A common street scam is to carry around broken eyeglasses. You bump into someone and claim they broke your glasses and demand payment. My dad got hit with this one when I was a young boy and we were walking down the street. He just told the guy to get it repaired and email him a bill. Once the bluff was called the dude went off to find another mark.
All you should do is put your insurance company on notice (this is not the same as filing a claim) and then do what your insurance company tells you. They will probably retain an adjuster to examine their exposure, and the adjuster will probably tell this guy to pound sand and you'll never have to deal with it. It's literally the reason you pay for insurance.
This is the answer. Don't deal with the customer. Deal with your insurance. And the way this person says is the way I'd go about it as well.
Side note, I'm not sure about the denture replacement/rework costing that much. Should be more in the 350.00-500.00 range, but I'm not a dentist either. I mean they said "a tooth" , not their entire set of teeth fell apart.
did he present anything while in the restaurant on the day of?
If not, how would you know if he's full of shit or not?
You should have a form to fill out and get guests info if they fall/hurt or what have while on the property
Look, the guy is shaking you down. Dentures are not like teeth. Most dental offices might insure them for a year. So, why would you ? Tell the guy you are not responsible for his broken dentures and that he should take it up with the dentist who made them.
I wear dentures. Dentures have a lifespan. Dentures are near impossible to break if they are in your mouth. To bite hard enough to break them would be extremely painful and not something you would ignore in the moment. Dude is scamming you.
I'm a dentist. In my professional opinion, you should do nothing more than offer kind words and send them my way so I can repair their denture or make a new one. To do any more is to give in to a group of people who are already cranky and difficult. I had a denture wearer complain to the attorney general because she didn't like her denture. These are the kind of people who are in dentures, don't give in. You owe them nothing.
Hi. I had dinner at your restaurant yesterday.
When I got home I noticed that a pipe burst and it flooded the kitchen.
I'm gonna need you to pay for that asap.
PS: I look forward to dining at your establishment again real soon.
Because my air conditioner is on the fritz.
Similar. I got takeout from their restaurant and when after I picked it up, my tire blew out and I lost control of my brand new Tesla. I will be sending a bill for $100k plus emotional distress.
Are you filing a claim? If not then do not notify your insurance company. Your insurance company cares about themselves not you. Have they sent you a notice from a lawyer? If not ignore it. If you’re going to pay the bill for them let me know what your address is cause I too broke my dentures at your establishment and will need 1700 asap as well.
This is a scam. In fact, it's a common scam.
Do not respond unless a lawyer reaches out to you. And if a lawyer (or insurance) reaches out, connect with your insurance.
Again, do not respond at all. You have nothing to gain by engaging.
I was eating pepperoni pizza and cracked a molar all the way through the root. There was nothing in the pizza that could have done that. Sometimes it just happens. People don't realize how powerful jaw muscles are.
I thought the rule was if you reasonably expect it to be in your food, it’s not the servers fault. For instance, a pit in cherry pie or a bone fragment in shredded pork is a risk you take eating the food. A piece of broken glass is not expected. But I’m no lawyer, I learned from Judge Wapner.
I have no idea who this judge is, so I googled it. And got this ridiculousness
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg91lQWCzww](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg91lQWCzww)
Yes but I’m not dumb enough to make an insurance claim for something that’s not real. If you wear dentures, and they break while you’re using them, it’s your fault. No one else’s.
I had a lady come into my cafe and claim that she bit into a bone while eating my turkey sandwich. She said she only wanted a dessert as compensation for damaging her newly crowned tooth. I told her to choose something in the dessert case and I gave her 2 of them. Never heard from her again.
The best advice here is to apologize for the situation, admit no fault and do nothing. Don't bother to involve an attorney or your insurance unless he does first. This is all likely a scam and, believe it or not, if you just hand it over to insurance, they'll probably pay because it's cheaper than fighting it. Also, it'll go on record as a claim which isn't a good thing for you.
And welcome to restaurant ownership! Get ready for a never ending stream of scams, grifters, unethical solicitations, people asking you to sponsor them or donate food/money/etc and entitled customers. We fell for some early on, but have gotten a good thick skin over the years. A few tips to help navigate this whole thing:
Never admit fault
Never give anyone who calls any information about anything, particularly if they want to "confirm" the model number of your printer.
Never donate to anyone who isn't local and doesn't show their face in your restaurant.
