessee Aquarium. For that matter, from this location you can throw a rock and hit the aquarium. It wasn't the first time we had eaten at this restaurant and it wasn't the last.  It was definitely the most memorable.

The seating arrangement was fairly standard.  My wife sat inside the booth against the wall and I sat on the outside.  Our guests sat the same way, So I was facing him and my wife was facing his wife. Why am I telling you this detail?  Because it's part of the story. We had all enjoyed our appetizers and entrees. But more importantly we had all enjoyed each other's company. These friends are significant friends and it had been too long since we had spent quality time together. Since we all were having a good time, we decided to indulge in coffee and dessert.  At this point I need to interject that we had had a really good rapport with our young female server.  She provided that delicate balance of good service and personal attention without invading our space.  It was just an all round good dining experience.  For coffee I ordered regular coffee and the other three ordered decaffeinated. Everything was going great until she returned with the coffee refills.  She was holding a ceramic teapot in her left hand and another in her right.  As it turned out the pot in her right hand was the decaf and the regular in her left.  She reached with her right hand to refill my friend's decaf. As she started pouring, I became aware of a very warm sensation in my lap. It took a part of a second for me to realize that as she was pouring the decaf in my friend's cup, she was simultaneously pouring the regular in my lap. Without screaming or making a scene, I calmly reached and pushed her arm out of the way.  At that precise moment our server realized what she was doing and came unglued. Since I could tell that I was more wet than injured and since it's my nature to help people in distress, I immediately assumed the role of caregiver.  By now our sweet young server was in near hysterics.  As she took a cloth napkin from the table and started toward, well,  my thigh, I again caught her arm and assured her that I was okay. At this point she disappeared and a few seconds later reappeared with the manager.  He too was rather pale and asked if there was anything he could do to relieve my discomfort.  I again assured him that I was okay and expressed my concern for our server's distress.

At this point my memory fails me if they both disappeared and reappeared again or if this conversation happened right  then.  But however it happened, the manager thanked me for my good humor and said not many people would have reacted like I did.  I realized then that he had assumed that he would soon be dealing with a lawsuit. I again assured him that there was no permanent damage and that I was going to be fine. Although I was soggy and slightly uncomfortable we continued with our coffee and dessert.  When our somewhat more composed server came back to the table, we asked for the check.  She looked at me and said, "There is no check. This is on us." I told her that that wasn't necessary, we were prepared to pay for our food, but she said again that it was the least they could do. As she walked away we had a good laugh about it and made our way to the sidewalk.

Looking back over the years, I have wondered what I could have gotten from that manager.  A free ride on one of those horse drawn buggies?  A new suit of clothes or at least payment for dry cleaning?  Or in a court of law, who knows? Whatever it was, I'm quite sure I could have gotten more than free food. But you know what? Accidents happen and it was a careless accident.  I'm quite sure that our server never made that particular mistake again.  And I always keep a watchful eye on the coffee pot. So we all learned something important that night..

Last night my wife and I decided that we don't take only ourselves out to dinner often enough. We agreed that dining alone made for an enjoyable occasion and was healthy for our relationship.  Then on the way home we called good friends in Alabama to see when we could meet them for dinner..