Hi,
I went for dinner with 10 friends tonight at Outback Steakhouse in Taipei.
My mom and my wife went to smoke a cigartette by the elavators on the 2nd floor. My wife took 1 drag on her cigarette and fainted. As she fell down, she hit a standing china ashtray and broke it.
A short while later, a manager at Holiday Inn (a white guy - non native speaker) came in and said that he wanted our contact details because we would have to pay for the broken ashtray.
We argued with him and he called his manager. His manager said that either the Outback would have to pay or we would have to.
I said that as the hotel had insurance, why wouldn’t the insurance company pay. He replied that this wasn’t applicable because we weren’t guests of the hotel.
So, we went back to get our things from the restaurant and we wanted to leave without paying for the broken ashtray. As we left, a Taiwanese guy came up to us (a manager I guess - but not sure if he was from the hotel or the restuarant) and talked to us about the matter again. Then a lady (a manager - I think from the hotel) spoke to use and said that the hotel would sort it out with the restaurant and we wouldn’t have to pay.
So, we left.
Anyway (and sorry if this is long-winded) I have some questions:
Were we “lucky” to get away without paying?
If my wife had hurt herself, who would we have sued?
How do you think the hotel behaved in this case?
Thanks
David
[quote=“davidla80”]1. Were we “lucky” to get away without paying?
2. If my wife had hurt herself, who would we have sued?
3. How do you think the hotel behaved in this case?
Thanks
David[/quote]
In Taiwan, you were lucky. Service in general sucks here – and since your wife was at fault, you can hardly blame them this time.
Suing not appropriate here; after all, she didn’t faint because of the hotel or restaurant.
Here, if I were the owner or manager, I would not ask you to pay. Your wife broke something, true, but it was an accident, and one that occurred because she was sick. For good public relations, I would just write it off. However, that is what the hotel or restaurant seems to have decided to do in the end. It would have been more gracious if they hadn’t argued first, but this is Taiwan; I sometimes feel arguing here is everyone’s favorite way to pass the time.
I would do as Flicka suggests and write a letter to the head office in the States. Send a copy of the fax to the branch in Taipei, so the SOB realizes if he is gonna be an insensitive fuck, people will go “up the chain of command.”
Thanks for all the replies.
I didn’t mean to suggest that we would really have sued the hotel if my wife had hurt herself. I wanted to ask who we could have sued had we wanted to. (Presumably not the hotel seeing as we weren’t guests and according to the first manager the insurance company wouldn’t pay.)
Thanks again,
David
I can’t understand how you have to be accountable for something that was unforseen? Granted, maybe a good appology was in order, but it’s not like she was behaving in a manner that would lead up to that,i.e. like handing the object wrong…explain how one would have to be accountable for fainting?
Sounds to me like you might have got caught up in a spat between the Holiday Inn and Outback – maybe the HI is sick and tired of Outback customers using their premises for a smoke? Just a thought.
The Holiday Inn weighs the pros and cons of having an Outback inside its premises, believe me. It’s a draw, it satisfies the Holiday Inn’s customers, and more people trek through their halls from outside that if it weren’t there. How deplorable that you were asked to pay for a broken ashtray that your wife fainted on!
I hope your wife is ok, btw.
You must must must write a letter to Holiday Inn corp. headquarters. If they were any good at customer service, they would have provided a place for your wife to sit down regardless of whether or not she is a current guest.
We have a baby - that’s why Ching-i went outside.
Why did she faint? Probably because it was her first cigarette for quite a while. (That’s the only thing i can think of.)
David
I can’t understand how you have to be accountable for something that was unforseen? Granted, maybe a good appology was in order, but it’s not like she was behaving in a manner that would lead up to that,i.e. like handing the object wrong…explain how one would have to be accountable for fainting?[/quote]
Did you misunderstand what he was asking?
He was asking about who he could sue if his wife fainted and hurt herself. It pisses me off that this would even cross your mind :fume:
Why the fuck would you feel that this gives you any right to sue? What if you have a heart attack? who would you sue then?
:loco:
Thanks for the charming reply (and the personal email.)
Please read (re-read?) see my 2nd post on here. The one that says:
“I didn’t mean to suggest that we would really have sued the hotel if my wife had hurt herself.”
David
