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**MSE Lawrence** · 25-02-2009, 5:30 PM

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's blog. Please read the blog first, as this discussion follows it.

Read Martin's 'My MoneySaving Mistake' Blog.

Click reply to discuss below.

smithcvs · 25-02-2009, 9:58 PM

Don't forget in future that "These BOOTS are made for walking"

millionaireadventure · 26-02-2009, 8:14 AM

I made a similar mistake on Monday. Thinking I was so clever taking my other half to a restaurant where I had a buy one get one free voucher on main meals I decided to treat myself to a beer. Only when I settled the bill did I discover that beer had cost me £4.95!

aris · 26-02-2009, 8:24 AM

Wouldn't buying your own drink at boots and eating it at the food court be a bit like bringing your own drinks when you go to a restaurant? Yes, boots are cheaper, but the are not offering (and paying rent for) a place for you to sit down and drink/eat either.

**MSE Martin** · 26-02-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aris

Wouldn't buying your own drink at boots and eating it at the food court be a bit like bringing your own drinks when you go to a restaurant? Yes, boots are cheaper, but the are not offering (and paying rent for) a place for you to sit down and drink/eat either.

Normally yes, but in this westfield there is open seating whether you're eating or not so its not quite the same

Nile · 26-02-2009, 1:34 PM

I'd have brought a 17p can of Pepsi (don't like Coca Cola) with me.

They're all at it, "Would you like a * with that?".............the worst offenders are the big electrical stores, trying to sell you warranties or insurance policies.

456789 · 26-02-2009, 1:47 PM

It's not so bad when they offer free refills

/me refills 4 times lol

krazykidskate · 26-02-2009, 7:47 PM

Maybe there should be a law where they have to say 'Would you like to purchase a ............. with that" so you know when its not going to be a free.

I had a job in a Pizza Hut years ago and we were trained to ask 'Would you like salad with that' when people ordered pizza. Well lots of people say yes thinking it is free when actually it was a couple of quid for the bowl and then you help yourself. I once saw a customer just putting a few slices of cucumber in her bowl and nothing else

I'm sure she couldn't have known it was going to cost her about a £1 a slice.

Flickering Ember · 27-02-2009, 8:49 AM

I always check prices first. And if it's somewhere I know is pricey, for example I like baked potatoes from Spud U Like, which are about £4, so I take in a can of drink as I am still entitled to sit in the food court as I've paid for my baked potato.

zozitufnell · 27-02-2009, 6:48 PM

£1.50 - ha, I laugh in the face of £1.50! We have just come back from a week in Lanzarote (£1=E1) and decided to have a 'cheap' lunch for the kids to fill them up before the plane so we didn't have to pay ridiculous prices for ghastly airline food. They ate 2 hamburgers and a ham roll, all well and good and cheap, but unthinkingly I asked for three soft drinks without enquiring how much they were. When the bill arrived we had to shell out £25 and I nearly fainted. We usually take food ourselves but this was the end of the holiday and I wanted to not have to think about it just for once..........

kezbabybabe · 27-02-2009, 6:57 PM

Glad to see that even our Money Saving Leader can make the odd money mistake.

Always good to be kept on your toes then Martin.

veruccasalt · 28-02-2009, 8:20 AM

We are going birthday shopping to Westfield this morning

, then onto Harefield Hospital to visit my Dad

.

Our best lunch ever there was last year, soon after it opened. We were feeling quite frivolous, so decided to treat ourselves to some delicious burger and chunky fries in the basement cafe at Marks and Spencers. The bill for the four of us came to about £25, so we decided it wasnt much different to Burger King etc, and much better quality.

20 minutes later, we were still waiting for food, so I went back to the serving hatch to enquire where it was. A manager was there, very apologetic, and offered to refund us COMPLETELY and still have our meal which was nearly ready! He said he hoped we would come back another time and give them an opportunity to get it right (which we did and they did!)

So we had a gorgeous lunch for free and a very warm feeling towards M&S! Then we went and did loads of Christmas shopping in store, so it was probably worth it for M&S!

Still cost us a fortune in parking there though!!

Sorry to read you were having a bad day, Martin, hope a bit of retail therapy helped (apart from the can of coke obviously!).

beaker141 · 02-03-2009, 1:04 PM

I was about to buy an over priced pasty in Manchester Piccadilly station that was about £3, then remembered Greggs was just outside the door 50 yards away.