Knowing Your Rights When Things Go Wrong

Taking a Spill

Situation: A waiter at a fancy restaurant leaves an indelible impression―in the form of a wine stain on your favorite blouse.

What should happen: The restaurant accepts responsibility, and the manager gives you his card and offers to pay for the cleaning. For on-the-spot damage control, "I always keep some Wine Away in the closet," says Richard Breitkreutz, acting general manager of New York City's Eleven Madison Park, winner of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Service. If the stain doesn't come out after dry cleaning, the restaurant should offer to buy you a new blouse. Send the cleaning receipt, your dinner bill, and a quote for a new blouse to the restaurant manager or owner.

If you're getting the runaround: Should the restaurant management put up a fight over reimbursing you―and you're talking about expensive clothing, not your Chi Psi Casino Nite 1988 T-shirt―you may need to take this dispute to mediation or small-claims court.