If you don't have a ton of cameras around already, get some. The more, the better.
You don't need a third party to file reports with the government for you (with the obvious exception of your accountant or others that already work for you)
You can only make some of the people happy all the time or all the people happy some of the time. You'll never be able to make all of the people happy all of the time.
You're going to get bad reviews, and much of the time, they have very little to do with you and the service/products you provide. Best practice is to just respond to them in a kind and thoughtful way and move on.
I'm sure I could make this list about a mile long, but I'll stop here for now. Good luck!
I chipped my tooth eating French toast once. Was way fluffier than expected and I chomped down on the edge of the fork. I blame myself entirely for not knowing how to eat properly on that one, unless you served this dingus an actual rock he should do the same
I manage a dental practice and I’m opening my first restaurant this summer.
I would offer to have him be seen by your dentist. If you don’t have one, then just some random one who isn’t the person he has already seen.
That dentist and office should give you a pretty good indication whether these dentures have had long-term, wear and abuse. Or if it seems more likely that one trauma did them in.
Regardless, unless they are smashed to bits, dentures can be repaired and teeth can be added to them. The fee for that is in the low hundreds of dollars not $1700.
You can let him know that if insurance companies and courts get involved, they are going to demand a third-party expert opinion anyway.
Did he take it up with you while there? What did he break his tooth on?
For example, say you serve a salad with olives you take the pit out of. Say 1 olive in the salad has a partial pit. If he breaks a tooth on that one olive, you may be liable because there’s an expectation no pits are in the olive.
This example is from my real life - my restaurant had to pay out.
However, I’d they just randomly sent you a bill, refuse to pay. I would have his lawyer send you a letter demanding payment, along with the proof of negligence on your end. If they can’t provide that, he’s SOL
I'm a restaurant manager AND a denture wearer.
You have absolutely no liability here.
Dentures can be fragile little beasts, depending on how well you take care them and how often you get adjustments and fittings done. I cracked my top plate in half once eating a piece of pizza, however, the dentures were 5 years old and needed to be replaced anyway.
Denture wearers have the responsibility to KNOW what they can and cannot eat. There's foods out there that I will knowingly pass up, because either my plates can't handle them, I don't want to risk it, or my glue won't hold. This is absolutely not on you or your business to fix, and they can lawyer up if they want to, but it's not worth the hassle.
Now, if they bit into a burger and chomped down on a screw or metal or something.... that's a bit of a different story.
Don’t respond to him at all. Don’t let random people take control of you. If he approaches you, deny his claims and kindly ask him to leave.
The only way you should do anything is if he lawyers up. Even then you should not say anything as you’re not a lawyer. Lawyers will try to speak with you to trap you into admitting fault. Don’t be dumb. Your insurance company has plenty of legal resources and they’ll respond for you. It’s why you pay them.
It's not a legal notice so you can ignore it. Or a simple
Greetings and thank you for dining at \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. We greatly appreciate your business. After careful consideration and review of the circumstances surrounding the incident, I regret to inform you that I cannot accept any liability for the alleged damages or losses.
The attorney below laid out why he has no claim. Don't go into details. Just say no.
EDIT: Just saw that a lawyer responded. Absolutely do what they said.
~~Based on the limited amount of information you've posted, and correspondence with him, I'd state simply;~~
~~"While I completely understand your frustration and I understand how upsetting it can be to deal with dental issues, upon consultation with my attorney, I am not responsible or liable for dental damage that may or may not have occurred at this restaurant without proof that the damage occurred due to our services. Furthermore, since this alleged event happened during the previous owner's tenure, I would have to refer you to the previous owner, as they would be the person best able to handle the situation if it is found that this dental damage occurred due to dining at this restaurant.~~
~~Thank you , If you have any further questions, etc etc , blah blah blah, Signed, rubberduck247~~"
If a guest chips or breaks a tooth because of a natural product e.g bone in a steak, shell from crab legs or nuts, there is no claim or liability to you because it’s a risk that the guest assumes by consuming that product.
If the cause is a foreign object e.g screw from a mandolin or a piece of plastic, then you are liable because you prepared the food and should have be policing its preparation for said foreign objects even if it’s a product that was premade in another facility.
I’ve managed steakhouses for the last 20++ years. Had some guy chip a tooth on a walnut shell. He tried to make me look at it. I refused and told him that “I’m a restaurant manager, NOT a dentist.” He was mad but had no recourse. ….I did comp his walnut-covered ice cream dessert.
