Birthday dinner ruined - restaurant refused eat free offer!

[Heatherstory]

NC’d for this.

Birthday meal out at a local restaurant - they do an offer where the birthday person eats free as long as 1. It’s their actual birthday date and ID is provided to confirm and 2. There’s a minimum party size of 5.

It’s an all you can eat concept where food is brought to the table rather than you go and get it, a great deal as the food is lovely and the offer saves £30.

When we asked for the bill, we mentioned it was my birthday and I said I’d get my ID out of my bag. Someone came over (not the person we asked for the bill) and explained we were not eligible for the offer as only 4 of us had the all you can eat. My 2 year old DD was with us and obviously had a small meal (which we were to pay for).

My DH asked to speak to the manager - the person who came over said that he is the manager and refused to budge. We reluctantly paid.

We’ve checked the offer wording and it’s clearly stated it’s based on 5 dining (doesn’t specify it has to be the all you can eat) which we fulfilled.

It really soured the evening and we will not be returning which is a real shame as it’s a lovely restaurant, but they have been so underhand with this.

Of course it's adult price. Yabu here

He should think twice about that. If anyone recognises the name he's liable to come over as the tightwad who didn't want to spend £30 on his wife's birthday meal.

Me too. Live a place that does their best to keep the knobbers out, to be honest.

How vindictive of you! So you’re attempting to ruin their reputation after a move as you were incapable of figuring out the obvious. Obviously a child’s meal wouldn’t count towards the offer.
All for £30!

Also, the fact you’ve made a post on AIBU about it and many people have proceeded to tell you that you ARE being unreasonable but you’re still planning to try and deter business from them. I think you hoped we’d all be demanding to know what restaurant this was…!

so you're going to publicly harm the reputation of a good restaurant because you couldn't read/comprehend the T&Cs of what seems to be an obvious offer??

when I first read your OP, I thought perhaps as a token of goodwill, the restaurant could have taken something off the bill (perhaps your child's meal), but I no longer feel any sympathy for your situation and am happy the manager stood his ground.

And if your DH posts the "review" I hope the manager posts a suitably toned reply.

I would have ecpected to get one free if we went with dh, two kids and Mil. But my kids are teens and would have gotten the 30£ meal as well.
Let's say you go 5 adults and one whose on a diet will only have a side dish. Do you still expect to get a meal for free @Heatherstory ? It's obvious that this is only applied to 4 other people (kids or adults) chosing the 30£ offer. Otherwise it wouldn't be sustainable for the restaurant.
I think you planning to leave and awful review based on this is despicable.

I was going to say this.

Why does DH have to do this? Why can't the OP do it if they are that incensed? They can just copy and paste what they have ranted about here.

I do wonder about the dynamic in some relationships.

I think you’re being totally unreasonable on three fronts:

1. if the offer is based around the all you can eat at £30 and your toddler had something with £5 it’s obvious it likely wouldn’t count.

2. you’ve let it spoil your birthday

3. you’re so het up about it (despite your own unreasonableness) that you are gleeful about leaving a horrid review.

Four toddlers does seem a bit much but completely normal to be a couple of adults plus 3 dc. I do think they should have small print excluding children or possibly making cheapest meal free.

I'd like to know who it "won't disappoint". What a strange comment.

They obviously think people have the intelligence to know it means 5 adults.
I've never been to a restaurant where discounts offered for the number dining include very young children.
If its say £30 a head then they obviously make the offer on a getting bill of £120 minimum. Your 3 diners + toddler didn't meet that level so you don't get the offer

Have you checked the terms and conditions and does it stipulate (like they usually do) that the offer is adult diners only? Because if it just says 5 diners my boss would have a field day with them. They need to amend the wording of their offers asap. They are letting themselves wide open to this kind of disagreements. You complied with the wording of the offer to the letter. (if confirmed offered as you say)

That's a different situation. In that situation, it's the children's meal that would be free, because the cheapest meal gets discounted. The OP wanted to pay for the cheap meal and get a full price meal free.

It obviously meant 5 adults - the children's meal is already a deal. I suppose you could have offered to pay full price for the kiddie and got your meal for free, savinv you a fiver overall.

Planning to give them a bad review just after they've moved premises is pretty nasty.

Oh come off it. By ordering OP agreed to their T&Cs. Going by your daft litigious viewpoint, she should have asked to see a copy of them. You and your boss (whoever that’s supposed to be?) sound equally daft.

This is so unfair on the business.

It is you who has got it wrong.

Can you give us the name of the restaurant, all you can for £30 sounds like a bargain and it’s my birthday next month.
I have four adult friends..,

You misunderstood the promotion, now you're leaving a bad review that could potentially cost them business, just to pressure them into giving you a voucher?

Awful.

OP, you were described as a cheapskate upthread, this really does show that you are. I wonder if you knew full well that your child’s meal wouldn’t qualify you for the offer but tried it on and they called you out. You had seen that the restaurant gave vouchers to reviewers and probably threatened them but they wouldn’t be blackmailed, now you’re on MN trying to justify it.

You’re either stupid, or a chancer. Why not take a few toddlers with you and pay nearly nothing.

Its nothing like that. There are laws about stabbing people, an offer which is accepted is not the same thing at all. How ridiculous.

What a miserable thing to do. I don't imagine you have any joy in your lives.

You dont have put your name on a Google review.

😃First post nailed it again

I find it hard to believe that you in all innocence assumed that a toddler with a £5 meal would naturally count as a 5th diner without needing to check with the restaurant.

It sounds more like you were deliberately trying to exploit what you thought was a loophole in their offer.

Honestly I don’t if you took this dispute to a court of law whether “5 dining” would be judged to include a toddler or not but it’s should be obvious to anyone that seeking to include a toddler isn’t a good faith interpretation of the offer.