Over Charging ….

Strom
By Strom

Yesterday we went to our favorite restaurant, Bursa Istanbul central restaurant, and ask for a take away. After 15 to 20 Mins our ordered was delivered and he ask for QR 76/-. My husband was on phone, I paid the waiter, when he came back to give us change, my husband took it and he immediately left. I ask my husband why you didn’t tip him; he says he never gave me chance. Then I ask my husband what have you ordered, I counted the items and then calculated the price, but I was not able to make sum total of 76, in any case. In the mean while waiter was watching us, my husband said I’ll go and get the bill , before my husband left the car , waiter appeared with a computer generated receipt in his hand of QR 76/- . I ask my husband get an itemized bill, my husband went into the shop and ask the cashier at the counter to give him itemized bill, and it turned out to be QR60/-, and cashier said “oh ah, really , sorry, it’s a mistake , don’t know how it happen” …. But from the attitude of cashier and the waiter, it was quite obvious that they have over charged us, and after getting caught they just made lame excuses.
It is one of our favorites, and this is first time we have checked with them for itemized bill, or calculated, before that we pay and drove off.
Have you guys ever experienced any incident of this sort??

By Captain_Lost• 30 Apr 2012 10:20
Captain_Lost

Motiva8or .. im sure that was gel.. :P

Marco.. bro, if that was a girl, i wudnt have mind.. but that was a guy (or at least thats how he looked like to me) .. and i guess you like being "appreciated" by a guy :P

By azilana7037• 29 Apr 2012 22:52
azilana7037

and I was the one who got upset...

You know what my fiance said? "Maybe the guy needed the money that bad."

Yup...story of everyone's life.

By MarcoNandoz-01• 29 Apr 2012 21:59
MarcoNandoz-01

!CL: Take a chill pill boy! The guy was just appreciating your chubby apple shaped cheeks nothing wrong with that :P

By Motiv8er• 29 Apr 2012 20:49
Motiv8er

Capt..I hope your sure that it was gel that he rubbed...cos if you claim to be hot...then anytin's possible na :-)

By Captain_Lost• 29 Apr 2012 20:14
Captain_Lost

Yeah Max, I guess he was applying some shaving gel before .. but anywayt, lets stick to the topic of overcharging by restaurants :D

By Captain_Lost• 29 Apr 2012 20:04
Captain_Lost

Motiva834.. read my profile picture... haha :P

seriously, im sure that "guy" wud even do that to you too even if you go with your blue skin and green eyes .. LOL :P

By max1986• 29 Apr 2012 20:02
max1986

CL the GUYrubbed ur face :0

I agree with u storm it's wrong

By Motiv8er• 29 Apr 2012 20:00
Motiv8er

lol CL you must be really beautifool to be rubbed like anytin ;-))

By Captain_Lost• 29 Apr 2012 19:54
Captain_Lost

LOL..MN, i dont agree with you.. I prefer turkish saloons over pinoy saloons ...

No offence to my philipino friends here.. :)

I had ONCE gone to the this saloon... the g(u)y first got all my details ... i was there for a shave and haircut..

1-Haircut: Well, that was a bit funny, i had really long hair and he told me he's gonna give me something called "American Cut"- which i never heard of in my whole life but i thought lets go for it for a change. Anyway the so called American cut was really awefull and i had to cut my hair short after that :(

2-Shave: he started rubbing my face like anything and it seemed he was enjoying it so i had to tell him to stop and just finish it off asap.

Turkish people on the other hand do the job really wel and know what they're doing, but i've never noticed their hairy body and other features as u mentioned.

By Strom• 29 Apr 2012 15:14
Strom

MN u hijacked my thread.... what ever u have stated it has nothing to do with OVERCHARGING.....

and Luckyluciana....u shud have read the menu card first in Dehli..before ordering..i think 800 is fair enough...mutton is expensive ....

yeah my stand is clear....overcharging is wrong

By Xena• 29 Apr 2012 13:52
Xena

mistake, Nom.... was supposed to read PINOY...

By MarcoNandoz-01• 29 Apr 2012 13:34
MarcoNandoz-01

Pinoy is another word for Filipinos. and Pinay is used if you are talking about a Filipina. it's mainly used by Filipinos and its just slang. it isn't derogatory.

By nomerci• 29 Apr 2012 13:25
nomerci

What on earth is a Piony saloon????

