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.

You’re making yourself sound more pompous and self righteous with every post you make, OP. I doubt you have as much influence on this restaurant as you think you’ll have and I really hope they don’t cave in to you and give you a voucher 🙄

Seriously? You ordered a £5 kids meal for your 2 year old, you didn't have to, you can ask for a wee plate and give them some bits off your plate at that age cause they don't count as customers. Did they offer the 2 yr of a glass of wine, coffee?? Why not? Cause they don't count as real customers, they are only there cause you brought them, cause they can't make their own choices or allowed to wait in pub while you are having a birthday meal. Did your 2 year old make any spills or dropped food like a child does? Did staff bring you all crayons or just the kid? See so many diffences between adults and kids. You will be happy to take all the extras you get from having kid there(£5 meal) but then expect them to count as an adult. Don't embarrass yourself (unless your thinking of being a cowardly annonous complainer🙄) realise your focusing a lot of time and upset when you could just have had a nice birthday?

I think restaurants should stop pretending they are friendly and good-hearted if really they are just out to make money, as seems to be the case here. I don't think customers can be expected to work out the economics from the manager's point of view. The mistake was to assume the offer was 'from the heart' rather than from the accounts.

It would have been obvious to most a kids meal wouldn't count. How could they make a living? It doesn't need spelling out.

How silly and pathetic of you then. Have you really not got anything better to do with your time?

Were the four apart from the toddler all adults or did you have other children with you?

This image is on the top of my shampoo bottle! I had the exact same reaction (image attached)!

now OP technically the wording according to you didn’t stipulate that it had to be adult diners or a minimum spend, but I imagine they are a local restaurant and not part of a chain that wont necessarily be au fait with T&Cs and small print etc. I work in marketing and the amount we have to update T&Cs and small print because of some idiot or cocky so and so.

leave small business be. If you leave a scathing review it will ruin their star rating and for the sake of £30 you could help to damage their business. If this was a chain or something then I might be inclined to agree as legal teams sign off T&Cs but come on OP it’s £30 and you are just being petty!

it wouldn’t be a shock if on reflection, we get a voucher to settle the matter.

Or they may settle it by telling you not to return.

To be so rigid and unfeeling, the manager must have assumed that henceforth everyone would be bringing a toddler along, in order to cheat him. What a pleasant host.

Common sense would dictate that the “5 diners” condition would NOT apply to a 2 year old. I wouldn’t expect it to apply to any child unless they were having an adult meal.

did you have to buy the kids meal or could the 2 year old have eaten off your plate (fairly common for the under 3s especially in all you can eat buffets) because that is key. Did you deliberately buy a kids meal to get the offer

I think there is a potential greyer area if there is no small print for a 3-11 child

I disagree. If it only applies to 5 adults dining, or 5 'all you can eat" meals being purchased, common sense would dictate it should say so!

All businesses are there to make money. Would you cook a meal for five random strangers for no profit?

Says the woman on mumsnet this evening, spending her time calling a stranger silly and pathetic on the Internet... 😅

Why didn't you mention it was your birthday when you went in? You would have been told up front and then it wouldn't have been a ruinous shock.

There's no point debating unless the OP tells us which restaurant it is. I haven't found a single all you can eat buffet that stipulates a party of 5 without saying that all members must be adult.

No, but I wouldn't either pretend I was doing it out of the goodness of my heart, if I was doing it for a profit.

I have to hand it to you, you must have some brass neck on you to consider showing your face there again in order to take them up on any voucher offered.

It’s sensible and reasonable to assume a baby wouldn’t count as a ‘diner’ and that diners would be fully paying ie adult customers.

You should always mention things like offers or use of vouchers upon ordering your meal. Again, just common sense. In this case you’d have been made aware of your blunder and could’ve possibly got round it by ordering a full price adult meal to share out on behalf of your toddler and therefore validate your birthday freebie. Or you could’ve opted to decline ordering at all and gone elsewhere. Never assume you’re entitled to anything. There are always terms and conditions and the people setting them are obviously in charge of them.
Its on you to check these things.

Ah shame you won’t go back then.

I fully agree with you.

I used a tastecard at the weekend. It was 2 for 1. The offer didn't exclude children ordering from the kids' meal. We had a lovely family meal out.

Exactly. Thing is, people see right through reviews like that and feel sorry for the restaurant!

I imagine they are the type of people who "find" glass in their meal as well.

The irony here is the meal cost the same as it would had you had one extra dinner, and then you ate free 😂

I’m not going to pile on here as I think enough people have pointed out a very young child would probably not count for the offer but I am going to say Happy Birthday to you OP and I hope you had a good day other than that. Don’t let it frame the whole evening, if you enjoyed it other than that then the good memories are the ones to hold on to.

Did he though? Did he really?
I bet everyone else in the restaurant applauded you too.

You sound horrid