you accidently break a glass...

[Ken Gargett]

i should preface this by saying it is not aimed at Rob and all the glasses he has managed to smash at my place.

saw this piece below.

woman at the in-laws accidently dropped a glass which broke. no big drama. gets home and gets an email from dad-in-law with a bill for 156 pounds (what the hell was the glass?).

what would you do?

 

WOMAN BILLED FOR BROKEN WINE GLASS BY IN-LAWS

8th May, 2018 by Lauren Eads

A woman has described her shock at receiving a bill for £156 from her in-laws after she accidentally broke a wine glass at their home.

The woman was asked to reimburse her in-laws to the tune of £156, or buy them the glass online.

The woman, who was five months pregnant at the time, had been visiting with her husband when the glass smashed, which unbeknown to her was a “high-end” piece of glassware, although the exact brand of glass was not revealed.

Sharing the incident on Mumsnet, the women wrote: “Went to PIL’ [parents-in-law] home last weekend, had a glass of wine and I accidentally dropped it. No big deal, they shrugged it off.”

However after the couple had left, the women went on to explain that she had later received an email demanding reimbursement for the broken glass, as reported by The Telegraph.

“I didn’t know at the time, but said wine glass apparently happens to be pretty high end,” she wrote.

“FIL [father-in-law] has this morning sent me an email saying that I can just transfer the £156 to him or buy the glass online. At first I thought it was a joke only to realise that these people have no sense of humour.

“Really shocked at this as they are not known for being stingy.”

Asking the forum for opinions on whether she should stummp up, or if her parents-in-law were being unfair, the woman received mixed responses.

“He has the money to buy expensive glasses, but not the class to go with it,” one person commented.

However another suggested that the woman should have immediately offered to replace the wine glass, writing: “If I broke something at someone else’s house I would offer to replace it and expect to do so.

“Your FIL is rude to ask, but it’s even poorer form that the OP [original poster] didn’t offer in the first place.”

[ender.lmm]

If you put your glasses out, you are OK if they break. Unless you do a first hand disclaimer you should not complain.

Already happened to me, it works

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[gweilgi]

If I break a glass or spill some wine, I offer to cover the cost of replacement or cleaning.  That's good manners. 

The hosts usually reject the offer ... that, also, is good manners.

And there it should end.

In this case, it seems either the parents-in-law have a serious problem with the lady, or they have no household insurance....

Either way, the real question is: what was the wine?  Was it a fruity Moldovan Red from Aldi at £1.99, or was it a 1982 Romanée-Conti?  

[El Presidente]

6 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

If I break a glass or spill some wine, I offer to cover the cost of replacement or cleaning.  That's good manners. 

The hosts usually reject the offer ... that, also, is good manners.

And there it should end.

 

Agreed. 

 

One day I will be offered a clean $5 glass at kens. 

[gweilgi]

2 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

 

Agreed. 

 

One day I will be offered a clean $5 glass at kens. 

From the conversation round here, I had formed the impression that you were expected to bring your own?

[Fuzz]

I've broken glasses at friend's places, and I always offer a bottle from my cellar as recompense. People have broken mine, and only my friend's have offered something for the trouble. My relatives... well, let's just say, they now all get the cheap glasses from KMart.

[Ken Gargett]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

 

Agreed. 

 

One day I will be offered a clean $5 glass at kens. 

well you have broken most of my good ones! 

[cigcars]

       *Well first I would have offered to replace the glass. If the FIL had've said it was worth L156 I would have demanded the right to have an appraiser justify that. And I'm sure there are ways to get a complimentary appraisal for such a thing - have had free appraisals done before for unsearched gems and so on. 

[dvickery]

All for the father in law ?

i am sending my boys each a bill for about 180,000$ for the sh!t they broke over the years .

seriously ... if you can afford 300$ glasses ... blah blah blah

derrek

[JamesKPolkEsq]

A small price to pay to have something so juicy to hold over my spouse’s head for the rest of our lives.

It’s a twofer as well, “Sorry honey, can’t go to your parents’ house, can’t afford to.”

[Ken Gargett]

the price concerns me. i don't think Riedel's most expensive comes in at that price so presumably some special crystal or antique glass, but he did say buy it on line. so not that impossible to get. which makes me think what the hell could it be. sounds like daddy-in-law is rorting his family. i'd certainly want evidence. 

not only that, i'd ask for the original receipt. bastard probably shoplifted it in the first place. 

rob, you owe me.... (just sign over the shares in FoH, that should cover it). 

