Alex and his friend went to Tony Roma's, a casual dining place known for its ribs, and got a little twinge in their torso when they realized that the "16 ounce" beer they were served came in a 14 ounce glass. The glass was just as tall as a normal glass, but it had a thicker bottom, making it hold less. These glasses are known as "falsies." The friends might not have noticed the difference except that Alex's buddy got his beer served in a normal glass and Alex got the thick-bottomed one. They conducted experiments involving pouring water between the different glasses and concluded that yes, Alex got 2 ounces less. When they complained, the manager said, "who said we served pints?" and said it was policy to only serve beer in 14 ounce glasses, and soda in 16 ounce glasses. Which might have been ok, except when the waiter first took their order, he specifically asked whether they would like 16 ounces or 23 ounces. 16 is not 14. Alex's letter, inside...
]]>Dear Consumerist,
My friend and I went to Tony Roma's in San Francisco Friday 6/13. We decided to go there to get dinner and a couple of beers. I read your site frequently and had already seen the post about restaurants using glass that hold 14 ounce instead of a 16 ounce pint. I also forwarded the article to my friend who came with me that day.
The waiter comes to our table and asks us if we would like drinks. My Friend orders a Spaten and I order an Anchor Steam and the waiter asks us if we would like a 16 oz or 23 oz glass. We both opted for the 16 oz glass. Once they arrived I noticed that my glass had a thicker bottom on it than my friends. We immediately realized I had been given the smaller sized glass. My Friend was like you should complain and I told him I would not until we got our food because I did not want them to spit in it. We finished our first beers and my friend orders another one to make sure it is not just a mistake. He ordered another Anchor Steam and the glass that it came in was the same size as the one that I had drank.
After we finished our food we got a couple glasses of water. We poured water into the glass we thought was actually a pint, filling it to the top. Then we poured the water in that glass into the ones we thought were smaller. We figured if both glass held the same amount of water then we were wrong and would not complain. After pouring the water into the smaller glass we found that about 2 oz of water was left in the bigger glass.
At this point my friend went up the manager at the front of the restaurant to complain about the beer. He lets the lady know that we ordered pints but that the beer was served in 14 ounce glasses instead of 16 ounce ones. To which the manager asked how he knew that there were 16 ounces in a pint. My friend told her he had been drinking beer long enough to know what is in a pint. She then told him that beer is served in 14 ounce glasses and they only served soda in the 16 ounce glasses. He told then asked why they served him a 16 ounce glass and me a 14 ounce one. She then asked him who said they served pints?
At this point my friend came back to the table so we could pay our bill and leave. He did not tell me what had happened until after we left the place or I would have pointed out that our waiter in fact asked us if we wanted 16 oz or 23 oz.
We understand that they may not serve full pints and maybe the waiter was mistaken in asking us if we wanted 16 or 23 oz, but I really couldn't picture the wait staff asking customer if they wanted 14 or 23 oz. Not to mention the price for the beer is what you would expect to pay for a pint at the bar across the walkway from Tony Roma's. I have emailed their corporate site to see if they respond, I am not expecting much. We would have hoped they would at most take a little off the bill like a dollar or at the very least apologize, but no such luck.
I have no intention of going to Tony Roma's again and if by chance I do I will be sure to order a soda since I get a full 16 oz and free refills.
Sincerely,
Alex R.
If this happens to you, the Wall Street Journal advises you wait for the foam to settle and then ask for a "top-off."
]]>@vietkangta: Because meat measurements are given before cooking. Besides, isn't everyone used to people exaggerating the size and heft of their meat?
...I'll show myself out now...
]]>@Lo-Pan: Lemme guess, South Carolina? They don't have bars, just private clubs. Members-only, but all you have to do to join is say you want to. :P
]]>@TinyBug: you may never read this but i think one of the carolinas does that too. They actually make all the bars (it may just be a coulple of counties) use the little airplane bottles.
]]>(That said, I am not a licensed attorney, I am certainly not YOUR attorney, I am not giving legal advice, no lawyer/client relationship has formed).
]]>So they drank their beers and THEN complained? How is that different from someone who eats the entire meal and then complains that the portions looked small?
And it IS possible to question something at a restaurant in a couteous manner. If you're going to suspect someone of spitting in your food, you probably are a jerk who has personal experience with that.
