Paladin3
Diamond Member
- Mar 5, 2004
- 4,933
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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.
This info changes everything. Restaurants that treat customers like freeloaders for taking advantage of the coupons or specials they offer need to go out of business. Their wait staff needs to understand working in such a restaurant will earn them little or no tips.
That restaurant didn't loose a dime when you switched meals with your kids. You can't treat customers like dirt and expect to be rewarded for it.
I don't know what to say about getting into an argument with your wife, but it sounds like you were in a no win situation, so maybe leaving a tip would have been smarter in the long run. Or leave the table to work this out with the manager between just the two of you.
If you really care, you could bring the poor policy decision to the owner's attention, but they are probably the cheap bastard who implemented it in the first place. Maybe if he treated his customers better he wouldn't have to discount his food to get people to eat there.