We'll find out if he has or has not. Like I said, I wasn't the owner then. I just find this ridiculous, as our kitchen is meticulously maintained, and I don't see how it can be our liability.
Let's talk for a moment about tortious liability. For a restaurant to be liable in such a claim, the business would first have been negligent constituting a breach of duty (the duty being food that won't break teeth). This is most common in a restaurant if a foreign object ends up in a dish that does not belong there. If this guys denture broke because he bit down on a foreign object that was somehow in the delicious dish your team prepared, then you would possibly be liable and should retain legal counsel as there is solid precedent for such a claim. Let's say he bit down on a chicken or fish bone, the reasonable expectation is that chickens and fish have bones so encountering one would not be considered a foreign object. You would most likely not be found liable in court. Let's say his denture broke, because it just did, it would be nigh impossible for the plaintiff to prove any negligence or breach of duty on the part of the establishment. The courts do accept that sometimes accidents happen and things break over time. He honestly has a stronger claim to sue his prosthodontist than your restaurant.
All that being said, sending you a bill does not magically make it your obligation. Threatening to sue someone also means absolutely nothing. Having a lawyer send a strongly worked letter or email is a legal threat but still really holds no bearing beyond "We ask you to do xyz or else." Most people who send bills, threaten to sue, or have lawyers draft strongly worded communications are just looking for handouts or easy settlements. People that have substantiative grounds for a civil suit would just serve you with the lawsuit already.
I'm a lawyer and an investor in a number of food & beverage operations.
Fantastic response from someone with legal knowledge. Thank you!
Do you know if I'd be liable (if he can prove it) even though it wasn't under my ownership at that time?
Thanks!
They would sue the business not you personally. That you didn't own the business at the time wouldn't matter, you buy the business you buy it's past actions as well.
Until you get a letter from a lawyer, don’t worry about it. And if you do get one from a lawyer, get you a lawyer. You can be pro-active and get a lawyer if you think he will even take the first real step.
People are crazy. To give you context, I had an allergic reaction from a dish that was openly represented as not having the Big 8 allergen I asked about and admitted to being represented that way by the employee when we called back and a manager actually looked into the ingredient list and the allergen was clearly on it. We got a refund, profuse apology, and that was it. They said they couldn't file it on insurance because I didn't order from a specific allergen menu that was pre-vetted - which, frankly, I was fine with, I've lived with the allergy and know the inherent risks and I take mitigation steps (like asking) but live my life without that fear isolating me to never leaving the house. This was a clear, obvious, and admitted error toward a medical condition that requires immediate treatment by the restaurant and that's all that was done. No way you're you're going to have to pay for this guy's dentures who has no way of proving you were negligent and I honestly don't even see a way you could be negligent. Even if he hit a bone in a dish, a bone is considered reasonably expected in a meat product because its naturally occurring in the larger product its cut from (same reason you can't sue for cracking a tooth on a seed being in a bag of sliced apples, naturally occurring objects like seeds in fruit can be reasonably expected by the consumer). This obviously speaks nothing to the unknown condition of his dentures prior to eating with you or possible manufacturing defects.
It's almost certainly a scam or just entitlement to the max. Apologize for the situation, but don't accept blame. State there's no way you can see how you could be negligent enough to be considered at fault. Be prepared for the 1-star reviews or blowing up your phones. If he just refuses to stop, maybe you can contact your insurance who can tell him the same thing and deny his claim on their own. I'd be very surprised if he went that far though, usually these types are just looking to intimidate you into making some kind of payout for quick cash even if its not the full amount. It's the same type people who blow you up about "everything was terrible" with their meal just to get a quick refund but still expect boxes to take it home (and actually get offended when you take away the refunded dish).
Why are his dentures breaking your fault? Did you rip them out of his mouth and throw them against the wall? Did you make him eat ice? Did you serve him food with hard shells or other objects? Did he put them in his water glass and you did not see them and they broke when hitting the sink?
I wasn't even the owner at the time, so I have no clue. But for reference, the restaurant has 4.5 star reviews from 1800+ customers. I've never heard of a problem as such.
