NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 17:22:47 GMT Xref: pale-rider.INS.CWRU.Edu dc.dining:16369 dc.general:79236 I wanted to tell as many people as possible about a recent experience at Coco Loco restaraunt in DC. Over the weekend, I went there to celebrate a friend's birthday with a group of about 20 people. The evening was great, the food was good. We told the waiter it was a friend's birthday and asked how much a cake would cost. We heard him say $17.00. That seemed reasonable, until we got our bill. Unfortunately the restaurant charged us per slice of cake and it showed up on our bill as $70. We politely explained the problem to the waiter and the manager. Neither one was willing to do anything about the charge for the cake. It is possible we misunderstood the waiter, however I have never been to a nice restaurant where if you have a legitimate argument about a charge the manager refuses to help you out. Hell, I've gotten better service at McDonald's! The manager was so arrogant that he said it was our fault for thinking that "a cake at a restaurant like ours would only cost $17". What a load of crap. The cake was a 12" round Chocolate Mouse cake that probably costs about $15 at a nice bakery. The kind restaurant was also good enough to automatically include a 20% tip on our bill(Whatever happened to a standard 15% tip?). No where was it written that a tip would be automatically included for large parties. We decided we didn't get the service we desired and we left a 10% tip. The waiter counted the money as we left and called security to prevent us from leaving. The manager's response..."It is the house policy to set the tip if we want to". Since when can a restaurant decide to add a charge to your bill without telling you. They might as well change the price of your dinner after you order it. All in all, I hope you will agree that patrons of a restaurant deserve better treatment than the arrogant, self-centered responses we got from the staff at Coco Loco. The best response I can think of to this is to tell as many people to be arrogant and self-centered when it comes to choosing your restaurant. The next time you are looking for a nice dinner, go to any of the other great restaurants that DC has to offer. You deserve better.
Washington, DC