By britexpat• 29 Apr 2012 13:21
britexpat

Come on now.. I have never known a scot to be ripped off :o)

For example my friend McManus Mcgee gives a lot of money to charity but likes to remain anonymous. He even forgets to sign his name on the cheques.

By MarcoNandoz-01• 29 Apr 2012 13:19
MarcoNandoz-01

Mike: LOL I took that facial abuse when I first came to Qatar coz I simply didn't know any other places to go for a hair-cut. but now thank's HEAVEN! we have Piony Saloons! 'n they are fakin awoooooosome!

By MarcoNandoz-01• 29 Apr 2012 13:18
MarcoNandoz-01

Lads how many times you have gone to get a haircut at one of the fancy lookin Turkish-run barbershops they are everywhere in Doha ain’t they?

How many of you end up being hassled down 'n strapped in the barber chair, a fur ball guy in tight jeans and unbuttoned shirt smelly armpits ‘n bad breath dirty nails ‘n a hell of a bush on his exposed forearms will drag his legs along'n try to quickly give you a half monkey half horse hair cut then surprise u with a slap of greasy combinations of all those cheap skin beauty products they keep displayed at their shops then suffocate you to death with a steaming hot towel until ur the skin peels off and comes off on the dirty towel like a finger print and we get charged extra for that kind of unsolicited facial torture!

By anonymous• 29 Apr 2012 13:09
anonymous

Marco, you are brave.

I've tried already once and as soon as I walked in, immediately jumped out of the saloon.

By Rizks• 29 Apr 2012 12:47
Rizks

oh thank you thank you !

By Lucky Luciano• 29 Apr 2012 12:45
Lucky Luciano

Really. What a genious to observe that

By Rizks• 29 Apr 2012 12:43
Rizks

LuckyLuciano, this is QL not DL ! :)

By Prism• 29 Apr 2012 12:41
Prism

Rs.800/- can be too less or too much.. depends on the resto.

By Lucky Luciano• 29 Apr 2012 12:07
Lucky Luciano

They charged me Indian Rupees 800 for 2 porotas, 1 Mutton Curry, 1 lime juice and 1 Tea in Delhi :(

By Captain_Lost• 29 Apr 2012 09:33
Captain_Lost

Strom.. Well done and thanks for sharing .. i never check my bill from these restaurants.. but will do from now on.. :)

By Strom• 29 Apr 2012 09:28
Strom

Entro....whats wrong is wrong...you cant justify it....in other words u really feel its okay if u r poor you can steal.....

It was somewhat disheartening for me as well...as its one of my favourite places to eat.....

thankyou all...for your understanding and sharing ...

By FathimaH• 29 Apr 2012 05:55
Rating: 2/5
FathimaH

And it does come across very much as bill padding and not a mistake. Happened to us at the Al Bandar in Souq Waqif and yeah it somehow disheartened us from ever wanting to go back again. 16QR is a lot of money to rip off pe customer but had the amount been 1QR even what's wrong is wrong and can never and should never be excused and justified..period!

By azamat• 28 Apr 2012 22:23
azamat

flor, azilana, - i don't holiday in india, so can't comment. but i'm pretty sure u will get ripped off there too (as with anywhere else if you're not street smart). my response above was specifically with regards to bill padding in restaurants.

By Motiv8er• 28 Apr 2012 21:22
Motiv8er

you need to complain to consumer department..maybe they are doing to others aswell.

By entropia• 28 Apr 2012 21:13
entropia

sometimes think about very common financial transation like:

i) apply for a loan (car, house) or on the reverse an investment

ii)open a bank account

iii)job interview with manpower supplier

iv)EPC bidding

Are those cristal clear operations with no hide cost and surprise surprise at the end...? I dont think so

again, isn't strange to be very strict with small money given to poor ppl but very loose about big money given to sharks

By entropia• 28 Apr 2012 21:13
entropia

sometimes think about very common financial transation like:

i) apply for a loan (car, house) or on the reverse an investment

ii)open a bank account

iii)job interview with manpower supplier

iv)EPC bidding

Are those cristal clear operations with no hide cost and surprise surprise at the end...? I dont think so

again, isn't strange to be very strict with small money given to poor ppl but very loose about big money given to sharks

By azilana7037• 28 Apr 2012 19:48
azilana7037

In my case, I bring my reading glasses.

I can name a few restaurants in Doha who does that trick: its called "PADDING" slips.

