[QUOTE=Sunspace]
Weirddave, have you considered writing an actual paper letter to top management at the restaurant saying pretty much what was in your OP?
[/QUOTE]
Except leave out the part about the server who isn’t following company policy by refusing to add the mandatory service charge. No need to get her in trouble.
[QUOTE=Otto]
Except leave out the part about the server who isn’t following company policy by refusing to add the mandatory service charge. No need to get her in trouble.
[/QUOTE]
Good point.
[QUOTE=LionelHutz405]
I think the ‘plate charge’ was reasonable. Your wife was using all the other things a restaurant offers besides the food.
[/QUOTE]
Like what?
[QUOTE=gigi]
Here is the episode it was on, in case you want to catch it again and find out the beef sandwich place (it’s not posted in the list of places Guy’s been):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_dv/episode/0,3151,FOOD_29156_58480,00.html
Here is the recipe for the seafood pasta:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_201335,00.html
[/QUOTE]
Thanks, gigi!
A perfunctory google search ( :smack: ) led me to the place…
Next time I go over to Bawlmer, I might have to check it out…
I applaud the 15 percent service charge. The tipping system is stupid.
[QUOTE=Miller]
Like what?
[/QUOTE]
Let’s see:
Air: free
Lighting, AC/heater: going to be on whether 60 or 61 people will be in
Seating: Depends. If they would have seated a party of 2 at a smaller table than a party of 3 or 4, then this might apply, since they only paid for 2 meals but are taking up space that could be used for a larger party. But I’ve been to plenty of restaurants that put my party of 2 into a table sized for 4, even when there’s smaller tables available.
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett]
15% “service charge” == no tip
Period.
[/QUOTE]
Then there are those of us who notice, only after leaving the restaurant, that we’d tipped the waiter 20% on top of the 18% gratuity they’d already thoughtfully added to our bill…
(The waiter was decent, but not quite that good…)
[QUOTE=Miller]
Like what?
[/QUOTE]
Presumably she was not eating with her hands and wiping her face on her sleeve, so silver and linen. A water glass and water (although it’s likely her water glass would have been filled whether she picked off plates or not).
Not that I’m defending the plate charge (or decrying it, for that matter). Just sayin’ there are costs involved to the restaurant when one patron doesn’t order but still eats.
[QUOTE=Miller]
Like what?
[/QUOTE]
She was taking up space that might have been given to a paying customer. It’s like a comedy club requiring a two-drink minimum.
Do you allow people to walk into your house and use your living room to have a nice, relaxing chat with their families?
[QUOTE=An Arky]
Thanks, gigi!
A perfunctory google search ( :smack: ) led me to the place…
Next time I go over to Bawlmer, I might have to check it out…
[/QUOTE]
Chaps has good sandwiches and has the added benefit of being in the parking lot of a strip club. 
[QUOTE=Miller]
Like what?
[/QUOTE]
Well, since I was super-pregnant (this was only a week or so before the baby was born), I might have used the bathroom. I was sitting on the same banquette as my older son, taking up space. I used their dishes.
Damn, I am surprised we got away with only a five dollar charge.
You were pregnant? Well, damn, that’s two plate charges, right there!
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip]
Then there are those of us who notice, only after leaving the restaurant, that we’d tipped the waiter 20% on top of the 18% gratuity they’d already thoughtfully added to our bill…
(The waiter was decent, but not quite that good…)
[/QUOTE]
I almost did this at a hotel once. We’d ordered room service, and when it arrived I started to add a tip and then noticed that the hotel had thoughtfully included a tip in addition to a room service charge. As if the cost of the room service food wasn’t high enough already…
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip]
Then there are those of us who notice, only after leaving the restaurant, that we’d tipped the waiter 20% on top of the 18% gratuity they’d already thoughtfully added to our bill…
(The waiter was decent, but not quite that good…)
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I’ve done that too. Damn it.
Never again!
[QUOTE=Miller]
You were pregnant? Well, damn, that’s two plate charges, right there!
[/QUOTE]
Actually, they have a Quicki-Ultrasound™ unit right next to the register. Having twins? That’s three plates.
[QUOTE=Who_me?]
Chaps has good sandwiches and has the added benefit of being in the parking lot of a strip club.
[/QUOTE]
Well, then…ROAD TRIP!!! 
[QUOTE=An Arky]
Well, then…ROAD TRIP!!!
[/QUOTE]
We’ll be eating there at sometime in the next week. I think we’ll skip the strip joint, though the teenager will probably stand in the parking lot and drool in its general direction.
I think the plate charge can be fair, but should come with plate service. Bring the person who is not ordering a plate, silverware, etc. It’s not supposed to be a “not-ordering” charge, but to reflect the use of service without the purchase of food.
I don’t really have a problem with them putting a tip charge on the bill, but if the service were bad enough that I wouldn’t have tipped 15%, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask managment to take it off. And for good service I would tip more, of course.
[QUOTE=acsenray]
She was taking up space that might have been given to a paying customer. It’s like a comedy club requiring a two-drink minimum.
Do you allow people to walk into your house and use your living room to have a nice, relaxing chat with their families?
[/QUOTE]
How the hell is that supposed to work as an analogy?
You know, there’s a very simple solution.
Next time you go, ask for Christina to be your server.
I can see a plate charge at a place like a buffet or something, but at a sit-down restaurant? That’s just cheap.