Charged for an empty plate?!

[sandwichh]

I recently went to a greene king pub for a carvery. After plating up my dinner, I asked for a plate for my 10 month old, not to take any extra food but to take it off my plate to give to him. They wanted to charge me for it! Never had this issue before, AIBU?

She wasn't going to take MORE food for the baby, she was going to give the baby a few bits OF HER OWN DINNER FROM HER OWN SODDING PLATE.

I dont think its other people that are hard of understanding though - shes taking enough food so she can take some off her plate and put on another plate. Or do you think she's going to go a little hungry and not fill up completely? Where does this food that shes going to give the baby come from?

Say she normally eats 3 potatoes, shes not going to take 3 potatoes, shes going to take 4 so she can still eat the 3 she wants to and give one to the baby.

Sure a potato is not a big deal, but she has paid for HER plate, not her plate plus more

I agree, I’m quite surprised everyone is defending charging more for a small plate for a baby.

But then again hospitality here is a grim experience.

I think the controversy is from the fact it's a carvery so they will make a loss if youre using more food than you need. The price will be based on the average cost of a person to them. You'll probably not get a problem in a restaurant with a set meal and price because you're paying that much and getting the same amount regardless so customers can't cheat the system. (They can and if you're super nice to the right waiter you would be sneaked an extra scoop of potato and some more peas... or maybe this is why I don't work in hospitality anymore! )

I think you're forgetting carvery plates aren't huge and some people just pile up food strategically and then can't eat all of it. I'd much rather know a baby was eating a potato than someone with eyes bigger than their belly was just leaving it to go in the bin.

Yes I understand the concept, but thanks for the explanation 😂
She isn't in an all you can eat Chinese buffet where you keep getting up to get more food, it's a carvery! When I go to a carvery I get served a set amount of meat, then pick my veg. Then sit down and eat it. No refilling or topping up takes place!
It's ONE plate of food😖

I'm not forgetting anything. I'm talking about the OP - I think I have only been to a carvery once, many years ago, so have no idea how big the plates are.

Also we are not discussing the people overloading and leaving food, we are literally talking about the issue that the OP raised.

it is, but

Say she normally eats 3 potatoes, shes not going to take 3 potatoes, shes going to take 4 so she can still eat the 3 she wants to and give one to the baby.

It depends on the carvery. I've been to ones where it is an "all you can eat".

OP hasn't clarified either way, which is partly why there is a mix of comments.

I have never been to a self service carvery, isn't the staff dishing up the food, there is usually extra veg and mash included, if requested, the standard plate is full, I can't see you squandering much more than a few carrots or spuds.

I don't think you know the situations the restaurant has faced. You can't have a policy for every scenario. What if the child is 2, 3, 4, 7 but doesn't eat much? 18 months but eats loads? How many people have been trying it on? Fed a family for the price of one carvery because the kids had a side plate?

I still think the restaurant was mean spirited, but with the shit people pull? I understand them to a degree.

The venue OP attended is not an all you can eat, it was confirmed up thread, someone checked the menu.
It's a queued carvery.

Well sorry but I see it as a negligible thing to give your baby a potato off your plate, just like when people can't finish theirs and waste it. Most carveries will not mind you sharing a few mouthfuls with a ten month old. I had this last week because I forgot my baby's plate and she would want a mouthful of my potato. Was I taking that much money off the carvery to give her some mashed potato?

No, that’s what self service means.

You serve yourself 😳

The only thing dished up by staff is the meat.

There was a similar thing on Curb Your Enthusiasm!

Staff time to give you an extra plate = 1p.

It's opportunity cost, not actual cost. Whilst they're faffing around with getting an extra plate, they could have been doing something else, and it may have meant other diners suffering slightly delayed serving etc, especially now they can't afford more than the minimum possible levels of staff.

I disagree, I think the price is relevant.

Several posters here have mentioned places that charge a nominal amount - £1, £2 for a "baby bowl". Is that the sort of charge we are talking about here or were they trying to charge for a full child's portion.

If it was just the £2 mark then I don't think that is unreasonable of them. You might only be looking to give a few scraps to a baby but maybe they have had people taking the piss with it in the past and feeding all their children for the price of one adult meal.

All the people who are being precious about the cost of half a potato and 5 peas to the business, what do you suggest we do about the greedy pigs who pile a mountain of food onto their plate and leave half of it? Should we start weighing portions and maybe charge a wastage levy?

The carvery public houses around here, serve the lot through 3 members of staff, pass you the tray, saves the food from contamination, dirty shirt sleeves hovering over the potatoes, and spit.
Especially in a pub where men generally don't wash their hands.

I have never been to a carvery where I served myself.

I’ve been to a number of Chinese and Indian buffets that very much do indicate that they charge for waste. I’ve not seen it in carvery style as it is not all you can eat.

Some restaurants do

There is a difference between a gastro pub / pub that serves Sunday lunch and a carvery. A carvery is well understood to mean a style of serving where you collect a served portion of meat and then choose your own vegetables and sides.

The greene king is a carvery; it is served meat and a self served side and vegetable situation and not all you can eat.

You pay for a plate of food regardless of how much you eat though, so the cost of people wasting half their meal is already factored in.

OP could have quite easily taken the second plate and filled it to the brim which is why she was charged.

The mistake you made @OP, was in asking for an extra plate. An extra plate implies 'extra food', whether it's on your plate or the extra plate.

The OP states in her original post:

'After plating up my dinner, I asked for a plate for my 10 month old, not to take any extra food but to take it off my plate to give to him. They wanted to charge me for it! Never had this issue before, AIBU?'

She had no intention of filling the extra plate to the brim. She wanted to take the empty plate to the table then share her plate of food!