Since when did restaurants not allow you to take home food you paid for?
Docked Wages
Posts: 2,954 Admin
So I went to a new bar and grill after work tonight to meet my wife and daughter. The place is called JD's in Rockledge on US-1 and it just happened to be their "Wing Night". This is a pretty cool looking place and the female servers ar very nice. We order 30 wings and 7 beers. We ate 27 wings and asked for the final 3 to go. The waitress tells us that we can not take the final 3 wings to go as it is against their internal policy to allow take out during wing night.
My first question is this legal?
They repeatedly said that they must throw them away to prevent us from carrying them out. In their defense they did post .60 wings tonight, No To Go Orders.
My response was this is not a To Go order, we sat here ate the wings and purchased 7 of your top shelf micro brews. It was not like we were gaming the system. Then another server came out and said that some have taken advantage of wing night and order lots of wings then took them home. Well how do we fall into that category? I politely asked her to take them off the bill or send the manager over.
After a tough day at work I stopped in to relaxe and now I find myself getting defensive over $1.80 of wings. The owner/manager reluctantly gives in but offers a stern warning that this would be the last time we could take wings home that we purchase at .60 each. Now I feel like a charity case. Thinking more about this, when you buy 30-50 wings in most locations, you typically can buy them for .50 each on any given day. Are these wings this special or is this owner/manager just a big jerk? Then the bill comes and they charge me for extra blue cheese and I never eat blue cheese let alone order more, actually I asked for additional hot sauce that never came. I paid the bill and gave them a 10% tip versus 20% and left annoyed.
What would you have done or is this now the new acceptable restaurant behavior?
My first question is this legal?
They repeatedly said that they must throw them away to prevent us from carrying them out. In their defense they did post .60 wings tonight, No To Go Orders.
My response was this is not a To Go order, we sat here ate the wings and purchased 7 of your top shelf micro brews. It was not like we were gaming the system. Then another server came out and said that some have taken advantage of wing night and order lots of wings then took them home. Well how do we fall into that category? I politely asked her to take them off the bill or send the manager over.
After a tough day at work I stopped in to relaxe and now I find myself getting defensive over $1.80 of wings. The owner/manager reluctantly gives in but offers a stern warning that this would be the last time we could take wings home that we purchase at .60 each. Now I feel like a charity case. Thinking more about this, when you buy 30-50 wings in most locations, you typically can buy them for .50 each on any given day. Are these wings this special or is this owner/manager just a big jerk? Then the bill comes and they charge me for extra blue cheese and I never eat blue cheese let alone order more, actually I asked for additional hot sauce that never came. I paid the bill and gave them a 10% tip versus 20% and left annoyed.
What would you have done or is this now the new acceptable restaurant behavior?
Mark P. Wilson
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
Replies
Good for you for standing up. Most people these days just roll over
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
And I would have just told the manager at the place you were at.. to keep his wings and say goodbuy to another customer.
But what is the line and who draws it. If you had bought 50 wings for two of you, eaten 20 and asked for the other 30 to be wrapped to go, then I can see their point.
So who sets the line. Is it at 5 wings, 10, 15, 20. It is not fair to have the wait staff manage that - so what is the restaurant to do?
It's clearly stated no to go orders, that I get. Wolf down 20 or so wings & get a reorder & take home.
That I understand being against a restaurant policy.
But to deny a take home box for a few wings??
$.60 wings ain't the deal of the century.... Common sense should prevail, but I fear I'm expecting too much from people huh?
Mark, you were much nicer than I would have been...not because of less than 2 bucks...but because of the way they treated you...like some bum!
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
Thats what I thought originally but when you order 50 wings typically the price is around $25 in most places. Thats .50 a wing, less than the .60 they were offering. Even if its more you still came into their establsihment, ate food, order drinks. Who are they to say you can't take food home. Even if you only ate 1, then dont sell them that cheap. I can go as far as to agree that they can say no TO GO ORDERS, but once you sit down, order drinks, tip the waitress you have a customer. I think there has to be some legal angle here that they are violating. I just dont know how to research food industry guidelines or rules.
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
Other nights the wings are either ordered as an 8 or 16 piece order and they can go.
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In a business where "service & quality" make or break you...some d-bag manager is going to kill the OWNERS shot at having a going business...but to that I say...screen your employees and let it be know what you will expect OR ELSE! That manager *could and should have* smoothed things over...and MADE a customer with good "word of mouth"...He did the opposite and now the place is getting banged up (rightfully so) for it.
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
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Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
Shove them down your pants and say " Go fish baby!" :rotflmao
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
If my wife wasnt with me maybe I would have thought of that, thats really funny.
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
A good manager knows the difference and wouldn't let a good customer walk out upset over something like that and possibly lose him for good. You don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
No nose?
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
Only the Nose knows
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
Nope, no can do. They have a "minimum order of 6 wings" to make their return on investment. Another argument against thier policy of no take out of left overs.
Maybe order the 6 minimum and only eat one then ask to box up the other five since they dont give you the option of ordering only 1. Plus a water, no ice and a lemon.
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
If it isn't pizza or Carrabbas, I'm not taking home leftovers anyway!
You must be one of those rich French models that you meet on the internet... :rotflmao
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
I am impressed by your discerning palate and economy.
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
Indeed... a true gore-met.... :rotflmao
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
Is that Cheese pizza, veggie or buffalo chicken toppings that you covet? Is Carrabbas the Tuscany Chicken over pasta that you bring home? I am not hard up for the $1.80 of wings just annoyed with their attitude.
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc
I would have likely said nothing and never come back.
Exactly, one of their chaulk board stated No To Go Orders after the wing price and the other did not. Neither was obvious as we ordered from the waitress and that was not pointed out until after we finished eating and asked for a box.
By reviewing the reciept posted we were clearly not a To Go order. We sat, eat and drank as a seated customer for two hours. $35.00 in liquor, $18.00 in food, $0.49 in miss-charges and tax plus tipped the waitress.
So my original question was and still "is this legal"?
Marine Surveyor, SAMS-SA, ABYC
Wilson Yacht Survey, Inc