Tell me this is not common among wait staff

[CKoch]

During our vacation last week, we and another couple dines at one of the nicer establishments in town. We had a nice time, were more than polite to the server, but were alarmed to find the bill totaled about 40 percent more than we expected. Looking at the details, we found two glasses of wine charged at $28 apiece. One of our party got up and walked toward the cash register at the bar, where the owner/manager happened to be working (he is chief bartender as well). Just before she got there, our server SPRINTED across the floor and intercepted her, and without even looking at the bill, told our friend that she charged for bottles of wine instead of glasses. She fixed the bill but did not offer anything that even resembled an apology.

Still, we tipped at nearly 20 percent because that is how we roll. We don't want to be sucky customers.

Are we sucky customers for calling her on this? And was it too much to expect at least some kind of apology?

Currently there is an uprising among tipped employees in our state to be paid more, but when one of them tries to pull a stunt like this, it makes me skeptical of their intentions.

[csquared]

What we don't know for certain is the intention. Did she realize the mistake at that time and rush over to fix it, or did she realize that she got caught?

I would have still had the conversation with the owner once it was fixed.

[Headset Hellion]

I don't think this is common among wait staff by any means, but it was definitely not sucky on your part for calling her on it. I also would have expected an apology. $56 is an expensive mistake, IMO. I don't know, maybe she was flustered or embarrassed and didn't know what to say? The way she acted does make it seem like a bit of a stunt, though.

[EricKei]

I agree with csquared -- there's no way to know if it was intentional or not. My guess: probably unintentional. If this were the sort of place where incorrect upcharging was common practice/"acceptable," the owner would likely be in on it (or at least know about it, as this would throw inventory WAY off), so she'd WANT to have him help her out on running the scam.

You were definitely in the right to call her out on it, and she absolutely should have apologized, or even offered to comp a glass.

I'd say to let the owner know (calmly), and to also express that you're glad the server caught her mistake.

[Aria]

This sort of thing does happen. My mom's boss loves to host their Christmas parties at a certain Italian place. She stopped one year because she thought they were massively overcharging her for the alcohol and mom was dead sure they were. That was the owner, though, not the staff.

Sadly, there is no good ending. My mom's boss took the Christmas party somewhere else for one year, then went back to the Italian place. Mostly because she has the palate of a toddler and can't stand any food with actual flavor. Mom dislikes that place for many reasons and the overcharging actually didn't make the list, since her boss was paying for it.

[Jester]

It is never, ever sucky to call attention to a pricing or charging error, assuming you do so politely. You should only ever pay for what you ordered and received. Never feel guilty or bad about doing this.

Now, as for the server, it is impossible to say if they were trying to run a scam or just made an honest error. I've seen both in my time, and I've certainly done the latter myself. If it was an attempted scam, it was a pretty poor one, as that seems like something a lot of people would catch immediately. Also, it's a gamble, as making people pay more than they expected won't always result in a higher tip. I'm gonna lean towards an honest mistake, as the vast majority of times I've seen this sort of thing happen, it was just that.

Of course, there are times when such things are neither scams nor mistakes. Most of these are in Miami. My friend recently paid $34 for a glass of wine in the Miami airport. It was the actual price of the glass of wine, and she had just not noticed that when she ordered it. But yeah, Miami can be a bit ridiculous like that, especially South Beach. One of many reasons I tend to avoid Miami.

[Bright_Star]

I would have insisted on speaking to the manager & made the server explain herself.

[catcul]

This is why you should always check your bill before you pay. It's easier to fix a mistake before you hand over your payment.

Of course, there are times when such things are neither scams nor mistakes. Most of these are in Miami. My friend recently paid $34 for a glass of wine in the Miami airport. It was the actual price of the glass of wine, and she had just not noticed that when she ordered it. But yeah, Miami can be a bit ridiculous like that, especially South Beach. One of many reasons I tend to avoid Miami.

Of course, merchandise in airports are marked up, too. I guess doing background checks on staff is expensive.

[Mr Hero]

My take on the situation is this: Maybe the server has made this kind of mistake before and has been talked or even written up by management. I think she realized she made an honest mistake, but wanted to correct it before it got to management.

[thehuckster]

You are not sucky on both accounts.

If someone overcharges you, then of course it's accepted and I'd even say encouraged to talk to someone about it. That's just common sense.

Now, I wouldn't expect the server to bend over backwards or perform Seppuku over what I would give the benefit of the doubt as a simple mistake, but a simple "sorry about that" is reasonable. It's an awkward situation to have to go to someone to ask about a restaurant bill, and also extends your stay at the restaurant. That's a mild inconvenience that should have been recognized by the server with a simple apology. It's not a heinous faux pas if you don't, but common courtesy that I would expect from anyone in the restaurant service industry.

[sstabeler]

I'm not sure it's either a case of honest mistake or the server running a scam, actually. Specifically, I wonder if- considering the server didn't even apologise- the server is either lazy, or incompetant, and knew that if it got to management, thye would get sacked- it being something that happens somewhat regularly.

[CKoch]

I'd say to let the owner know (calmly), and to also express that you're glad the server caught her mistake.

But the server didn't catch it... we did. And when she saw my friend going to the manager, she ran ahead and intercepted her. The fact that she did not apologize spoke volumes to us. In any event, always check your tab!

[Monterey Jack]

Of course, merchandise in airports are marked up, too. I guess doing background checks on staff is expensive.

Airports are expensive for the same reason movie theaters are expensive...they know you're trapped there until you take your flight/see your movie, so they charge more because you can't leave.

[Canarr]

What would the server have to gain by running a scam like that? It's not like they can just pocket the difference - if there's an itemized bill listing the higher price, then the restaurant is going to get the money, not the server.

The only thing I can see is if there's some sort of quota that servers need to fulfill, but even that seems thin to me.

[EricKei]

Ckoch -- Ahhh. I got the impression that she looked it up on the computer -- or just her own copy -- and caught it. Either way, she should have apologized and sought to make amends.