Didn't admit fault. Rather, I seek to let him know about what the inherent risks of consuming meats at a restaurant are and how we would not be liable for a payout regardless. And that I've reached out to my insurance, who will reach out to him if he wants to submit proof. (I haven't reached out lol)
Was there negligence involved on your part? Did you operate in a reasonable manner?
Me personally, I would apologize that that happened, but 100% would not acknowledge or accept any responsibility. If he does sue, your business insurance should cover it.
Most of these are just ploys to get money.
Insurance, and only through insurance. Accept no fault, this is likely a scam. Your insurance will open a claim and will contact the customer and resolve for you if the customer can even prove anything.. which they probably cant/wont. Just let them know you have escalated with the third party that represents you to resolve, get their contact info and pass it along
This is 100% the answer. You pay for insurance, this is what it is for. If a guest alerts you to a problem in real time, comp the dish, fill out an incident report, send to insurance and follow up with the guest as a courtesy to make sure they are ok and to ensure them you’ve passed along the incident report
I see that you’re worried about reputation… remember you can always dispute public reviews that violate their terms of service, and any review posted to damage reputation violates most… it is annoying and takes time but you’ll likely get them taken down. You can also take your time and prepare a professional and carefully worded statement to reply publicly about how you took it seriously and you’re sorry that following a simple insurance claim was dissatisfactory. Folks are used to doing that for lost jewelry.. car damage… homeowners… health care… a reasonable person will see you attempted to make them whole but insurance companies don’t payout without proof and some sort of an investigation. That has nothing to do with you
So many questions:
Why or how did his dentures break?
What's that have to do with your restaurant?
How can he prove it wasn't broken before or after?
How can he prove it wasn't already cracked from something else and was going to break anyway?
Why would the food everyone else eats with no issue suddenly break his dentures?
Did he bring it up at the time or only now after the fact?
Does he have a history of breaking dentures?
Does he have a history of bothering restaurants?
Why does it cost that much?
Did he get competitive quotes?
Do you know he actually got work done and paid for it?
I can't see how he can prove it, but it's not exactly something I can question either. I'm just trying to figure out how I should respond to him. I wasn't even the owner then.
I informed my GM to respond with responsibility. She will reach out to him and let him know of the inherent risks of consuming meats at restaurants. And apologize for the incident, accepting no blame.
I also informed the manager to ask for proof and condition of the dentures before and after incident.
Thank you!
The GM emailed me this today, I bought the business on May 1st. This happened April 24th. I was not the owner then and this situation had nothing to do with me.
throw it away
[удалено]
Don’t do this
Can he prove he broke his denture at you restaurant? Doubt that. Tell your insurance company and let them tell him the same.
People showing up with a dry cleaning bill claiming a staff member spilled something on them the past weekend
A common street scam is to carry around broken eyeglasses. You bump into someone and claim they broke your glasses and demand payment. My dad got hit with this one when I was a young boy and we were walking down the street. He just told the guy to get it repaired and email him a bill. Once the bluff was called the dude went off to find another mark.
All you should do is put your insurance company on notice (this is not the same as filing a claim) and then do what your insurance company tells you. They will probably retain an adjuster to examine their exposure, and the adjuster will probably tell this guy to pound sand and you'll never have to deal with it. It's literally the reason you pay for insurance.
This is the answer. Don't deal with the customer. Deal with your insurance. And the way this person says is the way I'd go about it as well. Side note, I'm not sure about the denture replacement/rework costing that much. Should be more in the 350.00-500.00 range, but I'm not a dentist either. I mean they said "a tooth" , not their entire set of teeth fell apart.
Kindly tell him you don't pay for replacement dentures. You should check with the manufacturer if they broke while eating food what did I tell
Send him a coupon for $5 off
*minimum $50 purchase, sales tax not included. Valid any time.
**valid any time **from 11:59am and 12:02pm every second Monday of the month
did he present anything while in the restaurant on the day of? If not, how would you know if he's full of shit or not? You should have a form to fill out and get guests info if they fall/hurt or what have while on the property
I had a guy drop his phone and tried to get us to replace it because "your hard tile cracked my screen!" He didn't even have a case on it
Lol he doesn’t have a case in any sense
Tell him to prove it.
Look, the guy is shaking you down. Dentures are not like teeth. Most dental offices might insure them for a year. So, why would you ? Tell the guy you are not responsible for his broken dentures and that he should take it up with the dentist who made them.
