Over the weekend I went to a restaurant for brunch. Suddenly, a young woman at the table next to us started having a seizure. Fortunately, her friends with her and reacted immediately, keeping her head supported and making sure she didn’t choke on anything.
What impressed me most, however, was how the restaurant’s staff reacted. Within seconds an ambulance had been called, and the waitress worked with one of the woman’s friends to answer all of the pertinent health questions. The staff also moved the table out to give them more room, and another waitress laid her own jacket over the woman’s legs, as she was wearing a short skirt. When the paramedics came and the friends tried to pay the bill, the manager explained that it had all been taken care of. The most important thing was for the young woman to get medical attention and some rest.
Wow! I can’t imagine that having an ambulance parked in front of your restaurant would be good for business, but the restaurant was truly classy and helpful in this very scary situation. After the group had left, the manager personally came by to each of the surrounding tables to make sure we were okay. He also offered to get us a free drink on the house. I think we were all just glad that the woman was okay.
It just goes to show that having a responsible, courteous staff really pays off. It would be very easy to panic in this situation, but the employees remained calm and did everything possible to keep their guests comfortable and safe. Bravo!