YATT: waiter tried to screw us with bill

[VirtualLarry]

Am I the only one here who tips on the value of the meal prior to deducting the "buy one get one free" (or 50% off or whatever) ??? I figure the waiter/waitress shouldn't suffer a loss because of the restaurant's promotional policy

That's the proper way to tip, IMHO.

 

[Ichinisan]

Did the waiter admit that it was intentional?

 

[notposting]

Policy shmolicy. Waiter spying on the table should/could have easily enough seen the meals were simply traded, I mean wtf.

I tip well. We don't go out to eat very often, and even less so where there are people who like bring the food to us and stuff! But having a pulse usually gets you 20%. Being even moderately attentive and/or cute gets it to 25%. Show me some cleavage from over my wife's shoulder and who knows.

But shit like this scenario is the kind where maybe I leave nothing, or maybe I leave the tip small enough to be insulting, AND as others have mentioned...you will NEVER see me there again. Also, good job by the manager on just digging the hole deeper. That probably does escalate it to throwing some reviews up online just for late night anger satisfying.

 

[himkhan]

Since you are crying about whining about free kids meals in the first place, perhaps McDonald's is more your speed. You sound cheap.

 

[Aharami]

The waiter brought us the bill and left. Another waitress was clearing the tables when I noticed the problem. I thought it was in error and she went to find out what happened. After a while she came back and told us why we were billed for those two kids' meals. At that point, I asked to talk to the waiter, but the manager showed up instead.

The manager reaffirmed that we were properly billed because I ate the kids' meals. I pointed out that there was nothing stating that the kids had to eat their meals. She said it was an unwritten policy, but she relented. She took the charges off, but warned us not to do it again.



I told the wife that I refused to tip. She left $20.

fuck that restaurant. I'd never go there again

 

[Balt]

Fuck the waiter. Fuck the restaurant. If the deal is that two paid-for adult entrees come with two free kids entrees (or whatever), why give a fuck about who eats what? There's no additional cost to the restaurant, regardless of any sharing of the meals. The waiter was being a stupid nosy busy-body for even noticing, and the manager was being stupid for backing him/her up and threatening that you should never do it again. I would never go back to such a place.

Nothing anyone says here will help you argue against your wife, though. In fact, telling her you were in the right because of ATOT will probably just piss her off.

 

[mrjminer]

I think what they did was appropriate.

They gave kids a free meal. Your kids did not like the meal. At that point, you either buy them a meal, or force them to eat it. For all you know, the cost of the kids meals you ate could exceed the cost of the meal you paid for, effectively giving you a meal greater than what you paid for in your barter. Yea, it sucks, but the meals are supposed to be free for kids to eat -- and only for kids to eat.

Just think, with the $20 tip your wife left after you were obviously wrong, you could have bought your kids meals they liked, eaten the meal you really wanted, and left a regular tip.

 

[Captante]

Yes I would have left a tip but it would have been substantially less then normal to show my displeasure ... something in the area of 5% I think.

I prefer to always leave at least a minimal tip no matter how bad the service to eliminate all doubt about my possibly forgetting.

I think what they did was appropriate.

If the goal was to make the customer uncomfortable and encourage them to never come back especially with the family in tow then I agree with you.

However in my opinion the goal of offering free meals to families with kids is to encourage them to dine out more often rather then the opposite.

fuck that restaurant. I'd never go there again

100% agreed.

2x parents paying for 2x adult meals with 2 kids of appropriate age = 2 free kids meals. What happens to the kids meals once they are served is irrelevant.

Would they have charged for them if the kid(s) never touched them and they went in the trash?


Edit: Btw OP what was the restaurant?

 

[pcgeek11]

That is is not exactly true. The server loses no matter what.

What did he lose, by them swapping meals?

 

[pcgeek11]

^ Agreed.
< {former waiter}
Half tip. You have no monetary loss, but it is rude.
I understand why the restaurant has this policy. Should be in clear writing.
Trust me. The waiter hates the "free kid meal deal" {for more reasons than tip money} and having to enforce the policy.

Half tip? Why? I say No Tip at all.

Why do they have this policy?

Why does the waiter hate the free kids meal policy? And having to enforce it? That is between him and his employer.

