A Guest Ordered The Sea Bass Special, But When The Bill Came, He Was Furious His Server Never Mentioned The Price
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When you go out to a nicer restaurant, you have to know that things are going to be more expensive than normal.
What would you do if you had a guest whom you were serving, and after enjoying their meal, they complained that you didn’t tell them the prices when you read them the specials?
That is what happened to the waiter in this story, and he feels like if the guest needed the price, he could have asked. In the end, it was paid for, so it worked out, though.
Personally, I agree with the waiter in this situation. Read through the full story below and see what you think.
Not saying the price when describing the dinner features
I stopped saying the price when telling tables the dinner features awhile ago.
Money isn’t always a factor in these types of restaurants.
We are a fairly high-end destination restaurant that has become known for top quality proteins (steak, tuna, salmon, you name it) and the price reflects the quality.
Generally, people will ask if they are concerned about the price, and I am happy to tell them. Most times people dont care or they are there to splurge a bit and spend money on something really good.
Honestly, that’s not even that much for a fine-dining establishment.
We had a sea bass feature last night and I had a guy sit at the bar by himself and order a bottle of wine (Kim Crawford, nothing fancy) he ordered the sea bass and sat there for a long time, no problem, it was later on and we weren’t too busy anymore.
He got the bill and the entree was $65 and he was so aghast at the price, said it was so expensive, thought it would be priced closer to the tuna, etc… he was mad that I didnt say the price initially.
If he needed the price, he could have asked. Or looked at the menu.
I said well they have a formula they use for pricing, we order the highest quality we can, etc, and he said it isnt about the price, it’s how you delivered it!
You need to say the price when you tell the specials, etc etc on and on. Like repeated himself multiple times and stared at his bill for ages.
At least he paid and still left a tip.
He was lecturing me on what I did wrong by not telling him the price. I just said I’m sorry about that sir, and stared him in the eyes for a few seconds while he seemed to be waiting for me to do something about it.
He paid and left 15% so I am not complaining about that (figured he would leave less tbh) and he drank the whole bottle of wine.
I can see why a customer would feel that way, but it is really on the guest to ask for prices if they need them.
Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about this story.
If the guest has questions, they can ask.
Here is someone who thinks they should always list the prices.
Maybe this is a good idea.
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Here is an example of a customer getting upset when they did read the price.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who gets problematic overtime changes reversed by pointing out how it will harm the company’s bottom line.
This person wants to know if the price was in the menu.
Why would he order something without knowing the price if he cared about it? While it is fine if a restaurant wants to read off the prices, it is certainly not on them to do it if they don’t want to.
At least the guy didn’t seem too upset about the whole situation.
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