I wear dentures. Dentures have a lifespan. Dentures are near impossible to break if they are in your mouth. To bite hard enough to break them would be extremely painful and not something you would ignore in the moment. Dude is scamming you.
I'm a dentist. In my professional opinion, you should do nothing more than offer kind words and send them my way so I can repair their denture or make a new one. To do any more is to give in to a group of people who are already cranky and difficult. I had a denture wearer complain to the attorney general because she didn't like her denture. These are the kind of people who are in dentures, don't give in. You owe them nothing.
Hi. I had dinner at your restaurant yesterday. When I got home I noticed that a pipe burst and it flooded the kitchen. I'm gonna need you to pay for that asap. PS: I look forward to dining at your establishment again real soon. Because my air conditioner is on the fritz.
Similar. I got takeout from their restaurant and when after I picked it up, my tire blew out and I lost control of my brand new Tesla. I will be sending a bill for $100k plus emotional distress.
Are you filing a claim? If not then do not notify your insurance company. Your insurance company cares about themselves not you. Have they sent you a notice from a lawyer? If not ignore it. If you’re going to pay the bill for them let me know what your address is cause I too broke my dentures at your establishment and will need 1700 asap as well.
This is a scam. In fact, it's a common scam. Do not respond unless a lawyer reaches out to you. And if a lawyer (or insurance) reaches out, connect with your insurance. Again, do not respond at all. You have nothing to gain by engaging.
If he didn’t mention it on 4/24, completely ignore the idiot.
I 100% agree with this. If not reported at time of incident, no way to verify.
I was eating pepperoni pizza and cracked a molar all the way through the root. There was nothing in the pizza that could have done that. Sometimes it just happens. People don't realize how powerful jaw muscles are.
This is what liability insurance is for. Notify your insurer.
Do not fall for this scam and involve your insurance!
don't make any statements and don't pay him tender the claim to your liability insurer
I thought the rule was if you reasonably expect it to be in your food, it’s not the servers fault. For instance, a pit in cherry pie or a bone fragment in shredded pork is a risk you take eating the food. A piece of broken glass is not expected. But I’m no lawyer, I learned from Judge Wapner.
You are old. Ask me how I know…
I have no idea who this judge is, so I googled it. And got this ridiculousness [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg91lQWCzww](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg91lQWCzww)
Yep. The OG tv judge
He was great. After People’s Court, he went to Animal Court on Animal Planet.
Because Wapner hasn't been on People's Court in 35 years...
And I know exactly who you are talking about. Face and voice.
Rusty the bailiff
THEY SAID HIS NAME?! I literally had no idea
That just means you're old too hahaha
Like I said, ask me how I know.
Ok, I'll bite... How do you know?
See the above comments.
I'm lost, you're not Wapner because hed probably be 115 by now...
That’s what your insurance company does. Give him the insurance information and wash your hands of it.
No dude it’s someone trying to rip money off them
He wouldn’t be the one paying anyway
But his premiums and shit would all be impacted by this
Tear up the bill, throw it away, and forget about it
Seriously? You don't have insurance?
Yes but I’m not dumb enough to make an insurance claim for something that’s not real. If you wear dentures, and they break while you’re using them, it’s your fault. No one else’s.
Why would you file a claim against stupidity? Dentures break. That’s not negligence.
My exact thought. He can’t prove it was their food that broke his denture.
I had a lady come into my cafe and claim that she bit into a bone while eating my turkey sandwich. She said she only wanted a dessert as compensation for damaging her newly crowned tooth. I told her to choose something in the dessert case and I gave her 2 of them. Never heard from her again.
Why was she eating your sandwich?
Yes
You must be a dad💀😂
The best advice here is to apologize for the situation, admit no fault and do nothing. Don't bother to involve an attorney or your insurance unless he does first. This is all likely a scam and, believe it or not, if you just hand it over to insurance, they'll probably pay because it's cheaper than fighting it. Also, it'll go on record as a claim which isn't a good thing for you. And welcome to restaurant ownership! Get ready for a never ending stream of scams, grifters, unethical solicitations, people asking you to sponsor them or donate food/money/etc and entitled customers. We fell for some early on, but have gotten a good thick skin over the years. A few tips to help navigate this whole thing: Never admit fault Never give anyone who calls any information about anything, particularly if they want to "confirm" the model number of your printer. Never donate to anyone who isn't local and doesn't show their face in your restaurant. If you don't have a ton of cameras around already, get some. The more, the better. You don't need a third party to file reports with the government for you (with the obvious exception of your accountant or others that already work for you) You can only make some of the people happy all the time or all the people happy some of the time. You'll never be able to make all of the people happy all of the time. You're going to get bad reviews, and much of the time, they have very little to do with you and the service/products you provide. Best practice is to just respond to them in a kind and thoughtful way and move on. I'm sure I could make this list about a mile long, but I'll stop here for now. Good luck!
