I am a long-time (15 years or more) customer of the Baker's Ribs location on Voss Rd in Houston. However, my visits have gotten fewer and farther apart in the last several years because I don't get over in the area that often any more. My last visit before today was probably four months ago. I recall thinking at that visit that the menu prices were not as competitive as I had remembered them to be and today was a shocker when I reviewed the posted prices and it got worse from there.\r
I always liked to get the sliced beef sandwich with two side orders, the sides being what I really liked about the restaurant in the first place. That plate was now almost $10, up at least $2 from my memory of last ordering it. I hated to pass up on the sides but I ordered the BBQ stuffed bake potato, which was priced on the menu board at $7.95, thinking that was about what I wanted to spend. FYI, that is the price which is still posted in Baker's Rib online menu and other websites as well. Then, to my surprise and consternation, when I was presented with the bill, it was priced at $8.95.\r
I told the manager, who had taken my order, that I had been overcharged. His response was ""No, that is the correct price, the price on the menu board is not correct"". He explained that there had been a recent price increase and it was just not showing the correct pricing page on the electric sign. One of his other comments was that ""it is no big deal"". ""Just a simple mistake"", he said.\r
I said that I felt that was a pretty high price for just a potato and some chopped beef. His response to that was that ""Beef prices have gone through the roof"", and then something about ""being on TV all week"" as if I should have already known about the price increases. I didn't quite get that reference. It never even occurred to him that he might (should) have honored the posted price. He made it quite clear that, as far as he was concerned, that was the end of the discussion. He offered no remedy or even a token of apology, like ""how about a drink coupon for your next visit"", or something, anything to indicate that he wanted to compensate for the mistake.\r
At that time, I really considered asking for my money back and walking out on the meal, but it was a nasty, rainy day outside and I just took my food from the counter and went to a table and ate.\r
Let me comment for the record that the potato was not even well prepared. It was a large baked potato with chopped beef on top. Nothing else. The preparers could not even go to the trouble to ask me what I wanted on the potato and fixing it up with fresh ingredients before shoving it out onto the plate. Instead of having the butter, cheese, sour cream, bacon and chives already in the potato, they were all in little plastic and foil containers on the side, to-go style.\r
After eating, and still being upset over the whole incident (food included), I went back up to the counter and asked to speak with the manager again. I said to him that the reason I decided to come back before leaving was to give him the opportunity to fix up a mishandled situation. I explained that I was a small business owner and I always appreciated when someone gave me a second chance if I had not handled something correctly.\r
I said that I felt that he surely knew that he had a dissatisfied customer (from my tone-of-voice and body language) at the time of the overcharge. Since he failed to deal with the issue while I was at the counter, I suggested that he should have come over to my table and acknowledged my feelings and made some token of an apology. He, once again, made excuses and dismissed the situation. ""I have been a manager for eleven years and this is no big deal"", which only further angered me. I turned and walked out when he said that he did not want me ""making a scene"" over the incident. No good deed goes unpunished.\r
You can, I am sure, correctly guess how many times I will be visiting Baker's Ribs again.\r
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