Hand grab surcharge from cooler : really ?!

But, generally, a corkage fee is applied when you bring in a bottle from outside the bar/restaurant. That way they still make a little something from you being there.

 

Right - exactly. This is more like a reverse corkage fee - we charged you extra for not opening it.

I know in some places state and city laws prohibit you from selling an unopened bottle in a bar - they have to open it before giving it to you. It might be like what one poster above mentioned - could be a requirement of the liquor laws.

 

It would have been less confusing to call it a carry out fee, but equally outrageous.

 

A corkage fee at a BYOB establishment (i.e., one without a license) makes little sense since the fee is typically a charge by a licensed bar or restaurant since you are not buying their marked-up products. And in NJ, at least, a BYOB restaurant charging a corkage fee is illegal.

 

Wait. I'm old & ugly & sometimes I don't get it but I go to a bar/restaurant, pay for what I order & then pay extra to have them bring the order ? Was there an extra $2.14 "flushing surcharge" when I took a piss ? or a $3.62 "sitting on the bar stool" fee or $6.91 "bringing you the menu" add-on ? Strongly worded, judgmental letter to follow which will include profane language (not suitable for children).

 

It all depends on what part of NY this establishment is located. If it was any of the 5 boroughs of NYC, you probably got a bargain. If it was within 30 - 40 miles of NYC, you got moderately screwed. Anywhere else, you got totally screwed.

But is sounds more like they may have charged you the on-premise price in a roundabout way.

 

Is it a bar/bottle shop? I could understand if they have to-go prices with a surcharge for here-beers.

 

I guess I'll be the first to say this sounds like it is a made up charge to screw you, IMHO, sounds like it's nonsense, and I wish you would name the "fine" establishment so none of us will make the mistake of going there, and they can get the publicity for this they deserve to get.

 

Having to drink the Christmas Bomb! would have been the salt-in-the-wound part of the story for me

 

I think this is exactly what happened, and why @cavedave is spot on. It's a screw-job, plain and simple.

It would be interesting to talk to the owner of the establishment to ask him exactly what the thought process for adding such a charge would be. As a general rule, business practices that involve trying to hide something from the customer--even if the thing you are hiding is on the up and up (and not some shady upcharge bullshit like this)--are bad for businesses. Customers don't like having things hidden from them, even reasonable things.

Especially not things that are so easy to discover. Then the customer feels lied to *and* that the business owner thinks they are stupid.

Your opinion is bad and you should feel bad.

In truth, I liked xmas bomb, maybe a tiny bit better than regular bomb, but I've talked to many people who were not fans.

 

So yeah, the wording of the OP is very hard to follow, but if I'm understanding correctly, you purchased a 2011 vintage J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale from a bar "to-go" and ended up being charged a total of $19.98 ($14 + $5.98) for it? Yikes.

http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/j+w+lees+harvest+ale+beer+united+kingdom/2011

 

Nice avitar. Mud,sweat and beer

 

Definitely a b.s. charge. They clearly want people to consume everything in-house, which I can understand, but if that's the case why offer take out purchases at all?

 

http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/j+w+lees+harvest+ale+port+cask+beer+england

Actually if it was the port barrel version it wasn't too bad. i would happily pay $15-20 in a bar for that (seems a normal mark up over retail) it is just the fact the charge was broken out. If it was $14 in the bar, that is a steal!

 

This is why I liked the Winking Lizard. They're markup was already reflected in the bottle price, regardless of drinking there or taking home. More expensive than the store, certainly, but was my preferred (i.e. cheaper) method when doing their beer tour.

 

Serious question though - as I only know one bar that sells beers to go and I've never purchased anything there.

So the bar sells the beer for $14 to go, but slapped a $6 "on-premise consumption" surcharge?

I don't think $20 for the beer in question at a bar, is a crazy price (at least it wouldn't be n NYC). So is the issue simply that they were not up front about the charge OP? If they had price list with both a to go and a to stay price, that referenced $14 and $20 respectively, then there wouldn't be an issue?

 

Just thinking out loud here . . . but I wonder if the "Hand Grab" was a blanket term for up-charges, as in they didn't have a specific label for the extra fee, or if it was labelled incorrectly on the bill. My thought is that perhaps $14 is a base price for the beer, and the $6 was an up-charge for the vintage. I have seen many times, depending on the system in use, where a restaurant or bar will up-charge something but not have a specific key or entry method to explain it accurately on the bill. Shame you didn't notice before leaving, but I would certainly call and find out if I were in your shoes.

 

Why was JW Lee's Harvest Ale in a cooler?

 

That's ridiculous!