Cakage fee - ripoff?

Went to a friend's birthday party on Fri. at Union restaurant in Santa Monica (above JiRaffe).

Her boyfriend had brought in a customized ice cream cake, so the restaurant charged him a $2.50 per slice "cakage" fee - not allowing him to cut/distribute it himself.

Considering there was 30+ people in the group, slurping down copious amounts of $8 cocktails (and pricier wines) for several hours, I thought this was a bit of a scam - or at least petty. I can appreciate a restaurant adding a charge for bringing one's own wine, but nailing a large, festive group for a birthday cake?

Up until that point I thought the place was nice. But now I'd be hesitant to go again, feeling that they are more interested in $$$ than providing a great experience. Am I out of line for thinking this was wrong?

I've read all this thread with interest..Sadly,it all would have been avoided if you had asked first...

I had an anniversary party for my parents last year, (40 people, drinks and toasts) and asked if I could bring in a cake. They said they had a plate fee, (I think it was something like $1.50) but they also said that unless I was dead set on something unusual from my favorite pastry shop, they could provide a cake for about the same price...

It was personalized, it had two of the things most dear to my father's heart(whipped cream and strawberries), and I didn't have to pick the thing up from the bakery and drag it with me..It actually made the party one step easier for me...And I didn't have to order 40 servings of some froo-froo dessert...Chances are, the rest. in question would have probably provided a cake for about the same cost as they provided the plates....But ya gottah ask!

Seems people were either strongly for or against.

But I don't think it's so cut & dry. While I can appreciate a restaurant's policy and desire for profit, I'd think a good manager would have recognized that sometimes it's better to give an inch and gain a mile, and that every situation is unique.

I totally agree that in 99.9% of cases it would be inappropriate to bring in food to a restaurant - however this was a personalized birthday cake and the host probably never even considered the whole dynamics of restaurant policy and profit - he probably just wanted to get his girl a birthday tradition with a personalized "Happy Birthday XYZ."

If it was my place, and saw this large group of festive people spending (I'm guessing over $1,000), I'd probably be sending over a bottle of bubbly to help them celebrate.

It's akin to a bartender who slides free round to a regular - or a waiter that comps a dish that wasn't enjoyed - without being asked. Yes, those gestures cost the biz money, but this attentiveness and recognition of individual customers, in individual situations, is what I think makes a place great versus "any other place."

I know this will make the pro-restaurant posters cringe, but look at it from the customer's perspective... a good number of them would think that the cakage charge was excessive. They don't think of all of the points you raised. Instead, they go back to their lives and relate their experience to friends and co-workers. Is that worth the cost of 20 dirty forks and plates? I'd venture that most of the folks on here are very attuned to the biz side and etiquette of the restaurant industry, and half of them thought it was out-of-line.

Personally I'm fine with rules. However I'm more inclined to frequent a place where employees are empowered to personalize my experience, even if they might lose a buck or two on occasion. Overall, they will gain much more.

Your so right!

Pretty much all comments have been made - but I think the overall gist is that while maybe you should expect a charge of some kind - a per slice charge is a bit ludicrous. If a party shared each of their bottles of wine with 8 people, would the corkage increase? Of course not - it's per bottle. So while a cake fee of $15 or even $25 might be okay, the amount charged was high enough to cause the party to feel taken advantage of. Of course it is best to check first, but I'm sure if they brought their own wine w/o asking the corkage and the corkage was $50 - we'd all agree it was still exorbitant.

Finally, though the waiters did cut the cake, that should just go into the tip. Again, there is no charge for each time the waiter pours your own wine from home, so slicing a cake should be no different.

And as a policy, a restaurant might just avoid a stupid charge like this in order to encourage large parties to return.

I think whether or not it's a ripoff depends on what kind of food this place is known for. For example, of course you wouldn't bring your own steak to a steakhouse; that's the point of going there. But some places don't serve cakes suitable for a birthday, and then I think it's a bit unreasonable for the restaurant to charge for serving it. The alternative, going with the restaurant's dessert selection (30 servings of creme brulee or such) may be tasty, but it doesn't fit the occasion and I think a restaurant should understand this and make an exception.

My reasoning for this is based on my wedding planning experience. Over the past month, we've been looking at reception sites. Some places have an in-house baker that has experience with wedding cakes. If you go with the in-house baker they don't charge you a cake cutting fee. If you bring in an outside cake they charge you per person (anywhere from $1.50 - $7.00! per person). While aggravating, this makes sense, since they are losing profit on the cake if you go with someone else. Other places don't have in-house bakers, and they usually don't charge fees. This also makes sense, because you pretty much must have a wedding cake at a wedding (and similarly birthday cakes at birthday parties), and you don't really have the option of going through the establishment. If these places want wedding business (and some places don't, which is evident in their pricing structures and through conversations with the staff) they will make accomodations. Out of the 20 or so places we've looked at, only ONE does not have an in-house baker and still charges a cake-cutting, but even this place was willing to waive it if we met a food and beverage minimum.

