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.

Where the appeal to common sense can get you: Sidney Powell (Trump's lawyer), when prosecuted, retracted her claim that voting machines were rigged against him. Her defence was that when she accused Dominion of being part of an election-rigging scheme with ties to Venezuela, "no reasonable person would conclude" those "were truly statements of fact". In other words, she thought it was ok to blatantly lie, on the grounds that no-one with common sense would believe her. But of course she hoped they would believe her, and lots of people did. And here we are.

Shocking behaviour by you. You not only are a cheapskate but you deliberately planned on trying to scam the restaurant by deliberately using a two year old who has a reduced price.

5 x 30 =150 (normal price)
4 x 30 =120 the price (24 each)
3 x 30 = 90 + 5 = 95. (19 each or 4 @ 22.5 each plus 5 for toddler)

if you had two toddlers

2 x 30 =60 + 5 + 5 = 70 .

I’m frankly amazed you didn’t try that. Not that I’m expecting a reply but the rest of you that think the OP is correct should really really consider why they think restaurants are there for scamming.

This restaurant has a nice offer for one’s birthday and justifying being “smart” is not a good look.

So you acknowledge that the industry is facing challenges and yet you expect a massive discount - logic should have told you a £5 child’s meal wouldn’t be included and frankly why would you expect it?
and to make matters worse your going to leave a shitty review? You sound lovely 🙄

Spot on. If OP's DH does leave a shitty review, I hope the restaurant reply giving the full story, which will expose the OP family as cheapskate chancers.

I thought that such offers were often at the discretion of the management anyway?

If you are after a free adult meal I would assume that the other 4 also needed to be adult meals.

Perhaps it should make it clearer.

Had this happened before the meal would you have gone elsewhere?

I'd love for you to post your husband's review on here.

I think you went about this the wrong way. If I’m depending on a discount I check with the restaurant in advance. Ie before attending, if a “no” would mean I visit elsewhere; or on arrival and before ordering. Otherwise, it is weird to assume you’ll get the discount just from whipping up ID when the bill is presented; usually restaurants ask that you make them aware if you’re using discounts before the bill.

I wouldn’t include a toddler in a party of 5 either. If I saw your husband’s petulant review, I would ignore it and continue booking the restaurant. Most people wouldn’t end up in your situation by virtue of common sense, so using a negative review won’t get you any leverage.

I would have assumed 5 adult diners too, as they would be giving a reduced price meal for the child already

it's so unlike a libran to feel like this!

I would have clarified before we ate.

Logically the 5 diners would mean 5 paying adults. You at least should have clarified before going if you were going to be so dependent on it. You can leave the review but I think you will likely be viewed the same way you have here.

I would assume it was 5 diners are the all you can eat and one eats free basically, so it was under the banner of the all you can eat buffet offer. But they’ve twisted it to not just the all you can eat offer but tried to inc rhe 2 year old, buying them a cheap meal, instead of just sharing some food, so they could get the deal, then waiting till the end hoping the restaurant wouldn’t say no, I’d bet good money if the op linked to it, it would be blindingly obvious it was 5 at the all you can eat.

@Charlenedickens I expect it's in their T&Cs.

The Casa Brasil that we've been to has a similar offer (minimum of four guests not five) and very clearly states that the other guests have to pay the full adult price

If not getting the free meal was going to ruin your birthday then you really should have checked before you ordered. I’m all for saving money but I’d not let it ruin my birthday celebrations.

Yes I as said I’m sure if she linked it would be very obvious and they’ve tried to argue semantics to get a free meal. It’s so grubby.

As a fellow Libra, I did wonder where on earth are the typical traits of not rocking the boat and avoiding conflict!

not to mention seeing both sides in an argument and the other person's point of view.

Not a Libran but very close to one

They need to have clear T&C and now have made a customer unhappy and will get feedback on a review. It’s a learning opportunity for all.

usually you need to say when booking or on arrival if you are using an offer as if they say no then you can choose to leave

Logically it might mean that but did the offer say that?

Whilst the restaurant does need to urgently update its t&cs if this stipulation isn’t in there, I don’t think it needs to update any short/title wording of the offer. £5 wouldn’t cover an adult meal, so I can only assume you ordered a child’s meal or a snack, and that you were attempting to get one over on them / hack their system. If the fifth person had ordered an adult meal though, then I can understand how (as a fellow sensitive person) someone could leave with a feeling that it soured the evening.

Sorry, I don’t think the suggestion is any more absurd than thinking a toddler eating £5 worth of food would count as a 5th diner.
Aside from holiday clubs, I can’t think of a single case where a child counts as a full paying customer when it comes to offers.

ETA: agree that it should be included in the T&Cs.

@arethereanyleftatall

The problem, though, is that it ISN'T obvious to everyone.

People talk about common sense, but what's seen as common sense to one person is not necessarily so to another.

There have been a few things that I've not realised/understood that other people consider to be "common sense."

I don't think the OP should boycott the restaurant over this, but I DO think the restaurant need to make their wording clearer and specify that they mean five adults.

@SorcererGaheris we only have the OPs word the terms weren't clear as she has ignored all requests for a link. Which suggests that they are already perfectly clear to anyone who isn't a CF who was trying it on.

@countrygirl99

Perhaps you're right. I have only read the first parts of the thread, and I tend to take the OP at their word unless I see a reason not to.

So even though everyone is telling you you’ve been unreasonable here your husband is going to try and trash someone’s living with a Google review.

what lovely people you sound like

Scroungers.

I’d be more upset over having a DH that can’t provide for me and his offspring, to the point where we’re so broke I’m taken to an all-you-can-eat buffet for my birthday, and he’s still crying over having to pay £30.00 for food that was eaten. Could he not spend the time he’s going to “pen a suitably toned review” on improving his career prospects. Embarrassing all round.