Christopher R.
Yelp
I had the most disheartening experience this evening at Fat Sully's/Atomic Cowboy.
I generally visit for their late night special of a slice and pint and will commend them for this inviting offer. I am personally not much of a drinker and not particularly craving pizza this evening, explored their menu for an alternate late night satiating bite. I resolved myself to their Chicken Sandwich for $11, which arrived sparsely dressed with pickles and mayo on a brioche bun. (Not being a fan of mayo, I had requested this on the side.) When it arrived, I politely requested any condiments to dress it up and was offered lettuce and tomato and "stone ground mustard" upon request.
My server did not deliver my sandwich, so I repeated this request when she checked in with a squeeze bottle of yellow mustard. She returned after some time and a stop at her register with a small cup of shredded iceburg lettuce, without tomato, and a significantly overfilled cup of stone ground mustard. Registering this I resolved I would not inconvenience her again, even considering, maybe they did not have any sliced tomatoes and I would not want them to waste a whole tomato at this hour for a slice or two, though it would have greatly improved my sandwich. As for the mustard, I considered the waste, as they could have provide one quarter the amount to generously spread on my sandwich.
While tasty, I considered I could have spent half the price for an equivalent sandwich at any of several fast food restaurants, or less at Denver's moat popular chicken sandwich restaurant, but attempted to convince myself it was fresher and relieved my late night hunger.
Upon receiving the check, I had the overwhelming feeling there was an attempted theft on the part of the restaurant. I was charged $1.00 for "lettuce and tomato" - the bit of shredded lettuce delivered without any tomato, and $0.50 for "stone ground mustard."
The lack of concern by the server was escalated to a manager with the whole experience escalating in overwhelming disappointment. I was offered "a credit for the lettuce as it did not include tomato, but the 'restaurant policy' was to charge for the stone ground mustard, along with anything that did not come on the sandwich." Evidently, the yellow mustard, in a squeeze bottle was not charged for, but my preference for stone ground mustard, which "cost more and came from the kitchen" still had to be charged for.
The manager's representation of the restaurant's policy was that, "If they included these condiments, they would have to charge more for the sandwich."
Suffice it to say our positions remained irreconcilable. I considered I have been culturally biased by the "Have it your way," programing that probably few can presently identify to, while trying to respect the restaurant's position to make a profit and "cover expenses." I remain resolved that you do not charge for traditional condiments that compliment and should be included on a sandwich! To do so, in my perspective is a theft and utter disrespect to any customer in an attempt to profit exponentially off of a penny's worth of these complimentary items. Keep your ketchup and mayo, which I do not consume, and please have the courtesy to substitute a small portion of mustard, without additional charge, to make my dining experience and provide the bare minimal of consideration for customer satisfaction.
Compounding this negative experience is the mere fact that neither of two servers who fielded my trivial condiment request suggested or offered that there would be an upcharge for this. If you are resolved to charge for condiments or anything which the average customer would expect to be included, Please disclose this, as there is a right to know and make an informed decision.
Personally, it remains my intent to respectfully patronize, on occasion, this Fat Sully's/Atomic Cowboy for their late night slice and pint special, but I am left with such distaste for their flagrant upcharging policy, I would not consider any other menu options until this practice/theft is reviewed and eliminated by the owner(s) and upper management.
