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.

And what do you want the voucher for? I thought you were not going back?🙄

I agree T&C's could have been clearer(though if I want to make use of an offer I always ask at the start) but now you just taking the piss and being petty.

God I can’t beleive you thought taking a two year old and paying a fiver meant you’d qualify and now the pair of you want to write a shit review to see if you can get a voucher from them.

of course a two year old doesn’t count. Who on earth would think they would and then argue they should have said that.

Also op, if the restaurant usually responds and your husband write his shit review in a desperate attempt to get a voucher, I would assume the restaurant will respond and say a two year old eating a 5 pound meal doesn’t qualify. And like most people on this thread, everyone reading it will just think absolutely and what a chancer.

You’re deluded op. Far from getting a voucher, you’ll get your arse handed to you from whoever responds to the review.

Frankly, if your birthday is “ruined” for the sake of £30 and you’re prepared to get into an online spat (after the real life one) you need to take stock of what’s important in life. Clue, it’s not this.

At the very least you should have thought to wonder if a 2 year old would be included. It must be obvious they wouldn't have the 'all you can eat' menu.

My kids are grown now so maybe it's changed but restaurants offering kids meals used to charge next to nothing for those, in order to encourage adults to come and pay for pricier adult meals.

Plus it's only £30 - surely not a devasting amount if you can afford to eat out? Split between 4 adults?

No they really aren’t. People should use common sense. Or stop trying to find loopholes. People like you and the op piss me off. Looking for a freebie in everything and trying to pull a fast one. Common sense should not need spelling out. And the restaurant really won’t give a shot about losing their custom either.

Actual bill:
5 x 30 + 1 x5 = 155

What you wanted:
4x30 + 1x5 + 1x birthday=125

What you could have got by saying you'd pay full for toddler

5x 30+ 1x birthday=150

Maybe OP just isn't that intelligent. I suppose there is not a lot they can do about that.

😂😂 I think you are going to be very disappointed.
Expect short shrift in response.

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.

'5 dining' could be five people going in and ordering a plate of spring rolls each. Or one portion of spring rolls between them...five dining doesn't specify that five people have to make a purchase.

But that would be nonsense of course. A civil court would rule on what's 'reasonable'. Perhaps OP was caught up in her birthday celebrations and it genuinely didn't cross her mind...but most reasonable people presented with that information at a buffet restaurant would know exactly what it meant.

Sounds like a case for Judge Rinder!

I think it was only four plus the toddler because the deal was five adults all eating from the all you can eat menu. So if you assume £30 for each plus £5 for the toddler, that’s still only £125 - exactly what they would have paid had there been a fifth person to qualify for the discount. I think what OP wanted was the £125 discounted by £30 to £95, which is ludicrous. The deal was obviously costed out so that the restaurant could afford to offer the discount on a table of five, costing £150.

It was a mistake not to clarify this before you ordered. Hopefully, you will learn from this. I'm sure a lawyer could tell you who was in the right. It's not a clear situation and I understand your upset, especially if £30 is a lot of money for you. You are hurting yourself not to go back, if, as you say, it's a lovely restaurant. While I sympathise with you, I also understand the restaurant's side, that you were not fulfilling the terms.
Maybe a lawyer can give their opinion?

You real late a cheapskate aren’t you? They will probably respond with the fact that one of your party was a toddler and most people won’t give the review the time of day. I certainly wouldn’t. In fact your review would just make me want to go to the restaurant instead 😂

They should have stated 5 adults, but common sense really should have prevailed here. It’s got to be financially worth it for the restaurant. A tot having a little meal isn’t going to be classed as a normal diner.

As for it ruining your meal, that’s a bit strange.

That's nasty. They haven't done anything wrong. It's obvious a £5 meal wouldn't count.

No such thing as a free meal op!
I’d have also assumed 5 adults, or at least kids eating adult meals.

Actually I agree with OP. If the restaurant didn't specify what the meals were and all the diners were paying customers then the offer should have been honoured. You can't put extra conditions on an offer after the fact. If they want it to only apply to adults then they need to say so.

If it had been the child's birthday then I would have expected a £5 reduction in the bill because that was the price of a child's meal.

I can imagine all the eye rolls from people reading your review. It’s a bit like the reviews I read when looking at a hotel when we were planning a holiday to Italy. Hotel was family friendly, but some reviewers complained there were children there! It also had an outside terrace where you could have breakfast and some people complained birds flew onto the terrace!

I suppose on reflection they’ll add wording to the offer to clarify. Imagine they assumed people would understand that a toddlers’ tiny meal didn’t count. It’s a bit like when they have to label food so carefully these days. A pot of Salt. This item may contain salt. Bleach. Don’t drink bleach. Etc etc

But yes perhaps they will be grateful you’ve highlighted their lack of clarification, and send you a voucher!

Bloody hell, you cheapskate!

I’ve worked in retail all my life, and the amount of people who say I’ll never be back and you see them in again the next day 😂😂

In that case I hope that Karma shits on your head. In a suitably toned way.

Maybe you could do a compo face article for the local paper too.

We have a restaurant near us called Casa Brasil which operates on this basis. It’s pretty awesome!

Your comment reminds me of the “Beach too sandy, water too wet” podcast.