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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

wibu or was the manager of this restaurant?

248 replies

Itisraining · 15/10/2016 18:48

Recently went to local restaurant which we go to regularly so know the manager who has a reputation for being a bit tricky. The whole group ordered from the lighter bite menu. I ordered a macaroni cheese with garlic bread (which I have never ordered before). When we came to pay, I noticed I had been charged for the large portion from the main menu(£6.50 more expensive)
When I questioned it,
the manager said, "you didn't say you wanted the small one"
I said "I didn't say I wanted the larger one either and the other one says it comes with garlic ciabatta and I said the one with garlic bread"
Him, " they are both garlic bread, madame and you didn't say which one you wanted, did you not notice that it was the larger one?"
Me, (staying very polite) "No, I have never ordered it before and why did you assume, I wanted the big one when we all ordered from the lighter bite menu?"
You, "you are an adult"
Me, "But surely if there are 2 sizes, it is up to you to ascertain which one?"
Him, getting very exasperated and irritated, "you need to see this from my point of view, oh forget it, i'll charge for the smaller one, I can't be bothered to argue" He strops off.
Left feeling quite troubled. This is somewhere we give a lot of custom to. I now feel awkward about going back.

Was I wrong to question the order? For me it was clear that the one I ordered was the small one with garlic bread NOT the one which was labelled with ciabatta.

OP posts:

whyohwhy000 · 15/10/2016 21:43

I thought YWBU (a ciabatta IS bread) until you said that it was £13.50 for macaroni cheese!

Bogeyface · 15/10/2016 21:46

Mac and cheese is different in the US though isnt it?

The stuff I serve (which admittedly is penne as I hate macaroni, its too small!) is pasta in a very cheesy sauce that can easily be mopped up with bread or chips if you are on a greedy bitch carb blowout, food of the gods! but the American versions seem to be much drier with much less sauce, if any.

Bogeyface · 15/10/2016 21:51

Oh and grilled-until-they-are-almost-burnt-and-then-chopped-up sausages mixed into the sauce is fucking delicious!

YuckYuckEwwww · 15/10/2016 21:56

The "full sized" version is always the default, if it also comes in a light bite version then that's when you need to specify, if you don't it's assumed its the full

Like how a lot of places do the option of a mini desert these days. But if you want the mini version you say "the mini/bite cheesecake". If you want the full size you just say "cheese cake"

2kids2dogsnosense · 15/10/2016 21:57

Bogey

They have no idea how to make a plate of scrambled eggs (mmmmmmm - scrambled eggs) over there either. It's just sort of fried eggs broken into lumps . . .

BiscuitMillionaire · 15/10/2016 21:58

Everyone who's called it 'mac n cheese' on this thread is BU. We're not in fucking Idaho.

dustarr73 · 15/10/2016 21:59

The "full sized" version is always the default, if it also comes in a light bite version then that's when you need to specify, if you don't it's assumed its the full

She didnt know there where 2 versions,so how could she ask if she didnt know it existed

DesolateWaist · 15/10/2016 22:02

But why didn't she know there were two versions?
How was the waiter to know she hadn't read the whole menu.

SirChenjin · 15/10/2016 22:11

The OP wanted something from the LBM, went to that bit, ordered what she wanted. She didn't read the rest of the menu because she had no need of it.

Given that macaroni cheese appears in 2 places and this was known to one half of the transaction then it would make complete sense for that 50% (ie the waiter) to confirm and not assume that the other 50% (who doesn't work there) knows this.

TeacherBob · 15/10/2016 22:12

Where in this alternative universe did large become default?

I eat out, never heard of it.

If it is on the menu, I order it. If there is any uncertainty about sizes etc, waiter should ask

dustarr73 · 15/10/2016 22:13

But why didn't she know there were two versions?

Seriously thats just such a stupid comment

SoupDragon · 15/10/2016 22:17

Wonder why theOP joined/name changed for this...

YuckYuckEwwww · 15/10/2016 22:18

Where in this alternative universe did large become default?

not extra large
just "full size" - that's why it's called "full" size… "light bites" or "mini deserts" are a half or 1/4 portion, therefore not the default

Bogeyface · 15/10/2016 22:19

But why didnt she know there were two versions? because she isnt employed by the restaurant to know!

She looked at the light bite menu, which seems to have been a seperate one from the main menu, and ordered from that. Why would she know if she hadnt looked at both given that she only wanted a lunch and not a full dinner?

As I said above, I have been the manager in this situation and I do not think that the responsibility to know the menu and confirm which ones is being ordered from is the OP's, it is the waiting staffs job. If one of mine had sone this then I would remind them to check when taking an order and if they did it again, give them a chewing out about it! I would not give the customer a hard time at all. It has cost them pennies in lost food, but far far more in lost custom if the OP and her friends choose not to go back.

SoupDragon · 15/10/2016 22:23

...therefore not the default

It is if you are ordering from the light bites menu.

fiorentina · 15/10/2016 22:28

Massively missing the point but I love that macaroni cheese with extra carbs on the side could be consider a 'light' meal. I'd need a nap after that. I can see both sides, they should have checked but you should have said which version you wanted.

DesolateWaist · 15/10/2016 22:30

But why didnt she know there were two versions? because she isnt employed by the restaurant to know!

But she is a big grown up girl who can read a whole menu.

YuckYuckEwwww · 15/10/2016 22:30

If I'm ordering from a mini desert menu I always say "the mini _"
If I'm ordering from the full sized desert menu I jus say "the brownie please" etc, not "the full sized brownie", because a complete whole full size is always the default, a half or less size portion never is!

Bogeyface · 15/10/2016 22:36

She didnt read the whole menu because she didnt want to order from that part of the menu.

Would you read the starter part of the menu if you were just ordering a main? I dont, I just go to the part I want and order.

And the OP said that the smaller one was labelled as being "With garlic bread" and the larger as being "With garlic ciabatta" and she said "The one with the garlic bread" so she did in fact specify, as per the menu labelling, which one she wanted. So either way, its not down to her.

Bogeyface · 15/10/2016 22:37

Which of course means that she did know yes, which renders most of my argument redundant! But it still isnt the OPs fault that the restaurant got it wrong.

DesolateWaist · 15/10/2016 22:42

Hang on a minute.
The op is saying that one came with garlic bread and one came with a ciabatta but she didn't know there were two versions......?

FWIW there is a restaurant I go to often where a dish I often chose is on the 'small plates' menu as well as the main menu. I have never been asked what one I want as it is an assumption that you want the full sized one unless you specify otherwise.

Bogeyface · 15/10/2016 23:00

Right just re-read, the OPs posts.

The Op said that she ordered Mac Cheese with garlic bread from the LB menu, at that point she didnt know that the larger one existed. Presumably this came to light as a result of the bill arriving, at which point she checked the menu and spotted the larger one.

As waiting staff I would check which one you wanted and if I didnt check and made an incorrect assumption, I would not try to blame you.

The fact is that customers are worth far more to a restaurant than a couple of spoonfuls of pasta and sauce, so the manager is a dick for risking losing several regulars over something so inconsequential.

SoupDragon · 15/10/2016 23:30

Right just re-read, the OPs posts.

That won't have taken long given how few there are...

Bogeyface · 15/10/2016 23:34

Keep me out of your troll hunting!

DameDoom · 16/10/2016 00:27

I am torn between who is right and wrong here. One thing I know : macaroni and cheese plus garlic bread ain't no light bite - whatever sized portion.

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