Mishap, the Corktown bistro nouveau whose glazed prawns were recently featured in Swallow magazine, is requiring its waitstaff to tell customers what to enjoy instead of just saying “Enjoy!” The new policy takes effect on September 1.
“We’ve discovered that saying ‘Enjoy!’ without specifying causes confusion and anxiety,” says chef/owner Molly Hardaway. “Our diners should be able to focus solely on their meal, and not have to waste any time wondering what they’re being told to enjoy.”
For the most part, she says, the staff is embracing the change.
“I feel more empowered,” says Marian Soames, a part-time waitress and full-time platonics student at Wayne State. “Especially because they’re not telling us what to tell customers to enjoy, they’re letting us decide ourselves.”
Says server Craig Temple: “I’ve been waiting 15 years for this day!”
A few, however, aren’t as happy.
“The generic ‘Enjoy!’ saves both time and energy!” says one waiter, who asks not to be named fearing that someone will follow him home. “The job is hard enough without this added pressure.”
“We know it’s a big adjustment, which is why we’re giving a month’s notice,” says Hardaway. “It’s not easy to go from ‘Enjoy!’ to “Enjoy your Grapefruit-Braised Partridge!’”
The restaurant has seen a 240 percent increase in reservations since word of the policy change got out – and is now looking at a 2020 change to the standard “Have a good one!”
