Hacienda Hills - Rip off of major proportions
 

Had lunch after a game of golf at Hacienda Hills earlier today. Decided to order a bowl of soup as I was not real hungry. Asked the waitress what kinds of soup they had. Answer: Mushroom and Rice and Italian Wedding soup. I ordered a bowl of Italian Wedding soup.

After lunch I was presented a bill for $11.00 for my Arnold Palmer (Tea and Lemonade) and my Bowl of soup. Can't be right I said to our server. Her answer , "you ordered the Deluxe Soup" which is $7.99 a bowl instead of the $5.49 shown on the menu for a bowl of soup. My answer, but you never told me there was a difference when I ordered.

Bottom line is the menu does say "Deluxe Soup" $7.99 but made no mention, nor did the server of what the Deluxe Soup was. Elected not to debate the point with the Manager as anyone who would allow such a devious practice is not worth wasting my time on.

By the way, the Italian Wedding Soup was kind of watery and not very good.

Similar to what happened to my wife two weeks ago at Cattle Baron.

Waitress asked what 2 sides she wanted and was told the options. She decided to get the asparagus and asked if she could have it for both she sides and was told she could.

When we got the bill there was an up charge of $2.50 for the asparagus - twice.

The up charge was on the menu that the waitress failed to point out or mention.

At least you only had to pay the additional $2.50 once at Hacienda.

The waitress should have explained the difference between a normal bowl of soup for $5.49 and a deluxe bowl of soup for $8. I can see why you would find that very annoying. I wouldn't consider it " a rip off of major proportions".

It happens. I just learned that Boston is a foreign country. I was at Sam St John's seafood and I ordered a Sam Adams. Menu stated that domestic beer was (and I will guess as I don't recall exactly) $2.49 and imported was $3.29. When I got the bill I was charged for imported beer. I did ask the waitress and was told that Sam Adams was imported. I figured you can't fix some things, so I tipped her well and paid the bill.

Imagine my shock to learn that Boston was a foreign country. So all you folks from Boston, make sure your passport is in order.

Hacienda Hills - Rip off of major proportions
 

I'm from Boston and am frequently treated like I'm from a foreign country because of an alleged accent!

I usually wait till I get Home and have the 4 minute sandwich and Ice tea. If the place looks expensive most likely it is. European style big on price small on proportions.

When I was stationed in England, the Newcastle Brown Ale they sold on base was exported to the US and then imported to the UK before they sold it to us. You are right...some things can't be fixed, and some give us good anecdotes.

A sense of humor is the most valuable tool in this life, after a strong faith in .........let me think..............




Girl Scouts.

I was in Winn Dixie and ordered the imported provolone at the deli. They gave me The Boars Head, from Brooklyn, New York. I didn't say anything.

I eat at Hacienda once or twice a week. The food is good and reasonably priced. It is clearly stated on the menu that there are two prices for their soup. If you ordered from the menu, the waitress probably assumed you read the menu before ordering. I think I would have done the same thing.

A $2.50 difference hardly makes for a rip off of major proportions and I would not call it a devious business practice. I agree that the waitress should/could have made clear the price difference in the soup choices. We eat at HH quite often and have found the food excellent and that includes the soups. We did have the Italian Wedding Soup on Tuesday and found it very good.

I have eaten at several restaurants where the waitress asks me if I would like something to go with my meal. I got burnt once by saying yes and finding out that it was extra.

Now when they suggest something, I either look at the menu or I ask if that is an extra charge.

For example, there is an all in one egg breakfast at Denny's. It does not come with toast but the waitress will ask if I want toast with that. A yes answer will cost you a dollar or 2.

Z

But your wife did order two sides of asparagus. So you should have been charged the extra $2.50 twice.

In most restaurants, there are usually several sides that carry an extra charge. As Bonanza stated, asparagus is one of them.

My only comment is to always read the menu.

Z

I was at Hacienda Hills CC last night for dinner. EXCELLENT!!!

I had the fish and chips special and the lovely Mrs Trap enjoyed the Coconut Crusted Fish Filet with a pineapple mango chutney. Funny thing, I ordered a half pitcher of Bud Lite and she had a glass of Pinot Grigio. Both were the same price of $3.25. Not many places outside The Villages you can get those prices!

The waitress told my wife what the available sides were for the fish filet dinner. She did say if you chose another vegetable other than the specified ones that there would be an up-charge.

The food was absolutely great, the service quick, and live music beginning at 6.

I think a Good waitress should always inform the customer IF there is an upcharge for any item they order. Sometimes I say something but most of the times I consider it as a lesson learned and usually never go back.
I do try also to ask if it is extra or included before I complete my order but sometimes when I am with a group it can be forgotten to ask.
A good management would instruct their staff to always inform the customer IF there is an upcharge.

