Since When is Advertising Signage the Servers' Responsibility?

[csever01]

For almost a year now, we have offered $5.99 lunch specials. Today, they were ending and halfway through a (very busy) lunch, we ran out of most of the products for them. Makes sense since today was the last day of the special--it wouldn't be good to have extra product left, especially in a corporate chain where we aren't allowed to do anything creative with it.

...And of course, we have a HUGE painted sign on our windows advertising said specials.

So, about 2 p.m., in walk two SCs.

SC1: Where is the menu for the lunch specials?
Me: I'm so sorry, that promotion ended today and we have already sold out of those items.
SC2: Then why is it on your window? That's false advertising.

(She had a valid point. She wasn't being sucky yet. Usually I have better luck with SCs-to-be if I spin the situation to make it look like I'm completely on their side. In fact, in this case, I pretty much WAS on their side.)

Me: They are scheduled to come and remove the sign today, but they haven't come yet. I agree, though...they probably should have removed the sign yesterday to avoid the confusion. I can check, though, to see if we still can make any of the items, or maybe I can see if my manager would discount a similar item to the $5.99 price.
SC1: No, that's OK.
Me: OK. (Proceed to take order and serve them.)

The rest of the visit proceeded fairly normally, albeit they were a little standoff-ish. I run their credit card and bring it to the table.

I go back to pick it up, and here's where it goes from zero to suck in three seconds...

In the "tip" line under the subtotal, SC2 has written "Be able to MAKE the things you ADVERTISE."



Now, like I said before, I understand and even side with the SCs in the respect that the marketing department should have thought through this and removed the sign slightly before the end of the promotion so as to avoid this situation.

But do I, in a SERVER'S UNIFORM, look like I am in charge of advertising?? No!!! So why punish me with no tip when I believe I was very nice about the whole situation, even offering to discount a different item?!?!?

And of course, the window painter arrived about 15 minutes AFTER the SCs left and removed the sign...

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

I bet they think they're SOOOO clever leaving that "tip". LOL it's a play werds, that'll show 'em.

Can't stand that kind of loser.

[mikoyan29]

I've done that once. But the waiter was an ass. It was at a slightly higer scale Mexican restaurant and I complained about my beans. The server informed me, "This is not Taco Bell". So when I got my receipt, I made sure to put $0.01 as his tip.

[Red_Dazes]

I made sure to put $0.01 as his tip.

you should have put $0.02..... you know... just to get your two cents in....

>< sorry... couldn't help it.

[mikoyan29]

you should have put $0.02..... you know... just to get your two cents in....

>< sorry... couldn't help it.

I'm not really proud of it but if you're gonna be an ass to me, I'll be one back. If I complain about the beans, do not inform me this is not Taco Bell. I realize it is not Taco Bell. And they were really runny...normally they are not that runny.

[4love]

I made sure to put $0.01 as his tip.

I'm sorry to say DH has done that, once. He told me about it after the fact- the service was so bad, and the wait so long (apparently he and his friends watched their server have a half-hour flirtation with another server, while completely ignoring DH's party), that they all left a single penny each, in tip. It takes rather a lot to tick him off, but once that final straw happens...

[mattm04]

Wow. what f***ing assholes. The OP even apologized and offered to do the best to get a meal at that price since it was advertised and the SC refused the offer and was a passive aggressive asshole to the person who had no control over that. I hate people.

I would have loved to be able to call the SC and be "Hi this is <so and so> from <restaurant>. I am calling about you recent visit. I see you did not write a dollar amount in the tip area and I would just like to confirm you are a passive aggressive asshole and want to leave no tip even after the server tried to help you."

[GuardingYourLife]

I consider myself a pretty generous tipper. I approximate 15% in my head and always round up for just basic service, and if the server was extra polite/helpful, knowledgeable about specials, took really good care of the table, I'm much more inclined towards 20%. I would tip more if I could afford it, but right now, I can't.
However, if I was snootily informed that this "isn't Taco Bell" you can bet that tip would suck. If a server is going to stand around in full view of the table gossipping with her coworkers about some hot guy, and forget my drink refill for the THIRD time, never check on the table, and take forever to bring the cheque (she clearly kept forgetting about us, and it WASN'T because it was busy but because she was gossipping) then she's not getting a tip.
I tip extra when it's busy even if the service is only so-so because I know how stressed the server must be. I don't know how you servers keep your sanity, sometimes!

