Red Lobster Takes Gold in Worst Dining Experience

Hey Mel, I am just curious....did you get a reply fromm them?

I think it's interesting that the manager called the police. If
someone was, in fact, intoxicated upon leaving the restaurant and was
then pulled over or had an accident, could the restaurant not be held
liable for either A. over-serving the customer or B. serving an
intoxicated person, period (assuming the person arrived that way)?

As far as the complaint goes, I probably wouldn't patronize that
location again either. Maybe you just rubbed someone the wrong way
that evening. I think it's a little excessive to call the police
about two drinks over a two hour period, but that's just me.

I side with the manager. You chose to drink and drive. Be lucky you
did not kill someone because if you kill someone I knew, I would want
you to get life in prison without parole.

I'm wondering if the fact that you live in Utah had something to do
with it. Could it have been someone misguidedly acting on his or her
religious beliefs?

Just a thought.

Congratulations to this manager. He should be commended for taking
action. An accident, whether related to the fact that you were
drinking or not, could have held him liable for the damage, or taken
ones life because they choose to serve you ONE drink (Utah dram shop
law) If you and your husband are as responsible as you say you are,
take the damn breathlizer test and be thankful you live in a safe
community. Shame on the police officer for sharing information on
this establishment. These situations are REAL--my best friend is
alive today.

Hmmm... when a person's burglar alarm goes off and police show up for
a false alarm, there's generally a fine. I personally think that Red
Lobster should be fine for wasting taxpayer time and resources for
something this obvious. Had you blown a .05, then I'd say the manager
could have had a reason, but this was just plain idiocy.

Good letter and I hope Red Lobster responds to you.

This isn't the first time that I have heard about something like this
happening. It's to bad that your entire evening had generally tanked
because of obscenely bad customer service. If you're up for cooking at
home still I recommend trying out Lobster Gram. They are a great mail
order lobster, steak, gourmet food company that even deliver live
lobster from Maine nationwide. I hope you never have another
experience like that again though.

How do you know the call came from the restaurant? Did the police tell
you this?

I wonder if anyone has any suggestions about any legal action that
could be taken against the GM/staff at this location? This would be
harassment to me, and i wouldn't let it go- what about "making a false
report to the police?"

Everyone needs to quit painting this manager as a wannabe hero and
recognize him for what he is: a retaliatory baby who needs to not
take criticism (about slow wait times) personally.

At best, this manager chased away two diners from going to his
restaurant again. At worst, a REAL drunk driver got away because the
police were preoccupied with the OP and her husband.

And aside:

If you're ever wrongly pulled over for suspected DUI, you can legally
refuse all of the field sobriety tests and go straight to the
Breathalyzer. The police have to let you do this (at least in Iowa
and Minnesota, they do). Since the Breathalyzer is more definitive
than the other field sobriety tests, it could save some time and
embarrassment.

He is, in fact, just a guy who made a mistake, erred on the side of
caution, while doing his job. Corporate establishments are ruthless
when it comes to harsh punishment if their staff isn't over-the-top
anal about "responsible beverage service". Where I work, they send in
secret shoppers, some in their thirties, and if you don't card them
(because our policy is EVERYONE under 40 gets carded), you are fired
on the spot.

This has happened to at least threee people in the 4 years I've worked
there.

When I explained this policy to a thirty-six year old woman who had to
go get her I.D. out of the car, she told me she didn't give a $hit, in
front of her little kid, then threw the card at the back of my head
when she came back in.
I risk pissing people off at my job all the time.

Plus, the manager and waitress are already in some sort of trouble,
I'm sure, for having to make that call, so I doubt they'd do it unless
they really felt they may have screwed up. That kind of trouble isn't
worth it unless you really feel it's preventing further damage.

As someone with kids, as someone who drives home late at night, I
applaud the manager for making the call. Better safe than sorry. Had
you actually been intoxicated, Red Lobster, the waitress, the
bartender, and that manager would have been in just as much trouble as
you for not making the call.
I would happily take a sobriety test that I passed and go on my way if
it means catching drivers that actually are drunk.

