Hot Water Please - Part 2
In the last article, I talked about how a certain family restaurant charged us for hot water. This is a continuation on how we resolved the issue.
Contacting customer service
With such a busy schedule, I only had an opportunity a few days ago to contact customer service about the hot water fiasco. I decided to use the company’s toll free number hoping that I would quickly find the answer to my concerns. Sure enough, within a minute of dialing the number, a woman’s voice appeared. First she asked me some routine questions such as where I was calling from, what location did I visit, what day and at what time.
Afterwards, I explained to her what happened that night and about the hot water charge. She couldn’t believe it and never heard of the policy. According to her, there was no such policy in the US however it may have been something newly implemented in Canada. She informed me she had sent my complaint to corporate office and someone there would contact me by phone.
Surprisingly I received a call within 10 minutes.
The GM’s call
“Hello, this is John. I received an email from corporate office outlining your service problem you had experienced. I like to find out more about the situation and I do apologize that you had to go through this.”
I briefly explained what took place that evening especially my conversation with the restaurant manager. My conversation with the GM was, unfortunately, not much better.
“Well sir you must have heard or been misinformed about our policy. We do have a hot water policy but it is not because of what you have been told me. The only reason why we charge for hot water is because hotel customers in the past brought in their own tea bags.”
“I see, well why would your manager say differently?”
“According to the date and time you came to our restaurant, there was no manager. My manager called in sick and there was no other manager for the night. You must have spoken to the host.”
“No manager on duty?” I said with a chuckle. “Well going back to the charge, how frequent do hotel guests come in to your restaurant to take hot water?”
“That problem was in the past and it doesn’t happen anymore. I understand you are upset and sorry that my waiter never told you upfront as he was supposed to.”
“So that’s it. It was a problem in the past that may have occurred a few times and it doesn’t happen anymore like you said, but you continue to charge customers. You rather have negative word of mouth because of some ridiculous policy that you decide to leave implemented? In fact I am so disappointed at how your staff handled the situation that I don’t think I will return to your restaurant. “
“Sir, he said with laughter. I don’t believe you mean that just of because of some silly hot water incident.”
“Oh I mean it. You obviously are missing the point. I am not asking you to comp our entire meal, but I expected a lot more from you. If you truly wanted to please a customer and make sure they would return I don’t think $4.40 would hurt your business. Plus, this isn’t any $10 or $20 bill, it was $65.”
“Ok, how about next time you decide to come to our restaurant give me a call ahead of time and I will let my staff know not to charge you for hot water. If you are not satisfied, maybe I can give you a complimentary dessert.”
“You have to be kidding! If you have to think about it that much and to offer me hot water next time I visit is a joke. I think that’s about all, I got my answer.”
In conclusion
I couldn’t take anymore of the GM’s illogical ramblings. I heard enough and was determined to still confirm with the corporate office of this policy. The GM never once referred the policy as a corporate policy. Just recently I filled out the online form asking about the hot water policy and I am hoping to hear back this week. It’s truly an unfortunate situation. Indeed it was a silly and humorous incident that had a quick fix but it was handled in such a way that resulted in the restaurant losing customers over a measly $4.40.
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June 18th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I can understand the policy, somewaht. I’m sure many customers took advantage of the restaurant in the past. But wouldn’t a policy like “hot water only available as part of a dinner,” or something like that make more sense? And the follow up by management is possibly the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Losing a customer over $4? I wonder what they spend in advertising to get a customer? Good busines practices would suggest it is better to keep the customer you have.
Good luck dealing with these knuckleheads.
June 18th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Hi Joe, you do make a good point about the policy. I also understand why they have such a policy since I have experienced that very same problem at a previous restaurant which I managed. There were a number of mall employees coming in to our restaurant for hot water only. As frustrating as it became, we did not implement a policy. However, we did politely speak to those individuals over time just explaining that this was not a common practice that we allowed, but we would allow it one more time only. Any further request for hot water required a purchase.
I am still waiting to hear back from the corporate office in regards of this whole incident to verify if charging hot water is truly a corporate policy rather than the manager’s own policy.
June 18th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I’ve seen this happen in more than one restaurant I served at and as long as there was a purchase no one at any of them made an issue of it at all besides maybe a chuckle about the thiftyness of the person in question. If you are ordering a meal and slipping your own tea bag in inside of a purse it’s definitely not worth losing a customer over. Now if someone just walked in and asked for a cup of water that might be a different story.
At any rate the way it was handled is an embarassment to the company. I would be telling everyone I know about the incident and encouraging them to dine elsewhere.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I don’t think it’s outrageous to charge for hot water. There are costs associated with heating the water, providing and cleaning the cup, the lemons….Why would you not balk at $2 for a cup of tea but be irate at the same charge for largely the same product? A teabag costs maybe .20, probably less when bought in bulk. And have you priced lemons lately?