Upcharge from what, the menu price?
If the upcharge isn't mentioned on the menu, I agree the waiter should inform the customer.
However if it's on the menu (as was the case with the asparagus and the deluxe soup), then I think the customer should be responsible for reading the menu.

Bottom line, I don't think the HH incident was "a rip off of major proportions".

I am mindful of the server's making a living. Last night we had a late lunch but wanted to accompany our friends for Pizza. We split a pizza at Mallory and they graciously allowed it. We have never spilt an order here before..Net, each five bucks plus drink. Wonderful server. We hope we tipped him enough to make up for our small order.

AND it was the best pizza I have had in The Villages. Mushroom and Swiss. YUM.

One of my very good friends found out the hard way to always ask about the price. A group of us went out to dinner and the waitress came over and gave a review of the specials for the evening. She did not give the price for said specials. Everyone ordered off the menu, where most entrees were between $15 and $25 except Daisy, who ordered one of the specials. When we got our checks her eyes bugged out of her head and her eyebrows shot up into her hairline -- that "special" was $40!

I am always thankful when I get to learn a life lesson from someone else so that I don't have to actually experience the pain.

A more careful review of my original post will reveal that neither of the two soups offered were identified either in the menu or by the server as "Deluxe" soup. That kind of makes it a deceptive practice, don't you think? OK, delete major proportions.

Yes, I think the server should have informed you before she decided to upgrade your choice to the "deluxe" soup option.

I also think it was not a rip off BUT at the same time most people do not read every caveat on a menu as you do. I think most are just trying to decide what is appealing to them at that mealtime.
Many times as the second quoter (yabbadu) stated that when in a group one may not read the menu cover to cover and I agree that a good waiter/waitress if well taught would be kind enough to mention a difference in the price.

The food is very good there and experience in dining out is :agree:very helpful when ordering.

Hey Dynsol, I don't read every caveat on a menu ... I don't even know what that word means.
I've already posted agreement with the OP that the server should have informed him before she upgraded his soup choice to deluxe.
And I definitely agree with Wanda --- always ask the prices of Specials before you order one.

"What sides can I get with this for my choices of 2 sides?" Asparagus was on the list of choices.
Side one choice. Asparagus.
Side two choice. Asparagus.
She had two sides coming with the meal. There should have been zero extra charge.

But the waitress included asparagus as choices of sides INCLUDED with the meal. Darn it.

Not if it says additional charge.
I see that a lot. List of sides, then it might say for $.99 substitute sweet potato fries.
If I see soup and deluxe soup, I would for sure ask what the difference is if I was concerned.
Most of us eat out a lot and see things like this all the time.
Hubby doesn't like salad, he always asks how much more for a cup of soup.

As Bonny and Bonanza pointed out, there are often sides with additional charges.
There are usually extra charges for items such as asparagus and sweet potato fries.
However Loudoll, you are absolutely right.
Darn it, if the waitiress said that asparagus was INCLUDED with the meal, there shouldn't have been an extra charge!

WOW, this thread has taken on a life of its own....all over $2.50:shrug:

When conducting business in NYC I had lunch with two of my peers at a popular Deli. The menu listed beef vegetable soup. I ask the waitress if the soup was homemade. She said yes and I ordered the soup with a sandwich and fries. When the waitress left one of my peers chided me for asking if the soup was homemade stating "of course she going to tell you its homemade". whereupon I replied but then I asked and if it comes back obviously not, I can remind her I asked.

Its clear at HH if you don't ask you are going to get items that a at the higher price. A caring waitress would have ask what size. However, as for soup there is no difference between a cup and a bowl of soup in most restaurants I know I have tested it There are so many ways eateries can alter perceptions. Same issue applies with salads as it looks like there is more if served on a plate rather than a bowl

The only answer, there must be a conspiracy among the restaurants!:laugh:

If you didn't read the OP's post, here is what it said..

("you ordered the Deluxe Soup" which is $7.99 a bowl instead of the $5.49 shown on the menu for a bowl of soup.
My answer, but you never told me there was a difference when I ordered.)

Apparently the deluxe soup was ordered if you read where it says "My answer". I would have asked what's the difference before I ordered it.

Following is what the original post said: " I ordered a bowl of Italian Wedding soup". And no, under the circumstances I highly doubt you would have done anything different.

This thread is about a sender and a receiver. In many communications training classes over the years instructors have placed the responsibility for clear communication on the receiver. In this case we have two posters who stated they order one thing and ended up being upcharged.

It would seem the waitress/waiter (receiver) should have read back to the customer (sender) what s/he thought s/he heard him/her order. If the receiver did that then the onus falls back on the sender as the now receiver