I met last night for dinner with a few dear friends I haven't seen in a long time. We enjoyed a nice meal and the company was fantastic, and when we got to the end of the meal, it appeared as if management had waived our corkage fees on the bill. When I first arrived I had joked with the owner, that since we brought all our own stemware maybe he could waive the corkage. Anyway, we all paid up, the bill was settled, and we were all set to leave, when the waiter came running back and said he had forgotten to put the corkage on and presented us with a second bill for the corkage. Being polite and compliant Canadians, we paid that second bill too without too much hassle. Then I started thinking about this when I got home. How gauche of the restaurant to do this. One would think that the owner would just let the thing go, it certainly would have been classier. If I were a jerk, I'd have said, "well if you'd kindly refund me the gratuity, that'd about cover corkage." But, alas no. I'm just wondering what others might have said or done, assuming that one wanted to return to that restaurant in the future.

I'd have been annoyed because I leave an extra tip when corkage is waived.

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
I'd have been annoyed because I leave an extra tip when corkage is waived.

Well, I actually did tip a bit more than my usual. Can't speak for the other fellas. Now I'm even more mad.

Bummer mitPradikat. Sounds like a place I wouldn't be returning to any time soon.

Did you order any other beverages (additional bottles of wine, cocktails, sparkling water, etc.)? Depending on the cuisine/style, the actual apps/entrees/desserts sold can often be just a break-even proposition for the resto. They make their money on selling beverages or corkage.

Well, sir, that kind of thing is not likely to happen when you come to Vancouver next month.

No matter how much you joke with the owners, they aren't likely to waive or forget the corkage.

quote:

Originally posted by fusionstorm:
Did you order any other beverages (additional bottles of wine, cocktails, sparkling water, etc.)? Depending on the cuisine/style, the actual apps/entrees/desserts sold can often be just a break-even proposition for the resto. They make their money on selling beverages or corkage.

We all ordered cappuccinos at the end, but other than that, no. I was fully expecting to pay the corkage. I've just never been chased down by a waiter to pay for something he forgot to put on the bill. It's not a bad place, but as Red Guy suggests, I won't be in a hurry to go back.

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
I'd have been annoyed because I leave an extra tip when corkage is waived.

+1

I guess you could ask for the first bill back, and then eliminate all of the tip...

I wouldn't punish the waiter for the owner or manager's decision/instruction.

quote:

Originally posted by fusionstorm:
Did you order any other beverages (additional bottles of wine, cocktails, sparkling water, etc.)? Depending on the cuisine/style, the actual apps/entrees/desserts sold can often be just a break-even proposition for the resto. They make their money on selling beverages or corkage.

sorry, but i frequent a lot of restaurants that waive corkage for me, and i'm sure they're making plenty of money.

that's a pretty class-less move IMO. i certainly would've said something.

Hmmmm... a restaurant actually allows corkage and has the audacity to charge for it. Perhaps some of you would prefer a no corkage policy. Frankly, you consented to paying corkage when you brought your wine. Now you want something free.

Maybe the server screwed up and might have to make up the charge. Ever think of that?

When I've had corkage comped, it's certainly a pleasant surprise. It's never an expectation though.

quote:

Originally posted by spo:
I wouldn't punish the waiter for the owner or manager's decision/instruction.

Big +1. The served doesn't set restaurant policy, just follows through with what the owner wants. Why punish the server?

I wish Michigan Law allowed BYO/corkage...

quote:

Originally posted by Gigond Ass:
Hmmmm... a restaurant actually allows corkage and has the audacity to charge for it. Perhaps some of you would prefer a no corkage policy. Frankly, you consented to paying corkage when you brought your wine. Now you want something free.

Maybe the server screwed up and might have to make up the charge. Ever think of that?

When I've had corkage comped, it's certainly a pleasant surprise. It's never an expectation though.

GA, I agree that free corkage should never be an expectation. It's just that we thought they'd been generous to us, but in reality it was a mistake, and the owner could have decided to let it go and let us leave happy and more than grateful for the gesture. I also agree that while the waiter did screw up, I also wouldn't want him punished by having to pay it out of his own pocket. Again, the owner's discretion to forget the whole thing and everyone's happy.

Imagine if my wife were to come home and find a beautiful necklace in a gift box sitting on the kitchen counter. Assuming it's for her, she tries it on and then gives me a huge joyful kiss and embrace. Do I tell her the truth that it's my mom's birthday gift, or do I head out later to buy something else for my mom?

