Consumer's Revenge Against Restaurant Not Honoring Coupons
Alan writes:
Three co-workers and I went out to lunch. We brought a coupon that said, "Buy one entree, and receive 50% off a second entree of equal or lower price." Three of us ordered food from the Entree section of the menu, but one of us ordered something from the [cheap] Sandwich section.When the bill came, they had given us the sandwich for half price. I complained to the waiter, pointing out that the sandwich was not an entree. He did not budge. I asked to speak to the manager. After a while, the waiter returned and said he had spoken to the manager, who also refused to honor the coupon. He said that the 50% was off the
cheapest meal on the menu, whether it was an entree or not.For the next week, I scrounged up about 10 of the same coupons...
Then I returned to the restaurant with my co-workers. I handed out these coupons to other customers. The restaurant staff became furious. They wanted to kick us out, but we already had our food. They asked me which customers I'd given the coupons to, but I refused to say. I related the sandwich story, and they really didn't have any recourse.Great story, Alan. Now, if you wanted to elevate this to the level of "Unscrewed," what you could have done is called the manager ahead of time and promised to do what you were going to do unless they refunded you the difference you were owed. Say something like you feel like the deal on the sandwich was so amazing that you feel compelled to share it with the other restaurant patrons.So I never did get the $3 or whatever they owed me. But I got way more than $3 in entertainment, satisfaction, and the admiration of my co-workers.
After we left, a waiter ran after us in the parking lot to write down our license plate number. Be we never returned.
-Alan
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Comments:
The thing I don't understand is why the waiter was so mad about it. If I was a waiter, I would be on the customer's side (or at least pretend to be) to increase my tip.
Awesome. And probably less legally risky than on "The Office" when they held the pizza delivery guy hostage until the pizzeria honored the coupon.
@Benstein:
When I waited tables, I always hated coupons because so many people tipped on the discounted total, not what it would have been in the absence of a coupon.
@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS: That's so wrong. I love to use restaurant.com coupons, but I always tip on the total before discount.
So they brought the place a whole lot of business that the coupon was designed to attract.... And the place is mad?
@missdona:
I know -- people are SUPPOSED to tip on the pre-discount total (some coupons even include wording to this effect), but all too often, they didn't. :-(
But let me stop now, before this thread gets turned into a referendum on tipping in general. ;-)
Exactly what was the restaurant going to do with the guy's license plate number? He didn't do anything illegal.
@Geekybiker: I don't think they brought the place any business, they just handed out coupons to patrons who were already there.
If it were me, and both the waiter AND the manager were being a douche about it, I'd have asked for a split check with the sandwich guy's stuff on its own. That way they'd have had to honor the coupon on the higher priced entree and sandwich guy can pay for his own food. OR, just not left a tip, but write on the check that the tip was left out to compensate for the difference in price between the discounted sandwich and the entree, plus a convenience fee.
@Geekybiker: No, they handed coupons out to people who were *already there* - ie people who would have paid full price anyways, but now wouldn't be.
All that resentment for what $10.
I would have voted with my checkbook and just not gone back to the place again.
Of course you should tip on the full amount pre-discount.
BTW, if a bartender gives you a 'free' drink (other than one just offered to you), it is expected that you tip the bartender close to the drink price. i.e. if you receive a free drink valued at $10, you should give him a $5-10 tip.
I think this really depends on weather they honor the coupon when some one just orders 2 sandwiches
@bbbici: where did you come up with that? If someone hands me something I didn't ask for they're not getting anything extra for it. Now, if I'm running a cash tab on the bar and he puts a drink down and doesn't take any money, I leave what was there and put in the extra to account for it. That way it's paid for when the time comes to settle up.
@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS: except that the pizzaria never did honor the coupon. michael just realized that he had kidnapped that kid and told dwight to pay him, sans tip.
That's incredibly douchey of the restaurant, since had you had two checks (entree + entree with coupon) and (entree + sandwhich), they couldn't very well back out of the coupon on a two entree bill.
For the love of god, not's let get into another stupid tipping free-for-all.
@Benstein: It's all about winning. The war against the consumer is completely out of hand and companies have now trained their employees to hate the customer and want to win at all costs. If the consumer tries to exercise any control over the way they are treated then they must beat back into submission.
Oh awesome. It would be nice to know the name of the restaurant though. That's one heck of an important detail!
@ogman: to be fair though, i have been an employee in restaurants, etc. there are plenty of total douche customers in the world to go around. i cannot tell you how many times i had people complain about total b.s. just to get something free. usually it was people with plenty of money too.
that said, well done, these people deserved what they got.
Another thing to keep in mind here, although tangental, is that you never want to piss off the people who are about to prepare your food. Besides the obvious voting-with-your-wallet thing, you probably don't want to eat there again as you'd surely be getting more than you paid for.