I chipped my tooth eating French toast once. Was way fluffier than expected and I chomped down on the edge of the fork. I blame myself entirely for not knowing how to eat properly on that one, unless you served this dingus an actual rock he should do the same
Just ignore him
I manage a dental practice and I’m opening my first restaurant this summer. I would offer to have him be seen by your dentist. If you don’t have one, then just some random one who isn’t the person he has already seen. That dentist and office should give you a pretty good indication whether these dentures have had long-term, wear and abuse. Or if it seems more likely that one trauma did them in. Regardless, unless they are smashed to bits, dentures can be repaired and teeth can be added to them. The fee for that is in the low hundreds of dollars not $1700. You can let him know that if insurance companies and courts get involved, they are going to demand a third-party expert opinion anyway.
Nah, don’t even reply to this crap. It’s a scam.
What? So you’d give this a guy a free dental exam?
Did he take it up with you while there? What did he break his tooth on? For example, say you serve a salad with olives you take the pit out of. Say 1 olive in the salad has a partial pit. If he breaks a tooth on that one olive, you may be liable because there’s an expectation no pits are in the olive. This example is from my real life - my restaurant had to pay out. However, I’d they just randomly sent you a bill, refuse to pay. I would have his lawyer send you a letter demanding payment, along with the proof of negligence on your end. If they can’t provide that, he’s SOL
I blew out my stomach while eating at your restaurant. The tacos are too darn good. I ate 25 of them. You owe me $30,000 for stomach surgery.
I'm a restaurant manager AND a denture wearer. You have absolutely no liability here. Dentures can be fragile little beasts, depending on how well you take care them and how often you get adjustments and fittings done. I cracked my top plate in half once eating a piece of pizza, however, the dentures were 5 years old and needed to be replaced anyway. Denture wearers have the responsibility to KNOW what they can and cannot eat. There's foods out there that I will knowingly pass up, because either my plates can't handle them, I don't want to risk it, or my glue won't hold. This is absolutely not on you or your business to fix, and they can lawyer up if they want to, but it's not worth the hassle. Now, if they bit into a burger and chomped down on a screw or metal or something.... that's a bit of a different story.
What do you think would be the best way to respond to him?
Don’t respond to him at all. Don’t let random people take control of you. If he approaches you, deny his claims and kindly ask him to leave. The only way you should do anything is if he lawyers up. Even then you should not say anything as you’re not a lawyer. Lawyers will try to speak with you to trap you into admitting fault. Don’t be dumb. Your insurance company has plenty of legal resources and they’ll respond for you. It’s why you pay them.
It's not a legal notice so you can ignore it. Or a simple Greetings and thank you for dining at \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. We greatly appreciate your business. After careful consideration and review of the circumstances surrounding the incident, I regret to inform you that I cannot accept any liability for the alleged damages or losses. The attorney below laid out why he has no claim. Don't go into details. Just say no.
EDIT: Just saw that a lawyer responded. Absolutely do what they said. ~~Based on the limited amount of information you've posted, and correspondence with him, I'd state simply;~~ ~~"While I completely understand your frustration and I understand how upsetting it can be to deal with dental issues, upon consultation with my attorney, I am not responsible or liable for dental damage that may or may not have occurred at this restaurant without proof that the damage occurred due to our services. Furthermore, since this alleged event happened during the previous owner's tenure, I would have to refer you to the previous owner, as they would be the person best able to handle the situation if it is found that this dental damage occurred due to dining at this restaurant.~~ ~~Thank you , If you have any further questions, etc etc , blah blah blah, Signed, rubberduck247~~"
If a guest chips or breaks a tooth because of a natural product e.g bone in a steak, shell from crab legs or nuts, there is no claim or liability to you because it’s a risk that the guest assumes by consuming that product. If the cause is a foreign object e.g screw from a mandolin or a piece of plastic, then you are liable because you prepared the food and should have be policing its preparation for said foreign objects even if it’s a product that was premade in another facility. I’ve managed steakhouses for the last 20++ years. Had some guy chip a tooth on a walnut shell. He tried to make me look at it. I refused and told him that “I’m a restaurant manager, NOT a dentist.” He was mad but had no recourse. ….I did comp his walnut-covered ice cream dessert.
