deceptive ordering

I think the deceptive ordering goes both ways though, at least in my case. There have been a number of times where an individual will order a steak and ask for A1 or another steak sauce. None of the restaurants that I've ever worked for have that kind of stuff on hand so I've passed off my own mixture of ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and pepper as our "house" steak sauce. Shame on me!

We have customers steal our plastic BBQ sauce bottles all the time.

on the ghetto lemonade issue

who charges for extra lemons?? and how much??

i only charge when it is clear that the customer wants HALF of a lemon in their water

the dramatic increase in drink prices we've seen over the past couple of years may stem from two areas in my opinion
1- businesses are trying to make up for decreasing profit on food items by increasing the margin of profit for drinks
2 - restaurants have finally noticed that stadiums/concert venues/theaters/concession stands are charging $5 and up for bottled water and soft drinks

i think $3 is a little excessive also, but if my glass is never empty, it is well worth it to me

- on the same note
i've seen customers (at every restaurant i've ever worked at) drink more than 1 gallon of soda/tea/lemonade in a single setting (which in terms of value for the $ seems like a good deal to me at the $3 mark), especially if you're running your server to death refilling a 12oz glass

i used to have a regular customer at sportstime that would drink 2 to 3, 64oz pitchers of diet coke every time he came in (it was kind of weird, like he never drank soda at home, but drank it by the gallon when he dined out)

I knew of some people who would go to Fazoli's and sit down and order water and eat the free breadsticks.

How much do you all tip for to-go orders? I will admit I didn't think one was taken until I googled it recently

i've seen customers (at every restaurant i've ever worked at) drink more than 1 gallon of soda/tea/lemonade in a single setting (which in terms of value for the $ seems like a good deal to me at the $3 mark), especially if you're running your server to death refilling a 12oz glass

i used to have a regular customer at sportstime that would drink 2 to 3, 64oz pitchers of diet coke every time he came in (it was kind of weird, like he never drank soda at home, but drank it by the gallon when he dined out)

I can't remember the first time I took note of the practice by establishments of bringing a pitcher of soda and the like rather than bringing just a glass, but I'm invariably surprised by it still. When I order "a diet coke," I expect to get a glass of diet coke, not a pitcher of diet coke that the wait staff keep refilling (or even the perpetually-refilled glass). Who in the world ever decided that any one person needs a whole pitcher of diet soda or that one order of diet coke needs continual refilling? How bizarre is that? And as for the customer "running" the "server to death refilling a 12 oz glass," well good grief then stop doing it. Frankly, for me, I feel guilty for not finishing the darned pitcher of soda if it's plonked down in front of me (even when I never even order the thing to begin with), because my mama brought me up right and I was taught not to waste stuff.

So please, restaurants, stop doing that. How did such a practice ever start? It's always seemed exceptionally gratuitous and wasteful to me. And frankly a little fawning. And way more liquid refreshment than a body needs in one sitting.

Don't fawn. Don't fill my glass again and again and again. Just bring me the one soda I ordered.

Slightly off topic..but it's just how people are. They see something they think is "free" and they can't help themselves. I work in a cosmetic surgery field. We have a great coffee machine and a large coke cooler where they can help themselves to a beverage. However, I can't tell you how many times I have seen people drink 1 or 2 sodas in the office for the short time they're there, and put 1-2 in their purses or personal belongings and take them with them. They are the same people who take a handful of candy from the candy bowl, not just one or 2. We also used to give away free crackers (you know the peanut butter/cheese/oreo cookie packages). We went through them so fast because people would take 2 and 3 packs at a time. I'm sure these are the same people in your restaurants taking the splendas, salt and pepper shakers and making ghetto lemonades. Never ceases to amaze me what people will try and take.

i think $3 is a little excessive also, but if my glass is never empty, it is well worth it to me

Maybe for you but not for my wife and I ! We only drink 1-2 glasses and paying over $2.00 for coffee or tea is just ridiculous. Yes, we realize some people abuse the system and drink gallons but maybe the system should be changed and the price should only include a glass and maybe one refill before additional charges were added. Because of the ridiculous pricing many times we know only order more with lemon (no ghetto lemonade), not because we don't want something else to drink but because the markup is so ridiculous.

I've heard the argument that the drink includes the product, glass, waitresses time, etc. but these items are also required for our water glasses for no charge and these are also pleasantly refilled.

If prices are reduced to a reasonable levels sales and profits may actually increase since diners will try to "cheat" the system.

The price of everything is up these days. Don't act so shocked. Everyone on this board reads or listens to the news. I mean, my wife and I get close to the same thing every time we go grocery shopping, and in the last 2 months the average price has gone from $90 to $130. Food costs are up. Please don't act like our local restauranteurs are trying to gouge you.

And on the soda topic- There is no restaurant ANYWHERE making a killing on sodas. Seriously. And as for the lemonade, I'm sorry, but if you have an issue with the price DON'T ORDER IT. Make it at home, whatever, but don't make your own at the freaking table. It's so tacky.

Don't fawn. Don't fill my glass again and again and again. Just bring me the one soda I ordered.

Fawn please. Fill my glass again and again . . . please.