]]>@MercuryPDX: I'm sure if you paid for 5 gallons of gas @$4.25/gal. and discovered you actually only got 4.5 gallons, you'd cause a scene at the gas station. This is really no different a situation.
And...note that a 16oz beer costing, say, $5 is equivalent to $40 a gallon of beer. That's TEN TIMES the cost per gallon of gasoline!
Would people complain if a gas pump charged you for 16 gallons of gas to fill your 14 gallon tank, at today's prices? Absolutely.
The 16/14oz beer shenanigans are 10x worse!!
]]>I just do not understand the attitude of certain business managers when it comes to taking care of customers. The key to making money in the service industry is good customer service. Statistics show that every customer that has a bad experience will tell at least ten people about it. And each one of those will tell ten people and so on and so on. In most restaurants, complaints count against the manager's bonus. Get enough of them and you don't get a bonus. If it goes on, the manager gets booted.
Two ounces of beer MAY seem like a small thing, BUT that small thing could cost that restaurant thousands of dollars in lost sales. And losing money is not "thinking corporately" it's just freaking stupid. All of that money just to save two ounces of beer.
]]>This would be a completely different story if the menu just said "beer $5.00" and didn't specify any actual volume, or just said small or large. But they could be nailed for advertising a specific size and switching to a smaller size. That's fraud, and is a very fineable offense.
Alex, here is the link to the Weights and Measures program for SF county. File a complaint with them. Don't even deal with Tony Romo's, turn them in and let the state nail them so other businesses stop doing this to consumers.
]]>My wife and her girlfriend went to a bar and ordered wine during a 3 hour visit. They were charged for 12 glasses of wine, which my wife paid wihtout question. The next day, I happened to see the tab and remarked that they drank a lot of wine that evening. She told me they only had 8 glasses of wine. But what's an extra 4 glasses of wine. They promptly refunded her for the 4 extra glasses the next day. Imagine over charging people who drink. Tsk tsk. This is why I always insist on paying cash for my drinks at the time I order.
]]>Tony Roma's is probably the worst "barbecue" place I've ever been to. Then again, I'm from the South so I'm pretty well spoiled.
]]>To whit:
1 US pint = 16 US Oz
1 Imperial pint = 20 Imperial Oz
1 US Oz = 1.04 Imperial Oz
1 Imperial pint = 1.2 US pints
So like, if ANYONE gets up to pee, the price goes up.
Honestly, you've never seen so many people gang tackled on the way to the can in your life...
]]>I have both.
]]>@corporateamericabites: Customers aren't given what they paid for, getting the runaround from the restaurant. Gee, sounds like a story to me.
]]>You aren't being charged for 16 ounces. You are being charged for 14 oz. I've run across many restaurants that pour 14 oz 'pints' and they are usually saavy enough not to refer to them as a pint. The server is the one who mispoke when he said it was 16 oz.
]]>There's no such thing as a "standard shot" in the US. There's only one state that has a legal definition (Utah) and they say it's 1.5 ounces.
Many bartenders will tell you it's 1 oz., but others will tell you that the 1 oz is a "pony" shot, and that a "standard" shot is 1.25 or 1.5.
Personally, I'll go with whatever this guy says: [www.shotglass.org]
]]>1. If there was a problem with the quantity of beer you were served, you should not have drunk it. Stop and question it.
2. "My friend told her he had been drinking beer long enough to know what is in a pint." The notion of 'because I say so' is hardly a valid argument. Why not point out the measuring test you did with the water?
3. "He told then asked why they served him a 16 ounce glass and me a 14 ounce one. She then asked him who said they served pints?" The manager was evading. Repeat the question to keep her on track. Why DID they have different sizes?
Did Tony Roma's do wrong? Yes. Did the customer handle the situation maturely and properly? Not at all.
]]>Maybe they switched to metric pints?
]]>But whiskey you-know-what??
]]>(most shot glasses only hold 2 oz.)
]]>Pubs that don't scrimp are undercut by pubs that do, says Nick Laver-Vincent, who owns The Royal Oak in Big Bury, England, and who signed the petition. "It is cutthroat," he says.
If you don't scrimp, put a big sign out front saying so.
