Register Down, Lunch Gets Thrown Away

[Aeris]

[So you would not feel a little taken in if just after you paid for your meal, someone annouced, "everyone else eats for free!"

Would you feel taken in if you bought something at full price that went on sale the next day?  Or later that afternoon?  Some people get opportunities that others don't.  That's life.  It stinks sometimes, but there it is.  No sense in getting bent out of shape about it.

In direct answer to your question, no, I wouldn't.  Especially if you mean "taken in" in the sense of being swindled or cheated.  I don't worry too much about the deals that other people get.  I care about the deal in front of me and whether it is equitable.

Just to answer your question, I would not cheated, but a little foolish.  And perhaps a bit mad at myself that I had not waited.

Also, I am feeling a little attacked here. Please keep in mind, I am not talking about myself here.  I could not care less about the OP's friend's lunch.  I am just saying that I could see the manager of the store, in this case, also getting complaints from other people in the store who paid for their food if he started giving away food free. 

I'm sorry you're feeling attacked. It's certainly not my intention... This is a very interesting discussion to me.

I think perhaps one aspect that you're missing is that it's not actually accurate to say that these people got their food "for free" entirely. They paid for it with the 15 minute wait time, and the inconvenience of not having the expected-smooth transaction.

Customers fall into three groups:

Group A: pays for food, quick transaction, gets food.
Group B: does not pay for food, slow drawn out transaction, gets food.
Group C: does not pay for food, does not get food, quick transaction (because they are turned away at the door).

Group B is getting food for the inconvenience of the experience, really. If I were in Group A, I would not be jealous of Group B, or wish I had waited to be a part of it; I would be thankful that I was in Group A, that I had gotten my food quickly and simply, was able to enjoy the sandwich perfectly fresh, and finish my lunch break within 20 minutes, leaving me 15 minutes to browse the bookstore.

Does that make sense? I dont' actually think most people will envy the small Group B. Additionally, I think, given the actual circumstances, that it's as close to a fair solution as you'll get, and much closer than taking Group B's time and giving them nothing in return for it.

[jimithing]

Interestingly, we are going back to this place today. My coworker really wants their soup, so we will see what happens. She may talk to a manager at that point. I have a feeling she will just let it go. Keeping my fingers crossed for working registers!

[high dudgeon]

There is no dilemma. One option is perfectly fair, both to the customers who had gotten what they had paid for, and to the customers who were inconvenienced, made to wait, and who lost most of their allotted lunchtime and might otherwise have to go hungry. Of course some people are going to complain no matter what you do, so there's no point catering to their ridiculous demands, since nothing will ever make them happy. Better to focus on what would be reasonable.

I had not been under the impression that you were the person that was being discussed, but a hypothetical person. But since you've now said that you'd feel mad for not having waited, I have to admit I understand even less. 99.999999% of the time, waiting 15 minutes to order your lunch is going to have no effect on your ability to receive it. There is no way the other patrons would have any reason to believe the register would suddenly break in a bit.  And those patrons get to have the lunch they wanted, exactly when they wanted to eat it, which is what they paid for. I just don't understand wanting to be inconvenienced, made to stand around, worrying about whether or not you'd be able to get your lunch in time for you to gulp it down without any enjoyment, so you could get a cheap lunch for free. It's like hoping you get hit by a car so you can get all that free money from the insurance. It's good to have that money to pay for hospital bills and rent and such, but it's even better to not have to deal with the pain and hassle of being hit by the car in the first place, in my opinion.

[MannerMOG]

Just curious - does the restaurant's name begin with a "P" or a "Z?"  If it's who I think it is, I've had very different customer service experiences between the two, and it makes me wonder.

[jimithing]

Just curious - does the restaurant's name begin with a "P" or a "Z?"  If it's who I think it is, I've had very different customer service experiences between the two, and it makes me wonder.

It begins with a Z, but it also has a P in it!

[Nurvingiel]

Just curious - does the restaurant's name begin with a "P" or a "Z?"  If it's who I think it is, I've had very different customer service experiences between the two, and it makes me wonder.

