Restaurants overcharging on the rise

masloki said:
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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Sure, there’s good stuff there, but it’s not worth going to Chicago for.
 
After many mystery drinks popping up on my tabs over the years (and eventually realizing it was not accidental), I learned to pay cash at bars and pay by the round whenever practical.
And that's actually very common for the new generation to pay by the round, no matter how obnoxious it is for bartenders. Good habit.
 
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kc4wsd said:
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.
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…all the way to Gastonia…..

Better to fly into KHKY or 14A and avoid the whole mess.

Scratch that: Not 14A, because that puts you on the highest-traffic section of I-77.

When I was in grad school (back in the pliocene era), the Greensboro I-40/I-85 interchange was one of the deadliest highways in the US.
 
On a counter note, I ordered a “gas station” supreme pizza today, lady on the phone said it would be about 45 minutes. It takes 15 to get to town so I waited a bit then ended up taking the “scenic route” to check on the conditions of some corn fields and got there 50 minutes after ordering. It still hadn’t been started yet…the lady working there was extremely apologetic, was the only one working there, was her third day on the job and had never made or been trained on anything other than the mini pepperoni and breakfast pizzas they sell by the slice in the display wracks. She said she has been calling her bosses and coworkers to find out how to make one but nobody answered… I told her that was fine, just make what you think will taste good, if it doesn’t I won’t be upset and I’ll come back in 25 minutes to pick it up. BEST damn pizza I have ever had in my life! I get it home and open the box, it’s 1 1/2” thick and loaded, cooked to perfection. She will be getting a $20 tip the next time I see her (even though she forgot to cut it into slices).
 
StraightnLevel said:
…all the way to Gastonia…..

Better to fly into KHKY or 14A and avoid the whole mess.

Scratch that: Not 14A, because that puts you on the highest-traffic section of I-77.

When I was in grad school (back in the pliocene era), the Greensboro I-40/I-85 interchange was one of the deadliest highways in the US.
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The area you mentioned in Greensboro was known as "Death Valley" for many years.

Back on topic after straying into crazy drivers . . . my wife and I both worked in the restaurant business years ago, as teenagers. We have servers that we ask for at certain restaurants. They know that we tip well (when it's deserved), and a couple of them will ring in "water" instead of overpriced soft drinks.
Come to think of it, maybe it's our fault that some of you pay extra . . .

Regardless, I always ask for a receipt, and check the charges (that's how I spotted the "water,") and try to always tip in cash and hand it to the server.

I once watched a dining room manager (senior server) take cash off the table and pocket it. The server for the table in question was new, and likely thought the customer "stiffed" her. I brought it to the restaurant owner's attention, but couldn't prove anything because it wasn't spotted on camera, and it would have been he said / she said.

TLDR version: Check the receipt. Hand the cash tip to the server.
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
And that's actually very common for the new generation to pay by the round, no matter how obnoxious it is for bartenders. Good habit.
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I'm twice their age, and rarely open a tab. It is annoying when things get busy and you decide you want to leave, to get your bill and pay up. Better to just do it then and there, and decide to stay later.
 
I wonder if the minimum wage just about doubling in the past 10 years has anything to do with this?
Or the lowered value of the dollar.
I tell certain friends that complain about restaurant and other prices that they got what they voted for.
 
masloki said:
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.


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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It was daughters 17th and she wanted to do Shedd and Field. So we stayed on Grand and walked to Navy Pier for fireworks on Wednesday night. Unplanned, we just figured because it was there and we were hungry we'd walk that way.

I only pointed out the Malibu because it's cheap booze that they were charging crazy price for.

I've been to a number of Class B cities, and Chicago is the one I hate the most for trying to get around. Not a single Illinois license plate knows how to do anything except cause backups. If I never go back it will be too soon.
 
Chicago seems like a cool town; I go there often for work, though to be fair I just know downtown.

Also Chicago style hot dogs are objectively the best kind of hot dog.
 
masloki said:
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.


