not happy with the midway--overcharge

[anthro98]

so i met some gals at the midway the other night for some drinks and convo.    our server was nice, but totally a flake (kept forgetting stuff that was ordered, didn't remember who had what, bought us shots (which was nice) and did a couple with us (which i'm guessing is why he was a flake?  maybe we weren't the first group he was drinking with?) and had the hardest time figuring out how we would sort out the bill.  so he literally SAT DOWN WITH US, and everyone told him what they had and he wrote it down with our names.   took cards, took forever bringing them back, we signed and went our ways.

well...i thought that i was cool tipping more than 20% since my tab wasn't that large.  well, apparently not.  because while i added a reasonable tip, the charge just went through for final authorization (only had a temp auth for the sale amt sans tip), and  the tip amt more than doubled.  i know i don't have the BEST penmanship ever, but there's no way that you would mistake one of my numbers for another, and there's no way to make a mistake on the total value, even if you did misread the tip line wrong.   i really don't care about the few bucks itself, it's the principle--if i determine how much money i would like to tip you, how dare you go back and change that!    is this a "once in a blue moon", "this really never happens" kinda thing, or should we ALL be checking our bank statements more regularly to make sure that we're charged correctly every time we eat out, lest some server decide his/her services were worth way more than you did?

i'll be talking to mgmt tomorrow night and inviting them to produce a copy of the slip that *I* signed and explain to me what happened before i patronize them again.     i'm really disappointed that this happened at all. 

[Go Sox]

That happened to me at the (new) Glenwood. New bartender did shots all night and then charged me the full tab even though a bunch of people paid for their drinks beforehand (Hfranks, Mellamur and others) so I paid for those drinks again without realizing they were paid for already. Management never returned my calls so I chalked it up for a loss.  Aaaaand that's why a  policy of staff not being as shit faced as the patrons actually works!   

[vigodas-pants]

Looks to me like you should not be happy with a server, not "the midway."

[Clue]

That happened to me at the (new) Glenwood. New bartender did shots all night and then charged me the full tab even though a bunch of people paid for their drinks beforehand (Hfranks, Mellamur and others) so I paid for those drinks again without realizing they were paid for already. Management never returned my calls so I chalked it up for a loss.  Aaaaand that's why a  policy of staff not being as shit faced as the patrons actually works!   

Could you have just not put in dispute?

[Brandy]

I know I'll be in the minority (perhaps of 1), but I do not like it when restaurant/bar staff drink alcohol (or even smoke) while at work. 

On the flip side, I had this conversation once with friends who said they won't go to a bar unless the bartender drinks with them. 

Anyhow, that sucks about your overcharge.  From what I hear, the management there is pretty good and I hope they resolve it quickly and painlessly.

[SnuggleBunny]

Similar thing happened to me at the Arizona Pub two weeks ago.  I got charged for my drinks and my friends drinks I found out days later after the charges went through.  The bartender used my card instead of his so I called them and called them until 3 days of I finally got a hold of their manager and he promised me he would correct it but failed to do so day after day.  I kept calling him back and he kept not fixing the issue so I finally just put it in dispute with my bank after a week of trying to let them make it right.  So I got my money back via my bank and next step is to let yelp hear the story as businesses are more inclined to listen to negative feedback and go from there.

[Go Sox]

That happened to me at the (new) Glenwood. New bartender did shots all night and then charged me the full tab even though a bunch of people paid for their drinks beforehand (Hfranks, Mellamur and others) so I paid for those drinks again without realizing they were paid for already. Management never returned my calls so I chalked it up for a loss.  Aaaaand that's why a  policy of staff not being as shit faced as the patrons actually works!   

Could you have just not put in dispute?

It was my debit card and after the fact I couldn't find the receipt (it's at home and I'm over here, blah, blah). It was too irksome. I gave up. 

I'm with you, Brandy. Some people call it a "perk" of the job, but most successful bars I know of don't allow the staff to drink because it leads to giving away drinks, over pours, sloppy accounting, inattentiveness, and it's just not professional.  I would think working in a successful bar and making money and having certain benefits would be a bigger perk.     

[cmcewen]

Looks to me like you should not be happy with a server, not "the midway."

My thoughts exactly.

Also, I've been in several bars where the bartender/server drank with us all night and they still kept their shit straight. Others don't do so well. I don't care either way, as long as my server doesn't suck.

[vigodas-pants]

Looks to me like you should not be happy with a server, not "the midway."

My thoughts exactly.

it annoys me when i see people so quick to throw an EAV business name into the title of a disparaging thread, when in fact it's not the business that is necessarily at fault. think first, people.

[The Lord of the Jungle]

I'm with you, Brandy. Some people call it a "perk" of the job, but most successful bars I know of don't allow the staff to drink because it leads to giving away drinks, over pours, sloppy accounting, inattentiveness, and it's just not professional.  I would think working in a successful bar and making money and having certain benefits would be a bigger perk.   

Yeah, a "cool" bartender is nice, but my first priority is a bartender that knows his/her sh*t and can keep it straight.  If it's your job, act like it's your job.

[Dante]

Is it possible they added in the automatic 20% gratuity for groups over 6?  If you hadn't notice they had done that, your extra 20% would indeed have doubled it.

[hfranks]

Is it possible they added in the automatic 20% gratuity for groups over 6?  If you hadn't notice they had done that, your extra 20% would indeed have doubled it.

^this.

It's nice when servers split the bill although the printed policy on their menu says "no split checks" and "gratuity added to parties of 6 or more."

[anthro98]

well i'm not sure yet if the error is with the server or with the house.   even if they DID want to add a gratuity, afaik, they cannot add this AFTER THE FACT.  esp when i already tipped at least what would have been asked if there were a mandatory gratuity.  all i know right now is that i was given a bill for X and i tipped X=20%+ which equaled Y.   i was charged Z.  i didn't sign a slip authorizing Z, i signed a slip authorizing Y.  if there was an error, sorry, but if the error was on their end, the house should eat it, not surprise their customers with a charge for an amount OTHER than what was ok'ed by them. 

i'm not pissed off.  i like the midway.  like i've said, it's a matter of principle.  i change the thread title--does this appease?  not sure what else to reword it to.  the incident happened at the midway. it regarded an overcharge.  i wasn't pissed about the service or the server sitting down with us or having a drink with us (although, i was kinda surprised, but house rules..whatever, it's their house) or being a little flakey--he was nice enough and we all have off days.  i don't know how else to give a quick summary of the incident and location without saying "hey...i'm not happy with _____ because of _____"  *shrug*

[vigodas-pants]

seems you were dicked by a server, or they screwed up.  new thread title is more appropriate.

[Gmoney]

I'm with you, Brandy. Some people call it a "perk" of the job, but most successful bars I know of don't allow the staff to drink because it leads to giving away drinks, over pours, sloppy accounting, inattentiveness, and it's just not professional.  I would think working in a successful bar and making money and having certain benefits would be a bigger perk.   

Yeah, a "cool" bartender is nice, but my first priority is a bartender that knows his/her sh*t and can keep it straight.  If it's your job, act like it's your job.

Depends on what the job description is.  I don't think it's too great a stretch to say that it's a bartender/waiter's job to help ensure patrons are enjoying themselves.  If that means having a drink with them...