Cheap, Party of Two

I just read this post at Waiter Rant and it reminded me of a phone call I had at work last week.

Fast Fact: The Restaurant offers a Prix Fixe seven course menu for $125/person. Wine pairing is available for an additional $60/person. There are premium menus on the menu such as caviar and Kobe beef for an additional charge. (you have no idea how many times I say that in a day!)

I had a call around 9:00 one night from a man who informed me that he was scheduled to come in for dinner the following night. He told me that one member of their party probably wasn't going to be very hungry, and asked if it was possible to only order a few courses off the menu. I explained that the menu isn't a la carte, and that the price is $125 regardless of how many courses you consume. He asked if that person would be charged if they didn't eat at all. I was pretty sure that we weren't going to let them do that, but told him I would double-check with the manager and call him back. And then before we got off the phone, he asked if plate sharing was allowed.

So I called my manager and asked him my questions. He was dumbfounded. "Of course we don't split plates! Someone actually asked you that?" Really? Could I make that up???

Amazingly enough, when I called the gentleman back 5 minutes later, the phone rang twice and went straight to voicemail. And then I got to use all of my professionalism in constructing the message that I left him. I had to tell him that if the money was an issue, then I'd be happy to help him with reservations at a different restaurant. But, you know, without mentioning that money was an issue. So I ended up saying that if either member of their party wasn't up for the 7 course meal, then we would be happy to assist them with reservations elsewhere and we would waive the cancellation penalty.

They did show up the next night... but I bet they didn't get any wine or surcharge items!

Now here's the deal: I understand that $300 is a helluva lot of money to spend on dinner for two. That's a week's salary for some people. And I'm not calling someone who can't afford to eat at The Restaurant cheap OR poor. However, I do think it's rather ridiculous to expect a restaurant like ours to lower its price just so that you can afford to eat there. If you want it that badly, then save your pennies. And since this guy did end up coming in, my gut instinct is that he was just cheap.