the boston globe
Want some bacon peanut brittle at jm Curley’s? Be polite.
The colorful gastropub called jm Curley, in Downtown Crossing, tries to connect the old Boston and the new; the Globe’s restaurant critic called it “a playroom for adults.” Irreverence is literally on the menu, featuring admonitions such as “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s date’’ and “No one on our staff goes by: Hey, yo, sonny, tiger.” But beneath the playfulness, jm Curley is serious about its rules.
So when a customer recently plunked a $20 bill on a table and told his server that he would deduct a dollar from the potential tip each time something went wrong, restaurant manager Patrick Maguire took the man aside and explained — in so many words — that he was treating the wait staff like dirt.
Maguire packaged up the entrees and escorted the man and his date from the restaurant. Maguire expected the man to become belligerent. Instead, he became contrite, insisting on making a face-to-face apology to the server. Maguire then reseated the couple.
Restaurant blogs have been buzzing about the encounter. Some praised the manager for confronting the diner and protecting the dignity of his staff. Others insisted that the couple should have been shown the door unceremoniously. But it seems like Maguire handled it just right. It’s an old adage that the test of good manners is to be patient with bad manners. And in the end, the patron left a 40 percent tip.