[MadMike]

If a server is going to stand around in full view of the table gossipping with her coworkers about some hot guy, and forget my drink refill for the THIRD time, never check on the table, and take forever to bring the cheque (she clearly kept forgetting about us, and it WASN'T because it was busy but because she was gossipping) then she's not getting a tip.

We had a waitress do something similar, after spilling a drink on my wife. Never came back to clean up the mess, see if we wanted dessert, see if we needed anything else, or even to give us our check. The place wasn't busy at all, and a few times we saw her venture out of the kitchen, wander around in a empty section of the seating area, and then vanish again. Not only did we not leave a tip, we said something to the manager when we went up and asked for our check. We made sure to mention that we weren't pissed off about her spilling the drink, beause accidents happen, but because she vanished afterwards.

The manager apologized and gave us a free carton of ice cream to take home. I don't imagine I would have wanted to be in that waitress's shoes when he got a hold of her. I don't imagine she lasted long after that.

[Hyena Dandy]

I like to think of myself as a generous tipper. This is because I don't like the number 15, and find it hard to calculate in my head. I always try to make it a 25% tip, because usually the food's good, service is good.

But sometimes... I mean, their's a place here in Massachusetts which is a restaurant which I shall not be named but, I shall note, describes their ideal servers in their name. The description is true. I have never met a server their who was anything other than cordial, amicable, etc.

But having to wait half an hour in an empty restaurant only to be told by the
waitress "We're sorry for the wait, we'll be just a minute, we forgot you were here"

The way she said it was pleasant, but the fact that they forgot lead to me leaving a much smaller tip than usual.

[mikoyan29]

Normally I tip about 15~20 but somtimes waiters or waitresses will push the wrong buttons. "This isn't Taco Bell" is one of them. Especially if said in a snooty voice in a restaurant that is maybe one notch up from Chi Chi's.

[csever01]

And as some of you have pointed out, I was nothing but nice about the whole situation. I make an average of about 22% of my sales in tips, so you know from that that I am a good server! I could have understood it if I was rude, but I wasn't. I just hate this kind of thing because it can really ruin your day. I try not let it but it still does.

[flutes_and_fabric]

My mom is still real close to her college roommate, and when our families went out to eat at this restaurant we had an experience like this sc. Only difference was our waiter was an ass. An advertisement had been running in the paper for one free appetizer for every two meals. Great, there were 8 of us so that's 4 appetizers to share. We order our food, give the waiter the flier, get our food. Everything's good besides the waiter. He never showed up to give us drink refills. He wouldn't come over even when called. Someone else brought our food. I was a waitress, I know sometimes you have a bad day and don't want to deal with customers, but we weren't being annoying at all. And I don't think our waiter was having a bad day. No, we found him at the bar flirting with some girls who had that deer in the headlight, can't move, gotta get away kinda look. Yeah, so the bill comes and we're charged for the appetizers. Apparently they weren't going to honor the advertisement because it was printed accidentally and he didn't inform us of this because...? It's not like we can regurgitate the appetizers and send them back now. But the advertisement had been running everyday for a week, so why didn't they pull it already? Apparently they would honor it if you ate at the bar, but nowhere on the page did it say that. Then the waiter started giving us attitude and treating us like idiots. He wrote "only applicable at the bar" on the page and said "there, now it states it." It was $40 extra, that's ridiculous. Oh, and only appetizers can be ordered at the bar, so you wouldn't be able to use the promotion anyway. We crossed out the appetizers, subtracted their cost from the bill, left cash, and booked it out of there. Oh, and the manager was sexist. He would only speak to the dads about the whole ordeal, as if the women couldn't grasp the concept or handle money. Nope, the ladies are the bread winners in both our families, as my dad pointed out to the jerk.