Slog
News & ArtsThursday, March 7, 2013
Chow "Should a waiter tell customers the price of specials?"
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 7:19 AM
Well, um, YES, obvs.
1
They should, but I won't make a big deal out of it. Specials are generally going to be priced at that restaurant's high end, if not occasionally be the most expensive thing they're offering.
When dining out, you ought to know ahead of time two things - how much you can spend, and how pricy your chosen restaurant can be. I prefer places whose expensive items are within budget, so I won't be tempted by a nice sounding special that I really can't afford. (I can resist the temptation, but better not to face it in the first place.)
When dining out, you ought to know ahead of time two things - how much you can spend, and how pricy your chosen restaurant can be. I prefer places whose expensive items are within budget, so I won't be tempted by a nice sounding special that I really can't afford. (I can resist the temptation, but better not to face it in the first place.)
2
If the menu doesn't have prices on it then I wouldn't bother. Otherwise, a specials can be anything from a dish which is only sold once a week to a score on market price swordfish.
3
Like others, I would only care if the price was very different then the rest of the menu. If most of the stuff on the menu is $13-18 and the special is $28; I would definitely find that information useful. If the price of the special was like $16 I wouldn't care about not being informed.
4
What I am much more concerned about are places that do not put any prices on their drink menus. I hate ordering a basic, American lager just to find out it is essentially the same price as a Guiness.
Anyone ever been to a restaurant where they have different menus for men and women, and only the men's menu has prices on it? It only exists at those restaurants wich are not quite high class enough to not include any prices, but still pretty high class.
Anyone ever been to a restaurant where they have different menus for men and women, and only the men's menu has prices on it? It only exists at those restaurants wich are not quite high class enough to not include any prices, but still pretty high class.
6
@4,
It's all planned that way, of course. Anything to get you to spend more money without realizing it.
A couple weeks ago, I was at some chain restaurant (Chilis? I forget) that had a happy hour drink special 2-for-1's served in two 10 oz glasses. Or you could get a 22 oz at regular price. The prices varied if it was a "domestic" vs. "import"*.
When I asked how much all those different choices cost, the waiter didn't know. He didn't know the price of drinks. So I went to the bartender and asked him what the prices on the different drink choices were and he didn't know either. The fucking bartender didn't know how much the beers he sold cost. So I asked to speak to someone who did know, and about 15 minutes later, a manager came out and gave me all the prices.
After I crunched the numbers on dollars per ounce, it turned the happy hour "special" cost $.02 MORE per ounce than the regular priced drink.
Sure, two cents per ounce is piddling, but over the long haul it adds up for the company. And they know it, of course, which is why they do it, and then proceed to "forget" the prices in case anyone actually asks.
Psychology.
*Their distinction between "domestic" and "foreign" is also a mind-game. Budweiser is considered domestic, even though it's owned by European based (and run by a Brazilian) InBev corporation. Stella Artois is considered foreign even though it's owned by the very same InBev corp. Meanwhile, Boston based Samuel Adams is also considered "foreign".
I know they're doing it because of cost differences and profitability and such, but the terms "domestic" and "foreign" should really be dropped at this point.
It's all planned that way, of course. Anything to get you to spend more money without realizing it.
A couple weeks ago, I was at some chain restaurant (Chilis? I forget) that had a happy hour drink special 2-for-1's served in two 10 oz glasses. Or you could get a 22 oz at regular price. The prices varied if it was a "domestic" vs. "import"*.
When I asked how much all those different choices cost, the waiter didn't know. He didn't know the price of drinks. So I went to the bartender and asked him what the prices on the different drink choices were and he didn't know either. The fucking bartender didn't know how much the beers he sold cost. So I asked to speak to someone who did know, and about 15 minutes later, a manager came out and gave me all the prices.
After I crunched the numbers on dollars per ounce, it turned the happy hour "special" cost $.02 MORE per ounce than the regular priced drink.
Sure, two cents per ounce is piddling, but over the long haul it adds up for the company. And they know it, of course, which is why they do it, and then proceed to "forget" the prices in case anyone actually asks.
Psychology.
*Their distinction between "domestic" and "foreign" is also a mind-game. Budweiser is considered domestic, even though it's owned by European based (and run by a Brazilian) InBev corporation. Stella Artois is considered foreign even though it's owned by the very same InBev corp. Meanwhile, Boston based Samuel Adams is also considered "foreign".
I know they're doing it because of cost differences and profitability and such, but the terms "domestic" and "foreign" should really be dropped at this point.
7
@ 6, my great grandfather was a grocer in the 40s and 50s. When I was visiting one of his sons (my dad's uncle), he had a framed advertisement from when the store first opened, which included "iceberg lettuce 8¢ a head (3 for 25¢)".
9
Japonesa screwed me once by not mentioning the prices of the specials. I knew it was a high end sushi restaurant and I was willing to pay a bit of a premium but I wasn't expecting to pay over 60 bucks with tip for a lunch (LUNCH!) that left me hungry. Shame on me for trying to be a hot shot for a day and go with the chef's choice, but still, I could have avoided it had they listed the prices with the specials.
10
The only thing I want to know about a special is which one of these categories it falls into:
a) This is something the chef wanted to make, or;
b) we ordered way too much of this shit, so... how about it?
a) This is something the chef wanted to make, or;
b) we ordered way too much of this shit, so... how about it?
11
@4: Gendered menus? That's a thing? How horribly sexist. Based on your description, I don't have the money to attend those restaurants. If I did, however, I would avoid them on principle.
Although it occurs to me...if I went to one with a girlfriend, would the meal be on the house? Because if that's the case, I could maybe learn to get past my outrage. Especially if I was given a nice bottle of wine to facilitate the process.
Although it occurs to me...if I went to one with a girlfriend, would the meal be on the house? Because if that's the case, I could maybe learn to get past my outrage. Especially if I was given a nice bottle of wine to facilitate the process.
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