 

[rockyct]

Was this a non-chain family owned restaurant? It seems like the manager isn't the type to rise to the top from his excellent customer service. He may have refunded the money, but the damage has been done so it was lose-lose for him. If he had come out saying, "I'm sorry, it was just a misunderstanding. We'll take the charge immediately off the bill and bring out some ice cream" he would have lost the money but probably keep the customer.

 

[fleshconsumed]

I think what they did was appropriate.

They gave kids a free meal. Your kids did not like the meal. At that point, you either buy them a meal, or force them to eat it. For all you know, the cost of the kids meals you ate could exceed the cost of the meal you paid for, effectively giving you a meal greater than what you paid for in your barter. Yea, it sucks, but the meals are supposed to be free for kids to eat -- and only for kids to eat.

Just think, with the $20 tip your wife left after you were obviously wrong, you could have bought your kids meals they liked, eaten the meal you really wanted, and left a regular tip.

Huh? What kind of logic is that? Based on the $20 tip let's say OP paid $80 for the two adult entrees and two free kid meals. Those $80 paid for all the food that was brought to the table. After the food was brought to the table who cares who eats what? When we go out we occasionally dip into each others plates, should we be charged for "double dipping"? No! We paid for food, it's ours to eat however we want to. Same with the OP, he paid $80 for two adult meals and two kid meals, after that point who cares if they decided to switch meals with the kids. The restaurant lost nothing, they still got paid $80.

Or am I being trolled right now?

 

[ctbaars]

A little off topic, but ...
This thread is proof that the server loses no matter what {but in the OP case he got a $20.} Free-meal-programs bring in people that don't leave tips, make a mess, require a lot more attention and front-line having to deal with stupid policies like this one. Restaurants want the sale and actually don't care much if the server gets a tip.
Table of eight comes in. two in high chairs, four seated kids and two adults. Four free meals, four the cheapest entree. No problem to me, they meet the deal and the restaurant has a customer. Guess what the table and floor looks like? Guess how much extra time to serve? Guess who ate the meals? I never had a policy like the OP's restaurant to deal with. Oh yeah, guess what my tip was?
Anecdotal? Maybe.

*Every restaurant runs differently on how tips are split or shared and also how labor is split and shared, so my experience is not universal.

** Have more to say but I have to get back to work ...

 

[slag]

Fuck the waiter. Fuck the restaurant. If the deal is that two paid-for adult entrees come with two free kids entrees (or whatever), why give a fuck about who eats what? There's no additional cost to the restaurant, regardless of any sharing of the meals. The waiter was being a stupid nosy busy-body for even noticing, and the manager was being stupid for backing him/her up and threatening that you should never do it again. I would never go back to such a place.

Nothing anyone says here will help you argue against your wife, though. In fact, telling her you were in the right because of ATOT will probably just piss her off.

Ditto.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Just out of curiosity, what is the name of this place you ate at?

What difference does it make who ate what? This place deserves some public shaming.

Oh, and pics of wife?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Leave a bad Yelp review IMO.

 

[DrPizza]

I agree with OP, though I'd have left a tip of exactly 15%, on the dot, if otherwise the service was good. You still got service - you just also almost got screwed.

To anyone who doesn't understand this, imagine you go to a restaurant with your wife/girlfriend. You order a king cut of prime rib for dinner ($30). Your girlfriend orders a shrimp dinner.($20) When the food comes, you cut your prime rib in half and give half to your girlfriend. Then, she gives you half of her shrimp.
When the bill comes, you see this:
$20, $20, $15, $15. So, instead of $50 total, it's $70 total. Then find out it's because your waiter determined that since you cut the prime rib in half, he should charge you for two petit cuts. And, since the girlfriend split the shrimp dinner in half, you should be charged with two lunch sized orders of shrimp.

This, in essence, is what happened to the OP. There's no way in the world I would return to that restaurant, and I would immediately post a negative Yelp review.

 

[tmc]

that restaurant $u(k$. the way i see it - OP paid for some goods. what he does with it afterwards is his/her business. if the restaurant thinks people are abusing a promotion, they should remove it or rethink it. i would never go back to such a fu(ked up place again.

 

[OverVolt]

I think what they did was appropriate.