If you know of ones that do, out them on your sign.
Similarly, Florida's Natural orange juice...to my knowledge the only major company (though they do have other brands) that still uses all-American oranges...in the last several weeks started making note on their packages of the fact that everyone else ISN'T. I hope it works.
]]>Also, I don't see in the story where the waitress was difficult about only giving them 14 oz, I just see that the manager was difficult about it, so it's kind of unfair to put the screws to the waitress with a shitty boss.
@samurailynn: @stre: Clearly I don't live in California ;-) I don't believe Maryland has similar laws.
@ffmariners: So what do the friends make before tips?
]]>Depends on how much you pump, naturally. A required accuracy of +/- 3 cubic inches per 5 gallons - which is probably close to what many states require - works out to almost exactly 1/3 of a fluid ounce per gallon pumped (on average).
So on a 10 gallon fill up, I would definitely expect it to be accurate to within 2 ounces
]]>Your brain produces a substance called dopamine (DOH-pah-meen) when you feel happy. After a time, the dopamine decreases because "transporters" mop up the dopamine. The transporters put the dopamine back in the area in your brain where it is kept until your next happy event. Cocaine works by keeping the transporters from mopping up the dopamine.]]>
It could happen. Check out this article, "Fruit flies prove alcohol makes people gay" [www.impactlab.com]
]]>@sean77: RTFA...according to the OP, the waiter specified 16oz or 23oz - not a small, medium, etc. The OP reasonably expected what the waiter offered.
]]>@theblackdog: 2 ounces? The old joke states that the difference between a straight guy and a gay guy is: one six-pack of beer.
Not that trade is considered marriage material...
]]>@Bladefist: That's it. 14 oz, 16 oz, whatever -- just don't lie to me.
]]>@flamincheney: then they would have only received 21oz
]]>According to the "local menu" I retrieved from the tonyromas.com website (warning PDF -- and sideways, stupidly), the larger size is 22 oz. (not 23) and the size of the smaller is not given, nor are beer prices (which are listed for wine and food). If you wanted to give them a headache, you could sic the state weights and measures folks on them, but your recollection of what the waiter said would mean a LOT less than if the menu said 16 oz. in writing and the glasses are 14 oz. in reality. Or you could go someplace with edible food.
]]>To which the manager asked how he knew that there were 16 ounces in a pint.
What? I learned that in the 2nd grade! Did this Tony Roma's manager not receive such fancy book learnin'?
]]>@theblackdog: even my friends at applebees.... after tips... average $15-20 hour...
I hate when people claim waiters are so underpaid.
My g/f works at an independent restaurant... worked the other day for 12 hours but came home with $400 in tips.
]]>The really amazing thing is the markup on soda (by the glass) is even higher! I used to pay $32.00 for 5 gallons of syrup(national pricing). More money, more money, more money!!
]]>I did. No one cares is if you didn't find it funny. Move on.
Anyways, 2 oz is a big deal. Working in restaurants for the last ten years has taught me that many corporate restaurants are sorely lacking in experienced people who can empathize. Smaller restaurants have a lot more at stake than just profits... most are driven by pride in their restaurant not to destroy the trust between the customer and them.
Those are the best places to eat.
]]>@theblackdog: i agree that screwing over the waiter is a dick move, but in california, they actually make minimum wage. the real minimum wage (something like $7.50 for them now, i think), not the fake minimum wage for waiters that i made back in madison during college (a measly $2.33 an hour, just enough to pay the taxes on the credit card tips).
]]>"To which the manager asked how he knew that there were 16 ounces in a pint. "
So I pulled out my 3G iPhone and got on wikipedia and smugly showed it to him.
I can see it now!
]]>@testsicles: penny till you pee!?!?!? this is the greatest idea since beer was first produced! where do you live, because i need to move there. in chicago, a $2 bud linght [disgusted shivers] is considered a good deal. penny till you pee would mean i could damn near passed out before i've spent a quarter [i figure a few cents for a tip ;) ]
]]>Since 14 oz. = 16 oz., that's 87.5% of the advertised amount. When the bill comes for the meal, just pay 87.5% of the total charge. That's close enough, right?
]]>We aren't the restaurant's patrons, we are HIS CLIENTS. It's *his* job, nobody else's, to make sure we receive proper service. He's a broker reselling services and working on commission.
