Whats that? Who spilt it? So whos fault is that? I crashed my car last night. Was it the salesmans fault? Should he pay? I had 2 losing trades today. Was that my brokers fault? Should he give me a free trade next time? My friend burnt his house down last week. Was it the estate agents fault? Should she pay?
You spilled the drink. It was your fault. You should pay. If they would have given it to you for free, it would be there choice and out of the goodness of their heart. And if you had not asked, they probably would have... If I walk into Tiffany and buy an expensive trinket and on the way out the door drop it and it breaks, what right do I have to expect them to give me another one for free? That is ridiculous.
no wonder so many businesses fail !!!!!! growing up around a family business the answer to this question is extremely easy. the bartender should have immediately got you a new drink and cushioned your ego ( not a bad thing). maybe even use a sense of humor...... situations like these are when businesses can really shine or show their asses. i know one business owner who actually told me he embraced mistakes..... cause then he could show the customer/client how important their business was to him and in doing so he could gain their loyalty. what this bartender did was lose at least one(maybe more) patron's business indefinitely. NOT SMART !!!! who cares if the "bartender" was right??? you are missing the point if you dont get that making money is more important.
you were right to ask ... as the old saying goes ... "never hurts to ask, the worst they could say is no" you are correct, had they given you another drink they would have incurred 50 cents in material costs. Having not given you the drink they lost the potential to gain any additional revenue through your groups future purchases. Had they showed a little goodwill, you would have remained, and probably would have come back at a later date. 90%+ restaurants fail ... I'd bet against this one.
If you buy a milkshake from McDonald's and they give it to you, but you turn around and drop it, they'll give you another one without question. They'll see it and start pouring. And they'll call the guy to clean up your mess.
I suspect the bar tender may have just gotten a below average tip from the person who payed for the drinks and figured he would teach you a lesson about the service world or assumed he would get no tip at all. 99% of bartenders would have given you a free one if he had just gotten a better than average tip. I was a bartender. I am not the world best tipper but I am pretty good. I have learned when it comes to tipping you get more than what you pay for with a most smart bartenders. Especially if you are a repeat customer.
While I agree 100% that customer service is paramount to business success, charity unfortunately is not. There is a big difference between good will for good customers (maybe a drink on the house here and there for regulars) and free drinks to clumsy passing through business. I guess this thread is rapidly sorting out lifes bar managers from the bar tenders!
Charity? You have a group of guys sitting in a bar with loaded wallets ... Not exactly panhandlers. What's the old saying ... it takes years to win a customer and second to loss one.
Next time you go in, put a pair of balloons under your shirt. You won't have a problem getting a replacement drink.