Cake Stop Etiquette

waddlie
waddlie Posts: 542
edited November 2010 in The bottom bracket
You: Two girls buying cake at Bitton station on the Avon Valley Railway at about 1215 today. You decided you didn't like the cake, passed it back to the cashier and got a refund (!!)

Me: Somewhat unimpressed by the above. Why should a small independent cafe be out of pocket because of your picky eating habits?

That is all.
Rules are for fools.

Comments

  • singlespeedexplosif
    singlespeedexplosif Posts: 1,564
    the cashier could have refused...
    that is all.
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    singlespeedexplosif wrote:
    the cashier could have refused...
    that is all.

    Yup.

    Have this all the time with fussy customers with bottles of wine and shots their friends have bought them.

    "I don't like this, can I have a refund?" - No, you asked for it, you bought it, opened it, and didn't like it. Tough. Buy something you know you like next time.
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

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  • waddlie
    waddlie Posts: 542
    I wouldnt've minded if they'd bought something else, but they just walked out and rode off...
    Rules are for fools.
  • Ginjafro
    Ginjafro Posts: 572
    Oh well, could have been worse. My Mother-in-Law, when she was alive, when taking nut centred chocolates from a box sucked the choc' away and then put the nuts back in the box, yeuchhhh !
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  • alan_sherman
    alan_sherman Posts: 1,157
    Maybe it was rubbish and that is why they didn't like it? Ever looked forward to a nice carrot cake, bought it but when you start eating discover it has a horrible consistency / taste / contians raisens?

    I.e. maybe it is about the quality rather than just personal tastes.
  • ozzzyosborn206
    ozzzyosborn206 Posts: 1,340
    alan rates a good point, the cake may have been 'off' and so they complained and if that one was off whats to say the others weren't and therefore took a refund rather than a replacement. However if it is simply because they didn't like it then thats not cool,
  • nolf
    nolf Posts: 1,287
    Dude your life is waaay too empty.
    "I hold it true, what'er befall;
    I feel it, when I sorrow most;
    'Tis better to have loved and lost;
    Than never to have loved at all."

    Alfred Tennyson
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 358
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    singlespeedexplosif wrote:
    the cashier could have refused...
    that is all.

    Yup.

    Have this all the time with fussy customers with bottles of wine and shots their friends have bought them.

    "I don't like this, can I have a refund?" - No, you asked for it, you bought it, opened it, and didn't like it. Tough. Buy something you know you like next time.

    I agree with this. If the bottle has 'corked' then yes refuse it as you would anything else that is 'off' but not jusrt coz you dont like it!
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    if you use irrational measures to measure me, expect me to behave irrationally to measure up
  • Stone Glider
    Stone Glider Posts: 1,227
    I used to have conversations with table waiting staff who would offer to part fill my wine glass to allow me to "taste" it when the wine bottle had a metal closer. These days I have given up trying to explain that a screw closer could not "cork" the wine and as that would be the only reason that I could refuse the bottle, they should just get on with pouring. Another irking trait is offering to fill my wine glass to "taste" when I am not the person drinking that wine. Mrs S G is very able to give her opinion on such a matter when required. Generally, the standard of table service is quite low in this country, although most are friendly and helpful, they do not expect to know much about the job they do.

    How people cope in face-to-face jobs with the public mystifies me, the rudeness and hostility of so many people to shop staff is disgraceful.
    The older I get the faster I was
  • freehub
    freehub Posts: 4,257
    It's probs a sneaky plan to get free cake.
  • BigG67
    BigG67 Posts: 582
    Stone Glider wrote:
    I used to have conversations with table waiting staff who would offer to part fill my wine glass to allow me to "taste" it when the wine bottle had a metal closer. These days I have given up trying to explain that a screw closer could not "cork" the wine and as that would be the only reason that I could refuse the bottle, they should just get on with pouring. Another irking trait is offering to fill my wine glass to "taste" when I am not the person drinking that wine. Mrs S G is very able to give her opinion on such a matter when required. Generally, the standard of table service is quite low in this country, although most are friendly and helpful, they do not expect to know much about the job they do.

    How people cope in face-to-face jobs with the public mystifies me, the rudeness and hostility of so many people to shop staff is disgraceful.

    Good service should be whoever orders the wine tastes the wine.
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    Stone Glider wrote:

    How people cope in face-to-face jobs with the public mystifies me, the rudeness and hostility of so many people to shop staff is disgraceful.

    Give as good as you get.
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

    PTP Runner Up 2015
  • ShutUpLegs
    ShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    Waddlie wrote:
    You: Two girls buying cake at Bitton station on the Avon Valley Railway at about 1215 today. You decided you didn't like the cake, passed it back to the cashier and got a refund (!!)

    Me: Somewhat unimpressed by the above. Why should a small independent cafe be out of pocket because of your picky eating habits?

