An issue with the Blackthorn in Kenilworth
Went to the Blackthorn in Kenilworth with my mom for dinner last night,--we've gone there many times before. According to the menu, it was 2 for 1 burger night. I ordered ordered a burger for myself, which came with one, not two. Manager came over to ask how our dinners were, I asked him whether I shouldn't be getting a second burger, and he said that the second burger was only if the second person at the table ordered one. Of course, that is not what the menu said, and the waitress didn't say thing to me about it. Before I said anything else, his voice hardened and he said, well, we could make you a second burger if that's what you want. I declined the offer for a number of reasons, but mostly because I was pretty angry at the attitude. They can consider me an ex-customer.
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To place this debate (which my experience generated) in context, the waitress who took the order was either inexperienced or inadequately trained--this became more apparent during the course of the meal. And, the manager came over immediately after the plates were put on the table--there was no time lag, nobody was, or should have been, caught by surprise, and even then, what difference would it hav emade? They are in the hospitality business--they are not newcomers--and I should not have to read the menu as if I were interpreting a contract. I could not have said it better than fourunder, that to place the onus on the customer is deceptive. I took the manager's response as something close to an accusation that I was trying to get away with something--instead of handling it the way he did, his response should have been to ask if would I like the second burger to be served at the table, or have it ready for me before I went home.
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Usually when I see that type of offer on a menu I interpret it as a burger for me and a free one for my mate, date, or whoever is at my table with me. As the waiter, he could not realize you wanted to have both. Not a good reason to give up on a place. Maybe now restaurants have to print a rules to order by page for the less savy.
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tommy
May 17, 2011 11:41 AM
I don't think it's unreasonable for a restaurant to not make a second entree unless asked, or for a customer to specify that they want the second burger when ordering the first. Most people don't eat two entrees, so I can see where they were confused and ultimately baffled.
