What is the right etiquette for when restaurants wine prices are clearly wrong

[azogas]

When the scan price did not match the advertised price, they said they needed to check with their manager. The manager then made the decision the execute the sale at $240, honoring the advertised price. There wasn’t any pressure put on the employee.

[Yule_Kim]

@MChang

I mean, whenever I’ve been to a store and something is on the shelf with a specific price but rings up differently on the register, and you tell them to look at the price on the shelf, they’ll usually honor that. Usually it’s not thousands of dollars different though.

Yeah, I think the thousands of dollars is the big difference here, and why TW was trying to stop these sales from happening.

I heard from a very reliable source that the owners of Total Wine, for years, had to personally authorize any expense that was over a $1,000 at any of their locations (which is pretty insane for a national chain as large as TW). They were that micro-managing.

I’m not sure if the Trones are as actively involved with TW as they used to be (I can’t imagine that $1,000 authorization rule still being in place, but who knows), but if they are involved, or if that culture is still in place, a loss of $12,000 or more on the sale of four bottles of CdM (probably more money because I’m sure more bottles were sold) is on the radar of national headquarters and probably means heads are rolling.

And, of course, people point fingers and punch downwards, so I’m guessing the folks who will get punished the most are the ones least able to defend themselves, which will be the frontline retail workers who let the sales happen. (but who knows – I don’t really know how TW is run internally now)

[Alan_Rath]

@MChang

@Yule_Kim

Ok, I was reading through the Krug CdM thread on Reddit, and here’s a follow-up from the OP there:

I didn’t put this in the post, but after the DFW stores pulled the rest of their inventory from the shelves, I called another shop in Austin because they still hadn’t updated their pricing. After confirming with a sales person over the phone, I called a buddy of mine to tell him to immediately get in his car. When he went to the checkout line, the cashier scanned the barcode on the outside packaging box. It scanned in the correct price (~$3K) but after deliberating with their manager, they apologized to my friend, and changed the price to match the online price of $240 lol. He left with the bottle

This is pretty icky. When you know this is a pricing mistake, and when the POS rings up the correct price, but then you convince the store manager to sell you the bottle at the incorrect price, is a bridge way too far. Now we are actually talking about actively deceiving someone here.

Apparently Texas law says they have to honor the advertised price.

Only a jerk would insist on that.

[Alan_Rath]

When I bought my last car, I shopped around various dealers in the area. Looked at their online inventories and pricing. Found the car I wanted, listed at a price better than any other dealer. Not outrageously low, but better by $1000 than anyone else (about 4% of the total price). So I emailed them, referred to the listing, and asked if the price was correct. Yes, they said, so I made an appointment to buy the car. Of course, when I got there they tried to wiggle out of the price, but this is a car dealership we’re talking about, I had the printed listing for the car with price. They honored it, still made money, and I had no regrets. But cars are different from wine lists. And either way, the right thing to do is confirm an unusual price before ordering.

[Mikko_Tuomi]

It’s clearly a “menu typo” to you, me, and everyone else reading this forum.
But what about 98% of the world who have no clue about these wines.

[Brian_Glas]

Why are cars different than wine lists?

[Alan_Rath]

@Brian_Glas

Why are cars different than wine lists?

Maybe you have had different experiences, but I’ve never had to wait for my server to speak with the manager to see if he can get me a corkscrew to open my wine

A car purchase is pretty much by definition a negotiation.

[J_Patrick_Lynch]

Idk, how many horror stories have you heard about being bait and switched, lied to, your signature being forged, required reading of long and confusing paperwork, and high pressure sales tactics from a wine list?

[brodie_thomson]

@Brian_Glas

Why are cars different than wine lists?

Maybe because I do not buy 100s of cars per year perhaps?

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Note the Toddster lives in La La land or close enough.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

in a tax appeal of real property taxes, an accountant for ownership underpaid taxes by less than a $. This barred that year’s tax appeal, cost the company $50K. Accountant was fired.

[Andrew_K]

If you legitimately didn’t know, nothing wrong with complaining when they bring you the bill with an extra zero.

[Rich_Brown]

@Robert.A.Jr

@Jeremy_Holmes

I would always tell the restaurateur or Somm as I wouldn’t feel comfortable benefitting from someone’s obvious mistake.

This. Always. I’d feel lousy taking advantage of a business.

I 1000% agree. It’s the right thing to do. Plain and simple.

[Marc_Hauser]

@Brian_Glas

Why are cars different than wine lists?

That’s a red herring. He asked, and they confirmed the price was correct. He satisfied his side of the bargain there.

[Chris_Seiber]

@Andrew_K

If you legitimately didn’t know, nothing wrong with complaining when they bring you the bill with an extra zero.

For sure. If my dad had ordered a $70 Mondavi cab from a restaurant list but it turned out to be Mondavi Reserve 1994 and was supposed to be $700 and my dad had no idea, then for sure the restaurant should eat that and then reprint that page of the list.

But as other have noted, it’s not always clear how you determine the customer’s knowledge and state of mind.

[Mark_Y]

@Chris_Seiber

But as other have noted, it’s not always clear how you determine the customer’s knowledge and state of mind

If u ask about it on a forum called wine berserkers or not

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

When the Dom is only three dollars more than the sparkling Grolleau, it’s unlikely to be the actual price

[Mark_Y]

@Marcus_Goodfellow

When the Dom is only three dollars more than the sparkling Grolleau, it’s unlikely to be the actual price

Maybe To the quite uninformed. “plenitude 2”means it was some 2nd wine they bottled so it’s a cheaper Dom offering

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

Good to know. I always thought the “cheaper Dom” was called White Star

And to be fair, I am quite uninformed on Dom. It’s been +25 years since I had any.

[Bdklein]

@Mark_Y

Maybe To the quite uninformed. “plenitude 2”means it was some 2nd wine they bottled so it’s a cheaper Dom offering

That’s what uninformed me would have thought!! And I’m sure many customers as well.