 

[PapaDisco]

First off, I agree with what others have said; that if you put your wine glasses out, you are expecting that they be used and are at risk.  It's a nice touch for the guest to offer to get them another glass, but mandatory that the host refuse.  If you're going to serve people on 156L glasses and you expect them to assume the liability then at the very least you should tell them at the start of the evening.  And what a mood killer that would be!  

But more to the point: in this case we're dealing with weirdo In-laws . . . In-laws.  They're her hubby's responsibility and she should just toss the whole awkward moment over to him for resolution as he sees fit.

[Ken Gargett]

6 minutes ago, PapaDisco said:

First off, I agree with what others have said; that if you put your wine glasses out, you are expecting that they be used and are at risk.  It's a nice touch for the guest to offer to get them another glass, but mandatory that the host refuse.  If you're going to serve people on 156L glasses and you expect them to assume the liability then at the very least you should tell them at the start of the evening.  And what a mood killer that would be!  

But more to the point: in this case we're dealing with weirdo In-laws . . . In-laws.  They're her hubby's responsibility and she should just toss the whole awkward moment over to him for resolution as he sees fit.

hard to argue. 

[gweilgi]

46 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

the price concerns me. i don't think Riedel's most expensive comes in at that price so presumably some special crystal or antique glass, but he did say buy it on line. so not that impossible to get. which makes me think what the hell could it be. sounds like daddy-in-law is rorting his family. i'd certainly want evidence. 

not only that, i'd ask for the original receipt. bastard probably shoplifted it in the first place. 

rob, you owe me.... (just sign over the shares in FoH, that should cover it). 

 

FWIW, Baccarat glasses are that pricy, and more.  A  "Degustation Grande Bourgogne" glass comes in at £235/AUD422.

Personally, I'd rather spend five bucks on an unbreakable plastic sippy cup and blow the rest on a really good bottle.  And a cigar.  

[Ken Gargett]

3 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

FWIW, Baccarat glasses are that pricy, and more.  A  "Degustation Grande Bourgogne" glass comes in at £235/AUD422.

Personally, I'd rather spend five bucks on an unbreakable plastic sippy cup and blow the rest on a really good bottle.  And a cigar.  

a good glass is important and i'd go with riedel or plumm or zalto. worth it above the plastic. but who pulls out such a monumentally expensive glass for the in-laws? 

[dangolf18]

Well if she was super drunk and broke it, then I'd be pretty pissed. If not, then they must not really like her! 

[JohnS]

I think we need a little perspective. I mean, in this situation, it's not like after dropping your glass...

you become a star-child or similar!

On the other hand, this daughter-in-law has become a star-child, in an infamous figurative sense, hasn't she?

[Fuzz]

Drinking from the bottle will solve the problem. Or just give your guests a can of wine.

 

[El Hoze]

I swapped my main glassware to Zalto a few years ago that I use for dinner parties etc. They feel extremely delicate in the hands vs any of the Riedel I find, and I usually get comments on “oh I hope I don’t break this” when people first feel them.....ironically not one has broken. 

 

[Zigatoh]

I just wonder, if they're using £156 per glasses, how much does the wine they're about to, literally, piss away cost? And if you're not bothered about that then why the glass?

[...]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned a potential scenario where she was not offered wine in the first place due to being pregnant and the in-laws being concerned, reached out in the kitchen herself and used an overly pricy glass and managed to smash it.

The case is a situation where there is just enough information to allow victimization of the storyteller while truly not sufficient info to pass enlightened judgment on the matter.

Cheers!

[Fugu]

Sorry folks, glassware is expendable materials. No matter the cost. If I put on a "high end" piece of glassware it goes without saying that I cover any risk. What a JOKE.

[fastkiller13]

Here’s what I’m thinking. The father-in-law is a genius. He’s enjoying retirement last thing he wants is to be stuck watching a screaming baby for the next few years. Obviously his wife cant wait to have a new baby around all the time. So he goes on the offensive, charges the daighter-in-law for breaking a glass. 

End result is they will never ask him to babysit if they think a bill is coming for everything the kid breaks. The old man gets to enjoy peace and quiet, well not from his wife, but no screaming babies. 

I say well played Sir: Well played. Somebody send this man some very fine wine. 

[gweilgi]

10 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Drinking from the bottle will solve the problem. Or just give your guests a can of wine.

 

Bottles may break.

Use a cask!

[luv2fly]

We use red solo cups here.  No fuss no muss.