They gave kids a free meal. Your kids did not like the meal. At that point, you either buy them a meal, or force them to eat it. For all you know, the cost of the kids meals you ate could exceed the cost of the meal you paid for, effectively giving you a meal greater than what you paid for in your barter. Yea, it sucks, but the meals are supposed to be free for kids to eat -- and only for kids to eat.

Just think, with the $20 tip your wife left after you were obviously wrong, you could have bought your kids meals they liked, eaten the meal you really wanted, and left a regular tip.

Lol you're quite the gullible customer.

 

[Maximilian]

Went out with a large group to a restaurant that gives out free kids' meals with purchase of entrees. My kids decided they would rather eat my chicken pot pie than their turkey. So we swapped. When I got the bill, I noticed that we were charged for two of the kids' meals. Apparently the waiter felt we were "cheating" the system because he saw me eating the kids' meals. So without any warning, he decided to charge us for what should have been free. I felt pretty ticked off and wanted to take the charges off on his tip. Spouse argued with me and felt I we shouldn't do that.

Did he deserve the full tip?

OP you disgust me for giving the guy a tip and not kicking off...

 

[pcgeek11]

A little off topic, but ...
This thread is proof that the server loses no matter what {but in the OP case he got a $20.} Free-meal-programs bring in people that don't leave tips, make a mess, require a lot more attention and front-line having to deal with stupid policies like this one. Restaurants want the sale and actually don't care much if the server gets a tip.
Table of eight comes in. two in high chairs, four seated kids and two adults. Four free meals, four the cheapest entree. No problem to me, they meet the deal and the restaurant has a customer. Guess what the table and floor looks like? Guess how much extra time to serve? Guess who ate the meals? I never had a policy like the OP's restaurant to deal with. Oh yeah, guess what my tip was?
Anecdotal? Maybe.

*Every restaurant runs differently on how tips are split or shared and also how labor is split and shared, so my experience is not universal.

** Have more to say but I have to get back to work ...

Looks like you chose a shitty line of work.

 

[positivedoppler]

I would have not left a 10% tip and never ate their again. The restaurant was wrong. If he was going to charge in full, he should have came over and warn you when he saw you swapping meals, but waited until the bill to surprise you with their "unwritten policy"

What your wife did was not constructive to your marriage and relationship. She took the restaurant’s side against you in public and her action at the end to drop a $20 further spite you. I think after being through one failed marriage and multiple relationship myself, I can safely say there are few things more toxic in a relationship than siding with other people against your spouse in public.

 

[positivedoppler]

I agree with OP, though I'd have left a tip of exactly 15%, on the dot, if otherwise the service was good. You still got service - you just also almost got screwed.

To anyone who doesn't understand this, imagine you go to a restaurant with your wife/girlfriend. You order a king cut of prime rib for dinner ($30). Your girlfriend orders a shrimp dinner.($20) When the food comes, you cut your prime rib in half and give half to your girlfriend. Then, she gives you half of her shrimp.
When the bill comes, you see this:
$20, $20, $15, $15. So, instead of $50 total, it's $70 total. Then find out it's because your waiter determined that since you cut the prime rib in half, he should charge you for two petit cuts. And, since the girlfriend split the shrimp dinner in half, you should be charged with two lunch sized orders of shrimp.

This, in essence, is what happened to the OP. There's no way in the world I would return to that restaurant, and I would immediately post a negative Yelp review.

I disagree on the 15% since he still go good service. It was the waiter's decision to bone him on the bill and getting the right bill to the customer is part of the service. I would have left 10% for lousy service.

 

[kt]

I think what they did was appropriate.

They gave kids a free meal. Your kids did not like the meal. At that point, you either buy them a meal, or force them to eat it. For all you know, the cost of the kids meals you ate could exceed the cost of the meal you paid for, effectively giving you a meal greater than what you paid for in your barter. Yea, it sucks, but the meals are supposed to be free for kids to eat -- and only for kids to eat.

Just think, with the $20 tip your wife left after you were obviously wrong, you could have bought your kids meals they liked, eaten the meal you really wanted, and left a regular tip.

You're as dumb as they come and gullible.

 

[Remobz]

The OP's wife was wrong and didn't take his side. Not a good wife in my opinion.