One of my colleagues used to keep a bowl of candy on her desk. A select few of our customers would open the jar and grab handfuls of the candy. When she had the audacity to run out, these same people complained about the lack of candy, so she she bought some different candy and refilled it, and they complained about the candy being "crappy." It would be one thing if our place of employment was paying for this candy, but they weren't. She was providing it as a courtesy, and they abused it.

Give em and inch, and they will take a mile. We have a couple of customers who will help themselves to making long distance calls, faxing 20 or 30 things a day, calling me all day to see if I've gotten anything for them, etc. I'd like to tell these people to just go buy a fax machine and leave me the hell alone. I have more things to do in a day than I can possibly accomplish, as it is, and handing me 20-30 faxes a day to fax, and calling me all day to see if I got a fax/to see if your fax went through isn't helping me get my crap done any faster.

Of course deceptive ordering can go both ways...Restaurants that serve krab and try to pass off krab as crab meat...well, if I may borrow a popular urban phrase...is just plain trifflin'...

Don't fawn. Don't fill my glass again and again and again. Just bring me the one soda I ordered.

Fawn please. Fill my glass again and again . . . please.

Maybe if restaurants didn't charge $3.00 for a lemonade that is just water with lemon juice and sugar and $6.00 for a latter that is just a coffee with milk and sugar over ice. (Why is a coffee with milk and sugar in it $2.50, but when you pour it over ice it's suddenly $8.00?) people wouldn't feel compelled to do these things.

When did it become ok for a soda to cost $3.00 anyway? It seemed to all happen at once. Like all the restaurants got together and decided to simultaniously gouge their customers.

Anyway... I blame restaurant pricing structures, not customers. If I can order 2 cups of coffee, a cup of ice, pour my own mik and sugar in it and save $2.00 over the price of a latte... then you are charging too much for your latte.

The cost of beverages is about the only thing left for a restaurant to make any profit on.....

I don't see it as gouging but as trying to protect the ever decreasing margins to keep a business afloat...
In particular most independents are having a real hard time now because of the price of every thing has increased so much
Most places have been reluctant to raise prices on their menus, even though most simple commodities(milk and dairy, flour, oils etc.) have more than doubled the past few months.

If you eat out and are trying to save a few bucks then just order water, If you feel that you are being "gouged"!

Maybe if restaurants didn't charge $3.00 for a lemonade that is just water with lemon juice and sugar and $6.00 for a latter that is just a coffee with milk and sugar over ice. (Why is a coffee with milk and sugar in it $2.50, but when you pour it over ice it's suddenly $8.00?) people wouldn't feel compelled to do these things.

When did it become ok for a soda to cost $3.00 anyway? It seemed to all happen at once. Like all the restaurants got together and decided to simultaniously gouge their customers.

Anyway... I blame restaurant pricing structures, not customers. If I can order 2 cups of coffee, a cup of ice, pour my own mik and sugar in it and save $2.00 over the price of a latte... then you are charging too much for your latte.

The cost of beverages is about the only thing left for a restaurant to make any profit on.....

I don't see it as gouging but as trying to protect the ever decreasing margins to keep a business afloat...
In particular most independents are having a real hard time now because of the price of every thing has increased so much
Most places have been reluctant to raise prices on their menus, even though most simple commodities(milk and dairy, flour, oils etc.) have more than doubled the past few months.

If you eat out and are trying to save a few bucks then just order water, If you feel that you are being "gouged"!

Great attitude. Pay it or shut up. Love it.

I'm not talking about white table cloth places here. I'm talking family service, beer and pizza kind of places. Where the entire meal is $10-$15. 30% of that is just my drink?? A sode in the store costs me $.25 a can. At $3.00 that's a 1200% mark up. How would you like it if they market up your bottle of wine 1200%? Beer? Would you pay $24 for a $2 bottle of beer? Would you pay $240 for a $20 bottle of wine? Yeah. Didn't think so.

If the food costs more, charge more for the food. If the problem is people drinking a gallon of soda, charge for refills (I drink one, MAYBE 2 glasses). Restaurants put in place bad policiies and are now punishing everyone for the sins of a few. Excuse me if I'm not happy about it. The old adage of most restaurant owners being bad business people seems to be holding true here. It's the primary reason the industry has the highest failure rate of all. By a wide margin.

My answer to the problem is to stay home. Which I have been doing more and more. So maybe they make a few extra bucks off the people who still eat out, but I'm betting they lose more from the people who just stay home. It's bad business. As usual.

You know my favorite part of this thread? There is another thread slamming a "chain" for reducing portion size to make up for the cost increases. There are many slamming "chains" for making decisions based on the all mighty dollar and not the best interested of the product or customer.

How is a $3.00 soda any different?

It isn't. Same rational for the same bad decision.

Classic.

Almost every retail business does the same thing: loss leaders and profit makers. I stop at the Thornton's for gas. They don't make a lot of money off the gas, but they do kill me when I go in and get a 20 oz. Diet Mountain Dew (the nectar of the gods) for $1.59.

Grocery stores, discount stores, tire dealers, bike shops . . . just about everybody. I order water most of the time when I'm out. They lose money on that proposition. I've always assumed, though I don't know, that restaurants have a higher margin on appetizers and desserts. They price the main thing closer to cost, and extras have a higher margin. Makes perfect sense to me.

Charles