By azilana7037• 28 Apr 2012 19:45
azilana7037

About 3,000 pounds

He trusted his guide...as this guide was highly recommended by a co-worker back in Scotsland....tsk tsk tsk

By Mandilulur• 28 Apr 2012 19:36
Mandilulur

I really dislike this! I suggest that the next time any QLer goes to this restaurant they ostentatiously take out their calculator and add up the bill before paying. No need to say anything, just punch the buttons and smile!

Mandi

By flor1212• 28 Apr 2012 18:49
flor1212

just asking?

By azamat• 28 Apr 2012 18:45
Rating: 3/5
azamat

Entro - yes, I would report this to capital police. This looks like planned, systematic attempt to rip off customers. Happens a lot in establishments in Thailand, Philippines etc. (in the touristy places). When you point it out, it's always "oh, so sorry, honest mistake etc." It's called bill padding. Easy to overlook when you have had a few drinks.

Disappointed to see it happen here to. It might just be QR. 16 for you, but at the end of the day, those dishonest staff would have skimmed off hundreds in total.

Even with a conservative estimate of overcharging 10 customers a day with say Qr. 10 will make that waiter richer by Qr. 3000 at the end of the month!!!

A 5* hotel charging you Qr. 40 for a pepsi is not the same. I'm sure that price is listed on their menu and also appears on their bill with ++taxes.

By flor1212• 28 Apr 2012 18:39
flor1212

your first lesson!

By Prism• 28 Apr 2012 18:08
Prism

What kind of logic is that to accept being cheated.

By anonymous• 28 Apr 2012 17:31
anonymous

I have been to Bursa Istanbul. Not keen on going back to get ripped off though. Thanks for the heads up.

Entro: "restaurants may charge some extra fee if the customer seems to be not on strict budget"? Without the customers' knowledge? You can pretty it up all you want, but that is called theft. How do they distinguish those on a budget and those who aren't? The price on the menu is the price you pay...always. If the menu states that there is a 10% service charge, the the customer will pay an additional 10%.

I am not on a budget, but I would complain to the authorities never the less. If one restaurant starts this illegal dealings then it is just a matter of time before Qatar is running rampant with over-charging practices from restaurants.

By t_coffee_or_me• 28 Apr 2012 17:31
t_coffee_or_me

So you like to be cheated or one of the guys cheating others.

By entropia• 28 Apr 2012 17:04
entropia

dear strom, I'm not against you but let me explain my point of view: waiters working in restaurants rely on tips, for the same reason owners of (small) restaurants may charge some extra fee if the customer seems to be not on strict budget: IMO is more or less a little bonus you are willing to give if you like the place and the food is good and not expensive.

If you want really to be ripped off all your money by restaurants, taxi drivers, and hotels please do visit europe capital cities ( expecially or Italy and France) as a tourist and let me know.

By Strom• 28 Apr 2012 16:45
Strom

ENTRO ... what??? i have never been HARSH to them...u made me look like a vamp here.....:-(... yeah 5 stars do charge us for everything but its written in the bill.....they jst dont tell u THIS MUCH AMOUNT and pay..... I have an issue with this...as i feel its not right.....

overcharging on what grounds???

By entropia• 28 Apr 2012 16:11
Rating: 2/5
entropia

for example some 5 stars hotel is charging 150QR for a provincial beach party ( where if someone by chance get thirst have to pay 40QR for a Pepsi !!)

this is because we are very strict with simple poor ppl and very "flexible" with potents

By Lucky Luciano• 28 Apr 2012 15:35
Lucky Luciano

flanostu - Did you get overcharged in Crazy Horse as well :)

By Lucky Luciano• 28 Apr 2012 15:34
Lucky Luciano

consider QR 16 as donation for charity :)

By flanostu• 28 Apr 2012 15:25
flanostu

happens in a lot establishments, humans aren't to be trusted.

By Strom• 28 Apr 2012 15:18
Strom

at nabun...i usually never checked ... this is first time..and now i m thinking how many times same thing happened to me and i never noticed and we usually tip the waiters generously :-)

By Strom• 28 Apr 2012 15:11
Strom

hell No entro... i m just sharing and asking...overcharging is bad....n yeah i love turkish food

By nabunabeeb• 28 Apr 2012 14:52
nabunabeeb

its gud you checked it....people usually dont bother to go through the bill especially in posh restaurants, as they feel it as cheapness...:)

By entropia• 28 Apr 2012 14:52
entropia

ok the fact is that they charge you few $ more than expected: are you willing to file a case for capital punishment?

pls come on..

moreover I like turkish restaurants

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