DINERS were left shocked after being slapped with a $160 bill thanks to a misunderstanding of a common menu abbreviation.
The three Gen-Z customers had no idea what they were signing up for after they ordered steak at a restaurant in North Carolina.
Diners were left shocked after being slapped with a $160 bill thanks to a misunderstanding of a common menu abbreviation[/caption]
The three Gen-Z customers had no idea what they were signing up for after they ordered steak at a restaurant in North Carolina[/caption]
On social media, three young customers were shocked after being charged more for their steaks than they expected.
The content creator, called Aribella Menold, 20, posted the mishap to her followers on TikTok, as she didn’t realise what “MKT” meant.
That common abbreviation means “market price”, referring to items that change in price depending on availability and seasonality.
If the item is harder to get during a specific time of year, restaurants will often make it more expensive to eat.
This is most commonly found on seafood or steak items.
But this came as news to Aribella and her pals, who were subsequently hit with a bill for $159.14 at Moonrakers in Beaufort.
The caption of the video said: “POV: You didn’t know what ‘mkt’ meant on the steak menu and now you’re paying for it.”
Aribella later revealed to Newsweek that she thought that the price “was going to be like $20-$30.”
This bill was made up of two 12 oz New York strip steaks for $52 each, a $28 baby kale Caesar salad with an extra $11 for grilled chicken, a $10 kid’s grilled cheese and a $3 Sprite.
Their subtotal came to $145 with a 3% credit card surcharge that added an additional $4.35 and the 6.75% sales tax tacked on another $9.79.
Aribella also revealed to the outlet that her grandpa ended up paying the bill.
MIXED REACTIONS
The video from June 10 has since blown up on TikTok, leading to some mixed reactions over the girls’ confusion.
Some pointed out that they should have asked what MKT meant before ordering.
One person commented: “Why didn’t you ask what the price was?”
Top 5 receipt checking tips from a lawyer
Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles attorney, spoke to The U.S. Sun about receipt checks and customer’s rights and options when it came to being asked to show your receipt.
- There has been a lot of debate around the legality of a retailer asking to see your receipt, but if it is within the store, it is completely legal. “There’s seemingly nothing illegal about that. You’re still on the company’s premises and their reason to do it is to prevent thefts,” Dowlatshahi confirms.
- However, if they are chasing you out of the store, that changes things, Dowlatshahi said. “Location matters,” he explained. “If you’re outside of the store you’re in the parking lot and they come and start accusing you of theft and that you have to show your receipt, I think that’s a bit of a different situation because now you’re on your way.”
- While customers are allowed to say no to receipt checks, it may cause issues if you do and the store suspects you of stealing. “You can say no, maybe it creates an unnecessary hassle for yourself because now you may have the police come to your house and follow up,” said Dowlatshahi.
- If you are being barred from leaving a store because you refused a receipt check, you could have a legal case — but the store must have held you for a long time. “Let’s say it’s for hours, that’s certainly false imprisonment, and they didn’t have any impetus for doing so,” Dowlatshahi explained. “If a customer has been emotionally traumatized by being held for false imprisonment, I would definitely encourage [them] to sue.”
- “I would say, show your receipt,” he concluded. “It’s just a really simple thing to do. If you didn’t steal anything, it’s relatively simple to do,” the lawyer advised.
(According to Camron Dowlatshahi, a founding partner at Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP)
And another chimed in: “Pov look at me begging for attention by knowingly going to an overpriced restaurant and behaving like I wouldn’t know the final bill.”
And others claimed that the price they ended up paying wasn’t that bad at all.
A comment read: “$160 for 3 people isn’t that terrible.”
But there were those that defended Aribella for the mistake in the comments.
One defender noted: “Whoever “$160 between 3 isn’t bad” … that’s like 53-55$ each girl is spending on dinner. That’s wild tbh.”
And another slammed the restaurant for not making the prices clear to the girls: “Honestly shame on your server for not informing you of the price when it’s clearly not listed.
“One complaint and all of my old bosses would have ripped me a new one for not informing the guest and probably make me pay out of pocket for it.”
On social media, three young customers were shocked after being charged more for their steaks than they expected[/caption]
