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Post by mymindseyedpea on May 23, 2021 22:37:58 GMT
The shorter version:
We ordered off the Happy Hour menu from a picture on our phone of the same thing that was on the regular priced menu in front of us on the table and got charged for the regular price.
It got corrected, but what do you think we did “wrong”?
The longer version:
We went to IHOP and were given the regular menu.
Then boyfriend saw the Happy Hour menu in the front and noticed that items on there were the same on the regular menu.
There was the classic breakfast burrito on the Happy Hour menu and the regular menu. We ordered that saying “classic breakfast burrito”.
I asked boyfriend if they may confuse it with the regular menu item.
We intended to order it from the Happy Hour menu because it was cheaper.
I noticed it was worded differently like it said sliced bacon or sausage, instead of the regular menu saying just: bacon or sausage.
So even though it was the same meal, I questioned whether to make sure that we were referring to the Happy Hour meal to our waitress.
I figured it was the same thing and it would just automatically be put down as a Happy Hour meal.
But they weren’t.
Well heck maybe it was ESP ☺️
Boyfriend got it corrected and they said to him, oh you wanted it from the Happy Hour menu?
So I told him maybe we have to say Happy Hour.
He said no you don’t have to do that.
I would think this would be a common confusion.
He says Happy Hour items are directly taken from the regular menu.
Since the wording was different I maybe thought they tweaked them on purpose to make them seem different. I don’t know why they would do that unless they were trying to keep the Happy Hour more discrete.
So the reason for my post is what are your thoughts? Have you had this happen? Are the items “different”. Do you have to say Happy Hour?
Fill me in on the etiquette ☺️
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Post by jenjie on May 23, 2021 22:41:18 GMT
That’s just confusing for the customers. Either their happy hour menu needs to be different than regular menu items, OR the duplicate items need to be automatically given happy hour pricing during happy hour.
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Post by its me mg on May 23, 2021 22:41:57 GMT
The shorter version: We ordered off the Happy Hour menu from a picture on our phone of the same thing that was on the regular priced menu in front of us on the table and got charged for the regular price. It got corrected, but what do you think we did “wrong”? The longer version: We went to IHOP and were given the regular menu. Then boyfriend saw the Happy Hour menu in the front and noticed that items on there were the same on the regular menu. There was the classic breakfast burrito on the Happy Hour menu and the regular menu. We ordered that saying “classic breakfast burrito”. I asked boyfriend if they may confuse it with the regular menu item. We intended to order it from the Happy Hour menu because it was cheaper. I noticed it was worded differently like it said sliced bacon or sausage, instead of the regular menu saying just: bacon or sausage. So even though it was the same meal, I questioned whether to make sure that we were referring to the Happy Hour meal to our waitress. I figured it was the same thing and it would just automatically be put down as a Happy Hour meal. But they weren’t. Well heck maybe it was ESP ☺️ Boyfriend got it corrected and they said to him, oh you wanted it from the Happy Hour menu? So I told him maybe we have to say Happy Hour. He said no you don’t have to do that. I would think this would be a common confusion. He says Happy Hour items are directly taken from the regular menu. Since the wording was different I maybe thought they tweaked them on purpose to make them seem different. I don’t know why they would do that unless they were trying to keep the Happy Hour more discrete. So the reason for my post is what are your thoughts? Have you had this happen? Are the items “different”. Do you have to say Happy Hour? Fill me in on the etiquette ☺️ At my restaurant we would clarify knowing that it would cause confusion. not only is there a price difference but some items are different portion sizes depending on what it is. We automatically default to Happy Hour knowing the guest will be upset if they get the bill and find the full price charge. Why upset them? |
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Post by its me mg on May 23, 2021 22:43:35 GMT
Also, it's only fair if someone did the opposite. Let's say there was a $5.00 margarita and some lady was telling her server how happy she was for happy hour. If she orders a cadillac margarita thinking it was the $5.00 one I would end up having to buy the cadillac if the server didn't correct her and guide her to the right menu. It's part of the servers job to have the ability to read a guest and use common sense when it comes to these things.
