3 Lessons I Learned the Day the Window Crashed

A restaurant disaster story from the trenches

I was on expo during a busy weekday lunch when I heard a loud BOOM.

It was not the kind of noise you expect when something goes wrong in a restaurant like dishes crashing. It wasn’t even like a car backfiring… or worse a gun going off. No, it was like a sonic boom, and then all of the pressure got sucked out of the room.

I ran into the dining room and my jaw dropped. An enormous fifteen-foot window had come crashing down into tiny bits of glass during the middle of service. The entire room of over 150 people was stunned silent. I was twenty-five years old. I was the General Manager. I was in charge of this disaster.

My mind went momentarily blank. It felt like a scene in a movie where all the noise and movement mutes and moves in slow motion. In the next moment, all the sounds came crashing back in, and my brain started grinding into gear. We quickly assessed the dining room for injuries, announced that we were comping all meals, and evacuated the dining room. Fortunately and unbelievably, no one was seriously injured. One guy sitting near the window did get cut by glass and was evaluated by emergency responders but ultimately was fine (though this did come back to haunt me 364 days later).

How did this happen?

That particular spring had been a stormy one. Our restaurant was in an older building situated in a downtown corridor that was a bit of a wind tunnel. The window had started showing signs of compromise a couple of weeks prior. At first it was a whistle, air leaking through somehow, but no moisture. Then, it started to make a rattling noise. Employees noticed it, and guests seated at the 2-tops next to the window noticed it. We had the noticing part down. Where I think I may have fallen short was in the communicating.

Thankfully, I had an A-list team at that restaurant. It must’ve been a Friday or an Ops meeting day, because both of my supporting managers were onsite that day. Even in our panic, we divided and conquered seamlessly, and all came together with the crew to clean up the mess.

To this day, it is still one of the scariest and most impactful days of my career. Here’s what I learned:

Lesson 1: Be the squeaky wheel

I had contacted the building’s maintenance crew about the window. However, looking back, I believe I should have been more explicit about the urgency of the situation. I should have called multiple times, and not let up until a solution was executed. No one wants to replace an enormous window, but this turned out to be an incredibly dangerous situation.

Lesson 2: Surround yourself with a great team

My leadership team was an all-hands-on-deck, action-oriented team. One grew up in her mom’s bar much like I grew up in my parent’s market, and understood what it takes to keep these businesses going (side note: we still work together 15 years later). The other was an industry veteran that had been a director of ops for a chain restaurant, got burned out, and sought out our independent restaurant. He was overqualified for the job, far more experienced than me, and willing to start over in a place that he loved. Sub-lesson: Don’t be afraid to hire people that know more than you.

Lesson 3: You will get sued at some point so keep good records

The young man that got injured did sue us 364 days later. This is a tactic used by many injury lawyers. In Tennessee, personal injury lawsuits must be filed within a year. Often, they wait until the last possible moment to do it. The strategy is that hopefully you’ve let your guard down, maybe lost some documentation, no longer have camera footage, and maybe the people that witnessed it are gone. Proper documentation and record-keeping is crucial. If there is camera footage, save it. Send it to your insurance company for safe keeping. Fill out a report, get witness statements and contact information.

If there is one thing I worry most for other independent operators, it is the state of their record-keeping. Independent restaurants are most vulnerable with fewer systems and protocols in place and typically fewer resources to defend themselves. Your best defense (besides operating ethically) is to be diligent about documentation.

Wrap Up

Shit is going to go down at some point in your restaurant career. It will be unexpected and scary. Surround yourself with great people, teach them to notice and communicate when things are off, follow through by taking action, and keep good records. You will make it through, and it will eventually be a good story to tell.

Good luck!

Claire

Related newsletter: