To query the bread charge?

[TreatTreat]

I was at quite a posh restaurant and we passed on the bread they offer.

When it came to the bill, the bread had been added. It was only £3.00 per person, but I told the waiter we hadn't had the bread. He didn't apologise it been added to the bill, which is fine, but he also seemed a bit aggrieved that I'd questioned it. I felt petty then as it was only a few quid, but this restaurant was a treat out of the ordinary and every penny helps to pay the bills and get food on the table.

Wibu to query it?

They are at fault not you. They probably do it regularly

Yes of course. I wouldn't pay for something I didn't have

Of course YANBU.

You declined it.
You didn't ask for it.
You didn't want it.
You didn't eat it.

You don't pay for it.

It spoilt it a bit really, I mean the waiter not apologising and just being a bit off. I don't think he has anything to gain from doing it on purpose as its not his restaurant. It's a very nice small chain.

Not unreasonable at all. Why would you pay for something you didn’t have?! Regardless of it being £3 per person or £30 per person. You didn’t do anything wrong by asking the waiter to remove the charge.

I was at quite a posh restaurant once on holiday in Dublin and when the bill came, I called the waiter back and said he'd forgotten to add our desserts. He seemed quite aggrieved too and said 'that's very honest of you...' but with almost a sigh in his voice. I guess it's because they just don't want the hassle of redoing the bill!

You're very honest. He should've been pleased you mentioned the desserts!

Having been a waitress for many years it might have been that they knew they would have to ask a manager who would inevitably be a twat about it.

Ahh quite possibly.

Why? The waiter has nothing to gain from adding the desserts to the bill (and in fact could lose out if the manager decides to put him on a disciplinary for doing the bill wrong in the first place). He gets paid the same regardless. Being honest is laudable but from his POV, you've given him another job to do.

A year or so ago I paid a restaurant bill (bit more like an up their as$e cafe) and studied the bill when I got home. Saw I’d paid a ridiculous amount for a bottle of water (with 12.5% service charge on top.
I mentioned this on trip advisor review … the ‘restaurant’ replied saying they’d be happy to refund the service charge on the water!!!
Now I always check the bill before paying
OP was more than happy to not pay for something they didn’t order or eat!

If you went to a beefeater and they added £3 desert for every person to the bill you’d absolutely query it, just because it’s a nice restaurant they can’t just rip you off

You wouldn’t pay for something in Tesco if you hadn’t put it in your trolley!

Exactly!

Did he take the bill away and bring back a new one? I can’t actually imagine how that went if there wasn’t a, “Sorry about that, I’ll be right back with a new bill.”
Did the just pick it up and walk off? That’s really odd behaviour and poor service.

I’d leave a review warning of their practice of adding it to the bill even if you don’t accept the bread, just so other people might check their bills too.

When I said I didn't have bread and pointed to the receipt, he repeated back, 'you didn't have bread?'. I told him I didn't and he went off in silence to get a new receipt and brought the new one ten mins later in silence.

Going off on a tangent, but do people actually like the UK system of having to try to get a waiter's attention, ask for the bill, wait for someone to bring it, then wait for them to come and collect the payment? When I moved to NZ, I found out so refreshing that you just get up when you're done, go to the till, pay and leave. So much better!

I agree with you here! It's little things like a grumpy attitude that spoil something nice.

We went out for a lovely meal in a fine dine pub. The meal was superb, albeit they were busy so the service was rather slow (kids get bored!!). We were trying to guess how much the meal for 5 would be, and it was way higher than we guessed - then we spotted they'd added a 15% service charge. No mention of this, no where to amend it, and it would have felt really rude to ask for it to be removed. It put me off ever eating there again!

@ArtichokeSurprise I don't mind the UK system, but it depends on how long you have to spend waiting around. Some restaurants are really quick at brining the bill as they have 3 covers per night on each table!

What happens in a group though when you're splitting the bill?

@MyCyanReader I hate it when they do that!

I was in a roof terrace pub/bar place in the London the other week and went up to the bar to get 3 drinks. I thought it seemed a lot of money for three drinks, despite being roof top/London, so I asked for a receipt .... the bloke had put 15% on the drinks for 'service'. I pointed out he had just poured it and handed it to me, not even table service ... outrageous.

@FrenchandSaunders In a group situation where you're splitting the bill, usually everyone just goes up and takes turns saying what they had and then just paying for that. Tipping isn't much of a thing there, which makes it easier.

@ArtichokeSurprise that sounds so much easier and fairer ... no issue with Uncle Bob ordering 3 courses, a bottle of wine and a large brandy then suggesting splitting the bill when you've had a salad and a sprite.

I have had this happen in a ‘smart’ restaurant too. I wonder if it’s a scam, hoping that people won’t notice?

I love that system. I've just been to Spain, and waiting for the bill and then my change is a bloody ordeal when I want to lie naked in my room and let my full belly out! The Spanish are especially slow at this. Mañana!

There's a Chinese restaurant in Blackpool that adds a service charge automatically. Cheeky sods. They're expensive to begin with. It puts me off going. They're taking advantage knowing some people will not want to ask for the charge to be removed.