I've noticed a lot of cafe don't show prices of cakes, sandwiches etc now unless you ask.
Is it legal to not show pricing?
Do cafes have to show prices?
chinaman on 13/07/2015 - 12:49
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no price normally always equals bill shock….. its why they do it!
places that do this, i dont go back to.
I've sat down and walked out of plenty of these places.
yeah, just don't order without asking for the price.
Better still; ask for the price of every item which you could possibly want. Price is a major consideration in my purchasing decisions as I'm sure it is for most here.
If they don't want to dictate the price of every item, they might label them in future.
A pet peeve of mine is when staff don't even know the prices of their stock without looking them up on their sale terminal. Another is when they proceed to prepare the item to sell to me rather than giving me the price.
You really do live up to your name.
I always ask the prices of what I'm choosing between. Stuff them. If they don't want to list their prices on the board then they'll just have to put up with people asking.
Unfortunately I don't think most people care, or are to embarrassed to ask, so they benefit greatly from this.
My pet peeve is when you buy something like a milkshake and they bring it out in a tiny glass, despite the price being what everywhere else charges for a large milkshake cup. I ask to see cup sizes now as I have been ripped off badly a couple of times that way.
Of course it is not illegal.
You are free to either ask for the price or make an offer.
You are free to either ask for the price or make an offer.
Make a offer??
Sure and you can do that even if there is a price tag. It's called haggling. The price tag just says, if you offer this much, I will accept.
In practice I would just go somewhere else unless the cakes were very attractive. Too much hassle.
the cake is a lie!
the ozbargain way
Make a offer??
Nope, "make an offer".
Maybe make your own price list of what you want to pay for a coffee, cake, toasted cheese sandwich etc. and carry it with you at all times. Then when you are faced with a cafe with no prices, see if they will accept the prices on your list?
Just saves haggling this way
@spillmill: maybe it will catch on - try it at supermarkets, department stores - maybe even with telcos and utilities providers?
Their sale price is not an offer to you, it is an 'invitation to treat'. You make a binding offer when you negotiate the price or present the payment. If they accept the offer you have a contract of sale broadly speaking.
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co FTW.
or subscribe for specials.
Might be illegal, best to check with the police if the cafe is in a built up area.
if the cafe is on or near a body of water, best to check with the coastguard.
Water Rats
Haha, loved that show. Ahhh, the good old days…
If the river/ocean/lake front cafe has water rats, just stick to the coffee.
Its probably not cracked pepper in your toasted sandwich.
@Scrooge McDuck: i think thats a type of cat. If there are wild cats roaming the interior of any cafe, stick to sealed drinks and avoid food altogether.
I walk out if there are no prices, simple.
me too.
Do you tell them you're leaving because they don't advertise their prices? They might change if enough people voice this opinion.
I hate this practice.
Hoyts does it at the candy bar and its bloody annoying.
They say to just ask them the price of things, and I do just that. Ask them the price of EVERYTHING, one by one. Small Coke, Medium Coke, Large Coke, Small Sprite, Medium Sprite, etc.perhaps they are targeting customers who feel shy to ask the price one by one and just order only then to get shocked when looking at the receipt
Exactly, once ordered many people would be too shy to say no.
Especially if you're on a date - and honestly why else then would anyone be ordering from the kiosk and not byo-ing snacks?
The cinemas I normally go are located in a shopping centre, therefore, I never buy their softdrinks as they are always over priced. Going to the nearest supermarket and for the same price at the cinema, you get 2 bottles of 1.25L soft drink, why bother, just pick it up before you head to cinema. :)
that includes pop corns, if you can stand the ones they sell at woolies in chips packaging :P
sorry, I am a super Ozbargainer!!! :)
That's also very dishonest as you have only paid for one movie…
$7.50 for a movie isnt a high price - even $20 for Gold Class isnt so bad.
Guru
This is like going down to your local JB and paying for one DVD while pocketing two others - just because you thought they were too expensive. You are not allowed to do this.
Krzystoff comment is unpopular it seems, but I propose this situation to think through.
Imagine if he thought going to the cinema was too expensive, and he thinks it's only worth half the price. If he was physically restricted to just one movie he simply wouldn't go, the cinema wouldnt make his sale, and it's lost money for the movie producers. He would obviously miss out on the film, but that's beside the point here.
But now that he is able to pay for what he values, by going to more than one movie, he has paid money to the cinema, money that otherwise wouldnt be received. It doesn't cost the cinema or the movie producers any margainal costs to service him, it's a win win to all parties involved.
