So last night I went out to a nice, pretty expensive restaurant. I had a good meal and a good time. At the end I asked for the bill and it came promptly. Starting to check it, I realised that it was less than I’d expected. Not being so much less as to be implausible, I was happy about that.
However, when checking it through in a bit more detail I realised that they had forgotten to include a bottle of wine. Being honest, I called the waitress and pointed this out. She said she’d go to check, took the bill back and after a long time brought back a higher bill with the wine included.
By this time I’d become annoyed by waiting and the good feeling at seeing a lower than expected bill had, of course, completely evaporated. Had the correct bill been brought I would have just paid it and felt good after a good meal. However, due to my honesty about a mistake of theirs, I left the restaurant feeling annoyed.
Now I’m disinclined to be honest about mistakes like that in future - why should I feel bad when they’ve done their job wrong? But it would also feel like stealing.
Would I be justified in just leaving in future? Should they have given me something in return for being honest so that I still felt good? Would some middle ground, like juts leaving a higher tip, be acceptable?
I know I’d feel worse if I didn’t point it out- but last time that happened to me (no desserts on bill, though both of us had one ) they only charged for one, and everyone got to go home happy.
Really though, if you pointed out that they didn’t charge you for a bottle of wine, what did you expect to happen other than then getting charged for a bottle of wine? It’s nice if they do decide to cut a bit off, though I see no reason why anyone should have to, but why would you point it out but then expect it to still be free?
I don’t think the OP expected it to be free. I got the impression the OP was annoyed not so much over having to pay for the wine, but over the additional uncompensated hassle, delay, and annoyance to him due to the restaurant’s mistake and his honesty.
The higher tip idea doesn’t work: the tip goes to the waiter (who made the mistake), but the cost of the bottle of wine goes to the establishment. Far from being a middle ground, that’s basically rewarding them for stealing for you, even if that wasn’t their intent.
I agree that their shouldn’t have been a wait: whatever else was going on, fixing your ticket should have been the first priority.
I hate waiting a long time when I’m ready to go. Hate hate hate. When they bring the bill, then take off before I can briefly scan the bill and get my credit card out, and not come back to my table for five or ten minutes. I’ve had waiters drop off the bill, leave the room, come back to other tables, and leave again. I cut tips pretty severely for this. If I’m sitting there waiting while they’re fixing their error, I’d cut their rip.
Depends on how high, but probably. I try to always have enough beer left so I’m not feeling stuck, and they would have some time to fix an error.
Your situation isn’t equivalent to the one in the OP, though. High or low, having to sit around waiting when I’m ready to leave, while they fix their error sucks, and really ruins the experience, like puggyfish mentioned.
ETA:
From that place, I would, and I wouldn’t feel bad about it. Not in general, though.
You were within your rights to complain about the undue extra delay caused by your pointing out their mistake and to request some portion of your meal to be comp’ed for good will (e.g., desserts were on the house, and if you didn’t have them they would be offered to you on the house). The basis of that request was the extra delay caused by their error, not a reward for your honesty. Your honesty was just the right thing to do. If they failed to comp you in some way for the delay you endured due to their error then I would indeed take it out of the tip.
Although, there have been times at some of my regular places when I was not charged for a soft drink. I always point it out, but wonder later whether the server was trying to comp me subtly, and feel bad about possibly being an ingrate.
I am thinking it would be better to just keep my mouth shut, leave the same amount, and let the servers decide whether to keep the difference.
I have to agree with F.U. Shakespeare and Ratmanxx: pointing out an error that is not in your favour is what an honest person does. It would never occur to me to ask for any comps, or to leave a smaller tip. I and my party received fine food and good service; why would I complain or fail to tip accordingly if the only hitch in the evening is a delay in presenting a correct bill? If we did have someplace we had to be at by a certain time (say, the theatre), I could get up and ask them to hurry things along. But if that wasn’t the case–and the OP didn’t say if it was–I’d just deal.
I did once receive a bill that an extra bottle of wine was not added to, but when I asked about it, I was informed that the owner of the restaurant had comped us to the extra bottle. (This was a place a member of my party frequented, and he knew the owner.) I still tipped the server accordingly.
Stuff happens, and IMHO, honesty is always the best policy.
I did this once. I got home and realized that I hadn’t been charged for the box of city-mandated trash bags I bought - $20 or so. The next time I was at the store, I took my receipt in (for some reason), and told them I needed to pay for the bags. The lady at service desk seemed a bit perplexed for a moment, went in the back and talked to her manager. She came back, thanked me, and gave me a coupon for a free store-brand ice cream.
I felt good for being honest…and they showed their appreciation.
You did the right thing - and unfortunately got punished for it.
If you hadn’t pointed out the error, it’s quite possible the waitress would have gotten in trouble and possibly even had to pay for the wine herself. So you saved her from that trouble.
That said, she should have made it top priority to fix the error RIGHT NOW, not made you wait another 10-15 minutes or whatever while she took care of it.
Under those circumstances, I would definitely have reduced the tip.