So from this point of view, yeah, if he's shafting his clients he deserves what's coming, and if he doesn't like it he should find another supplier for restaurant services, or maybe find a job that doesn't involve begging.
]]>@SuffolkHouse: They're not all gems, are they? I do my best, though.
@friendlynerd: It wouldn't take 2 oz of beer to get me gay married. A hot guy and a prenup would be all it would take.
]]>@flamincheney: 24? or 23? Have the 24 oz. ones previously fallen victim to the shrink ray? Not being snarky, I honestly don't know, since I actually usually stick to the pints myself (I am NOT the chick you'd want with you on Penny til you Pee night).
]]>If they're shorting you on the number of ounces in your beer, call your state's department of weights and measures (Or department of Agriculture). Anyone selling you a product by the weight or volume can't lie about it. That's why they inspect scales at the grocery store and gas pumps. In the case of a restaurant or bar, they know how much beer they're dispensing by the size of the glass.
I mean after all, Subway got in trouble in AZ for selling 3' party subs whose boxes weren't even 36" long.
]]>Enjoy the wedding.
]]>I didn't find it funny.
]]>90% of the customers would say, "alright, whatever" The fact that everyone was so difficult about it, makes them lose tips in my mind.
]]>@MayorBee: Wow, good one.
/sarcasm
]]>I seem to recall that Heinz Ketchup got in serious trouble for shortchanging their 20 oz product some time back. It costs them 78,000 gallons in free ketchup.
Hey free beer at Tony Roma's everyone!
]]>@Letsgohokies: Or pot or coke.
2oz is 2oz. You pay for a certain amount of something and that's what you should get. I know it's not that much, but it sounds like he didn't make a big deal out of it. Maybe it doesn't belong here, but I still don't think he over did it.
]]>Back in the day, the relationship between a beer drinker and his bartender was important. Important because as you became inebriated, you had to trust the bartender to (A) keep you out of trouble, and (B) not rip you off. Thus the duty of a bartender was a matter of honor and friendship. They worked for the bar, but they protected their clients. That was their job.
Any monkey can pull a tapper, but a good bartender would have given these guys an extra beer if they brought it up with him. Maybe the problem was that they didn't.
]]>@rten:
Good analogy for those who feel its not a big deal.
Now I've got a hankering for a beer.
]]>Seriously, what do you think this site is about? Protecting average Joes from getting the shaft.
]]>Indiana Weights & Measures says tolerance is 2.5% over 5 gallons.
[www.wsbt.com]
Remember hearing from years ago some state would actually use a 1-gal, 5-gal, and 10-gal test at gas stations, and some stations had programmed their meters to be accurate at those volumes, but under-fill at the intermediate (non-tested) volumes.
]]>What's wrong with a gay marriage, bigot?
]]>@teqsun.com: That is 12.5%. I like to apply everything to what I call the pay check rule. If if is legit then it should be good enough to apply to your paycheck. How about your next paycheck you get 12.5% less than what you expected? Kind of a big deal.
]]>@HIV 2 Elway: Close your tags, asshole.
]]>@Coder4Life: if they are presenting either sodas or beers as being 16 oz sizes and using 14 oz glasses, then there's no point at which the 14 oz. ones are the right glasses. If they aren't specifying, then it is just a very deceptive episode of "Shrink Ray". And if the manager had it backward, and policy was to serve the beer in 16 oz. glasses and soda in 14 oz, it would still be wrong if they were telling people that the sodas were 16 oz.
]]>Geez.
]]>16 oz != 14 oz
If gas stations shorted you this much it would be all over the news.
15 "full gallons" @ $4.10 = $61.50
17.14 "short gallons" @ $4.10 = $70.29
Those who say "it is a not a big deal" need to look at it from the perspective of the restaurant. 2 oz's is 12.5% of 16oz's, so Tony Roma's is saving 12.5% of the cost of the beer. If you consider the 1,000's of beers they are selling, it could amount to $1,000's of dollars a month. So while each individual customer may not be loosing much, the agregate of customers is loosing significant dollars. This brings to mind the Bank of America lawsuit of many years ago where B of A was truncating the 1/10th's of a penny instead of rounding on their interest calculations to customers. Individual customers lost 1/10th to 9/10th of a penny on their monthly interest. The bank on the other hand collected 100's of millions of dollars which should have gone to customers. B of A lost the suit and had to pay a very large settlement.