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,129 
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on May 23, 2021 23:06:23 GMT
In this situation, you should have automatically been charge the happy hour price. It’s not like a restaurant with a bar that has happy hour specials where you need to eating at the bar to get the special.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 18:26:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2021 23:06:39 GMT
Happy hour prices are usually only in effect during certain times and those times are listed. Were you there during that time? If not, you were wrong in requesting the lower prices.
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Post by mymindseyedpea on May 23, 2021 23:16:40 GMT
Happy hour prices are usually only in effect during certain times and those times are listed. Were you there during that time? If not, you were wrong in requesting the lower prices. Yeah it says 2pm to 10pm every day and we were there after 2. It was an easy fix. They just said they didn’t know we wanted the Happy Hour meals. |
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Post by mymindseyedpea on May 23, 2021 23:20:57 GMT
Also, it's only fair if someone did the opposite. Let's say there was a $5.00 margarita and some lady was telling her server how happy she was for happy hour. If she orders a cadillac margarita thinking it was the $5.00 one I would end up having to buy the cadillac if the server didn't correct her and guide her to the right menu. It's part of the servers job to have the ability to read a guest and use common sense when it comes to these things. Is a Cadillac margarita more than $5.00? Our waitress I think lacked of common sense. Dd ordered her breakfast burrito asking if she could sub the bacon or sausage with the avocado. It’s extra to ADD avocado but she asks if she could SUB it and the waitress said yes. And she was charged the extra for the avocado. |
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Post by its me mg on May 23, 2021 23:49:34 GMT
Also, it's only fair if someone did the opposite. Let's say there was a $5.00 margarita and some lady was telling her server how happy she was for happy hour. If she orders a cadillac margarita thinking it was the $5.00 one I would end up having to buy the cadillac if the server didn't correct her and guide her to the right menu. It's part of the servers job to have the ability to read a guest and use common sense when it comes to these things. Is a Cadillac margarita more than $5.00? Our waitress I think lacked of common sense. Dd ordered her breakfast burrito asking if she could sub the bacon or sausage with the avocado. It’s extra to ADD avocado but she asks if she could SUB it and the waitress said yes. And she was charged the extra for the avocado. Yes, it has a liquer floater so it would be more money. It would only be fair to tell someone that if they honestly didn't know. It sounds like IHOP needs a little brush up training, they dropped the ball! |
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Post by chaosisapony on May 23, 2021 23:52:49 GMT
That seems very confusing. In the past whenever I have ordered a happy hour item somewhere the price is just adjusted from the regular menu item during a specific time period.
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Post by lucyg on May 24, 2021 1:15:45 GMT
If I were ordering at a place that had Happy Hour prices for the same items that were also on the regular menu, I would specify that I wanted the Happy Hour items. BUT I would also expect the server to ask which one I wanted, if I didn’t say, and not just assume one or the other. The Happy Hour items might be smaller, fewer, or different. So some people might prefer the regular menu option.
If I were ordering a substitution, I would expect I might be charged for the item I was subbing in. I wouldn’t expect the server to have to point out that every item I order costs money.
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pilcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,920
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Post by pilcas on May 24, 2021 1:36:20 GMT
I have been asked by a server whether I wanted the lunch or the dinner version when both could apply. Your server should have asked as well. As for the avocado it was already stated that it is extra.
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QueenoftheSloths
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Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on May 24, 2021 1:45:20 GMT
I would have said "I want the happy hour breakfast burrito". As far as the whole question of *should* you need to order it that way, I don't really have an opinion. Did you have physical menus? I like to say what I am ordering and also point at it to lessen confusion. If I had a separate happy hour menu, that is the one I would be pointing at as I said "I want the happy hour burrito".
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Post by myshelly on May 24, 2021 1:56:23 GMT
When ordering I would have said “I’ll have the happy hour breakfast burrito.”
