Refusing to pay restaurant bill

arcon5

But it didn't. Though if it had, the injured party would sue the restaurant and not everybody eating there.

mattyprice4004

pjbltd wrote: »

Hi, wow 2 pages of replies in less than a day. To clarify I started the thread because I honestly did not know the correct action. I was being pressured by my guests to not pay for any of the food after the discovery and that is what I chose to do on their advice / peer pressure.

Your guests were being total *****s, time to go back and pay I think.

What makes you think an error in 1 meal allows you to have the rest for free? I hope you don't take any other advice from these guests, they don't seem to live in the real world.

Takeaway_Addict

I also hope the OP goes back and pays a partial amount of the bill. no harm in admitting you may have been wrong.

tescobabe69

pjbltd wrote: »

Hi forum,

I was out for dinner with some friends.
One of my friends noticed a small piece of wire brush in one of the dishes (very small piece, the kind from wire brushes used to clean kitchenware).

I refused to pay for any of the food and just pay for drinks.
They agreed to this although the manager of the restaurant said I was abusing the situation and they had gone to a lot of hard work to make the meal.

I'm curious - what would others have done in this situation?
Was I in my rights or was I pushing it too much for my own gain?
They had offered to swap the dish but my friends had lost their appetite after the discovery.

Like to know your thoughts,

Cheers,
pjbltd

My thoughts, hmmmm, OK I think you're an 4rse, but you "might" have a shred of decency and go back and offer to pay your bill.
Cheers
TB69.

fozmcfc

I think all has been said about refusing full payment was wrong.

I guess going back and paying for the other meals, could largely depend on whether the OP was footing the whole bill.

If not I can't see them going back and offering to pay for all the other meals and as the party were egging them on not to pay, I doubt the OP would get anything from the rest of the party, towards the payment they make.

For me, it would also depend whether I was wanted to visit the restaraunt again (that's if they would serve me). If I did then I would go in with a gesture, say on reflection I think I was wrong not to pay and bowed to peer pressure and that I was sorry and happy to pay for my meal at least.

Lip_Stick

I know someone who went to an Italian restaurant chain... can't remember which one but I'll ASK.

One of the party had got to the bottom of their main course and there was a soggy receipt. The company didn't charge for any of the meals or drinks. From what I can gather there were about eight people in the party. Fab service which was maybe due to them being regulars. Also, an old soggy receipt is a bit different than a small piece of cleaning wire in your dish I'd say.

I guess if the OP bowed to pressure, then the restaurant manager did too. If he was that bothered about the customer paying a percentage, then he should have done more about it.

Saying that, I'd have asked to pay a large percentage for the meals, and think an offer of a free round of drinks would have been good.

Charliezoo

I wouldn't pay for the affected meal and would expect a goodwill gesture of sorts such as complimentary drinks/desserts but to not pay for the meals that were absolutely fine does come across as a bit of a p-take.

VitaK

In fairness, OP and the manager agreed on a remedy so fair game from here.

I hate it when anyone is trying it on with a good old fashion guild trip. If you want a costumer to come back, then you do not accuse them of taking advantage of a situation.

Ginger_Poodle

Lip_Stick wrote: »

I know someone who went to an Italian restaurant chain... can't remember which one but I'll ASK.

One of the party had got to the bottom of their main course and there was a soggy receipt. The company didn't charge for any of the meals or drinks. From what I can gather there were about eight people in the party. Fab service which was maybe due to them being regulars. Also, an old soggy receipt is a bit different than a small piece of cleaning wire in your dish I'd say.

I guess if the OP bowed to pressure, then the restaurant manager did too. If he was that bothered about the customer paying a percentage, then he should have done more about it.

Saying that, I'd have asked to pay a large percentage for the meals,
and think an offer of a free round of drinks would have been good

Had a very similar situation, except it was in a chain pub. Half way through my salad I found a receipt. I was heavily pregnant at the time and (to say the least) somewhat uptight. I never raised my voice to the manager (worked for years in CS) but apparently got exceptionally shrill. Manager stated it was an order slip that would have been pegged up in the kitchen, and refunded the cost of all food (not drinks). This was more than reasonable, especially as there were 6 of us. My husband claimed it was because he was terrified of the fat, hormonal woman shrieking about being pregnant twice in each sentence.

John_Jizzle

nice one - a free meal