Commissioner Wants Restaurants To Display Specials Prices
This kind of stuff just strikes us as so silly:
Troubled by restaurants that don't disclose the price of their specials, Aventura Commissioner Bob Diamond is pushing the county to adopt a law requiring eateries to, at the very least, tell diners how much each special costs.This is kind of like the toilet paper thing. Sure, we want restaurants to have sufficient toilet paper in their restrooms, and we like it when they offer up the daily specials' prices. But it's not really something that needs to be legislated.That'll end the nasty billing surprises for consumers who are too embarrassed to ask for a price, Diamond said.
''Many people, particularly seniors, are often hesitant to ask,'' he said. ``I've continued to receive complaints.''
At a Thursday workshop, the city commission agreed to draft a resolution asking the county's Consumer Services Department, which enforces consumer protection laws and business regulations and investigates complaints, to come up with a law.
Diamond said he has received complaints from many Aventura residents. In fact, he has had some personal experience -- like the time a server recommended a bottle of wine to him and some friends, he said. Someone in the group asked for the price: $280.
''I've been fooled a couple of times, I don't want to be fooled again,'' said Diamond.
If the county was to adopt such a regulation, it would be effective in every restaurant countywide, he said.
We've never really had a problem asking for prices of specials — no embarrassment, and waiters have always readily offered them up sans sneer. But we can see how it might get embarrassing if you're, say, treating a large group of people to dinner in a nice restaurant. A good rule is to assume that any specials are about the same price as the most expensive entrees on the menu.
On the menu: Disclosure of daily restaurant specials [Miami Herald]
Fla Legislators Wasting Time On Toilet Paper [MP: South Florida]
Photo of the specials board at the now-departed Rascal House: ponceypix [Flickr]