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Post by myboysnme on May 24, 2021 2:49:06 GMT
I would say I want this item on the happy hour menu. If it is cheaper I want to make sure the wait staff knows what I want.
Whether I should have to or not isn't relevant.
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on May 24, 2021 3:18:00 GMT
I would have said, "I would like your happy hour "item name" please. That way it is clear which menu you are intending to order from.
Edited to add... I also know that happy hour portions are smaller, and usually no substitutions allowed.
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RedSquirrelUK
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,744
Location: The UK's beautiful West Country
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on May 24, 2021 9:06:55 GMT
That’s just confusing for the customers. Either their happy hour menu needs to be different than regular menu items, OR the duplicate items need to be automatically given happy hour pricing during happy hour.  |
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Post by kitkath on May 24, 2021 12:13:15 GMT
I always specify “Happy Hour” just to be clear ever since we had a mixup many years ago.
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Post by mymindseyedpea on May 25, 2021 1:59:00 GMT
I have been asked by a server whether I wanted the lunch or the dinner version when both could apply. Your server should have asked as well. As for the avocado it was already stated that it is extra. Yes it does say extra on the menu, but dd specifically asked if she could sub it with the sausage or bacon, therefore she didn’t get any sausage or bacon so unless avocados cost more than sausage or bacon, there shouldn’t be an extra charge. And maybe if the waitress said no, it will still be extra, she wouldn’t have ordered them. But maybe the waitress misunderstood. |
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Post by mymindseyedpea on May 25, 2021 2:02:15 GMT
I would have said "I want the happy hour breakfast burrito". As far as the whole question of *should* you need to order it that way, I don't really have an opinion. Did you have physical menus? I like to say what I am ordering and also point at it to lessen confusion. If I had a separate happy hour menu, that is the one I would be pointing at as I said "I want the happy hour burrito". Yeah we had physical menus of regular items not of the happy hour items. Boyfriend walked to the front to take a picture of it with his phone. I thought he should have pointed on his phone when ordering but he was pretty confident that the regular items that were the same were defaulted to the happy hour. |
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on May 25, 2021 2:18:27 GMT
I would have said "I want the happy hour breakfast burrito". As far as the whole question of *should* you need to order it that way, I don't really have an opinion. Did you have physical menus? I like to say what I am ordering and also point at it to lessen confusion. If I had a separate happy hour menu, that is the one I would be pointing at as I said "I want the happy hour burrito". Yeah we had physical menus of regular items not of the happy hour items. Boyfriend walked to the front to take a picture of it with his phone. I thought he should have pointed on his phone when ordering but he was pretty confident that the regular items that were the same were defaulted to the happy hour. If I wasn't given a happy hour menu, I would have asked if happy hour was going on before ordering, and then said I would like the happy hour burrito. Even though I would have known it was happy hour from the sign, I would confirm it with the waitress so that I knew we were all on the same page. I can't remember the last time I ate in a restaurant. It's going to be mental overload when I do! |
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quiltz
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Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on May 25, 2021 2:27:43 GMT
I have been asked by a server whether I wanted the lunch or the dinner version when both could apply. Your server should have asked as well. As for the avocado it was already stated that it is extra. Yes it does say extra on the menu, but dd specifically asked if she could sub it with the sausage or bacon, therefore she didn’t get any sausage or bacon so unless avocados cost more than sausage or bacon, there shouldn’t be an extra charge. And maybe if the waitress said no, it will still be extra, she wouldn’t have ordered them. But maybe the waitress misunderstood. You seem to have very high expectations of a chain restaurant. In most restaurants there is a line on the menu, probably in a smaller type, that substitutes will cost extra. IHOP is not an expensive restaurant. I highly doubt that there is much training as it is a very casual dining setting. You get what you pay for. |
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Post by busy on May 25, 2021 2:51:20 GMT
I think you made everything much harder than it needed to be and caused the confusion yourselves. Be specific, ask questions, don’t expect servers at a high volume, low price restaurant to read your mind.