    That is all.

    Come on confess, you bought their returned half eaten cakes at a discount.
  • Dunkindiver
    Dunkindiver Posts: 143
    I used to have conversations with table waiting staff who would offer to part fill my wine glass to allow me to "taste" it when the wine bottle had a metal closer. These days I have given up trying to explain that a screw closer could not "cork" the wine and as that would be the only reason that I could refuse the bottle, they should just get on with pouring. Another irking trait is offering to fill my wine glass to "taste" when I am not the person drinking that wine. Mrs S G is very able to give her opinion on such a matter when required.

    I take it you have never owned a Restaurant/bar?

    Whilst you and I may know that screw capped wine shouldn't need tasting, for some customers it is part of the ritual of eating out and they expect/enjoy it. There is never any harm in asking, 50% say yes I'd like to taste and 50 say go ahead and pour!
    Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing until you ask!

    Having served several thousand bottles of screw capped wine, I can assure there are plenty of 'corked' ones around!
    Generally, the standard of table service is quite low in this country, although most are friendly and helpful, they do not expect to know much about the job they do

    The answer to that one is...................how much do you want to pay for your food?
    the biggest overhead of any restaurant is the wages and this translates directly into the cost of the food.
    Should you dine at establishments where the customers don't worry about paying £100+ a head, the standard of customer care will be so much better than your local carvery and you will be, in the main served by 'professional' waiting staff, however, I doubt if you would be hitting the Jacobs Creek screwtops at £100+ a head! :D
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,821
    Dunkindiver wrote:
    I used to have conversations with table waiting staff who would offer to part fill my wine glass to allow me to "taste" it when the wine bottle had a metal closer. These days I have given up trying to explain that a screw closer could not "cork" the wine and as that would be the only reason that I could refuse the bottle, they should just get on with pouring. Another irking trait is offering to fill my wine glass to "taste" when I am not the person drinking that wine. Mrs S G is very able to give her opinion on such a matter when required.

    I take it you have never owned a Restaurant/bar?

    Whilst you and I may know that screw capped wine shouldn't need tasting, for some customers it is part of the ritual of eating out and they expect/enjoy it. There is never any harm in asking, 50% say yes I'd like to taste and 50 say go ahead and pour!
    Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing until you ask!

    Having served several thousand bottles of screw capped wine, I can assure there are plenty of 'corked' ones around!
    Generally, the standard of table service is quite low in this country, although most are friendly and helpful, they do not expect to know much about the job they do

    The answer to that one is...................how much do you want to pay for your food?
    the biggest overhead of any restaurant is the wages and this translates directly into the cost of the food.
    Should you dine at establishments where the customers don't worry about paying £100+ a head, the standard of customer care will be so much better than your local carvery and you will be, in the main served by 'professional' waiting staff, however, I doubt if you would be hitting the Jacobs Creek screwtops at £100+ a head! :D

    I think that's what's called "dispatching an opinion" lol
  • Stone Glider
    Stone Glider Posts: 1,227
    There appears to be an idea that good service is obtained by paying lots of money. That has not been my experience. Whilst I enjoy eating out the service provided in some "high class" establishments can be fussy and intrusive, with staff trying too hard; perhaps to justify the bill? To me, good service, like good manners, should be invisible.
    The older I get the faster I was
  • Stone Glider
    Stone Glider Posts: 1,227
    @Dunkindiver: Hey what a coincidence, drifting through a cycling forum about riding on the road and we find another restaurant/bar owner :o In all the forums in all the world I have to walk into yours. Except it isn't yours is it?

    If the only people allowed to comment had to pass some kind of test then forums would be a lot smaller and not very illuminating.. Enjoy the diversity, as you can't change it.
    The older I get the faster I was
  • Dunkindiver
    Dunkindiver Posts: 143
    Stone Glider wrote:
    @Dunkindiver: Hey what a coincidence, drifting through a cycling forum about riding on the road and we find another restaurant/bar owner :o In all the forums in all the world I have to walk into yours. Except it isn't yours is it?

    If the only people allowed to comment had to pass some kind of test then forums would be a lot smaller and not very illuminating.. Enjoy the diversity, as you can't change it.

    I'm a tad confused here?
    Am I not allowed to pass comment also or is that the sole preserve of the screw top wine connoisseurs?

    I was only passing on my humble comments on the everyday challenges that my staff faced when confronted by the great and varied great British public

    Who'd have thought thirty year ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Château de Chasselas, eh? :D
  • Ollieda
    Ollieda Posts: 1,010
    Stone Glider wrote:
    I used to have conversations with table waiting staff who would offer to part fill my wine glass to allow me to "taste" it when the wine bottle had a metal closer. These days I have given up trying to explain that a screw closer could not "cork" the wine and as that would be the only reason that I could refuse the bottle, they should just get on with pouring. Another irking trait is offering to fill my wine glass to "taste" when I am not the person drinking that wine. Mrs S G is very able to give her opinion on such a matter when required. Generally, the standard of table service is quite low in this country, although most are friendly and helpful, they do not expect to know much about the job they do.