@ogman:
In Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, she makes that point over and over, especially at the end when she's working at Walmart and describes how she has developed a combative relationship with the customers.
You know, its possible (Probable) that they include the sandwich as an Entree. On most menus anything that isnt an app or salad is considered an entree. I think the person who asked if they would have given the discount on 2 sandwiches has a good point.
I would have left 0 tip, and went on with my day. Servers also have to tip out to the bussers and the hosts. So not only would he have gotten 0 tip, but at some places, he would have actually lost money due to tip outs. Some places atleast. Other places do it differently so that the server cant lose money. This alone would have made the server think twice next time.
I've run into this on a few occasions before and the ironic thing is that if the people ordering the food had instead ordered a bunch of "sandwiches" and not "entrees" the restaurant would have likely denied use of the coupon altogher.
Whatever though, it's not like there is a lack of dining establishments here in the USofA. Its tough for a restaurant to stay open and a little word of mouth can absolutely kill a place really fast.
Honestly, the entree is the main portion of the meal, after the app, before dessert. There can be multiple entree courses, but your main meal is the entree. You didn't tip the server I'm sure, and you actually cost the server money(because in almost all restaurants the server tips the support staff based on sales, not on tips). As a server or a manager, I would have done the same thing.
I don't even see why it's an issue whether the sandwich is counted as an entree or not. The discount should be taken based on the second most expensive item.
I'm really surprised the coupon didn't have a big fat asterisk that stated something akin to:
* applicable to entrees, salads, sandwiches, tapas, soup bar, bar tabs, restroom tips, bread bowls, and complimentary sliced orange/fortune cookie plate.
I had a problem sort of like this at Cost Plus. They had a buy one and get one free deal (or something like that). I bought a bunch of different kinds of ornaments in matched pairs to get the identical ones free, which is 50% off the pair. Instead, the computer rang up everything and gave me the least expensive ones free. Given the range in prices for the ornaments 2-$10 or so, the different methods of calculating made for very different savings.
So, I returned everything and had the cashier ring up the each of the matched pairs in 10 different transactions so that I always got the identically priced item for free, not a lesser priced item. I saved a lot more money. They could have done that at the restaurant, demanded two separate checks and used the coupon in the check that didn't have the sandwich.
BY BBBICI AT 03:36 PM
Of course you should tip on the full amount pre-discount.
BTW, if a bartender gives you a 'free' drink (other than one just offered to you), it is expected that you tip the bartender close to the drink price. i.e. if you receive a free drink valued at $10, you should give him a $5-10 tip.
Depending on the bar and how many drinks are involved, giving free drinks may be a no no and a way for the bartender to unethically swell his tip jar by stealing product from the bar and giving them to customers for extra tip money--tip money that can't be calculated or estimated for tipouts or taxes based on his register receipts.
Usually, these coupons have a big asterisk that says, "Discount taken on least expensive item," right after the part that says,"good on any item with the exception of appetizers, side orders and desserts." Without a copy of the coupon, I can't tell whether the consumer has a valid complaint, but I do appreciate the method of resolution.
A little guerilla consumerism probably made the company think twice about the way their ad was listed.
@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS: I use coupons or discounts as an excuse to tip MORE than normal, since I'm already saving money.
@ogman: Well, when I worked retail I found that about 1/3 of the customers I encountered were uninformed idiots. Case in point, I worked at a bookstore/movie rental store and I would routinely get requests like this: "do you have that new book by... oh, what's his name... I think the cover is blue... I think it's on the bestseller list". Gaaaa. I get aggravated just thinking about it. In fairness to the company, we were trained to do whatever we could for the customer (they routinely told us that a shopper would tell three people about a good experience, but fifteen about a bad experience). Despite that, most of my coworkers really didn't like the customers because of those few times that we had to help a stupid, self-involved jerk.
Now granted, there are jerks on both sides, but those few super jerks tend to ruin thinks for everyone (much like everything).
@zouxou: Ah, tipping and getting out of speeding tickets, those two topics you discuss at your own risk here.
@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS:
Sorry but I only tip on the service received. If I get the same service whether I order a hotdog and fries, or a lobster and filet mignon why should I tip more just because I ordered more expensive food. Its BS. You get a straight $5 tip regardless of what I order if I get good service
@skrom: and in return, you get a lifetime of bad karma and "sneezers" on your return visits. The system might suck, but your one-man protest doesn't change anything, it just makes you come off like a cheap jerk.
@skrom:
Just makes me super-glad I don't wait tables anymore. I don't have the patience for people who would tip $5 on a four-course meal.
@skrom:
I sorta agree. This is how some folks that wait on me have gotten $5 tips on a $10 check. If the service stinks, no tip.