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Post by elaine on May 25, 2021 3:32:19 GMT
Yes it does say extra on the menu, but dd specifically asked if she could sub it with the sausage or bacon, therefore she didn’t get any sausage or bacon so unless avocados cost more than sausage or bacon, there shouldn’t be an extra charge. And maybe if the waitress said no, it will still be extra, she wouldn’t have ordered them. But maybe the waitress misunderstood. You seem to have very high expectations of a chain restaurant. In most restaurants there is a line on the menu, probably in a smaller type, that substitutes will cost extra. IHOP is not an expensive restaurant. I highly doubt that there is much training as it is a very casual dining setting. You get what you pay for. I would also add that, yes, for a place like IHOP that buys bacon and sausage in bulk, avocados do cost more for them than breakfast meat. Because it is a fine line of having enough avocados on hand that are ripe, not under-ripe, and not rotten they simply can’t buy in the same bulk as bacon and sausage which can keep refrigerated for a month or more. If they buy more avocados than are ordered before they go bad, they lose money. Even when I eat at non-chain, more upscale restaurants, there is always a charge to add/sub avocado. |
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Post by katiejane on May 25, 2021 14:45:53 GMT
I would of asked if the happy hour offer was on and if they were still taking orders from the happy hour menu and then said I was ordering from that.
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Post by workingclassdog on May 25, 2021 15:19:24 GMT
I always make sure when ordering it is Happy Hour items. I think it is Applebee's you can get Happy Hour items at the bar but not the tables. Something weird like that. Anyways, since that confusion.. I just make it a point to ask the wait staff if there are Happy Hour items and make sure I know what I am getting.
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 18:26:23 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2021 16:58:32 GMT
I wouldn't have gone to the front and taken a picture with my phone especially when you had the normal menu in front of you. I would have just asked the server for a happy hour menu then there wouldn't have been any confusion as to which menu you were choosing from.
With all due respect you were expecting the server to be a mind reader.
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Post by Minnesota*Mom on May 25, 2021 18:09:19 GMT
I had something similar happen at the DQ drive through with the family. We had an order of 5 items or so and two of them were from the "2 for $5" section of the menu. I had a price total in mind and when I got to the window to pay, the total seemed high. I asked about it and they said, "oh, you wanted the 2 for $5 deal? You have to specifically ask for it". They had just charged me regular price for those items. Seemed silly to have to ask, but lesson learned. They did adjust the total, and now I will be more clear about ordering when there is a chance it could be priced differently.
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Post by mymindseyedpea on May 30, 2021 19:40:38 GMT
Yeah we had physical menus of regular items not of the happy hour items. Boyfriend walked to the front to take a picture of it with his phone. I thought he should have pointed on his phone when ordering but he was pretty confident that the regular items that were the same were defaulted to the happy hour. If I wasn't given a happy hour menu, I would have asked if happy hour was going on before ordering, and then said I would like the happy hour burrito. Even though I would have known it was happy hour from the sign, I would confirm it with the waitress so that I knew we were all on the same page. I can't remember the last time I ate in a restaurant. It's going to be mental overload when I do! I didn’t hear about the menu we intended to order from being the happy hour menu. It wasn’t until boyfriend talked to them after he got the bill when they said happy hour. But I knew they were specials from to 2 to 10. I just didn’t know if they were pulled directly from the regular menu until the bill came and confirmed they weren’t. |
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Post by mymindseyedpea on May 30, 2021 19:47:08 GMT
I wouldn't have gone to the front and taken a picture with my phone especially when you had the normal menu in front of you. I would have just asked the server for a happy hour menu then there wouldn't have been any confusion as to which menu you were choosing from. With all due respect you were expecting the server to be a mind reader. I don’t think they had happy hour menus. Just the sign in the front. It’s one thing if I knew for sure that the items on the happy hour were different than the items on the regular menu that I would have made sure she knew which one I meant. But the possibly of them being the same still stuck during the time of ordering. And since boyfriend didn’t seem to be confused, I just let it go. |
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