You could always to tell her until after.

quote:

Originally posted by mitPradikat:

quote:

Originally posted by Gigond Ass:
Hmmmm... a restaurant actually allows corkage and has the audacity to charge for it. Perhaps some of you would prefer a no corkage policy. Frankly, you consented to paying corkage when you brought your wine. Now you want something free.

Maybe the server screwed up and might have to make up the charge. Ever think of that?

When I've had corkage comped, it's certainly a pleasant surprise. It's never an expectation though.

GA, I agree that free corkage should never be an expectation. It's just that we thought they'd been generous to us, but in reality it was a mistake, and the owner could have decided to let it go and let us leave happy and more than grateful for the gesture. I also agree that while the waiter did screw up, I also wouldn't want him punished by having to pay it out of his own pocket. Again, the owner's discretion to forget the whole thing and everyone's happy.

Imagine if my wife were to come home and find a beautiful necklace in a gift box sitting on the kitchen counter. Assuming it's for her, she tries it on and then gives me a huge joyful kiss and embrace. Do I tell her the truth that it's my mom's birthday gift, or do I head out later to buy something else for my mom?

Well if you are in an intimate relationship with the restaurant owner then fine. I'm guessing you aren't schtooping though. In that case, your example isn't even closely relevant to the situation. As for everyone being "happy", you would be happy, and the manager would be unhappy. How is losing revenue in a business a happy situation for the business owner/

You asked for opinions. Mine is that you are upset because you didn't get something for nothing. My opinion is that you should reward an establishment that allows you to bring your own wines and not decide not to go there because you didn't get something for nothing.

I'm pretty much with GA on this. They made a mistake in your favor and caught it just in time. Awkward? Yes. A bit of an emotional roller coaster? Yes. A reason to hold a grudge? No. Just move on.

(And no, I wouldn't lie to my wife just because she made an errant assumption.)

GA, I see what you're saying, and I totally get it. I do appreciate your angle.

However, I think everyone (including yourself, I'm guessing) likes getting something for nothing once in a while and it's well appreciated. In our case we did get something for nothing but then we got billed for it after the fact. It wasn't that they caught it while we were paying the bill. That was done and we practically had our coats on, and they presented us a separate bill. It just left me with a slightly disappointed memory of the evening and as a result I'll not be going back anytime soon. So I did in the end "reward the establishment" but only in the short term. They would have had a much more frequent customer in me if they'd done the more classy thing. I'm far from being a VIP there and I would not have expected corkage to be comp'd the next time.

the "only" thing i would be peeved about is that sommelier charge in that other thread

quote:

Originally posted by Gigond Ass:
Mine is that you are upset because you didn't get something for nothing.

I think he is more pissed that he thought he was getting something for nothing but it ended up not happening.

The way I see it, when corkage wasn't on the bill you simply assumed it was comped. Since no one said it was comped, unless you were trying to be sneaky about it, the "proper" thing to do would have been to inquire about the lack of the charge. The fact that you didn't and it later turned out to be contrary to your assumption somehow pissed you off. That's all.

EDIT: Like your necklace example, if when you went to buy the necklace, the salesperson spent so much time gift wrapping it that they forgot to charge you for it would you think they comped your necklace? Would you just walk out the store with it, knowing they didn't charge you?

quote:

Originally posted by spo:
I wouldn't punish the waiter for the owner or manager's decision/instruction.

I don't understand this. I believe he said the waiter chased them down and that the waiter ("he") forgot to put the charge on. There is every reason to punish the waiter here.

The necklace example is not valid. Nobody gets a necklace comped.

Last night, my wife and I went out to dinner and brought wine. There was no corkage on the bill so I left a larger tip. We had given the manager some of our wine.

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
The necklace example is not valid. Nobody gets a necklace comped.

That's an assumption.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by WEc:
Since no one said it was comped, unless you were trying to be sneaky about it, the "proper" thing to do would have been to inquire about the lack of the charge.
QUOTE]

You're right about checking. Next time I definitely will. No sneakiness here, just an incorrect assumption and we all know what happens when you assume. I've only had corkage comp'd twice previously. In each of those cases, nothing was mentioned when the bill came, so who knows maybe those were mistakes too. However, in those two cases, we weren't presented with a second bill as an afterthought.

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. Obviously this is such a small, trivial issue compared to what is happening on the eastern US coast this morning. Time to move on to other concerns!