It begins with a Z, but it also has a P in it!

It's not against the forum rules to say the name of the business.

Just saying.

[jimithing]

Just curious - does the restaurant's name begin with a "P" or a "Z?"  If it's who I think it is, I've had very different customer service experiences between the two, and it makes me wonder.

It begins with a Z, but it also has a P in it!

It's not against the forum rules to say the name of the business.

Just saying.

I know, but I'm choosing not to as it's a complaint and a negative experience thread.

[kareng57]

There is no dilemma. One option is perfectly fair, both to the customers who had gotten what they had paid for, and to the customers who were inconvenienced, made to wait, and who lost most of their allotted lunchtime and might otherwise have to go hungry. Of course some people are going to complain no matter what you do, so there's no point catering to their ridiculous demands, since nothing will ever make them happy. Better to focus on what would be reasonable.

I had not been under the impression that you were the person that was being discussed, but a hypothetical person. But since you've now said that you'd feel mad for not having waited, I have to admit I understand even less. 99.999999% of the time, waiting 15 minutes to order your lunch is going to have no effect on your ability to receive it. There is no way the other patrons would have any reason to believe the register would suddenly break in a bit.  And those patrons get to have the lunch they wanted, exactly when they wanted to eat it, which is what they paid for. I just don't understand wanting to be inconvenienced, made to stand around, worrying about whether or not you'd be able to get your lunch in time for you to gulp it down without any enjoyment, so you could get a cheap lunch for free. It's like hoping you get hit by a car so you can get all that free money from the insurance. It's good to have that money to pay for hospital bills and rent and such, but it's even better to not have to deal with the pain and hassle of being hit by the car in the first place, in my opinion.

But it's kind of hard when a person has only a 30 minute lunch break.  He/she could spend maybe 5 minutes walking to the place - then, in this case, another 15 minutes being told that the system will be up-and-running at any minute.  Any time further than that, she will have to leave without lunch, in order to get back to the workplace on time.  And, if he/she still wants lunch - it might necessitate going into a 7-11 type of place to get a ready-made sandwich.

The original place could have been honest at the ouset - "system is down, unfortunately we don't know when it will be available again, sorry for the inconvenience" - they could have posted a sign on the door.  They did not.

[Nurvingiel]

Just curious - does the restaurant's name begin with a "P" or a "Z?"  If it's who I think it is, I've had very different customer service experiences between the two, and it makes me wonder.

It begins with a Z, but it also has a P in it!

It's not against the forum rules to say the name of the business.

Just saying.

I know, but I'm choosing not to as it's a complaint and a negative experience thread.

I know this is minor, but still, it drives me nuts when people (and you guys are definitely not the only people to do this on the board) talk about the name of a business in code. It's your perogative if you don't wish to name the business, but then, please, just don't talk about it at all.

[Two Ravens]

I had not been under the impression that you were the person that was being discussed, but a hypothetical person. But since you've now said that you'd feel mad for not having waited, I have to admit I understand even less. 99.999999% of the time, waiting 15 minutes to order your lunch is going to have no effect on your ability to receive it.

  Are you addressing me?  You asked me how I would feel if I bought something that went on sale the next day.  I gave you an honest answer.  I was not talking about this specific situation at the time.

I am not the person being discussed, I just dared give a dissenting opinion, based on my own experiences with food services, and then it was implied I was being greedy and selfish. 

[high dudgeon]

I apologize. I thought you were saying that you'd feel mad and foolish if you had bought a meal before the register broke. Up until that point where you talked about your own feelings, I was not addressing you, but the hypothetical person who had had a smooth transaction in the restaurant and still wanted a free meal, and I do still feel that hypothetical person was being greedy and irrational for wanting something for nothing.

Of course I'd prefer to get something on a good sale! But sometimes I pay full price so as not to risk them selling out of the item, or having a wider selection of colors or sizes than they would by the time it went on sale. But I wouldn't begrudge the people who waited for the sale their better price, or assume that I should get that good price too.