    How people cope in face-to-face jobs with the public mystifies me, the rudeness and hostility of so many people to shop staff is disgraceful.

    The purpose of tasting the wine is not solely to see if its corked or not, neither is being corked the only reason to refuse a bottle. There are many things that can make the wine go "off"
  • batch78
    batch78 Posts: 1,320
    Why not just pour a glass of wine, if its corked, or has any other defect, it will be returned.

    No need to question, no need to hover, no waste of anyones time. Job done.

    Nobody waits for me to taste the steak or inspect the limpness of the salad, its all just pretentious bollocks.

    In this day and age if you have purchased from a reputable dealer and stored the wine correctly 99% of bottles will be fine.

    Of course if we have shifted to talking about multiple decades of vintage and away from 'Cake Stop Etiquette' you may have a point, I doubt any of us drink vintages on our weekly club run though!
  • ooermissus
    ooermissus Posts: 811
    batch78 wrote:
    In this day and age if you have purchased from a reputable dealer and stored the wine correctly 99% of bottles will be fine!

    Really? I am pretty sure the percentage of corked wines is considerably higher than that - though maybe screw tops are controlling the problem.
  • jim453
    jim453 Posts: 1,360
    Stone Glider wrote:
    I used to have conversations with table waiting staff who would offer to part fill my wine glass to allow me to "taste" it when the wine bottle had a metal closer. These days I have given up trying to explain that a screw closer could not "cork" the wine and as that would be the only reason that I could refuse the bottle, they should just get on with pouring. Another irking trait is offering to fill my wine glass to "taste" when I am not the person drinking that wine. Mrs S G is very able to give her opinion on such a matter when required. Generally, the standard of table service is quite low in this country, although most are friendly and helpful, they do not expect to know much about the job they do.

    How people cope in face-to-face jobs with the public mystifies me, the rudeness and hostility of so many people to shop staff is disgraceful.


    I bet it was fun for the waiting on staff when you rocked in.
  • Ollieda
    Ollieda Posts: 1,010
    batch78 wrote:
    Why not just pour a glass of wine, if its corked, or has any other defect, it will be returned.

    Because you need to swirl the wine in the glass to release the aromas and unlock the taste (sounds stupid but it does have an effect on the nose and taste). If you have a glass full (obviously not full to the brim but full in the sense of just over half) theres too much in the glass to swirl it properly without some of it ending on the table, or yourself
  • chojin
    chojin Posts: 67
    At the end of the day, when all is said and done and other such terminal sentences....

    Who cares???
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  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    Just drink Stella FFS.
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

    PTP Runner Up 2015
  • crumbschief
    crumbschief Posts: 3,399
    edited November 2010
    ShockedSoShocked wrote:
    Just drink Stella FFS.

    Ahh,For Goodness Stella,i have heard of such recovery drinks,did it work?

    Edit,first time around i read that as just drunk stella,maybe i need one.
  • Stone Glider
    Stone Glider Posts: 1,227
    Sorry to have missed the witty badinage but I was went to a restaurant with friends last night. I cannot vouch whether it was "fun for the waiting on staff" (sic) but I was punctual, polite and grateful for the service. I enjoyed the meal, didn't taste the wine I ordered as I was driving and not drinking wine that evening; we thanked the staff when we left and gave a cash tip. An easy relaxed eveninging pleasant company, I look forward to the next time.

    Is there much undrinkable wine around these days? Disappointing, dull, harsh, possibly but standards of care and control in blending and shipping; plus better knowledge among restaurant staff seeems to have slain that particolar dragon as far as I have experinced it in recent years. Cue a run of execrable bottles of wine :( Is there such a being as the Bad Wine Fairy?

    Yes, I have done all that swirling stuff, doesn't seem to do too much for white wine ? It works for professionals hurrying through lots of wine at tastings I suppose, hence it gets handed down to the common herd as sacred script. Relax, enjoy, retain your taste and scepticism. Eveybodies spit is different.
    The older I get the faster I was
  • jim453
    jim453 Posts: 1,360
    Like I said, a barrel of laughs.

    Poor spelling for a sommelier.
  • Mark Alexander
    Mark Alexander Posts: 2,277
    Most wines, if you're in a half decent restaurant, will be at least quaffable. It all depends on who you're with. I've never so far sent a wine back.

    Getting back to the post. Taking it back if you made a bad choice is not right. If there's something wrong then that's right.
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    10TT 24:36 25TT: 57:59 50TT: 2:08:11, 100TT: 4:30:05 12hr 204.... unfinished business

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