While in Charlotte recently to visit my sister, we decided to try out this "new" restaurant in South Park. She lives very close by and as we were staying at The Doubletree, the location seemed very convenient.
My sister had mentioned that this restaurant had just opened and was advertising "$1 Margaritas". Neither one of us are "big drinkers", but it sounded fun and was close, so we thought we'd try it.
Upon our arrival at about 9:30PM on a Tuesday night, we were seated in the bar area where we promptly ordered "2 Margaritas". The drinks themselves tasted very sugary. I had only taken 1 or 2 small sips when we were approached again by the waitress and told (not asked) to pay our bill as she wanted to "close out" and "go home". She informed us that any future drinks should be ordered from the bartender directly.
I was very surprised when she returned with a bill for $10+ for the 2 drinks. When I questioned her about the bill, she stated that the charge represented 2 "call drinks". When I asked her why she brought "call drinks" when none were ordered, she told me that it was the "restaurant's policy" that unless the customer specifically requested the "$1 Margarita", they were brought the more expensive drink made with "call liquor".
I did not ask for the restaurant manager right then as my time with my sister was very limited, we were just in the middle of a private conversation, and I did not want to waste my limited time arguing restaurant policy with the manager. I did resigned to phone him later regarding the incident however.
After our return to Atlanta the next day, I spoke directly with the owner/mgr over the telephone regarding the incident. He apologized, but seemed more concerned that the waitress had asked us to pay so she could close out, than he did about her bringing the more expensive drinks that we did not order. Although he initially offered to credit back the overage onto my charge card, he later switched his offer to a restaurant gift certificate which he offered to mail to my address in Atlanta.
That was 2 weeks ago and I have yet to receive anything from the restaurant. Although I don't live there in Charlotte anymore, we visit quite often but will be hard pressed to ever frequent this establishment again.
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