Restaurants overcharging on the rise

mandm

mandm

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The title says it all, I guess.

If you travel to a third world country, you might expect to get cheated here and there. But now it seems this is happening regularly here in good ole Chicago.

This happens in all sorts of ways.

A couple weeks ago, 3 of us went to eat Mexican, we had a total of 4 drinks. The bill came, 10 margaritas was on the bill, and the added meat charge was +$2 per item but the menu said +$1 per item. The server took off the margaritas but refused to adjust the added meats (3 x $1). It’s one of my regular places so I just let it go.

A while back, went for happy hour, had 2 drinks, I left a $4 tip, they added an extra $12. I contacted them about this and they asked to Venmo me the money overcharged which they did.

And yesterday, received my bill at a portable credit card machine, I punched in the tip. Today I received a push notification that my credit card was adjusted $10 higher. So clearly the server went in and adjusted the tip after I inputted it into the credit card machine.

Not to mention, many restaurants charge a 3% COVID surcharge, which if I catch it, I ask them to remove it which is usually done with a click of a button.

I am guessing restaurants are doing this widespread as they probably get away with it, kind of annoying for those of us who are aware of these things. I know many people don’t check their credit card statements to check the amounts are correct
 
mandm said:
The title says it all, I guess.

If you travel to a third world country, you might expect to get cheated here and there. But now it seems this is happening regularly here in good ole Chicago.

This happens in all sorts of ways.

A couple weeks ago, 3 of us went to eat Mexican, we had a total of 4 drinks. The bill came, 10 margaritas was on the bill, and the added meat charge was +$2 per item but the menu said +$1 per item. The server took off the margaritas but refused to adjust the added meats (3 x $1). It’s one of my regular places so I just let it go.

A while back, went for happy hour, had 2 drinks, I left a $4 tip, they added an extra $12. I contacted them about this and they asked to Venmo me the money overcharged which they did.

And yesterday, received my bill at a portable credit card machine, I punched in the tip. Today I received a push notification that my credit card was adjusted $10 higher. So clearly the server went in and adjusted the tip after I inputted it into the credit card machine.

Not to mention, many restaurants charge a 3% COVID surcharge, which if I catch it, I ask them to remove it which is usually done with a click of a button.

I am guessing restaurants are doing this widespread as they probably get away with it, kind of annoying for those of us who are aware of these things. I know many people don’t check their credit card statements to check the amounts are correct
Click to expand...
One of the reasons I like to pay cash. Also fewer surprises at the end of the month.
 
mandm said:
The title says it all, I guess.

If you travel to a third world country, you might expect to get cheated here and there. But now it seems this is happening regularly here in good ole Chicago.

This happens in all sorts of ways.

A couple weeks ago, 3 of us went to eat Mexican, we had a total of 4 drinks. The bill came, 10 margaritas was on the bill, and the added meat charge was +$2 per item but the menu said +$1 per item. The server took off the margaritas but refused to adjust the added meats (3 x $1). It’s one of my regular places so I just let it go.

A while back, went for happy hour, had 2 drinks, I left a $4 tip, they added an extra $12. I contacted them about this and they asked to Venmo me the money overcharged which they did.

And yesterday, received my bill at a portable credit card machine, I punched in the tip. Today I received a push notification that my credit card was adjusted $10 higher. So clearly the server went in and adjusted the tip after I inputted it into the credit card machine.

Not to mention, many restaurants charge a 3% COVID surcharge, which if I catch it, I ask them to remove it which is usually done with a click of a button.

I am guessing restaurants are doing this widespread as they probably get away with it, kind of annoying for those of us who are aware of these things. I know many people don’t check their credit card statements to check the amounts are correct
Click to expand...
I may be guilty of contributing to this. I’ll start paying more attention. Well, not paying….
 
The wife and I were in Farmington the other day. We stopped to eat at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. First thing I noticed on the menu was prices were 25 to 50% higher than the last time we were there.

I ordered the cheese enchilada plate. What I got was a 4 inch tortilla rolled into a tube shape, with a touch of shredded cheese sprinkled on top. I asked the poor waiter what is this. He asked me what did you order? I told him if he can't tell me what it is by looking at it, then something is wrong. Please call the manager on duty over.

I asked the manager what was on my plate. He didn't know either. I told him what it was. I also told him I am only going to pay 3 bucks for it. (menu price $19.49) He offered to take it back and bring something else. The wife and I decided to eat at a better Mexican food restaurant.

Taco Bell.

It just amazes me that folks think they deserve 24 bucks an hour for a job that took mere minutes to train for. And I am not shy to tell those folks that. McDonalds prices here are on par with the local steak house.

I leave cash for tips and ask the cashier to show me the 0 tip button when paying.
 