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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Meigs!
 
EdFred said:
I've been to a number of Class B cities, and Chicago is the one I hate the most for trying to get around. Not a single Illinois license plate knows how to do anything except cause backups. If I never go back it will be too soon.
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True. Add to this the fact that Chicago's mass transit system is a complete mess - completely radial, with no lateral connections. "You can't get there from here" is the basic description of transport in Chicago.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Meigs!
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Meigs tower
IMG_9607.jpeg

EdFred said:
Not a single Illinois license plate knows how to do anything except cause backups. If I never go back it will be too soon.
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I drive that area a lot. Very few drivers know where tf they are going and it’s doubly hilarious when their gps goes haywire because it bounces off the skyscrapers. Outside of the tourist zones, half the drivers seems to be texting while driving and I don’t think that’s an IL specialty.
 
I'm thinking it's about time to bring back cash as a primary means of paying for things. I've tended to favor no-fee rewards cards over the years for convenience/savings but with so may places now adding on a fee for cards and now these overcharging games it may not be worth it.
 
masloki said:
I drive that area a lot. Very few drivers know where tf they are going and it’s doubly hilarious when their gps goes haywire because it bounces off the skyscrapers. Outside of the tourist zones, half the drivers seems to be texting while driving and I don’t think that’s an IL specialty.
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The GPS thing is funny. I don't need a GPS, I check out the maps before I get on the road I know where I'm going. Half the time it wants to route me some convoluted way anyway. So on the way home I decide Lakeshore --> I55 --> 94 the rest of the way out. April decides she wants to see the route on the GPS. We are already on 94, and well past the Skyway split. First thing the GPS wants to do it have us do a U-turn and go back like 8 miles to get on 90. No. I'm not paying $15 in tolls (at least according to Google Maps, that's what it said the Skyway toll was).

Meigs would have been an ABSOLUTELY perfect spot for us this weekend. Other than heading out to Medieval Times, we were right there.
 
EdFred said:
First thing the GPS wants to do it have us do a U-turn and go back like 8 miles to get on 90. No. I'm not paying $15 in tolls (at least according to Google Maps, that's what it said the Skyway toll was).
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The back-track thing isn't good, unless there is significant traffic. Use the "Avoid tolls" option if it is available on your GPS. My Garmin handles both situations well, but it gets lost in skyscrapers. Phones work better in skyscraper areas because they also use cell phone towers and known WiFi spots to determine position.
 
Clip4 said:
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.
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Many are also adding in mandatory tips---then the servers stand there looking for more. There is one group in St. Pete that is notorious about doing this---and they actually brag about how well they are treating there employees---though the customer is the one paying for it. When I realized that we were tipping on top of tipping---it was a no go from there on out.
 
masloki said:
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.


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.
Click to expand...

Yeah really, with all their faults, some of the major cities in the US, are nothing compared to real third world living..

I have been to many of these, and glad I came out medically unscathed...
 
masloki said:
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.


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.
Click to expand...
Once they clean up floating bodies in the river every morning, it is actually reasonably passable ..if you don stray to far from downtown, that is.
 
There’s a dive team trying to solve a cold case from 1970. They are pretty sure the couple and car went into the Chicago River. They’ve been looking in an area they think is the likely location. So far they’ve found almost a hundred cars, but not the one they are looking for.

www.nbcchicago.com

Nearly 100 cars discovered in Chicago River as divers searched for clues in decades-old mystery

The search for answers in a decades-old mystery led divers to a stunning discovery in the Chicago River this week.
www.nbcchicago.com www.nbcchicago.com
 
I spent labor day weekend in Boston, had most meals out, and didn't have any trouble. The hotel meals I just signed to the room. They included a mandatory 18% tip for the place, and I've been there before and didn't mind it. Service was great. The other places had the card readers that you'd tap and the end and could select a tip. I have a debit card that I only use for traveling and little things that I use for that. All added up fine. Little things I just used cash.

