I had a pretty interesting but dissatisfying time at the bar last night. My buddy and I went to a place called Archie Moore's in Derby, CT. We've gone there several times before, and have gone to other Archie Moore's in the area. We've never had a problem. Personally, I think their beer selection and appetizers are both very good. It's a nice bar.
But last night we happened across a rather disheartening situation. We usually both get a couple beers and sit down at a table and eat nachos or some other heart-healthy snack. We do it almost every Friday. So yesterday we went in and ordered some nachos, but this time we ordered a portion. My buddy wasn't particularly hungry, and he said the half portions were still pretty big. I didn't know any better, so I went with it. No problem.
The order came and the nachos were as good as ever. The beer was good. The service was fine. They were pretty busy last night. It was when the bill arrived that we noticed the problem.
A full order of nachos was $10.95. The half order was... $9.50. That's less than $1.50, or not quite 10%, for a HALF ORDER. The half portions aren't on the menu, so we had no idea what the price was going to be. We figured it was roughly, I don't know, half of the full order. Maybe not half, but a little more would be fine. Somewhere around $7 would seem fair. But $9.50? That's too much. So we ended up talking to the manager, who told us she didn't set the prices. That was the owner. We got about $1 off the order. Wow. What a bargain. I'm not saying she was being rude, but maybe if she had comped a beer or something we would been delighted. She was definitely not on our side on the issue, though. My buddy said he had ordered half portions before and that he was usually asked if he wanted a full or half portion. The manager turned it around and asked if the prices had been the same before. He had no idea, who would?
I don't want to seem cheap, but that seems like a rip off to me. I'm not blaming our server; she was fine. But wouldn't you think something like that would have come up? If it's nearly the same price, who not order the whole damn thing, right? We had no idea. So, despite the $1 off, we're not going back. I just wrote a quick note to the owner and faxed it on over. I worked in the restaurant industry for a few years, and this is one of my pet peeves. I know it seems nuts, but I often get results.
But last night we happened across a rather disheartening situation. We usually both get a couple beers and sit down at a table and eat nachos or some other heart-healthy snack. We do it almost every Friday. So yesterday we went in and ordered some nachos, but this time we ordered a portion. My buddy wasn't particularly hungry, and he said the half portions were still pretty big. I didn't know any better, so I went with it. No problem.
The order came and the nachos were as good as ever. The beer was good. The service was fine. They were pretty busy last night. It was when the bill arrived that we noticed the problem.
A full order of nachos was $10.95. The half order was... $9.50. That's less than $1.50, or not quite 10%, for a HALF ORDER. The half portions aren't on the menu, so we had no idea what the price was going to be. We figured it was roughly, I don't know, half of the full order. Maybe not half, but a little more would be fine. Somewhere around $7 would seem fair. But $9.50? That's too much. So we ended up talking to the manager, who told us she didn't set the prices. That was the owner. We got about $1 off the order. Wow. What a bargain. I'm not saying she was being rude, but maybe if she had comped a beer or something we would been delighted. She was definitely not on our side on the issue, though. My buddy said he had ordered half portions before and that he was usually asked if he wanted a full or half portion. The manager turned it around and asked if the prices had been the same before. He had no idea, who would?
I don't want to seem cheap, but that seems like a rip off to me. I'm not blaming our server; she was fine. But wouldn't you think something like that would have come up? If it's nearly the same price, who not order the whole damn thing, right? We had no idea. So, despite the $1 off, we're not going back. I just wrote a quick note to the owner and faxed it on over. I worked in the restaurant industry for a few years, and this is one of my pet peeves. I know it seems nuts, but I often get results.
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