Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published July 25, 2007 Bad Luck I wonder how many restaurants have been written off by people who happen to dine in a place that was experiencing a bad day. A diner is within his rights and reasonable to expect that any restaurant should perform up to expectations every day. After all, if the restaurant is having a bad time, it will not likely lower its prices for the occasion. (Although it's not unheard of for restaurants to offer free wine or desserts or appetizers when their operations slow to an unexpected crawl.) However, I think we become better diners and have more fun when we recognize the human quality of a restaurant. You and I have bad days; sometimes we have days so bad that we accomplish almost nothing and make everyone around us angry. And we better hope that the people we let down forgive us for that. Perhaps this explains the popularity of chain restaurants. By using formulae and unswerving service policies, they don't change much. The good ones never have major dips in their food or service. On the other hand, they never have brilliant moments, either. Take away all the bad days, and you take away all the good days, too. It could be that the restaurants that show inconsistency do so because they're always trying new ideas--not all of which will ever be great, no matter what area of endeavor is involved. I may be too forgiving of such things; I know I am for some readers. But every time I experience bad luck in any part of my life, I consider that it's the bottom of a sine wave, and that it will be followed by a peak sometime soon. And I look forward to it. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com