I can understand your surprise. Your parents have probably been ordering free hot water and lemon for years. But I don’t think your reaction is completely warranted. I think it’s completely reasonable to be charged something when provided with a service. And it is also completely understandable that you would want to know you will be charged before you order.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
So by your same reasoning, AliceW, people should be charged for ice water, since there are costs associated with making ice.
If people are coming in off the street and ordering nothing but a hot water then I agree, there should be some charge for that but if a meal is involved why would you charge for hot water?
June 20th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Common sense would seem to dictate that, if ordered as part of a meal, there would be no charge. If ordered as an “only item” - then charge for it. My wife likes a certain type of tea not always stocked in restaurants. We always ask for it by name and, if not available, she provides her own tea bag - not unreasonable.
In any event - the means of handling the complaint by the restaurant in question would, in and of itself, be sufficient to cause me to never return and to “advertise” the incident as widely as possible.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
What I don’t understand is why you haven’t named this restaurant.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
What I don’t understand is why the amount wasn’t deducted from the bill. The restaurant is entitled to charge whatever it wants for whatever service it provides (they can charge $100 for water if they want to, but they might not get very many takers), but they absolutely MUST advise the customer of the price of that service in advance.
If they don’t list a price on the menu for hot water, then you have every right to refuse to pay for it.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Roger, when your wife does that, do you pay as if you had a tea? Do you add to the waiter’s tip as if tea was on the bill? Is it completely fair to the restauraunt or the diner at the next table that you are provided with “tea” for free and they pay $2 basically for a teabag?
I agree with George that if the charge wasn’t clearly on the menu they should have taken it off the bill. But I disagree that it’s an outrageous policy.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
In the bar industry one is charged for soda at the same cost as a mix-drink, juice also. The reason is people can bring in there own booze and mix it them selfs. However there is no charge for water. You see this at more less class of business, I usually buy a shot and ask for a large soda back and ask the tender to pour the shot out. I just see this as a way of makeing money, “GREED” it is nothing else. Here is some jerk company chargeing a person asking for a glass of water, so it’s hot water. Just more of what is this world coming to. Some people are with no common sense. So what people bring there own tea bag, booze, what ever. It just shows there living on a frugal budget, or cheap. I could go on and on here but won’t. The point being you buy a meal they made money on the food and now there going to make 0 money form you and if I knew the place you went they would not make any money form me. There is free water almost any place you go, wal-mart the, mall hallway, movie show, ect. To me the place is a thief chargeing you without notice is and if not I would check into one against the law, or the city should make it so.
Ben
June 21st, 2008 at 2:08 am
I’m with Robert Hof, name names so we can all avoid this place!
June 21st, 2008 at 1:28 pm
In almost all restaurants ice water is free, in most you have to order it though. Butter will be free but not for garlic butter. Bread might be included with your meal but not garlic or fancy breads.
Hot water and lemon should be charged. It’s a prepared drink, but it must be a menu item.
Adding coffee or tea to hot water costs a restaurant only pennies but because it’s a prepared drink they charge from a $0.75 to a few dollars per cup.
Order a bottled water in a restaurant and be prepared to pay up to $15 based on size and brand. Read ingredients, water.
It is not what the water costs that determines the price. It is what people would pay for it if it were on the menu. If the parents were told in advance the water would be $2.20 would they have ordered it or asked the restaurant to add a $0.05 tea bag in it and be happy to pay $2.20 for a cup of tea.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
The argument that it should’ve been on the menu might seem plausible, but a restaurant can’t come up with all permutations of a customer’s wishes. Should a coke float be on the menu just because the restaurant has ice cream and coke and therefore can theoretically make it?
When you go to a restaurant, expect to have to pay for everything that you order. As they say, nothing in this world is free. In mainland Europe, they don’t even serve tap water, so you have to pay preposterous amounts for water.. more than beer if you’re in Germany!
Of course, your reaction to the bill is somewhat understandable as you’re not used to paying for water and you consider hot water with a lemon close enough to water. And, yes, I agree that it should’ve been made clear at the time of purchase. Although, that in itself is no reason to stop frequenting a restaurant, but the management’s reaction is. As far as I’m concerned, anyone stupid enough to treat their customers like that deserves to go out of business.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Big deal. Zero tip then. It would probably balance out. I know restaurant who would actually charge 10% tips. I actually like that since I usually pay more than 10% and it’s always a hassle to calculate the tips.
I wonder what would happen if you just refuse to pay the $4.40?