DARWIN, AUSTRALIA: Many restaurants in Australia don’t have table
service. You must go inside to order and pay for your food. If you want
something to drink, you go to another part of the restaurant and pay for your
drink there. It’s a strange system, but the food without a doubt is often quite
good. In Darwin, after studying the menu of such a restaurant, I decided to
order the breaded prawns, but instead of rice, I wanted chips and a side of
coleslaw and some tartar sauce. Strangely, this was all very confusing to the waiter
(clerk), who had to consult the owner several times before he could confirm the
order. When my order came out, instead of breaded prawns, I got a bowl of
shrimp in a gooey yellow sauce and instead of coleslaw I got a simple green
salad. I told the waiter, “Sorry, but this
is not what I ordered.” He said indignantly, “Yes it is.” I replied emphatically, “No it isn’t. Let me talk to the owner.” I didn’t have to wait long.
The owner came racing out red as a beet. “Did
you order from the menu?” he said, looking down at me threateningly. “Yes, but….” “Well then, this is what you ordered.” This was the flight or fight
moment. “No I did not! I ordered breaded
shrimp, chips, coleslaw, and tartar sauce.” I said loud enough for others
to hear and hopefully cause him to back off and reconsider. He didn’t, and to my surprise got even more adamant and started
swearing at me. The F word was used a lot. For me, flight was not an option. I
returned his insults with my own, thinking at the same time this guy is much
younger and bigger than I. What if I end up in the hospital with a broken jaw?
What will my wife think? But I didn’t back down and finally he walked away in a
huff leaving me to stew and eat something I didn’t order. As I finished my
meal, he came back. “I want to apologize
for the misunderstanding,” he said. “The
waiter’s a new employee and his English is not very good.” I had actually gotten
over it by then and told him I appreciated his apology. He then offered me a glass of wine and for the next half hour we talked politics and to our
credit solved all of the world’s problems.
