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On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 06:44:35 +0000 (UTC),
(Steve Pope) wrote:

>Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:
>
>>While he perused the wine list, he found what he was certain was a
>>typo. Wine X, which is a favorite of his, was priced at $X7 and he was
>>sure it should have been priced $200 more than that (I checked - he
>>was right). He promptly ordered 4 bottles, 2 to take home. First of
>>all, I wasn't aware that you could order wine in a restaurant as if it
>>was a liquor store (this is southern California, so who knows). More
>>importantly, I can sort of see ordering 1 bottle while pointing out to
>>the staff that you think the price is a typo and you should at least
>>get the one bottle at that price, but I was offended that he ordered
>>several bottles and rather gleefully left thinking he had really put
>>one over on the restaurant.
>
>>My first reaction when my boss told me this story was that when we
>>finish the current lawsuit, we not take on any more work for him. If
>>he's willing to cheat a restaurant, he won't hesitate to cheat anyone
>>else. And a client like that we do not need or want. My boss
>>acknowledges my concerns, and says that he is more valuable to the
>>client than the client is to us, so if I want to cross him off our
>>client list, it's okay with him.
>
>>Am I overreacting?

Yes, you're over reacting - for the wrong reason. If the restaurant
was willing to part with those bottles of wine for his off-site,
private, consumption - you know they made a profit and he's the one
who lost money.
>
>Some fraction of the wealthy got there by cheating, scrimping,
>and pinching people. Not all, but a noticeable number. I would be
>surprised if he is unique among your wealthier clients.
>
>Regarding the wine list, sometimes a wine stays at a low price
>on a winelist even as its market price has gone up with time.
>They could have bought it pre-arrival at a bargain, and never
>marked it up to market. Probably they are not losing any money.
>And probably they would not have sold him four bottles if they
>were close to running out.
>
>And it's possible in California for a restaurant to have an offsale
>license.
>
In California, some restaurants only charge modestly over retail (not
even double). So until I hear what wine it was (type,
vineyard/year)and the price, this is just another fish story for me.

--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for the chicken, a lifetime commitment for the pig.