Since I know nothing about this restaurant, I don't have an opinion in this case. I do think the host should have called ahead of time to discuss the situation. It's not really much different from any situation where you need special food (maybe because of a food allergy, etc). You call ahead, and if they can prepare it for you that's great, but if not they shouldn't charge you for bringing your own.

Did you bring your own plates, silverware and linen napkins for the cake, too.

Exactly. That's what the fee is for. Thirty dirty dishes and thirty dirty forks to be cleared and washed. Although I do think $2.50 is a bit much.

I'm throwing an anniversary party in a restaurant this month. Most of the restaurants I spoke with refused any food brought in except special occaision cakes. Most had some sort of per person fee. As another poster suggested, the restaurant agreed to have their pastry chef make the cake, which saved me that fee (although now that I think about it, I'm paying 18% gratuity on the cake. hmmmm. )

That's ridiculous. I wouldn't go there, that's for sure.

Add me to the list of people that think that it is OK to charge a fee for serving the cake. 3 restaurants in that space have failed. If they do not want to be #4, they had better learn to charge for their services. If I am out with friends and want to serve my own cake, I invite people back to my house to eat the cake. Im my case it is usually Chocolate Souffle with a Late Harvest Reisling. I would never bring my own food to a restaurant. A special wine, sure, but I am paying about $4.50 to $10.00 a person corkage if you want to figure it that way. What is the difference. If the wine is special enough, some restaurants even waive the corkage (happened once at Josie). My client brought it with him from Argentina as that wine is not exported to the USA. What a classy place.

Being in the restaurant business, I can attest that this is pretty standard policy. Unless a prior agreement is made (but a fee is still usually charged), a restaurant isn't going to let a customer bring in their own food.

Why not go to Houstons and bring your own steaks? What's the difference? The amount of "other" services you are bringing into the restaurant shouldn't make a difference. You are still cutting into (no pun intended) their profit margin by bringing in your own food, regardless of the reason.

Yes, I think you are out of line because I don't think it was a rip-off. I think the boyfriend should have checked in advance as to the policy and charges and if he didn't like it, go someplace else. Or he could have ordered some special cake dessert from the restaurant.

I think there are a lot of things to consider before we go slamming the restaurant for charging a fee. In the ever litigous LA, if there was something wrong with the cake, could one of the guests sued the restaurant? How could the restaurant know that what was brought in from the outside complied with LA County's silly health codes? Especially with something like an ice cream cake--didn't the restaurant have to refridgerate it which takes up space in their freezer and makes work for them? Really, if someone wants to just have drinks to celebrate a birthday, then go to a bar and enjoy. Don't take up valuable space on a Friday night that could be filled by people paying lots of money to eat dinner by just having drinks and in essence, bringing your own food and then complain because they charge you a cake cutting fee. They have to make money too. Independent restaurants are having a hard enough time without that kind of stuff.

I agree. My post below about writing a note is just that if a customer is disappointed for any reason, it makes sense as a courtesy to let the owner of the restaurant know.
There are two questions here - one should there be a charge and second, should a party of 30 have paid 75 dollars for the service. Frankly, I don't know. I think writing a letter lets the owner know that the original poster thought it was excessive. The owner can then say that's the breaks, too bad, or write back and agree or disagree or explain.

HOWEVER, if you're doing anything EVER like bringing a cake, trying to have a speaker, bringing your own wine, or anything requiring special services (private room) YOU CHECK IN ADVANCE AND MAKE SURE WHAT THE CHARGES ARE. You can't just go to a public park and assume that you can use special facilities. And a restaurant isn't a public park.
the problem here, i think, is not that 30 people had ot pay 75 bucks (which shouldn't have been taxed by the way, since it was a service) but that there was a surprize charge at the end of an evening. Last week I went to a benefit where I paid $35. the hosting restaurant/club owner made a big deal of donating $500 to the cause. Later, I found out that I had to order a two drink minimum on top of what I'd already spent (of course we were going to tip the waitresses anyway - supposedly the donation covered soft drinks) and the surprize of an extra charge at a benefit was shocking enough (not the amount, just that it was a surprize) to ruin the mood for awhile. Had I known before, it would've been fine. BUT...
anyway, I just hope that whoever paid the money (was it split by everyone good-humoredly?) did it quietly and graciously so that the surprize didn't ruin everybody else's time.

And by the way, the markup on wine and drinks at restaurants is much higher than on food. So buying tads of drinks is a little different than going to a restaurant for a meal and then expecting to bring your own dessert or what...your own coffee in thermoses?

(yes I know, it was a customized cake)

Good post...If you ever want anything out of the ordinary at a restaurant, ask first.

BTW, I'd imagine that the restaurant would have made a cake and served it for under $100 had they asked in advance.

Jon

I agree with your feeling cheated, especially in view of the fact that most places will actually throw in a free birthday dessert (albeit for one person).

Also, charging by the plate does seem a rip off - can you imagine a wine corkage charged by the glass poured?.

