Digest Number 1458

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Jane Shure
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I very STRONGLY disagree with the people who thinks a table check is ok.
I had to fight down the strong urge to snack the little {expletive} of a
manager in the mouth at the flower and barley. I did not appreaciate
being the one who was trying to pay my portion of the bill to find out
the total bill was $30 short, people were leaving while I was trying
settle my portion. In fact you could say I was very VERY PISSED. I was
told by the person who volunteered for this outing, it was a
misunderstanding. As for me I say, IT WAS A GROSS CLUSTER {expletive}.
The volunteer should should have informed us up front BEFORE we ordered
about the situation. I would have been more than happy to pay for the
cokes I drank and left for some where else. In the future if we cannot
have separate checks then we do NOT need to do business with that place
of business. I am deeply indebted the the few people who stayed and
contributed more money towards the bill. I hate to be unlady like about
this, but this is a screw up that should not have happen.

Jane Shure


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(This posting was entered by Jane Shure, an external user of MyDLV.)

[Bev]

Jane, I am sorry that you felt so put out by the check issue. Unfortunately, I think you will find that this will be happening more and more when large groups meet for dinner. It is almost impossible to find any establishment that will agree with giving separate checks to large groups. We are very fortunate that Bahama Breeze agrees to this. But I cannot guarantee that they will continue this indefinitely.
I have contacted many venues in Las Vegas and other cities and the trend is to not allow separate checks and they will not budge from this, and in most cases will add group charges to the bill. So it's easy for someone to say "let's just go someplace else". But having tried to find that "someplace else" our selection is sparse and getting more difficult.
I welcome you to step up and join the hunt. In fact, call a few place around Cedar Rapids and tell them you have a group of 30 or more and want separate checks and see how many will agree to it. You will be out of luck I'm sure.
Bev

[annie]

> I welcome you to step up and join the hunt. In fact, call a few
> place around Cedar Rapids and tell them you have a group of
> 30 or more and want separate checks and see how many will

I would like to invite anyone who is annoyed by the lack of separate checks to help us out here.

Please go pound the pavement. Phone or visit restaurants. Find those who are willing to serve larger groups with separate checks.

You don't need anyone's permission to do this on behalf of the group.

No, you don't have to give them your name or explain the nature of our group. No, you don't have to volunteer to coordinate a dinner there, just get us some leads! Please be sure to get the name and contact info of the individual to whom you spoke.

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Delaney
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I really don't want to fan this flame, let me offer that this past year,
I did have an agreement with our "normal" waiter at Pamplemousse that as
a courtesy to ours being a returning group, that he would break the
checks down to smaller groups of three or so in order to make things
easier.

Unfortunately, he called in off that day, so it did not happen, however
I believe had he been there, it would have.

I don't know that other restaurants would be agreeable to reducing the
number per check, but perhaps. I will be asking wherever I book next
year to do so, however as I mentioned in an earlier email, I think to
get to single checks it will have to be further off the strip, and/or in
less expensive restaurants. For example, I stopped by Fatburger, which
is set up as a Sports bar on the strip when I was there, and asked about
parties and checks - they seemed amenable. However, unless it was done
as a lunch (their burgers are good) I don't know that many girls would
attend as a dinner, defeating the purpose.

Perhaps as was suggested, if we all start looking around, perhaps we can
offer a number of single check choices - although I expect the N9NEs
won't participate - but I will ask them.

Delaney


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(This posting was entered by Delaney, an external user of MyDLV.)

[kandi.dolfen]

Jane, I want to say how sorry I am to hear about your dilemma.
Hopefully, we can learn from this experience.

I think Delaney has a good point. IIRC, Jane was sitting at the long table. Did the Waiter give your table just one check for all those folks? If so, that was too many dinners to divide up. I sat at a table with 6 DLVrs and we divided up the check, quickly and in a friendly manner.

I ate at Chili's restaurant, recently and there is one on The Strip, 3743 Las Vegas Blvd. Ste 201, Las Vegas, NV 89109 phone: 702-795-1087
http://www.chilis.com/EN/Pages/home.aspx
What I noticed was they have a new checkout machine on every table. You can pay individually for just your meal by just your credit card...cool! It was a little funky, at first but I was able to split my check according to what I ate versus my friend who dined with me. It accepts credit and debit cards but not cash. Maybe San Diego is a trial area for this new payment system. I don't know if LV has them yet. I can check on this during my next Vegas visit or a local can let us know sooner.
My $0.02 worth,
Dionne

[kandi.dolfen]

In addition, I promised to visit some buffets on my next Vegas trip. Some have individual pay at the door policies. This solves the per table check dilemma but limits the places we can dine at, drink choices and the available menus. Maybe this is a good trade-off.
There are lots of ways to skin a duck {much taster than a cat, anyway}.
:D
Dionne

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Delaney
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Dionne,

I've noticed the "table check out" at restaurants here on the East Coast
as well, places like Chilis, Red Robin, etc.

There are six nights, including Sunday during DLV. We know BB has
individual checks, and we can be fairly certain the final gathering will
not.

Of the four remaining, perhaps we can find one option on a night or two
that has single checks, a buffet if need be.

Clearly, we aren't going to change LV, but if we can find a place of
two, and a willing hostess for them, the difficulty will be smaller.

I'll call a half dozen places or so over the next week and see what
might be available. Delaney


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(This posting was entered by Delaney, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Delaney
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Dionne,

Based on your tip, I called Chili's on Rainbow Blvd, and they will do
separate checks. I called the Border Grill in Mandalay Bay (very nice),
and they will do individuals if they know in advance. Adding Fat Burger
(which as I mentioned, is nice, not a "stand" like most of their outlets
in Southern California) and, as I recall, the Big Boy downtown, there
are several choices already, and I did not put much effort into the
calling. I'm sure many more can be found.

Check-splitting is a legitimate concern, but it's importance varies
greatly from person to person. For example, when I am attending a
dinner, I'm pretty oblivious to what goes on around me, but when I host,
I fret every detail, right down to the shape of the plates, so I do
understand how small things can annoy far out of proportion to the
actual issue.

Using the above options as a starting point, I would ask for those for
whom individual checks is a priority to consider hosting an event next
year, at one of these, or another individual checks available venue.

It's an opportunity to give back, as well as control your dining
environment.

Everyone wins.

Delaney


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(This posting was entered by Delaney, an external user of MyDLV.)