At dinner on our Norwegian cruise we sat at a table for six along with our good friends and another couple we’d just met. We ordered a lovely (very expensive – well, this is Norway!) bottle of white wine and tucked into our dinner. My friend asked if there was any wine left – I couldn’t catch the waiter’s attention so I picked up the bottle from the cooler just beside our table and poured out the rest (there was probably half a glass in there).
Our waiter came over and whispered to me ‘ma’am that isn’t your wine!’ You guessed it – ours was finished and this bottle belonged to the table next to us. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry (I eventually laughed!).
I offered to buy another bottle for them, but our lovely waiter said ‘leave it to me.’ He went off to the bar with the empty bottle of wine and came back with it one third full – he’d got the same wine from the bar and simply acted as if nothing had happened.
This to me was customer service at its very best. He didn’t embarrass me in any way, he simply found a solution and just subtly got on with fixing an issue I had caused, ensuring the dinner carried on with a great atmosphere.
Positive lessons, like wisdom, are all around us.
Best wishes
Liz