Service mistakes are often forgivable, but when it's a matter of policy the place needs to experience some neglect on the part of its customers.

Do what I do. DON'T GO BACK! Your right, it is a rip-off.

Write the owner/manager a note explaining what happened, why you are disappointed, why you will no longer be patronizing this no longer incredibly hot place, and why you will no longer be recommending it to people.
They should know.

...and tell 'em that all the Chowhounds you've shared this anecdote with agree with you.

Be nice, though: "I can't believe this to be your restaurant's policy, and wanted to bring it to your attention. When I posted the story on chowhound.com, all the replies indicated similar incredulity."

Then cc: the Times, and any other people who write about food you can think of. Don't even need to mail those letters.

Actually, I don't feel its my god-given right to bring my own dessert into a restaurant. Nor wine either (which may surprise many!). One friend told me that one time when he was dining at Masa's, the party next to him pulled out a birthday cake they'd picked up at Safeway and proceeded to dive into it. (g)

The best policy is to ask the restaurant in advance what the policy is and to negotiate a fee if necessary, or choose to go elsewhere. Even though it is a common practice to bring cakes into Chinese restaurants in SF, I always confirm first and thank the staff graciously for taking care of our cake. They usually have to reserve some freezer or refrigerator space to store it while we're eating our meal.

I kind of agree with part of your comments about checking with the restaurant about their policy first concerning the cake. But Wine is a different story. Most restaurants , not all, don't have a NICE wine list. It's not their fault it's just too costly, that's why many have Corkage policys and as long as the wine you've brought isn't on their list and isn't Swill, it seems to make sense, but it's the restaurants call, let the chips fall where they may.

Well. After reading those last two posts (or they were when I added this one!), I blush with embarrassment. Of course it makes sense to check with the restaurant before attempting something unconventional -- but, I'm sorry to admit, I probably wouldn't have thought to do so, either.

That said, if a party comes in, buys lots of food and drink, and is generally well-behaved, I think that the restaurateur could cut them a little slack on the dessert, in the interest of encouraging repeat business.

That was one hell of an expensive birthday cake...Anyway, initially I agreed with the poster that the restaurant went over the top with its surcharge. But after thinking about it for a few minutes, it occurred to me that not only did the restaurant lose revenue by not supplying the cake, but even more to the point, what about the waitstaff who had to actually cut each slice and serve it (assuming that said waiter/waitress did) to roughly 30 people? That's a lot of time, perhaps precious time, that the server is held up at one table, thereby neglecting his/her other customers. I suspect the high "cakage fee" is implemented in order to discourage customers from bringing in there own dessert.

The concept of the fee makes sense, obviously the purpose of the establishment is to make money off of food, but don't you think $2.50 per slice is a little excessive?

If a restaurant pays $35.00 for a high quality Tart or Mousse Cake and sells it for $7.00 per slice, 8 slices per Tart...that is about a $20.00 profit on the 8 desserts or about $2.50 per person. I think these numbers are with-in about 10% of actual prices. The price charged was fair.

Not quite a fair comparison - you've gotta figure that when there is a big cake given out for free, people may take some just to be part of the festivities. The chances that all 30 of them would have each ordered desserts - infinitesimal. And I'm sure the cake slices were very small to accommodate all 30 people. Again, compare to a corkage fee. Charge is not per glass - it's per bottle! Charge should be per cake or per party or at least reasonable. Dessert is NOT how restaurants make all their money!

Actually, if you think about it, since there are only 4-5 glasses per bottle, at $15.00 corkage it is $3.00 per glass. If the person were a regular of this place I think they should do everything to make them feel welcome. If this is a "one shot deal" they may figure that they should be compensated for everything. At restaurants that we frequent, they will do anything to accomodate.

BS, didn't you read the original post, they didn't allow the b'day guy to cut the cake, so duh! yes the waiters had to cut it, DUH!

what are the chances that a restaurant has a dessert on hand that the party will enjoy? surprising few. so I would think that brining in a cake would be a good idea, but it seems restaurants are greedy as shit.

" Exactly. That's what the fee is for. Thirty dirty dishes and thirty dirty forks to be cleared and washed. Although I do think $2.50 is a bit much."

AND what about the extra time the table takes up?????
What about the liability (insurance is expensive) ?

I do not think this is unreasonable it is not a case of being greedy , it is a case of protecting ones business and ability to earn a living.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as thoughtful and well-mannered as you are, and I'm speaking about both customers and restauranteurs. I've seen people bring the equivalent of Safeway wine to fine restaurants, as well as restaurants disparage lovingly cellared Grand Cru Burgundy brought in to celebrate a special occasion.

Arrogance, greed, parsimony and baseless condescending attitudes do not a fine dining experience make.

Bottom line, would you take your own entrees to a restaurant? No, so whats the difference? Any mediocre to good restaurant would be able to make a cake with advanced notice.A restaurant is a business, just like a gas station or a 7-eleven. If one is so angered by paying a cakage fee, then perphaps one should stay at home and cook for ones self.