Alex S.
Yelp
Let me start off by saying I think this place serves good Thai food. I come here every 1-2 months and have a good experience in general.
On my last visit, we had a typical experience except when the waitress asked us if we wanted the veggies in the dish I ordered for my daughter. I thought it was a weird question and asked why she asked. She said "you always ask for no veggie" and I was like "no, you have me mixed up with someone else". Thought nothing of it until the end, when the check came. There was something new I had not seen before here - an 18% tip automatically added. I thought "nah, this is a mistake" so I confronted the short, older waitress that rang me up. She said "yes, we charge because it says here" and points to the menu. Of course I check, and the menu does say it will include 18% tip automatically for PARTIES of 5 OR MORE. There were only 3 of us. When I pointed it out, she seemed oddly upset that I called her out, then grabbed the receipt and rushed off saying she will take it off. As she was fumbling at the station to fix the check, she incredibly decides to make the following statement: "I charge because you only tip 10%"
My jaw dropped to the floor. I couldn't believe my ears. First, this was blatantly false - having worked in the biz myself, 18% is the start point for me and it goes up from there most of the time. Second, you can't just decide your own tip as a waiter and bill it to the customer, especially on a false pretense. Third, she obviously lied about why she charged me initially.
I was so so shocked, I couldn't believe that had just happened. At that moment the owner walked in and I explained what happened. He said he would "talk to her" but didn't sound or seemed urgent about it. I turned around and left as I couldn't deal with the awkwardness. I have seen this waitress here before and have noticed her attitude to other customers in the past. She definitely gives off the "I don't want to be here vibes" and I figure she is probably related to the owners or a family friend.
Whatever the case, if you do decide to eat-in here DOUBLE CHECK your bill for included tip. God forbid they have a mental episode and confuse you for someone else, then decide they want to sneak in extras on your bill. I won't be setting food in this place again, lord knows what they can be doing to my food out of misguided spite.