Food order: Not the whole truth?

gmd06

I booked a meal in a restaurant for a large group school kids via a travel company brochure. The brochure stated "Includes 1 starter, 1 main course, 1 dessert and 1 drink". When the travel itinerary arrived the other day it stated that the meal would be "Salad, Burger & Chips, Ice Cream and a drink". I have contacted the travel company and queried this. I have been told that this is the set menu agreed with the restaurant. At no time was I told about any set menu and it wasn't mentioned in the brochure. I assumed we'd be given the choice of starter, main and dessert. If I'd known about the set menu then I wouldn't have bothered to book. So, my questions are....

Have the travel company acted reasonably here?
Can I demand a choice of menu?
Do they have any right to refuse me a full refund if I ask?

Thanks in advance.

jamsandwhich

For such a trip I would have expected the set menu tbh as it is easy to prep in advance but find the 'salad' starter a bit of an odd choice for kids! Think I would query that as I don't know many kids who would sit and happily munch a salad (or adults actually!) and tend to think of it as a side dish?

gmd06

jamsandwhich wrote: »

For such a trip I would have expected the set menu tbh as it is easy to prep in advance but find the 'salad' starter a bit of an odd choice for kids! Think I would query that as I don't know many kids who would sit and happily munch a salad (or adults actually!) and tend to think of it as a side dish?

Thanks for the reply. I tend to agree that a set menu is ideal for a large number. However, this was never mentioned and I don't think its too much to ask for a choice of 3-4 mains. The salad is a total copout in my opinion, just a way to get more money without actually doing anything.

paddyrg

It is certainly cheeky! Would the price suggest more choices, or is it ultra cheap bulk catering prices? I would hate to try to take an order for 30 kids with no profit margin to make it worthwhile!

But as the food hasn't (I assume) been bought yet, can you cancel as nobody has lost out at all? Or offer an extra £x/head to have the choice of burger/veggie at least? What would happen if the Hindu kids were given beefburger, after all?

PZH

Just to play the Devil's advocate - what if some of the kids are vegetarian or have special dietry needs ?

Like you say, I would have expected to see 2 -3 choices, especially since it stated "Includes 1 starter, 1 main course, 1 dessert and 1 drink" and not "Salad, Burger & Chips, Ice Cream and a drink"

gmd06

paddyrg wrote: »

It is certainly cheeky! Would the price suggest more choices, or is it ultra cheap bulk catering prices? I would hate to try to take an order for 30 kids with no profit margin to make it worthwhile!

But as the food hasn't (I assume) been bought yet, can you cancel as nobody has lost out at all? Or offer an extra £x/head to have the choice of burger/veggie at least? What would happen if the Hindu kids were given beefburger, after all?

The price is £17 per head. Is that worth salad, burger and chips, ice cream and a coke? They could have sent me a menu and I could have told them exactly what the order would be weeks in advance. Re: the Hindu/Veggie thing, the company didn't even bother to ask about the individual kids in the group. I queried the veggie thing and was told they could have pasta with tomato sauce instead but I need to let them know how many kids that'll be.

zzzLazyDaisy

£17 a head for children's meals is not a cheap option. For that price I would have asked to see the choice of menus BEFORE I booked, to ensure that I was getting value for that sort of money, and to ensure that veggies and special diets were catered for, and I certainly would not have gone ahead with the booking if the only choice was burger and chips!

PZH

gmd06 wrote: »

I queried the veggie thing and was told they could have pasta with tomato sauce instead but I need to let them know how many kids that'll be.

Who did you query it with ? Was it the restaurant direct or the travel company ?

gmd06

phoodless wrote: »

Who did you query it with ? Was it the restaurant direct or the travel company ?

The travel company as they are the ones I paid.

nearlyrich

You could feed a child for a week on burgers for that kind of cash sounds like a scam to me!

gmd06

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

£17 a head for children's meals is not a cheap option. For that price I would have asked to see the choice of menus BEFORE I booked, to ensure that I was getting value for that sort of money, and to ensure that veggies and special diets were catered for, and I certainly would not have gone ahead with the booking if the only choice was burger and chips!

Aye but that's my original point.

Have the travel company breached any regulations by not disclosing fully the deal or is it my fault for not checking? Just asking.