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Was I in the wrong?
I was having brunch with one of my friends at one of the more chic places in Brussels(privately operated) - I don't want to put them in a bad light, so never mind where. The final bill came to 33 EUR which I think was a decent size order for the establishment, eg. 2 full meals. In the breakfast menu it was listed that coffee was included, but when I asked the waitress if we could have a refill of the coffee(after the small cup was emptied) or we would have to pay extra for that, eg. standard rate for a coffee 3.20 EUR, she said, we would have to pay extra. I complained and said I found that a bit unreasonable if the menu says coffee is included and that I thought it was a bit cheap to refuse a refill of something that came out from a coffee dispensing machine, but she said, it is not me who makes the rules, etc, go speak to my boss etc etc. I mentioned then I actually, I had some time back been given a free refill of coffee by that very boss at this place(who was not in she said)
Anyhow the bill was settled and we left without leaving a tip. Who was reasonable here? I think that to pay 3.20 Eur for an extra cup of coffee when you have already paid for 2 full fairly expensive meals and the menu says coffee is included is petty. Any views?
PS: Fee free to flame me
You expected free refill of coffee, would you have expected free refill of your breakfast plate too?
If it's stated breakfast and coffee for a set price with no reference to refills of anything, then surely that's what you should expect?
Is there a reason why you left no tip? Was it because you were unhappy with the pricing? Do you think the waitress was responsible for the pricing?
If you are from the US where the bottomless coffee pot is standard, be aware that that is not the case in Europe.
Also, the tip (service charge) would have been included in the price so you would not be expected to give any more - though a tip would never be refused!
I wonder though, if you had got a free coffee, how big a tip would you have left - €3.20 or more?
Coffee included does not equal coffee à volonté. It means 'a coffee is included'.
A volonté means gorge yourself on as much as you can take. Sort of.
Coffee included = 1 coffee. That's standard. I don't know of anywhere that does unlimited coffee here.
Aha I know where to get bottomless coffee, so do many Ikea customers with Family cards. You get free coffee with the card and since you pay for the cup and have unlimited access to the machine, you can drink as much as you like. Pity the place doesn't open till 10am though, 90 minutes after school drop off!
Speaking about restaurant owners, today for a hunredth time we wondered with my husband why they didn't care about keeping customers. We sat in the small garden of a restaurant (half empty), four waitresses came out and looked at us and none came to take our order. Another couple took a table, they had the privilege to receive the menu and table cloths. After 20 minutes no one took their order and they left. 5 minutes later we also left.
In my home country this would never happen, or the staff would be fired on the spot. In Belgium I have waited and left after some time at least 5 times.
Customer service in Belgium sucks. But my answer to your question is yes you were wrong.
Also....keep in mind that you receive espresso style coffee in Europe mostly, meaning arabica beans which are of a better quality (pricier) and less acid forming than the typical cheaper robusta beans that are used in filter coffee and all you can drink manner of consuming. Each drink here is actually "made" for you. They would have to hire an extra person to just make coffee refills.....and labor costs are high here.
The answer would be to serve cheaper robusta filter coffee I suppose. But people here prefer richer tasting coffee...not that watery acid tasting stuff in diner style establishments in North America and elsewhere I suppose.
Mimi,
Probably you were right saying that the customer was wrong. But in the ideal world of customer service the correct answer would have been: “dear sir, normally we consider the additional coffee as a extra but as an affectionate customer we would be happily make an exception today and we hope to see you back next time to enjoy another breakfast with us”.
Results: customer happy, tip given, loss for the bar 10/50 cents, returns in the long terms.
I just had another typical Belgian experience with the rudest shop assistance I could possibly find, which I told what I thought of her. Another Belgian customer said to me “mais pour moi ceci est normal”. On the same day I had an appointment to install a door and spend around 2000 euro on it and the workers came with two hours delay. It really is an hopeless country.
Seriously, I rather prefer driving 200 km and cross the border than buying something here.
