I think I was taken advantage of...

[ned]

I hosted a cocktail party/dinner tonight at noteworthy pizza place. It was an engagement party. I worked hard to get a price and a plan set in advance and was given assurances by the owner of the restaurant that he wanted the same thing. Feeling confident that things were working out, I sent out invitations (all right evitations). Despite my efforts as days wore on there was still no confirmation on price. More phone calls and a drop in. Finally the night before the event--30 people, pizza, family style salad and antipasto, I was told the room was 500 bucks and we were to pay for the food. I was surprised but figured that maybe the food wouldn't be too much more, how much can ten or fifteen pizzas cost anyway--they're eleven bucks for takeout. I brought a case of wine and they claimed not to charge a corkage. People paid for cocktails and beer. The total bill was just under 1,200 dollars. That's 40 bucks a head for pizza and salad. There was one server and he was slammed. Slammed. There was no water, they didn't even have enough glasses.

I didn't feel comfortable disputing the bill with my guests around so I paid it.

My questions:

1. How much did I get ripped off?

2. What can/should I do now?

Clearly I made some mistakes. I should have made the owner confirm the pricing in advance. He got the best of me. Regardless, I'm left with a very bad taste in my mouth about a place that I love. Feeling this way it's going to be hard to go back.

Thanks in advance for any input you all might have.

[alanamoana]

if you didn't sign any sort of contract ahead of time, you might be at a loss...then again, if you didn't sign any sort of contract ahead of time, you might have an advantage.

i think it depends on how you approach the owners/managers. your post is very balanced and doesn't seem too emotional...i say you go to them with your concerns and see what their response is. have in mind what you would consider fair as compensation (like gift certificates for ten free pies or something that seems fair). forty dollars a head for pizza and salad and stuff is pretty high end, but then again, you monopolized most of the restaurant for the evening. if the guests were happy, i might not worry about it. did you tip on top of the bill?

[docsconz]

Given that the room was a separate charge your actual food cost was a little more than $20pp, Depending on the number and quality of the pizze and salad, it may not be such a bad deal even if it wasn't a particularly good one.

[mrsadm]

There's always "Judge Judy".

:-)

I would always get the price in writing up front. If they won't put it in writing, I would and present it to them. They definitely strung you along, but you don't have a lot of legal grounds to back you up here.

I have no idea if this was a good deal or bad deal, but it wasn't conducted professionally and you probably weren't demanding enough. Oh well, lesson learned!

At least I hope you and your guests had fun!

[ned]

  if the guests were happy, i might not worry about it.  did you tip on top of the bill?

←

The guests were very happy and I'm trying not to worry about it but I've got a little something stuck in my craw which is why I'm posting about it here. I appreciate your response.

I did tip, generously I think.

Edited May 18, 2006 by ned (log)

[ned]

Given that the room was a separate charge your actual food cost was a little more than $20pp, Depending on the number and quality of the pizze and salad, it may not be such a bad deal even if it wasn't a particularly good one.

←

The tricky part here is that the owner intimated early on that there would be no room charge or if there were, it would be minimal. Furthermore, it's not a room that is typically in use. We would have gotten a much better deal--and better service too--if we'd just made a reservation for thirty.

[TPO]

The tricky part here is that the owner intimated early on that there would be no room charge or if there were, it would be minimal. Furthermore, it's not a room that is typically in use. We would have gotten a much better deal--and better service too--if we'd just made a reservation for thirty.

All restaurants are different, but when I have held parties in restaurants typically the room charge is minimal or included in the food. For example, one Italian cafe charges about $12-20 for meals in the restaurant but charges $28 per person for a limited menu in their banquet rooms but does not charge for the room itself.

Couldn't you ask for a breakdown of the bill? If a pizza is $11 on the menu and you get a breakdown that shows you were charged $25 per pizza I would want to know why.

That also would allow you to see if the gratuity was included in the bill, or if the person who compiled the bill was not properly informed of what you agreed upon (for example, if you were charged for the wine in error or the gratuity was charged on the room as well as the food).

If you don't get any satisfaction, I'd consider writing a more formal response to the owner. A $500 room charge to share one waiter with the rest of the restaurant is ridiculous (IMO), having to hunt them down to get a price and still not getting one is even more ridiculous (IMO), so I would bring issues like that to their attention to possibly help others who rent the place in the future.

Edited May 18, 2006 by TPO (log)

[moosnsqrl]

Judge Judy, here! If this is a place you love, I would go to the owner and essentially let him/her know that you feel taken advantage of and you would really like to understand what happened so you could feel better about it and NOT have to stop dining there. If they have any sense at all they will realize that it's far cheaper to keep existing customers happy than to cultivate new ones and also that disgruntled customers are far more likely to share their experience than satisfied ones, so the bad "press" (word-of-mouth and eG, for example) will end up costing them far more than the extra room charge, another server, or a reasonable volume discount on food would have cost.

If they can't understand that they've made a bad business move, your next post can be ISO new pizza joints in your area.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Assuming you put this entire charge on your credit card, immediately dispute the charge with your credit card company while you negotiate with the owner. In many/most cases, the credti card company will act as a mediator if discussions with the restaurant owner break down.