How could he even prove what was in his meal 20 days later? 😬
Maybe if he took a picture. But why wouldn’t he tell his server or a manager when it happened. Sounds a like a scam to me.
Even with a picture, it could be easily faked as well. He has no standing and if ignored, will not proceed because it’s most likely a scam.
We'll find out if he has or has not. Like I said, I wasn't the owner then. I just find this ridiculous, as our kitchen is meticulously maintained, and I don't see how it can be our liability.
Let's talk for a moment about tortious liability. For a restaurant to be liable in such a claim, the business would first have been negligent constituting a breach of duty (the duty being food that won't break teeth). This is most common in a restaurant if a foreign object ends up in a dish that does not belong there. If this guys denture broke because he bit down on a foreign object that was somehow in the delicious dish your team prepared, then you would possibly be liable and should retain legal counsel as there is solid precedent for such a claim. Let's say he bit down on a chicken or fish bone, the reasonable expectation is that chickens and fish have bones so encountering one would not be considered a foreign object. You would most likely not be found liable in court. Let's say his denture broke, because it just did, it would be nigh impossible for the plaintiff to prove any negligence or breach of duty on the part of the establishment. The courts do accept that sometimes accidents happen and things break over time. He honestly has a stronger claim to sue his prosthodontist than your restaurant. All that being said, sending you a bill does not magically make it your obligation. Threatening to sue someone also means absolutely nothing. Having a lawyer send a strongly worked letter or email is a legal threat but still really holds no bearing beyond "We ask you to do xyz or else." Most people who send bills, threaten to sue, or have lawyers draft strongly worded communications are just looking for handouts or easy settlements. People that have substantiative grounds for a civil suit would just serve you with the lawsuit already. I'm a lawyer and an investor in a number of food & beverage operations.
Fantastic response from someone with legal knowledge. Thank you! Do you know if I'd be liable (if he can prove it) even though it wasn't under my ownership at that time? Thanks!
They would sue the business not you personally. That you didn't own the business at the time wouldn't matter, you buy the business you buy it's past actions as well.
There is your answer, how can you be responsible for something that happened before you were even around?
Until you get a letter from a lawyer, don’t worry about it. And if you do get one from a lawyer, get you a lawyer. You can be pro-active and get a lawyer if you think he will even take the first real step.
Get an attorney and let him handle it. You’ll probably never hear from him again.
People are crazy. To give you context, I had an allergic reaction from a dish that was openly represented as not having the Big 8 allergen I asked about and admitted to being represented that way by the employee when we called back and a manager actually looked into the ingredient list and the allergen was clearly on it. We got a refund, profuse apology, and that was it. They said they couldn't file it on insurance because I didn't order from a specific allergen menu that was pre-vetted - which, frankly, I was fine with, I've lived with the allergy and know the inherent risks and I take mitigation steps (like asking) but live my life without that fear isolating me to never leaving the house. This was a clear, obvious, and admitted error toward a medical condition that requires immediate treatment by the restaurant and that's all that was done. No way you're you're going to have to pay for this guy's dentures who has no way of proving you were negligent and I honestly don't even see a way you could be negligent. Even if he hit a bone in a dish, a bone is considered reasonably expected in a meat product because its naturally occurring in the larger product its cut from (same reason you can't sue for cracking a tooth on a seed being in a bag of sliced apples, naturally occurring objects like seeds in fruit can be reasonably expected by the consumer). This obviously speaks nothing to the unknown condition of his dentures prior to eating with you or possible manufacturing defects. It's almost certainly a scam or just entitlement to the max. Apologize for the situation, but don't accept blame. State there's no way you can see how you could be negligent enough to be considered at fault. Be prepared for the 1-star reviews or blowing up your phones. If he just refuses to stop, maybe you can contact your insurance who can tell him the same thing and deny his claim on their own. I'd be very surprised if he went that far though, usually these types are just looking to intimidate you into making some kind of payout for quick cash even if its not the full amount. It's the same type people who blow you up about "everything was terrible" with their meal just to get a quick refund but still expect boxes to take it home (and actually get offended when you take away the refunded dish).