The parallel someone tried to draw between this and stealing DVDs is different, in that there is a marginal cost to the retailer if someone steals the second or third product.
There is of course situations where if the movie is full, and he sneaks in and takes someone else's seat, that would be a cost. But that's rare seeing a cinema full.
Then again a true Ozbargainer would just torrent the movie and save on the high ticket prices in the first place.
Coming in with groceries maybe against the rules but don't have a problem with that. Not illegal unless you shoplifted those groceries.
Staying for more movies? Illegal and could get you thrown in jail, at least in theory.
In true OzBargain style
Really??? I think you're giving ozb a bad name. I'm sure scotty didn't create ozb to encourage fraud/theft.
Lots of things are overpriced theses days, doesn't mean is right to steal to "make it right". In the end consumers pay for the businesses losses. If you think it's too expensive, then vote with your wallet and walk.
and then everyone starts doing that, and instead of paying full price to the cinema, everyone now pays half price. All of a sudden cinema revenues halve.
Now you start doing this on planes. I wasn't going to buy two business class tickets because I don't value them at that price, but look, there's an empty seat, how about the airline lets me on with my wife because half the price is about my willingness to pay. Then everyone starts doing it as well because the airlines change their policy to allow this. All of a sudden revenues halve.
Businesses with high fixed costs or minimal marginal costs face this dilemma all the time, but you'll find that the real world is not as simplistic as the example you draw out. In particular, the ability to price discriminate is not easy in practice (because many forms of price discrimination are illegal and also in many cases it's hard to ascertain someone's willingness to pay). Read up a bit on consumer surplus and price discrimination - that will probably explain to you why your example is specious and why if you went to the cinemas with your proposal for why they should allow all of their customers to see as many movies as they want on existing ticket prices, you won't get taken seriously.
Illegal and could get you thrown in jail, at least in theory.
What would be the actual crime you would be charged with ?
(NOTE: No way I condone this)
@voolish:
I wondered why people thought the $10 optus/telstra tickets were a good deal. I guess for some folk it is.
The three closest cinemas to me are all cheap. Harbour Town, Nerang, Souhport.@PVA: Yeah dude, I've got 5 kids. I took three of them to watch "inside out" and they got bored half way through and wanted to go home. It cost me like $80. Needless to say, I'm not taking them to the movies again.
@voolish:
4 of us went to gold class a few weeks back - $80 … but food, well two lots of fries ($17 each, drinks and popcorn etc - ended up another $80. an expensive movie after all. Next time the cheap seats.Inside Out was that bad hey? Saw the shorts a while back for Home (voiced by that Big Bang Theory Guy) it looked pretty poor.
You are prob better to have a movie night at home and ask the kids that they can have what ever food etc they want and it will still be half the price.
Wow negged for suggesting that breaking the law is a bad idea. Ozbargainers have lost the plot.
Yes it is a criminal offence and it can be considered theft (of a service) and/or fraud (as you obtained something of value through deception) and/or trespass since you didn't have permission to be in the theatre. But I most certainly am not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice as I'm not qualified to give you that. The bottom line is that cinema staff on a power trip would be entitled to call police and if the police agree they'll find something to charge you with.
I'll admit it has been Hard to find examples of this in Australia. You're most likely to be booted or banned, but if you're having a bad day and unlucky you could end up with a criminal record for the price of a movie ticket.
Here's one instance from the US, where it was described as "theft of services".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/couple-snuck-into-m…There are other unsubstantiated claims by ex cinema staff of people getting arrested. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. It's hard to argue that cinema hopping is or should be legal. Clearly your ticket is for one movie at a specific time in a specific theatre.
Here's one instance from the US,
Another example of why the US has the world's biggest prison population! Or did the case get thrown out? Sounds like one nutter municipal cop.
Theft of services would normally mean doing a runner from a taxi or hotel, where the service provider has real losses.
Kids paying for a cinema but overstaying - really, who cares? Nobody is going to make it a police matter unless they refuse to leave when caught.
If a particular session is full, they check the tickets on to that room.@syousef: > Ozbargainers have lost the plot.
Maybe they are just confused with the plot after watching too many movies.
Go on neg me… :-) but the cinema prices are very expensive, the snack bar prices even more so. When they had $7.50 tuesdays we used to go weekly. Now even tuesdays are $15. Thats is why I havent been to cinema in 5 years.
The film industry whinges they are losing money bc of pirates. I think its more due to exorbitant prices.
I think Netflix, stan etc… are the best thing to hit australia ever, for $10-12 a month you can watch to your hearts content.
Why bother downloading from the internet?