This is a valuable resource that credit card companies offer that I believe many people forget they can utilize. I purposefully use credit cards for this very reason for interpersonal transactions as this is a form of insurance policy if things go wrong (like exactly what you are going through).

[bigdaddy]

In many/most cases, the credit card company will act as a mediator if discussions with the restaurant owner break down.

??? The credit card company is legally required to put the charge through if the merchant can produce a signed credit card slip. They don't have any authority to

get involved in the "after the fact" argument in this case.

Best to take the advice already posted...make sure you get the price up front next time, don't sign your credit card if you don't agree with the bill, talk to the owner & finally...consider it a lesson learned.

[TPO]

In many/most cases, the credit card company will act as a mediator if discussions with the restaurant owner break down.

??? The credit card company is legally required to put the charge through if the merchant can produce a signed credit card slip. They don't have any authority to

get involved in the "after the fact" argument in this case.

Best to take the advice already posted...make sure you get the price up front next time, don't sign your credit card if you don't agree with the bill, talk to the owner & finally...consider it a lesson learned.

←

I don't know about this particular situation -- disputing the amount of the bill or the quality of service -- but credit card companies have been very helpful to me in the past when I have had problems with a company not standing behind a poorly made or damaged product. The credit card's website often says what they will or will not do in the event of a dispute.

[ned]

Sad to say that it was an all cash transaction.

[daves]

In many/most cases, the credit card company will act as a mediator if discussions with the restaurant owner break down.

??? The credit card company is legally required to put the charge through if the merchant can produce a signed credit card slip. They don't have any authority to

get involved in the "after the fact" argument in this case.

Best to take the advice already posted...make sure you get the price up front next time, don't sign your credit card if you don't agree with the bill, talk to the owner & finally...consider it a lesson learned.

←

Sorry, this won't help with your situation ned, but...

Once, for a wedding, I stayed at a nice resort that advertised all sorts of amenities. Turned out they were a little too optimistic with their ad copy. Several times during the stay, I voiced my displeasure/disappointment with their setup, and the management stated they would make things right. At check-out time, I told them they needed to make things right financially. They 'forgot'.

Before signing the credit card receipt, I called amex and told them about it. They advised to sign the slip and then put it in dispute. To make a long story short(er), after their investigation amex cut the bill in half.

[andiesenji]

In my opinion you were ripped off. I have hosted parties for groups at several local restaurants and as long as I guaranteed a certain number of covers, the room is gratis. Even at Coco's, one of my clubs has had a semi-annual breakfast and they give us a room as long as we guarantee 20 or more diners.

At one local Mexican restaurant I have always had two or more servers plus a bus person and the owner provides many extras. The last time he set up a buffet with several main dishes, all the sides ones could wish, desserts, large pitchers of beer, sangria, plus non-alcoholic horchata, lemonade, hibiscus drinks. It was $655. for 48 people, including tax and gratuity (although several of the guests tipped the servers and busboy themselves, because the service was excellent and because some orderd bar drinks which weren't included.)

I thought it was extremely reasonable and asked the owner if he was sure he had not made a mistake, but he insisted on that amount.

He also insisted on giving me the "leftovers" in three of the large foil steam-table containers. I took them along to the dog show the following day and several of us had the leftovers for lunch - heating the stuff in the oven and microwave in the motorhome.

Edited May 19, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[hungryCAT]

I would absolutely insist on speaking with the owner/manager and have him/her explain the charges on your final bill.

Also, you should reiterate to them that you never got an exact quote before the fact. Let us know what happens!

[CarolineLD]

Yes, definitely take this up with them. I don't know if US law is the same on this point (although I suspect it is), but in English law a contract is as binding when it's a verbal agreement as when it's in writing. The point of having it in writing is simply that it makes it easier to prove what's agreed (rather than it being your word against theirs). In other words, if they told you the room was (virtually) free, they're bound by that.

And yes, do ask for a breakdown of the bill. They may get embarrassed if they have to own up to charging twice the menu price for a pizza! It also gives them a chance to back down gracefully: they can find a 'mistake' in the adding up, rather than having to admit they deliberately overcharged in the first place.

Caroline

[constanela]

Wow. I think you got ripped off. Just for comparison, when we had our commitment ceremony, we got a very well-known San Francisco restaurant for the entire night, had open bar, seven different passed appetizers, our wedding cake AND cookie favors for our guests for $50 a head. Good luck in trying to fix this.

[jgm]

I definitely think you should not let this go without some sort of contact with the owner. Whether you're inclined to have a face-to-face meeting with him, or just to write him a letter voicing your displeasure, you should let him know of your belief that your event wasn't handled well. I think what you paid was out of line.

Yes, you were taken advantage of. Big time. Whether he intended to do this to you or not, in the end you got a bad deal. He may have forgotten his verbal commitments to you, and may have had some sort of crisis that prevented him from returning your calls promptly; but the end result was the same as if he was deliberately backing you into a corner.

If you do decide to have contact with him, I'd be interested in hearing his response.