A few months ago, a Mediterranean restaurant called South End Pita new opened up near my workplace. It's an ideal spot for lunch, in that it's close to the lab, relatively cheap, and specializes in tasty pitas. A couple of Fridays ago, I went with my coworkers and I had the kafta, a spiced, ground beef mixture. It was really tasty, but a couple of my friends ordered the lamb and recommended that. I saw a sign advertising $5 pitas on Monday, so my friend Julian and I decided that we would return on Monday and try the lamb pita for $5. So Monday arrives, and my labmate Julian and I walk back to the restaurant, which has a sign out front that says "Mondays Any Pita $5." We had called ahead to place our order and I went to the counter to pick it up. Two five dollar pitas and two drinks should have come to about $13, but our total was $18 and change. "What? Aren't pitas $5 on Mondays?" I asked the girl at the register, with a slight edge to my voice. "Oh, not the lamb pita, just the other ones." My eyes flashed and Julian shifted his weight and threw me a glance, nervous that I was about to make a scene. So I begrudgingly paid $7.50 for my $5 pita and left. And do you know what? I wish I had made a scene. I'm still pissed about it. Part of me was like "oh, they're a struggling small business, it's only a $2.50, and this lamb pita is delicious" but a larger part of me is upset on principle. You can't hang a sign outside your establishment that says "Any Pita $5" and then not honor it.
I'll show you, South End Pita! I'll write a scathing blog post about your false advertising practices! So there!
6 comments:
which will probably get picked up by uhub or bostonist. friends in high places, and all of that.
i would have made a scene--rather, i would have discussed the issue with her in a strong and passionate way until she caved.
I think I would've gone with something like: "I only brought $13 with me, due to the sign outside", and kept it up until they caved.
Then ask if they can make change from a $20.
Is that the same SOuth End Pita that offers delivery? We called to place a large order for lunch, and were told that they were too musy to deliver, so we had to pick it up. After waiting for them to make the meals (30 minutes AFTER we called them in), we got back to work to find that two of the meals were missing. They refused to do anything about it, including giving us the meals we ordered and paid for, claiming WE had done something. WTF??? Yeah, never again.
Dave- must be the same place. man. they need to work on their customer service! Oh, and Jenn, your comment cracked me up.
I work in the neighborhood as well and was going to try South End Pita, but after reading this ... not so much.
I found your blog through Universal Hub - you have a new fan!
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