What can I do about what i think is an unfair bill ($645 bill) at a restaurant on Valentines Day?

Question

Valentines Day 08'

-Baleen Restaurant in Groves Isle - Miami, Fl

-Reservations one month in advance...called by employee of restaurant a week after, asking for 50.00 deposit from credit card to ensure reservation...sure... seems normal.

-Dinner for 2. Great night, bill comes in $645.01... (mind you, not a single alcoholic beverage was drank... in fact we only had water). It was a 4 course meal of set items (which were not even all that great to be honest with you), no wine.

-Service was terrible, not only was our food brought out before we were done with the apatizer, but we saw our waiter about 3 times during the spand of 3 and a half hours. The last hour, of course, spent there waiting for him to bring me the bill. The waiter also managed to add a 20% tip to our bill. 250+250=500 + 20% =600 +tax 45, = 645.01.

-Mainly, my problem is that when I called and made the reservations, I WAS NEVER TOLD about a $250 per person tab for sitting outside, otherwise I would not be complaining.

Answer 1

Hope you used a credit card...call your credit card company ASAP

Answer 2

Dude,next time RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

The menu on Valentine's Day was "Prix Fix", or fixed price. Restaurants often do this on busy evenings. Meals cost "X" dollars per person, and come with a few courses of specially prepared dishes.

They asked for the $50 deposit to make sure that they would not lose money if you didn't show. Remember, a table is like a piece of real estate that you are renting from a restaurant for the time that you stay and dine.

It strikes me very odd that you didn't ask the price of the meals. I would never order something and just assume what the price was going to be. I also get the feeling that you were exaggerating a bit about waiting an hour for your check. There were no other servers that you could have asked. A lot of times, people in restaurants say they have been waiting for something (such as their table, drinks, food, etc.) for a long period of time, when in actuality it's only minutes. As for the food, I think it's your fault that you didn't ask. If I were in a car dealership, I would not buy a car that didn't have a price listed.

As for the gratuity, restaurants to this to make sure that the server is compensated for their hard work. A lot of running goes on behind the scenes that the average patron is not aware of. A server does not simply take orders and bring your food and drinks. Unfortunately though (especially in Miami) servers use the added gratuity as a cushion and don't provide as good service as they would if their tip depended on it. I agree that an added gratuity is unfair if the server in fact did slack on their service.

Your issue with being charged to dine outside is understandable. It seems odd to me, but I imagine that outside dining is desirable at that particular restaurant due to the view. If you still want to fight this, I would speak to the owner of the restaurant (not a manager or other staff member) and calmly and clearly state your case. Remember to be rational and don't get defensive, because that will only force the owner to think you're being a pain and act defensively as well.

If anything, just learn your lesson that it's always best to ask. Good luck!

Answer 4

oh no i would despute the total becuase if you dont agree with what you are paying then you shouldnt pay and it sounds kinda fishy how they asked you for a deposit a week after you should definitly talk to someone

Answer 5

i would make a BIIIG deal out of this!!!

you were cheated!

this is what i would do:

1st of all, try to stay calm

* go talk to manager of restaurant, employees, people i know who have visited the place, read their website..etc..

* make a BIIIIIIG deal

in my country we have somewhat of like a consumers complaint dept. (PROFECO) you can make a complaint there..find one for the United States online.

* go to your local news station and let them know!!!

*got to your newspaper stations too

this might seem as embarasing to do , but hey its ur money and fight for it...

that is most probably why they did it to u in the first place... because they know you will be embarased to make a big deal about having to pay a bill and you will have to pay it anyways... and i believe thats what happened.

but hey if nothing else works

do it on your own....

TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS LAME RESTAURANT, TELL EVERYONE U SAW MICE AND A HAIR IN UR SOPE...ETC

GOOD LUCK, LET US KNOW HOW IT WENT.

BYE

Answer 6

Credit card company will remove the charge from your card & deal with the restaurant.  The other poster is right - call your credit card  company NOW.

Answer 7

I would complain until someone listened. That is ridiculous and it should be against the law for any restaurant to think they are that good. No food is worth that kind of money. I bet they made you pay for the atmosphere. I would not stop complaining until I got some sort of satisfaction...

Answer 8

challenge the charge with your credit card

Answer 9

Definitely speak to a manager and keep going higher up the chain until you speak to someone who will help you resolve your problem.  Hopefully your date was worth every penny!!!

Answer 10

First of all, if you paid with a credit card, dispute the charge ASAP. Also, I would go back and talk with the manager. When you go in to talk to him/her, be very patient and try to stay as calm as possible. If you go in looking for a fight, you'll get one. Plus, people are always more willing to help someone who seems sane. Also, go in with an idea of what solution may be satisfactory to you. Keep in mind that if you seem reasonable, you stand a good chance of getting a resolution that you'll find acceptable. Demanding a free meal won't get you that far, but if you say "I was never told that eating outside was going to cost me $250 more. I'm willing to pay for my meal, I'm just not willing to pay for things that were never disclosed to me", they may be willing to refund a portion of the meal. If that doesn't work, then I'd get mean. Start telling everyone how crappy the service is for how much they charge (you got a good start on that one by posting the nameand location of the restaurant on this site).

Answer 11

I think its a little late to worry about the price, if you where that concerned you should have asked menu prices before dining and if after the meal when you where paying you noticed the large amount that would be another time to say something. Seems like if your going to a place like that on valentines day price shouldn't be a complaint. If you had service issues you need to let someone know before you leave and not once you see the price on the tab.

Answer 12

1) Talk to the manager/owner to reconcile the bill.

2) If that fails, dispute the bill with your credit card company.

3) If both fail, talk to a lawyer.

Answer 13

Talk to a lawyer and see what chances you have. I agree with you. Unfortunately you need to prove that they failed to inform you about the prices and all. I don't know if you have a good chance to win but the worst battle it's the one that you neglect to do, so go on. I sincerely hope you win. Good luck!!!

Edit:

My friend, I'm confused, first you ask what can you do and now you saying something  that make me thing that you don't want your money back?   Then,  what do you want?  Some kind of apologies from the restaurant manager? If so then go and ask them straight . Good luck again

Answer 14

Call your local TV news station and tell them what happened.  Call the newspaper.  The restaurant will give you your money back just to avoid the bad press.  I would call every paper and every TV news channel.  What they did to you is outrageous.

Answer 15

I'm not sure because i'm not in US but it might be the same as UK as much of your laws are from ours -

If so -then the best thing (at the time) is to pay part of the bill and give your name and address for them to pursue you in court for the remainder.  That is legal here.

Or if you already paid then get the credit card company to pull the money back as soon as possible - It sounds like a glorified scam!!!

Good luck

Answer 16

Wow that seems like an insane amount of money to pay for a meal. That is about £300! Def would not be paying £150 per person for a 4 course meal!! How about you threaten them with taking your story to a local newspaper reporter, it might scare them as it would damage their reputation. Dont back down and make sure they take you seriously. Annoy them as much as possible and they will eventually back down. Call them, write to them, email them. Raise an official complaint with the manager. Just dont let them away with it.

Answer 17

I would try once more to settle this with the owner of the restaurant. If that does not work then I would call the credit card company and the Better Business Bureau.  You should not have to pay extra when it was not disclosed to you in advance. Good luck.