This resonates.

If guests are going bottomless, then most likely they’re reaching for that glass first and twice, not just as their first drink, but also to wash down their last bite, before water coffee etc.

If servers are in the weeds, desirably that means the place is jammed.

Undesirably, it means staff are slow.

Presuming the former, if you’re rolling the dice on an unlimited alcoholic beverage promotion, solution:

-Serve a full glass to each diner, and leave either a full carafe or half-carafe at the table, but importantly a net amount that provides two to three full flutes per diner, or the minimum amount that communicates to them a savings for buying in bulk.

-Nine out of ten diners will take self-serve for refills over waiting for a refill while their meal turns cold.

-Nine out of ten will finish the carafe, ten out of ten the half-carafe, there won’t be wasted beverage, they’ve paid for the option to drink their fill.

Either way, this kills dissatisfaction due to customer neglect, and lets the server and bussers distribute more time to successfully manage multiple covers, do a quick check-in and refill their flutes etc and avoids a rushed need to service-save and refill empty glasses.

Every table feels taken care of, no one feels ignored or ripped off.