The title of this post may as well be “How Joey and Jill got screwed at dinner.”
The Mrs and I went out for date night and had dinner at a chi chi restaurant in Hamilton before going to our first parent-teacher night.
So this place has been hit or miss in the past. Some times I’ve had fantastic meals here and some times I’ve sat at the bar and wondered how the hell they could hire such an incompetent bartender at such a fancy joint.
Well this particular night there were no seats at the bar so we got a table just off of the bar and in sight of the the TVs. It’s kind of our thing. We like to be somewhat social when we go out for dinner.
Anyway our server was like a character right out of a Seinfeld episode. I’m not saying she was coked out but she was basically in your face and way over the top high energy. Remember that character from Seinfeld, the close talker?
Well they changed the menu and our favorite salad (the one that made the place worth going to) was no longer listed. Okay, fine. It took forever to find something else but we managed to pick out some things that sounded interesting.
Here’s where we messed up and got royally bent over.
The Mrs asks the crazy server for a glass of the “house red”. Well there apparently is no “house red”. So she asks the waitress for something fruity and not too heavy. The server says fine and brings back a glass of red that was very enjoyable.
Skip over the blah meal to the check. We get the check and the wine that the server brought over was $13 a glass. I glanced at the menu and it was the most expensive wine by the glass that they have on the menu. $13 dollars a glass when there were plenty of reds for $6-8 a glass is just plain ridiculous especially when the person ordering the wine is asking for a “house red”!!!!!! By the way, $13 was the most expensive glass of wine that they served by the glass.
When you ask for the house wine you imply that you’re not looking to spend as much for the wine that you are for your entree.
I completely messed up. I tipped as I normally do, the standard 20%.
Seeing as I never plan on returning to this place again, I should have let the server know that she wouldn’t be getting the tip she should be getting and that the reason for that is because I feel like she took advantage of us. I should have taken the $13 off of the tip and told her next time maybe she’ll think twice before pouring a $13 glass of wine for someone who asks for the house wine.
Understand I’m not cheap, I just don’t like feeling like I was taken advantage of.
Good Morning Gloucester 
More people should follow your lead…Service is to be rewarded…purposeful rip – off ‘s like this are prevalent …restaurants often hire bimbo’s or bimbettes thinking that “tits on the bar” is going to fill the joint…Joe please don’t feel guilty…quality servers, well trained by management would never have made this HUGE error…..as you said don’t get bent over by these fools…there are too many options…
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I voted for the 15%… That was low down and dirty what the waitress did… My cousin told me something similar happened to her there, and she won’t be headed back anytime either
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What is the name of restaurant? I agree with previous poster, there are too many good options out there…Since I don’t get out that much I would prefer to spend my $ somewhere, where the business philosophy matches my belief system: do onto others as you would have them do onto you! Patty
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I don’t like to slam businesses by name. It may have just been this one server.
There have been times in the past when I’ve made an honest mistake and I’d hate to have someone lambaste me publicly for something that I might have unintentionally messed up.
The fact is that we won’t be back and I messed up by not telling the server right then and there what I found issue with and why I should have taken that $13 off of the tip.
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It’s interesting how we take acronyms and accept them as words. TIP is an acronym for “To Insure Promptness” and originally was given prior to service. A gratuity is given in return for service or to reward special service.
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I tip 20% when I receive good service. I tip 15% when I’m not happy, but not related to service. When I’m torqued, it’s 10%. What follows is free advice from my experience gained from wine blogging.
I don’t get wine pricing, especially by the glass. In Sonoma, I will pay $7.00 to $10.00 for glass of wine. Serving bad wine in Sonoma is like serving bad haddock on Cape Ann, it just isn’t done, so I know I’ll get a value. Out of wine country, you take you chances.
House wine can be jug wine or something on the order of $6.00 per bottle. I wouldn’t expect to pay ~$4.00 for a glass of house.
Your best values for wine by the bottle is in the $20 to $40 per bottle. My wife and I rarely pay over $36 per bottle in a restaurant.
What gets my goat is the wine presentation. Most places have the guts to charge upscale wine prices than bring the wine in a six ounce wine glass filled to the rim which prevents proper enjoyment of the wine. It’s crazy.
I would have had a friendly chat to the Manager to let him know the situation. If I were the Manager, I’d send a waiter packing for screwing a customer.
But we all know you Joey, we know that you love people, you have a good heart and you promote the hell out of local restaurants. It’s okay to warn your friends.
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20% minus $13.00 and tell management! Mangement in most places would appreciate your comments and make corrective action so it wouldn’t happen again. And they might take more off the bill or give you a gift certificate for your next meal!
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I always do this….I am not a quick thinker and just let the situation go by and then hindsight kicks in. Sure if we could rewind we might do things differently, but I think you did acted as a gentleman and that is never something to regret.
I think what comes around goes around and eventually a pattern of bad service will come back on this person and the establishment.
If there is a silver lining to our current economy, it is that we all are re-thinking how we spend money and crap like this just won’t work anymore.
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You should call the restaurant and speak to the owner or manager. I really think it’s a waitperson trying to pad the check. Most restaurants want you to leave happy. Servers not so much. I work in the restaurant industry and there have been way to many times where I say “YOU DID WHAT!”
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BS…I said it before and I will say it again, PROPER TRAINING, if management has NOT already instructed and guided the server in this and other areas MANAGEMENT HAS PROVEN THAT THEY SHARE IN THE “RIP OFF”…it is not isolated…we pay way too much for mediocre food and sevice and let them get away with it…your current favorite ANDIAMOS sells better food for less money, that is why you noticed them, don’t believe me, the other sandwich shops in town charge at least $ 1.00 more for the same size and can’t match the quality…plus, and I know that this is not an “apples for apples” comparison but, with prices the way that there are now you can by 3 to 4 LBS. of LOBSTER for the same price as that glass of wine…bottom line is that the server and MANAGEMENT are “rip offs”…
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I doubt David will see this, but…
http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp
Also, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I think if you want a cheaper wine you should specify “I would like something light, fruity, and cheap.”
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I disagree Lia.
I think when you request the house wine it is pretty much implied that you are not looking for the most expensive wine listed by the glass.
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I would suggest that you contact the owner and just let him/her know about your experience. Customer Service and Satisfaction is what it is all about. Give the owner the chance to still rectify this awful experience. Chances are they don’t know what you experienced. Just a thought.
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