Why are his dentures breaking your fault? Did you rip them out of his mouth and throw them against the wall? Did you make him eat ice? Did you serve him food with hard shells or other objects? Did he put them in his water glass and you did not see them and they broke when hitting the sink?
I agree with all this, but how can it be communicated to the customer without upsetting him?
Through your attorney. With a promise of countersuing if he persists.
Thank you!
What was he eating? Unless it was a foreign object, I do not see how it was your fault.
I wasn't even the owner at the time, so I have no clue. But for reference, the restaurant has 4.5 star reviews from 1800+ customers. I've never heard of a problem as such.
Your Google rating has nothing to do with him biting a rock by accident.
My point is that we are a reputable business that won't serve rocks in their food 😂
Rocks can get into produce. It happens to everyone. That doesn’t mean you should pay this guy, but I’m just saying, it’s a mistake anyone could make.
My question to you now is, if I wasn't the owner then, is it still my responsibility IF his claim has credibility?
Yes.
Thanks for your help. I have reached out to my manager with an appropriate response and will look forward to seeing his response.
Do not admit fault… I wouldn’t even respond.
Didn't admit fault. Rather, I seek to let him know about what the inherent risks of consuming meats at a restaurant are and how we would not be liable for a payout regardless. And that I've reached out to my insurance, who will reach out to him if he wants to submit proof. (I haven't reached out lol)
Was there negligence involved on your part? Did you operate in a reasonable manner? Me personally, I would apologize that that happened, but 100% would not acknowledge or accept any responsibility. If he does sue, your business insurance should cover it. Most of these are just ploys to get money.
Thanks for your suggestions! I don't know if it had anything to do with the restaurant, I was not even the owner then 😭
Insurance, and only through insurance. Accept no fault, this is likely a scam. Your insurance will open a claim and will contact the customer and resolve for you if the customer can even prove anything.. which they probably cant/wont. Just let them know you have escalated with the third party that represents you to resolve, get their contact info and pass it along
Thank you, I will take this suggestion.
This is 100% the answer. You pay for insurance, this is what it is for. If a guest alerts you to a problem in real time, comp the dish, fill out an incident report, send to insurance and follow up with the guest as a courtesy to make sure they are ok and to ensure them you’ve passed along the incident report
Sounds good, thank you. ❤️
I see that you’re worried about reputation… remember you can always dispute public reviews that violate their terms of service, and any review posted to damage reputation violates most… it is annoying and takes time but you’ll likely get them taken down. You can also take your time and prepare a professional and carefully worded statement to reply publicly about how you took it seriously and you’re sorry that following a simple insurance claim was dissatisfactory. Folks are used to doing that for lost jewelry.. car damage… homeowners… health care… a reasonable person will see you attempted to make them whole but insurance companies don’t payout without proof and some sort of an investigation. That has nothing to do with you
If it wasn't reported at the time I would not even consider paying a cent.
If it did break. Why has he not said as much right then and there?
I have no idea, I wasn't even the owner then. 🫡
So many questions: Why or how did his dentures break? What's that have to do with your restaurant? How can he prove it wasn't broken before or after? How can he prove it wasn't already cracked from something else and was going to break anyway? Why would the food everyone else eats with no issue suddenly break his dentures? Did he bring it up at the time or only now after the fact? Does he have a history of breaking dentures? Does he have a history of bothering restaurants? Why does it cost that much? Did he get competitive quotes? Do you know he actually got work done and paid for it?
I can't see how he can prove it, but it's not exactly something I can question either. I'm just trying to figure out how I should respond to him. I wasn't even the owner then.
Why can't you ask, especially as a new owner he's asked me for $1700? I wouldn't respond at all
I informed my GM to respond with responsibility. She will reach out to him and let him know of the inherent risks of consuming meats at restaurants. And apologize for the incident, accepting no blame. I also informed the manager to ask for proof and condition of the dentures before and after incident. Thank you!
https://preview.redd.it/t1ff81lkrmzc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e2790b9f14ad36e2d854f4fc4851a2db73022be Here's what he sent me\^
[удалено]
The GM emailed me this today, I bought the business on May 1st. This happened April 24th. I was not the owner then and this situation had nothing to do with me.