OK I'm in rant mode now: film studios losing money? What a joke! Just the other day they said a movie made $400,000,000 ( that's FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS) in the first week alone! That does not indicate nobody goes to the movies…
That is just revenue and only is in relation to the highest grossing film this year. There's a truckload of flops that they lose truckloads on and many film companies that struggle.
As for film studios losing money? list of film companies that have gone bankrupt (which produced some of the highest grossing films):
- MGM (you know that lion at the beginning/end of a truckload of movies?)
- Orion Pictures (think Silence of the Lambs and Robocop)
- Hemsdale Films (Terminator)
- Carolco (Terminator II, Total Recall, Rambo)
- Franchise Pictures (Whole Nine Yards)Near Bankrupt in the past:
- DreamWorks (Monsters Inc., Shrek)Was the problem lack of revenue, or spending like drunken sailors?
A lot of people got very rich from those companies before they went under.
With Hollywood accounting techniques, even some of the creditors would have made plenty.
I live 5 minutes from the cinema so I pop my own popcorn pre-movie - still warm and delicious by the time I check in with my skip the queue Telstra thanks tickets. I take a can and my husband goes all out with a beer. Living the ozbargain life.
hahaha, good one! I think I will put my premade popcorn in a preheated metal thermos (from actual corn which I bought for 50c a bag at coles)
My husband asked at Hoyts how much for a large coke and popcorn $30!?!- that was more than he paid for the 3 movie tickets. Needless to say the kids had their water and chips I packed them.
Bit harsh really,I doubt the person serving you is the one who decides whether out or to put the prices on things!
They have feed back forms for a reason! :P
Not illegal.
No one's forcing you to buy it.
Last year I was visiting a toy and hobby shop in the suburbs and noticed a replica car of my mum's old Rover 75 Series. I struck up conversation with the elderly shopkeeper who had thinning grey hair and small, circular glasses. After a few minutes of talking about the declining strength in businesses like his and learning he had given up office job 20 years ago when he was in his fifties to fulfill a dream of making a new generation of kids fall in love with classic and modernised hobbies, I was basically forced to buy not only the replica car, but two 1:24 slot car racers, a kite shaped like a pirate ship and three version of backgammon including one travel size and a full-size table top version. So don't go around saying that. When I got home and my dad realised how much money I had spent, he beat the shit out of me with a pair of jumper cables.
a joke? if not go to the police :)
Which state are you in?
I can't remember any cafe in Melb not showing the price either next to the food, on the board or on a menu.
Not exactly a "cafe" but to name a place in Melb: the coffee place downstairs in DFO South Wharf don't show any prices. Had to ask them for their price of macarons and coffee.
That place is dead as a dodo.
Only good for cheap parking.
I dont think $4/hr (after 50% discount) is cheap…you must be living in Sydney…
You park in cafes? :)
@JB1:
Don't even get me started on Crown parking. That place is really a joke, no wonder Mariah Carey's beau is so filthy rich.Paying for parking in a country that is 7,692,024 km2 is insane.
yeh true, sometimes they don't have price in the glass cabinet but it's written in a menu somewhere.
I'm in perth.
Yeah, I heard Perth is an expensive city for eating out. I'd also confirm the price before ordering just in case I'm in for a rude shock.
Which cafe in Perth is this?
"Hi can I get 6 macaroons please". "That will be $20"…."Holy FxxK!!"….
yeh…. and you simply say… no thanks
Can you say NO to your wife who is standing behind who has been looking forward to macaroons?…you tell her NO and she will tell you NO…and you take out your wallet…
I'd hope so. That doesn't sound like a healthy relationship!
Can you say NO to your wife who is standing behind who has been looking forward to macaroons?…you tell her NO and she will tell you NO…and you take out your wallet…
you remove her picture…you hand it to her…and you say, "I want a divorce!"
The price to pay for having a pretty wife…seriously…
Is a person still pretty and truly beautiful if they use their good looks as leverage against others (esp. their spouse)?
hmm
At least she didnt throw away my precious drawer of Eneloops…
Hmm…$$$ or Eneloops…ok honey take my money…
you remove her picture…you hand it to her…and you say, "I want a divorce!"
shit just got real over a cup of coffee
@KaTst3R:
With all 6 macaroons and dependent on how often you visit a cafe… she might not stay "pretty" for long lol…
i don't think i've ever been to a yum cha place that displays prices! you don't know if its S, M, L beforehand and you definitely don't know the price until you pay!
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I hate that, I always get surprised at how much they charge when u order them. It's bill shock! I dunno if it's illegal, but I simply do not order from such cafes.