When I, briefly, worked in a restaurant, I remember being told that
servers/restaurant employees/bartenders could get in BIG trouble if
they had served alcohol to someone who ended up going out and driving
and hurting or killing someone. Maybe in your case, they were just
trying to make SURE they covered their backs...

Is there more to this story? I know this happened in Utah, where
alcohol consumption is handled meticulously in the first place, but it
doesn't sound right. Two drinks in two hours, and a manager suggests
to the police you were drunk. Of course you may have come in blasted,
but that could not have happened if your BAC was .007.

I'm wondering if there was some sort of argument or harsh words
regarding the service or food that preceded this. I'm not saying that
justifies calling the police (it doesn't), but do you not have any
inkling as to what may have set the manager off (were you swaying all
over the place and slurring your words)?

Did anyone else notice that this letter didn't seem to go anywhere or
did I miss something?
Shame, too, because this manager needs to have a serious talking-to.
Unless you were acting rowdy (high on life?), and with the way you
describe the service I doubt you were, this bozo had no reason to call
the law on you. Sounds like he was retaliating for a small tip (which
he deserved!) or something.
Good for you for calling him on it and I think that you're one of the
few that actually deserves a written apology, suitable for framing :)
I hope you get it!

I definately agree with the others...but what gets me is the fact that
a place like Red Lobster knows that their alcohol is meaured out and
that anyone having 2 mixed drinks is probably not drunk. Its not like
its the neighborhood bar where the drinks are poured less sparingly
usually.

This GM needs to be instructed by the police as to when to call and
when not to.

What a waste of time.

I agree 100% with this OP. This GM needs an education in this area,
or he's going to be pissing off a lot of customers.

Utah is one of those states that, when someone is pulled over for a
potential dwi, the police attempt to determine where the person last
drank. If the person ends up being arrested, this can have
repercussions on the establishment which last served them especially
if it has happened several times.

(A promising strategy that is being implemented by some States (e.g.,
Massachusetts, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) involves identifying the
place of last drink for those arrested on driving under the
influence/driving while intoxicated (DUI/DWI) charges. The collection
of this data allows States to identify and target problem outlets that
may be in violation of laws prohibiting sales to intoxicated people or
drink specials that encourage over-consumption of alcohol.
http://tinyurl.com/6d3p43)

It's interesting that the general manager of this Red Lobster ran the
risk of calling this kind of unwelcome attention onto his restaurant.


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WOW, that sure was a waste of resources. It does sound as though the
call was in retaliation, assuming you complained about the service.

I agree with the others, if the store truly thought you were drunk, at
least a cab should have been offered. Sounds fishy on the part of Red
Lobster.

I agree with the other commentators; they should have offered to call
a cab if they thought you were that intoxicated. But, like another
commentator, I wonder, DID you complain about the slow service? You
mention the general manager was involved in the slow service, so
that's why I'm asking. If so, I wonder if the call was retaliation.

I'm not suggesting that justifies it, because no matter what the
situation, the restaurant was in the wrong. And yes, what a waste of
city resources.

Jeez, even if you had been drunk they handled it poorly. They should
have informed you that they thought you weren't fit to drive and
offered to call a cab.

Makes me wonder how well they handle actual drunk drivers. A lot can
happen in four blocks.

Great Letter! I can't believe they would call the police when they
didn't offer to assist in any way if they thought you were so
intoxicated. Mabye you complained and they did this as revenge? If
this is true it is very juvenile.I would suggest resending this letter
as it appears to not have been sent to anyone.

For those wondering what the legal limit is in Utah, it's .08 The
breathalizer showed .007 She wasn't even 1/10 of the way to the legal
limit.

Two drinks over two hours (and with meals) and they call the police?
What a bunch of nitwits. If they thought that you were too
intoxicated to drive why didn't they do the right thing (as they were
the ones who served you the drinks) and offer to call a taxi? Anyway,
great letter. Very well written.