Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,444 
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Post by Gennifer on Dec 4, 2018 19:00:38 GMT
We own a restaurant, so coming from an owner’s point-of-view: it’s a silly charge, but it’s their policy, printed on the menu, and you were aware of it before you ordered. Leaving a poor Yelp review in retaliation seems shitty.
I get it, I hate nickel-and-diming. But sometimes you need to.
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Post by bc2ca on Dec 4, 2018 19:19:34 GMT
The amount of food served should cost the same regardless of how many people consume it. The only time I have ever seen a sharing charge is for an all you can eat buffet, Jane gets the buffet and Sue doesn't, Jane gives Sue food from the buffet = sharing charge.Say what?!! That's not sharing, that's eating from the buffet and should be charged the full buffet price. Where are they letting you get away with only a sharing charge?  I don't think the restaurant did anything wrong here. They are up front in how the meals are priced and it has nothing to do with how busy the restaurant is or how much your total bill is. |
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Post by gmcwife1 on Dec 4, 2018 20:10:13 GMT
We own a restaurant, so coming from an owner’s point-of-view: it’s a silly charge, but it’s their policy, printed on the menu, and you were aware of it before you ordered. Leaving a poor Yelp review in retaliation seems shitty. I get it, I hate nickel-and-diming. But sometimes you need to. I agree, it was printed on the menu so it's a suck it up thing for me. They have lost at least one customer because of this policy, but it was shown/known upfront.
I don't like the restaurants that do the tip themselves. Others do, but I don't. So I don't eat at those places if I know in advance. I like to do my own tip. Thursday night we went out to eat at a place we go to often. They were busy and understaffed. But our waiter tried really hard and gave us the best service he could. We tipped him for that and it was awesome to see his face when he saw his tip. He was very appreciative when he thanked us.
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Post by huskermom98 on Dec 4, 2018 20:13:44 GMT
How full the restaurant is and ordering a bottle of wine do not matter in the instance, IMHO.
The menu clearly states there's a sharing charge and they have every right to charge it every time.
Do I like sharing charges? No, but they get to set them. There's a local place that I know we can't take my in-laws to because they always share a meal, but the split plate charge is $10 (for meals that are $10-20).
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,690
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Post by RosieKat on Dec 4, 2018 20:17:08 GMT
We own a restaurant, so coming from an owner’s point-of-view: it’s a silly charge, but it’s their policy, printed on the menu, and you were aware of it before you ordered. Leaving a poor Yelp review in retaliation seems shitty. I get it, I hate nickel-and-diming. But sometimes you need to. I totally agree with this (except that I don't own a restaurant). It seems like it wasn't perhaps a truly needed charge in this situation, but it was clearly presented as policy. They didn't do anything wrong. If you feel the need to leave a negative review, I don't think you should try to argue they did anything wrong, just that this is their policy and you don't agree with it. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:03:58 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2018 21:55:41 GMT
Yelp reviews aren’t always bad.
This one could be written:
The food was delicious and the wine is now one of our favorites. Be aware that you may be charged a splitting fee of $8 if you do not order an main course.
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Post by chaosisapony on Dec 4, 2018 23:27:50 GMT
I don't understand a sharing charge in this particular instance.
As a potential future customer I'd appreciate this info in a Yelp review. Doesn't mean the review you leave has to be bad, it's just informational.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Dec 4, 2018 23:37:13 GMT
They charged you $7.50 for the seat. 2 entrees with 3 people. There was silverware, glasses, dishes for 3 involved in serving your table. Your alternative would have been to order an appetizer, soup, salad, dessert for the equivalent of a $7.50 charge to avoid the sharing fee. I think it sounds fair at that type ($$) of restaurant, regardless of the restaurant being full or not. There was no silverware or dishes, if you read the thread. They paid for wine for the glasses. Restaurant was way out of line. My post was being typed when she posted the details. |
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
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Post by Belle on Dec 4, 2018 23:42:38 GMT
Maybe the "sharing fee" was for the bread that was eaten by the 3rd person?
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,687
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Dec 5, 2018 13:18:02 GMT
I think you do nothing because **it said it on the menu ahead of time**. I'm actually shocked that so many people get this fee waived! I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but it just seems like middle class white entitlement. Me and my friends have never had anything waived no matter how much we spent. I guess I should have known-- but am really shocked at the number of commenters who have experienced (and expect) otherwise. While I agree there's not a real reason to be upset since it was stated on the menu I do think it's something that would routinely be waived by the server. We don't share meals mostly because we each like different things so I've never been in this exact situation but it's the same idea as ordering a soda after having a cocktail.....technically we should be billed for it but more often than not it's not on the bill. The server usually just gives it as part of good service which increases his/her tip. Same thing when we got to a chinese place and order a side of plain white rice for my picky eater, I expect to pay the $3 or whatever but occasionally they just give it to him since the other 2-3 of us are ordering full meals. The restaurant loses virtually nothing and the server makes a bigger tip. Now before anyone gets up in arms about the server "costing" the restaurant, when I was a server back in the day I was instructed to not charge for sodas after a cocktail, it was an unwritten policy so they were well aware of that 3 cent loss  As for the Yelp review, I wouldn't give a negative review for having to pay the sharing fee but I would mention it in an otherwise positive/neutral review just as an FYI for future diners. |
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
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Post by mallie on Dec 5, 2018 17:07:05 GMT
The policy was stated on the menu, so I don't get why anyone would be upset about the policy being enforced.
TBH, it smacks me too much of the customers who come in and want exceptions to policies that are written on their receipt/signs in the store.
