RacerX at “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money” has posted the 6 ways he and his wife save money when they go out to eat. Following all of them would make for a noticeably different experience at your favorite restaurant—perhaps more than you’d like. But even adopting a couple of these tips could knock 10% or more off your next fancy meal with the significant other.
dining
Court Rules "World Yacht" Can Be Sued For Not Distributing Gratuities To Its Servers
By 2.19.08
“Hold on,” you say to yourself—”If it’s a gratuity, doesn’t that by definition mean it goes to the wait staff?” Not if you’re a server for World Yacht, a “luxury dining fleet” in Manhattan that will now be sued by its employees for slapping automatic gratuities on diners’ bills, then keeping the extra money for itself. New York labor laws require “employers to pass on to workers any payments that customers understand to be tips,” but World Yacht argued that the banquet industry was exempt, and its servers should get nothing. Thanks to last week’s ruling, the employees can move forward with their suit.
Quickly Spot Restaurant Tip Fraud On Your Credit Card Statement
By 11.15.07
Punny Money has a neat, simple trick for protecting yourself from restaurant tip fraud, which is when a waiter will change the numbers on your credit card receipt in order to increase his tip. The best way to prevent it is to match all your monthly receipts to your statement, but you can use this simple checksum technique to scan a statement and quickly spot any suspicious transactions without referring to your receipts.
10 Great Wines For $10 Or Less
By 9.24.07
The sommeliers who read The Consumerist may scoff, but there are actually some decent wines available for $10 or less, or so says the New York Times food critics.
Mad Pizza's Hold Music: "Yeah, I'm a gangsta, but still I got flavor"
By 6.19.07
Forget muzak, Seattle-based Mad Pizza decided to spice up their hold music by playing N.W.A’s “Fuck Tha Police.” Clint Brownlee over at Seattlest made the discovery on Sunday night while trying to order a pizza.
When the Mad Pizza dude picked up the line again we were conflicted–should we ask if he knew (or cared) what people on hold were hearing? Should we pretend to be offended and hang up? We stammered and, lacking the adventurous nature of our 15-year old self, just ordered a pizza.
We would gladly listen to N.W.A rather than the bland mix of soft jazz or lite rock most companies use to avoid offending anyone’s delicate sensibilities. Do you care what you listen to while on hold? Tell us in the comments. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
How Waiters Steal Your Credit Card
By 4.11.07
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do except watch your credit card statement and report any suspicious transactions as soon as possible. — BEN POPKEN