]]>...damnit...i should cut back on the vodka.
]]>My friend and I went to Tony Roma's in San Francisco Friday 6/15./
Friday 6/15? Did these guys find a wrinkle in the space time continuum? Someone notify Carl Sagan.
We poured water into the glass we thought was actually a pint, filling it to the top. Then we poured the water in that glass into the ones we thought were smaller.
Now I have this image in my head of Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson standing in a fountain pouring beers back and forth.
]]>they probably just used the wrong glass, the manager could of offeredt hem a free beer each adn been on his way...
]]>It says a restaurant/bar can get 20 extra beers out of a keg by doing this. At $5 a pop, you're making an extra $100 for each keg. That's a pretty huge margin increase on beer, which is already a very high margin item.
]]>seriously, its not that big of a deal... 2 oz. I hate people like you who make huge scenes in restarunts just because of 2 oz.....
If you buy that acre of land and find it's two hundred square feet small, would you complain? You should - you paid for an acre.
]]>and here I thought that I had my last "falsies" back in sixth grade but it looks like I will handle them again. It really sux when a buisiness attempts to decieve people. If they are going to use a 14oz glass, then it should be smaller overall than a 16 oz glass, not the same size with a "falsie" bottom.
A "falsie bottom", that just sounds wrong.
]]>Ouch! That letter was absolutely painful to read. Try using a comma every once in a while.
]]>
To which the manager asked how he knew that there were 16 ounces in a pint.
Funny, I've seen that in reverse. Usually the beer glasses have Logos on them to differentiate them from the soda/water glasses. I'd chalk up the initial mismatch to dishwasher error.
As to the "2oz is nothing, ignore it" vs. "14oz is stealing when you pay for 16"... contact your local Dept. of Weights and Measures and see what they have to say about the matter. By your fourth beer they already "owe you" half of one.
I'm sure if you paid for 5 gallons of gas @$4.25/gal. and discovered you actually only got 4.5 gallons, you'd cause a scene at the gas station. This is really no different a situation.
]]>@weakdome: Well, certainly not the upscale places as you tend to get a lot of "bum" clientele on those nights. It's also not for the fairy-bladdered because some of those bums will stick you good if you pee after 3 beers. It's only for the people sitting at the bar and the first person to pee loses it for the whole bar. Many people just pee on the floor instead.
Hard to find too as those places that have these night generally don't have large advertising budgets.
]]>Shrink ray you strike again! I will get my revenge...after I get drunk...
]]>@testsicles: WHERE do they have this? I'm moving.
]]>How would they know that the smaller glass was 14oz and the larger one wasn't actually an 18oz glass by mistake, thereby meaning that they actually owe the restaurant for the EXTRA 2oz his friend received?
]]>That's why I only go to bars that have "Penny till you Pee" night.
My large bladder pays me back in spades.
]]>I only ate at a Tony Roma's once -- the meal was so bad we actually asked them to knock something off the price. I don't remember if they complied, but I've never been back...
]]>Actually, a real pint of beer is about 19 - 20 oz.
This is why I only buy liters of beer.
]]>@teqsun.com: Feel free to send me 1/8 of your salary anytime. It's just 1/8 of what you agreed upon with your employer and earned, it's not a big deal.
]]>@teqsun.com: seriously, its not that big of a deal... 2 oz. I hate people like you who make huge scenes in restarunts just because of 2 oz.....
WHAT?! You should get what you PAID for. If not, then it is stealing.
]]>He's paying for 16oz he should get 16oz - End of discussion.
]]>Maybe if the Belgians buy AB (see previous post)they can kick off this conversion...
]]>Mmm, delicious Anchor Steam. It's nice to read one of these beer volume articles discussing real beer instead of fizzy water with a vague hop aftertaste.
]]>seriously, its not that big of a deal... 2 oz. I hate people like you who make huge scenes in restarunts just because of 2 oz.....
]]>"My Friend was like you should complain and I told him I would not until we got our food because I did not want them to spit in it."
Smart.
]]>