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rickmer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,185
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Post by rickmer on Dec 5, 2018 17:16:28 GMT
don't know about this specific situation but i would never return to a place that had a charge for sharing food. i am just not that hungry so we want to share a meal... we order drinks and tip well. not every table is gonna make tons of money, my thoughts are, in that biz some tables order appies, main, side salad and dessert.... others just order main and tap water. it all averages out.
a friend and i often order two entrees so we can each have half of both... would that qualify for the charge?? i am already cranky that i get an extra $1 or $1.5 added on to my bill when i request mayo... seriously.... mayo??? isn't that a condiment? i get that guac is for some reason like gold so they aren't giving that away but mayo?!?!
admittedly, i have never worked in food service so perhaps there is something i am missing.
if policy was very visable on the menu, i would never ask for it to be waived. i ordered from that menu and that is their rule (stupid rule or not).
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:03:58 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 18:05:50 GMT
rickmerWe have a teriyaki place that we always ordered from, up until the day that they charged me $1 for a tiny little microscopic container of teriyaki sauce. We had been ordering at least once a week for a very long time, we never go there anymore. So for a dollar they lost $$. Nothing on their menu says there is an extra charge for extra sauce.
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Post by Leone on Dec 5, 2018 19:37:47 GMT
My feeling is that your group should have paid more attention to what the menu stated and ordered accordingly.
My all time restaurant shock was in Hong Kong at a dim sum restaurant...we were charged $3 for soy sauce.
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Post by annabella on Dec 5, 2018 19:47:13 GMT
It was an Ethiopian restaurant. All of the food (except the bread) is placed on one giant plate in the middle of the table, even though there was more than one entree. There is no tableware so no forks/knives to clean. You "scoop" it up with Ethiopian bread. Everyone eats from the one plate. Yelp sounds like a good idea. You should have told that that critical detail from the start. While I have never experienced that at an Ethiopian restaurant, I could see why they would add a sharing cost since everyone is sharing one platter. I've also never paid $20 for a platter, but then again I always get the vegetarian one so I don't know if the meat ones cost more. |
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Post by Really Red on Dec 5, 2018 20:55:00 GMT
I think you do nothing because **it said it on the menu ahead of time**. I'm actually shocked that so many people get this fee waived! I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but it just seems like middle class white entitlement. Me and my friends have never had anything waived no matter how much we spent. I guess I should have known-- but am really shocked at the number of commenters who have experienced (and expect) otherwise. What?! Are you serious? This is a giant, giant (and ugly!!) leap. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:03:58 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 21:03:33 GMT
Wow! I've never even heard of this before, although we don't go out to eat very often. I doubt its very common in our area, either. Given that their entrees are served family-style, I would take issue with their policy in general. I'm not someone to walk out, but I would probably ask about it in advance and wouldn't have a problem letting a manager know we wouldn't likely be back due to the policy. And I'm frugal enough I wouldn't just give up the $7.50, I'd order something to avoid it, even it I took it home. And if they charge it since they provide extra bread for a shared entree, well then why not just provide a certain amount of bread per entree and have customers pay for extra?
We have an Italian place that we go to that is family-style and each dish serves up to 3-4. If we go with a larger group, we would never order a dish per person since it would just be too much food.
I would validate that it was a poor decision on their part to charge it in your case, although since it was stated on the menu they certainly had every right to.
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Post by mrssmith on Dec 5, 2018 21:12:35 GMT
I think it's odd esp. for the way the food is served. However, if it was on the menu, you did have advance notice.
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Post by annabella on Dec 5, 2018 21:18:31 GMT
I think you do nothing because **it said it on the menu ahead of time**. I'm actually shocked that so many people get this fee waived! I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but it just seems like middle class white entitlement. Me and my friends have never had anything waived no matter how much we spent. I guess I should have known-- but am really shocked at the number of commenters who have experienced (and expect) otherwise. I'm a black woman who returns cocktails I don't like and have it taken off my bill. I've seen plenty things comped if it came out late or wrong. It's always worth asking if a restaurant can do something, if not fine, but you never know unless you ask. That's with anything in life. |
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Post by chances on Dec 6, 2018 2:17:47 GMT
I think you do nothing because **it said it on the menu ahead of time**. I'm actually shocked that so many people get this fee waived! I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but it just seems like middle class white entitlement. Me and my friends have never had anything waived no matter how much we spent. I guess I should have known-- but am really shocked at the number of commenters who have experienced (and expect) otherwise. I'm a black woman who returns cocktails I don't like and have it taken off my bill. I've seen plenty things comped if it came out late or wrong. It's always worth asking if a restaurant can do something, if not fine, but you never know unless you ask. That's with anything in life. It's not about things being comped. It's about the discretion servers use when deciding which fees they will or won't add to a bill. Clearly, a bunch of women on this board get things taken off their bill (without asking). So much so, that it seems normal or them. I'm saying that's never happened to me or my poc friends. |
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Post by chances on Dec 6, 2018 2:20:13 GMT
I think you do nothing because **it said it on the menu ahead of time**. I'm actually shocked that so many people get this fee waived! I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but it just seems like middle class white entitlement. Me and my friends have never had anything waived no matter how much we spent. I guess I should have known-- but am really shocked at the number of commenters who have experienced (and expect) otherwise. What?! Are you serious? This is a giant, giant (and ugly!!) leap. Dead serious. Like I mentioned to Anabelle, waiving fees is at the discretion of the server. I'm seeing a bunch of mostly white women gets so much stuff for free that they expect it. |
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Post by pastlifepea on Dec 6, 2018 12:14:15 GMT
Eh, if it was clearly listed, I would have expected to be charged for it. If they had waived it for me, I would have been pleased and more likely to return to the restaurant. Not waiving the clearly communicated fee would not be a hill to die on for me. I think it would be kind of crummy to go on yelp and complain that you were charged a fee that you were aware would apply to your dining situation.
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