HOUSTON—After ordering, a customer finds a crowned tooth hidden in the gravy of his meal. The step the food-and-beverage outlet takes next is critical in terms of liability, Elizabeth DeConti, a shareholder at the Florida-based GrayRobinson law firm, said during the closing general session of the Hospitality Law Conference on Friday.
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Elizabeth DeConti, shareholder, member of GrayRobinson’s alcohol beverage and food team
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The employees in this real-life example did exactly as they should: immediately address the issue with the customer; take the offending gravy and sift through to ensure no other unsavory items were present; and discontinue that portion of the gravy for the same reason.
“They reacted,” said DeConti, who also is a member of the firm’s alcohol beverage and food team. “They did the best they could with the situation.” The employees also recorded the steps they took and spoke with everyone involved in the food-delivery process.
It’s critical employees immediately take ownership of the mistake, she said, even though that is not a person’s natural instinct.
“Human beings, being what they are, there’s a flight instinct that takes over,” DeConti said. “‘People are going to think it’s my fault. I’m going to lose my job.’” It’s important that the food preparers know there is a procedure in place to address such mishaps.
F&B best practices
DeConti shared other best practices as it relates to lessening F&B liability over issues customers might have with their meal.
One such tip is to shy away from special orders. If you don’t ordinarily serve vegetarian meals, don’t make exceptions because you might inadvertently confuse an order and a vegetarian could receive a meaty meal, she said.
“It’s so much better to be honest with people and say, ‘Sorry, we’re not able to do this. Here’s a coupon. Come back next week.’”
Ensuring your food products are properly labeled also is important, she said. Oysters, for instance, carry with them bacteria that could be harmful to those with a compromised immune system. That being said, F&B operators need to avoid “sign cluster,” that is, ensuring a food product’s warning sign is not lost amid other labeling.
‘Foreseeability’
On the beverage side of F&B, DeConti said operators should be alert as to whether a particular patron has had too much to drink. If it’s reasonable to assume a customer could be inebriated and might be driving home later, be cautious in continuing to serve that customer drinks, she said.
“It’s drinking, and not selling someone a drink, that gets you in trouble,” she said.
Courts refer to this as “foreseeability.” In other words, the operator should be able to foresee that person might be driving later and putting themselves and others at risk.
Such questions to ask when trying to determine whether someone has had too much to drink include: Are they becoming noisy or fighting with other customers; and have they rung up a large alcohol bill?
At the end of the day, DeConti said F&B operators need to use common sense when dealing with food- or drink-related issues, adopting policies for employees and following through with those policies.