In a Clark Howard podcast I listened to yesterday, he mentioned restaurants are getting hammered with higher costs on all fronts, more so than other businesses apparently. It's one reason they are pushing chicken and pork versus beef. I'm not surprised these pressures are resulting in aberrant behaviors.
 
Sports bars padding drinks onto a customers bill is nothing new. Many times it’s for the server’s friends sitting at the bar drinking for free. That’s why you need to write down the drinks ordered from your table if you are drinking with a group ordering a large number of drinks.

If you get a bill over charging simply refuse to pay it and if the police need to get involved call them yourself.

And, if the bill is padded don’t tip. Getting your bill correct is part of good service.
 
Zeldman said:
The wife and I were in Farmington the other day. We stopped to eat at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. First thing I noticed on the menu was prices were 25 to 50% higher than the last time we were there.
Click to expand...
Wondering which one is your favorite? Prices have gone up at all of my local favorites, but food still good and plentiful.
Jon at FMN
 
Even the cheap places are Nickle diming. Which one is not important.

Bought burgers, fries, and drinks. Asked for catsup, they added a dime and a couple of packets of catsup.
Straws and paper napkins are still free...:)
 
geezer said:
Even the cheap places are Nickle diming. Which one is not important.

Bought burgers, fries, and drinks. Asked for catsup, they added a dime and a couple of packets of catsup.
Straws and paper napkins are still free...:)
Click to expand...

Barb ordered a sandwich in Dawson last night. The sandwich came with mayo, but when she asked for it on the side instead they wanted to charge an extra $3.50. "Never mind, I'll scrape off what I don't want."

Insane.
 
$14 for a shot of Mailbu at the Mexican place at Navy Pier. I can get a whole bottle for that. I opted to have water.
 
I received an email about my recent overcharging.

I was in fact undercharged and due to a system error in processing the tip, I was overcharged. As a result (of me being overcharged $10), the restaurant is giving me a $24 dollar refund which already posted to my card. I cannot figure out their calculations…
 
4CornerFlyer said:
Wondering which one is your favorite? Prices have gone up at all of my local favorites, but food still good and plentiful.
Jon at FMN
Click to expand...
Si Senor on east 30th street was our favorite go to place when in FMN.

They called a rolled tortilla with shredded cheese on top a cheese tamale. And wanted 19.45 for it. Small spoonful of re-fried beans and orange rice included.

We let our feet have the final say. I really think the manager on duty had never dealt with a problem like this before.
 
EdFred said:
The drivers behave like it.
Click to expand...
I live in North Carolina. Trust me when I say that anyone who has driven in the metro areas of Charlotte, Raleigh / Durham, and Greensboro / Winston Salem will tell you that Chicago doesn't have ALL the crazy drivers! They're on I-40 and I-85 as well.
 
mandm said:
The title says it all, I guess.

If you travel to a third world country, you might expect to get cheated here and there. But now it seems this is happening regularly here in good ole Chicago.
Click to expand...

Isn't Chicago and third world country actually one in the same?
 
Zeldman said:
Si Senor on east 30th street was our favorite go to place when in FMN.
Click to expand...
Haven't been there myself in at least a decade, but the parking lot is always full. A new place just opened with mariachis, which I'll have to try.

As relates to the original topic, ethnic foods (Chinese & Mexican in particular) are still probably the best value out there.
Jon
 
Since we are eating out less due to the higher cost I don’t run into issues like this. Can I afford to? Sure, but I’d rather spend a little more on special occasions at well received restaurants ($$) than more frequent overpriced meals at an everyday place. When returning to some restaurants over the past year I’m usually dumbfounded how much the meals have increased. I now make it a game to look at old pictures of their menus on google, yelp, or other sources to figure out the increase. And, why American restaurants don’t all use the mobile point of sale machines is crazy. Eating a nice meal at home, no matter how inconvenient, is more enjoyable.
 
Japan is so nice without the tips culture. The price is the price.

All those adjustments would be do away with if you Yanks go with the credit card machine with the tap or chip and you choose the tip there and then and it’s locked in. I thought I was in a third world country in LA with all the paper and signing.
 
SebIp said:
Japan is so nice without the tips culture. The price is the price.
Click to expand...
And pretty much the rest ofthe world.

But... you do notice the different server attitude. Most of them are relatively indifferent, since they get paid the same regardless of your level of happyness.
Until a few years ago, when everything went downhill, US servers were definitely on another level of "I'll make sure you're happy". Now it feels like 50-50.

Also, on the topic of eating out: having people stuck "indoors" for a few years meant home cooking became a bit more refined for most. When you go to a restaurant, most of the time you might end up being dissapointed with the quality of their food, especially for their asking price.
 
mandm said:
The title says it all, I guess.

