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Kris Billiter

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Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials”

by Kris Billiter » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:37 pm

We’ve all been there. You’re seated, water glasses are filled, and after a few minutes your server comes back to talk about the nightly specials. This is where we found ourselves Saturday night at a local place that I won’t name because I don’t think they did anything wrong here! Our enthusiastic server rattled off 6 or so different specials that weren’t on the menu. It was an impressive list and an impressive performance by our server. One appetizer sounded fantastic so we decided to give it a try. The words “black truffle” should have been our warning sign!!! The app was fantastic as was the rest of the meal. We each had dishes that were $25 each and water to drink. So naturally I did a bit of a double take when our bill was $100!!!! How did that happen? The special app was $45!!!!
Now, this didn’t put us in a bad way or anything like that. It just caught us off guard. Every other app on the menu was $15 so we are talking triple the price! Was it great? Sure. Would we have ordered it if we had known the cost? No way. Not a reflection of the quality, but we just wouldn’t order an app that cost almost twice the cost of our individual entrees.
So whose responsibility is it avoid sticker shock like this? Should the restaurant provide pricing when the cost is such a huge deviation from other menu prices? Should I have asked the cost of each special? I’m really not upset. Just curious as to your thoughts!
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Iggy C

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Re: Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials

by Iggy C » Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:30 pm

I think a $45 surprise would make me resent the restaurant, and it would be something I remembered forever and brought up to people if that restaurant ever came up in conversation. I’m not saying I would storm out or dispute the charges, or talk to the manager, but I would feel taken advantage of, if all the other apps are in the $15 range. I guess I would be more aggressive about demanding all waiters list the prices of the specials from then on.
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Jerry C

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Re: Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials

by Jerry C » Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:43 pm

I'm betting that "black truffle" didn't taste near as good after you got that bill?!

Holy Shit!!!
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Carla G

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Re: Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials

by Carla G » Mon Sep 13, 2021 4:59 pm

I’m with Iggy on this one. Given the pricing on the other apps, yeah, I’d feel like I had been sucker punched. Why resort to such a clandestine approach?
"She did not so much cook as assassinate food." - Storm Jameson
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Robin Garr

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Re: Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials

by Robin Garr » Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:01 pm

Joining the chorus, it's just good business practice to disclose the price of any special that's significantly above the usual cost of dishes or apps in that restaurant. Sticker shock can leave angry customers who decide never to come back, and it's so easily avoided by simply having the server disclose the price along with the flowery descriptions.

I'd like to believe it was a simple oversight or thoughtless planning, but in the worst case it could be a way to separate the customer from their money, and that would definitely be a deal-breaker for further visits from me.
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JustinHammond

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Re: Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials

by JustinHammond » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:51 am

I'm a big fan of a separate sheet of paper/menu that list the specials with descriptions and prices. Seviche is a perfect example. Who can remember 6+ specials?
"The idea is to eat well and not die from it-for the simple reason that that would be the end of your eating." - Jim Harrison

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Kris Billiter

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Re: Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials

by Kris Billiter » Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:24 pm

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It is genuinely good to know I wasn’t off in my perception of this!
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Andrew Mellman

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Re: Shared responsibility when it comes to nightly “Specials

by Andrew Mellman » Tue Sep 14, 2021 3:03 pm

JustinHammond wrote:I'm a big fan of a separate sheet of paper/menu that list the specials with descriptions and prices. Seviche is a perfect example. Who can remember 6+ specials?


TOTALLY AGREE!

There are several very good tables in town where the average entree is around $16-22, while the specials are virtually all over $30. We love the restaurant, visit it frequently, but always asked the price of every "special" as the list was read. Just recently they started passing a separate sheet of paper, and it makes the whole experience significantly better (as we weren't made to feel like pikers for daring to ask the prices)! Also, by not having to ask we end up ordering the specials much more frequently than we ever did before.
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