Generally speaking though, I get decent service most places I go. It's rare that service is bad enough for little or no tip.
Not sarcastic at all, its BS that someone does the same job and gets different pay depending on what is ordered. Why in the hell are restaurants the only business exempt from labor laws. Why dont they make a law that that eliminates tips and forces restaurants and bars to pay their employees a livable wage like every other business in the country. They should put on the menus what the food costs and pay their employees $10.00 an hour like any other business
"Mandatory" tipping is a stupid, unbalanced, anti-consumer practice that should be abolished forthwith. Restaurants etc should charge, on the menu, the cost of preparing your food/drink and serving it to you and then pay their staff accordingly. If I receive exemplary service then I should be able to choose to "tip" the wait staff as a sign of my appreciation.
@Smackdown: I'm remembered by servers because (1) I frequent a couple of places quite a bit, and (2) because I am a good tipper. But... that's the exception. There's no way in hell that a bad tipper is always going to be remembered for that "next time." And that assumes that that "next time" the customer gets the same waitperson.
Also, unless it's a mom and pop place, kitchen staff don't even see waitstaff aside from the occasional cigarette in the break room. Computerized ordering systems make the "spit on this one for me" kind of obsolete. There is still an avenue if either the waitperson decides to risk doing it while being visible, or have the server (busy places have dedicated servers) do it for him or her.
I'm not saying be a bad tipper (I'm not), just that the physical consequences aren't generally all that risky. Your eternal soul is the only thing at risk.
A coupon is a coupon. If you get $10 or 10% off your meal and it is applied before tax, you then pay the tip on that.
Just because you are a waiter/waitress doesn't mean you are entitled to more than 15% to 20% of the total bill.
"Mandatory" tipping is a stupid, unbalanced, anti-consumer practice that should be abolished forthwith. Restaurants etc should charge, on the menu, the cost of preparing your food/drink and serving it to you and then pay their staff accordingly. If I receive exemplary service then I should be able to choose to "tip" the wait staff as a sign of my appreciation.
--
We recently had nine people for dinner and with anything above eight, they added 15% automatically.
OK fine.
If the service is good, I'll do far more than that.
What a shame they thought 15% $131 was enough for their work. It cost them about $30 bucks...
If I get bad food or bad service I tip poorly if at all. I realize that in the case of the food being bad, its not really his/her fault, but thats the place he/she chose to work, so that must be the level of tipping he/she is willing to accept.
As a former bartender/server I find the whole concept of tipping hilarious, especially as a bartender. I barely did any work at all (make drink) and I'd get about 20% tips on average. Sometimes much more.
As a server you get less for more work, but as anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant/bar knows, a server is lower on the food chain than a bartender.
I wish the USofA would go to the European model. No tipping and service personnel is paid a wage commensurate to the level restaurant (who would be willing to pay more or less depending on expertise/experience/expectations).
Oh also, almost all servers/bartenders have a problem saving money. It's from constantly getting paid with large amounts of cash and getting a useless check on paydays.
@Trick: That "mandatory" tipping is not so mandatory. All you have to do is take it up with the manager and say you refuse to pay out on it. It's a dick move, but since you're not stealing anything, the manager has no recourse and has to rescind the charge.
BY R4YGUN AT 07:33 PM
@Trick: That "mandatory" tipping is not so mandatory. All you have to do is take it up with the manager and say you refuse to pay out on it. It's a dick move, but since you're not stealing anything, the manager has no recourse and has to rescind the charge.
If the menu says "18% Service charge added to all parties of 6 or more" and you are a party of 6 or more you have no recourse except to go somewhere else. The fee is stated up front, just like the menu prices.
While I might not agree with the service charge for large parties at least most restaurants call it that rather than a gratuity, which it isn't unless it is strictly voluntary.
I'm still not understanding why this was such a big deal in the first place, when, as others have said, the party could have simply split the check and gotten exactly what they wanted, coupon-wise. There would be no reason for the server to refuse and then the terms of the coupon would not have been in dispute.
If Alan had devoted as much thought to that at the time as he clearly did to his elaborate coupon revenge scheme, he might've realised, I guess.
That said, I also don't understand the purpose of the waiter pursuing him into the parking lot...
I'm still wondering what in the HELL the waiter thought they would gain by copying down the license plate of the OP? That's actually kinda spooky...Hope the waiter was'nt some sort of "Mr. Ripley"-type character who took this whole episode personally. Guess they wanted to feel empowered. *shrugs*
Oh, and about tipping? I had one friend who REFUSED to leave a tip, justifying it by saying the waitress is'nt doing anything special...just bringing him his food. It's one of the few times in my life where I wanted to punch someone in the face. Let's just say we don't hang out any longer.
Why on earth is he NOT telling us the name of this pathetic establishment?