Pub charging for most expensive brand of drink when not specifically asked for

A

AnnieC

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Apologies for the long title but I couldn't think of a shorter/more specific one and I'm very annoyed!

Basically, I was in a very well-known Dublin City Centre pub at a function on Saturday night. There was about 40-odd people who each paid €30 for a dinner and the sole use of the function room for the evening.

I noticed on a few drinks receipts left around the tables that people were being charged €7.50 for a whiskey. No brand was specified on the receipt - it was just marked as "whiskey" or sometimes "open bar". When I queried this with one of the barmen I was told that only one particular brand of whiskey would cost this much and another brand of the same nationality was €4.40!! I then explained that the people in our party had not been ordering the most expensive one by brand name, they just ordered "a whiskey" to which he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

My gripe is this - is it common practice for pubs to serve and charge for the most expensive type of spirit even if only the generic term was used by a customer, i.e. vodka, whiskey etc? I was totally shocked at this as I'm very conscious of how much I'm spending these days as are most people and I just have a genuine interest in hearing other people's experiences/opinions on this matter.

If you're still reading this very long, drawn-out post you deserve a medal!

Thanks,

AnnieC
 
Thanks for that gipimann.

I also meant to add that the bar wasn't in the function room we were in so the staff were coming in and out to us with the drinks, so it's quite possible they were serving the cheaper one and charging for the most expensive one, but that's just cynical old me!
 
I agree that it's very unfair. However, I do think that it's up to each person to check their receipts in places like this so they can bring it up with the bar staff straight away. This is something I always do...my friends slag me and call me a miser but it's just makes sense to me!
 

I agree 100% with you. I wasn't paying for drinks myself nor drinking whiskey so I didn't see it at the time the drinks would have been ordered otherwise I would have sent them straight back. Funnily enough any of the whiskey drinkers I approached to get them onside didn't seem too bothered! Must've been strong stuff!!
 
i'm surprised that whiskey drinkers didn't specify what whiskey they wanted and even more surprised that they weren't asked. if they were charging €7.70 a shot it must have been a 10 year old whiskey rather than just powers, paddy or jameson.
there's little you can do about it if the people ordering don't seem too bothered, that's the problem when tabs are run up or if they've already been charged for their drink it doesn't become a personal responsibility or problem.
 
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