There's only one bar where I've ever used a credit card to run a tab, and that was because I knew the bartender from a previous bar and followed them over to the new one. Otherwise I'd never do it. If I'm having a drink before dinner I'll either pay cash or ask them if they can add it to the dinner bill.

Good to know to look out for extra drinks, though. I'll keep an eye out.

One positive note on the mandatory tip - there's a seafood boil place here that has some minimum tip, and the first time we went there the waitress made a point to tell us that the tip was built in, so we wouldn't accidentally over tip.

Oh, and as far as other staff taking tips, I've heard of it happening around here, too, from time to time. The sit down fast food places, typically. So my normal thing at a place where you pay at a cashier but tip at the table, I make sure the waiter/waitress sees me leave the tip so they get it before the person at the next table or the hostess does. Places like that I tip cash always, because cynical me doesn't trust that the front desk actually gives all the tips on the CC to the staff.
 
The other day, another experience…

With a group of friends, the server added $120 in extra drinks, a 4% Covid surcharge and a convenience fee also added to pay with the QR code on the table that they requested.

My friends didn’t even look at the bill, and proceeded to pay. I had the server fix the bill and I handed my credit card the old way to avoid the convenience fee to pay via the QR code.

It’s a bit annoying to say the least.
 
FWIW, I never use QR codes. It's the IT equivalent of the old let's make a deal game, except there's never anything good behind the curtain. On the plus side, you gain nothing, on the negative side, you can have a bad day.
 
mandm said:
It’s a bit annoying to say the least.
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Its petty fraud. Lack of it is one of the defining characteristics of a first world nation under rule of law. In places like Pakistan, India, Vietnam, in order to accomplish simple social transactions you're either someone's cousin or you have to bribe everyone. Chicago seems well on its way there. New York making a serious run for the lead in race to the bottom.
 
DJTorrente said:
Its petty fraud. Lack of it is one of the defining characteristics of a first world nation under rule of law. In places like Pakistan, India, Vietnam, in order to accomplish simple social transactions you're either someone's cousin or you have to bribe everyone. Chicago seems well on its way there. New York making a serious run for the lead in race to the bottom.
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And look at the highest levels of the federal government, all branches.
 
SkyChaser said:
Every time I think that, I go read some history and come to the conclusion it really isn't much different now than it was before.
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I read what I presume to be the same history and come to the opposite conclusion. Alternatively, there is no shame in it anymore.
 
JOhnH said:
I wonder if the minimum wage just about doubling in the past 10 years has anything to do with this?
Or the lowered value of the dollar.
I tell certain friends that complain about restaurant and other prices that they got what they voted for.
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I didn't vote for it, but I still get stuck with it.
 
2-Bit Speed said:
Wasn't there a classical composer that was thrown in jail because his boss didn't want to let him quit his job? I think we have it better today.
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At least one. The first one that comes to mind was J.S. Bach, who spent a month in jail before his employer finally accepted his resignation.
 
mandm said:
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.
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I've traveled to many 'world countries' and have not been ripped off any more than they rip off the other locals.

I have AVOIDED many scams by not being a clueless tourist and always having a local friend with me.
 
2-Bit Speed said:
Wasn't there a classical composer that was thrown in jail because his boss didn't want to let him quit his job? I think we have it better today.
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bucho and honcho have entered the chat.
 
kc4wsd said:
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.
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Don't forget NY and NJ. The drivers in Greater Metro LA are crazy. Years ago, a guy in an old beat-up truck cut me off in LA, then gave me the single finger salute.
 
masloki said:
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.


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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If you don't get shot. 8 murders and 72 other shootings is an ordinary weekend in Chi-Town.
 
Crashnburn said:
If you don't get shot. 8 murders and 72 other shootings is an ordinary weekend in Chi-Town.
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I know that the US as a whole is quite dangerous among its place in the developed world, but isn't Chicago itself actually quite safe compared to a great deal of other US cities?
 
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