If you travel to a third world country, you might expect to get cheated here and there. But now it seems this is happening regularly here in good ole Chicago.

This happens in all sorts of ways.

A couple weeks ago, 3 of us went to eat Mexican, we had a total of 4 drinks. The bill came, 10 margaritas was on the bill, and the added meat charge was +$2 per item but the menu said +$1 per item. The server took off the margaritas but refused to adjust the added meats (3 x $1). It’s one of my regular places so I just let it go.

A while back, went for happy hour, had 2 drinks, I left a $4 tip, they added an extra $12. I contacted them about this and they asked to Venmo me the money overcharged which they did.

And yesterday, received my bill at a portable credit card machine, I punched in the tip. Today I received a push notification that my credit card was adjusted $10 higher. So clearly the server went in and adjusted the tip after I inputted it into the credit card machine.

Not to mention, many restaurants charge a 3% COVID surcharge, which if I catch it, I ask them to remove it which is usually done with a click of a button.

I am guessing restaurants are doing this widespread as they probably get away with it, kind of annoying for those of us who are aware of these things. I know many people don’t check their credit card statements to check the amounts are correct
Click to expand...

Taken it you never have eaten in NYC in the past years... this is commonplace there...

Had one instance where they changed a one to a seven.... really a $70 tip on a $50 meal, what the 20% wasn't good enough.. Anyway called American Express they told me to void the charge, and never heard about it again.

The thing that galls me recently is they are automatically putting the tip on the bill, and carry out is expecting a tip.. I got into it recently and asked to see the where on the menu that noted this, the manager as she stated it was a recently policy... to which I informed here it need to nnoted otherwise it is null and void.. I paid them cash for the meal itself with no tip, and walked out...

I worked in restaurants all through college, I know it is a hard job, but tip means To Insure Promptness..
 
Worst thing I've seen here in Texas (San Antonio) was a restaurant that added a mandatory 20% tip to the check. No mention of it beforehand, when the check arrived, it simply had a 20% tip added with a remark that 15% will go to the waiter and 5% to the restaurant as an "administration fee". The remark also encouraged to add to the tip if you feel the service was better than 15%. I thought that was BS but I didn't say anything. I would have given 20% anyways. Just sucks for the waiter as she would have gotten the full 20% and now she only gets 15%. Needless to say, I didn't add more tip.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
Worst thing I've seen here in Texas (San Antonio) was a restaurant that added a mandatory 20% tip to the check. No mention of it beforehand, when the check arrived, it simply had a 20% tip added with a remark that 15% will go to the waiter and 5% to the restaurant as an "administration fee". The remark also encouraged to add to the tip if you feel the service was better than 15%. I thought that was BS but I didn't say anything. I would have given 20% anyways. Just sucks for the waiter as she would have gotten the full 20% and now she only gets 15%. Needless to say, I didn't add more tip.
Click to expand...
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
Worst thing I've seen here in Texas (San Antonio) was a restaurant that added a mandatory 20% tip to the check. ….
Click to expand...
Name the place, that’s my neck of the woods and I’d prefer to avoid it because I wouldn’t pay their mandatory, unadvertised charge.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
Worst thing I've seen here in Texas (San Antonio) was a restaurant that added a mandatory 20% tip to the check. No mention of it beforehand, when the check arrived, it simply had a 20% tip added with a remark that 15% will go to the waiter and 5% to the restaurant as an "administration fee". The remark also encouraged to add to the tip if you feel the service was better than 15%. I thought that was BS but I didn't say anything. I would have given 20% anyways. Just sucks for the waiter as she would have gotten the full 20% and now she only gets 15%. Needless to say, I didn't add more tip.
Click to expand...
It's illegal in most places to direct any amount of the "tip" to non-service personnel.
 
A restaurant that I frequently go to added a sticker to the menu

"We are not printing new menu's, our costs are changing. Egg items are $1 more, all items are 10% more"
"We hope that we can return to the old prices."

They are still economical for the food, and I prefer that approach. I am a part owner, as a member of the American Legion.
 
EdFred said:
$14 for a shot of Mailbu at the Mexican place at Navy Pier. I can get a whole bottle for that. I opted to have water.
Click to expand...
If you are serious about enjoying Chicago, Navy Pier is dead last on my list except for boat rides, because it’s a pier. Also, you misspelled Mallort.

Domenick said:
Wait! I thought Chicago WAS a third-world country.
Click to expand...
I get it. It’s easy to hate on something that has so much of everything, good and bad. Having traveled the US and world, Chicago is pretty damn good. Ignore the news and you might discover how good it can be.
 
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