Whine and Dine

Recently having dinner out, I had the pleasure of ordering a nice glass of wine at a local eatery.
The wine was good, no problems there, but when i received the bill my heart fluttered, I thought for sure this was the big one, the wine was priced at $8.50. What further upset me was that the glass was only half full.

Understand, I don't consider myself cheap, just frugal, and $8.50 a glass for wine that was okay, just good, I consider highway robbery, especially since I could buy the entire bottle at a wine shop for about the same price. Now don't get me wrong, I am not against making a profit, but really that does not entice me to buy again. Repeat business I would think should be a major concern, especially at an establishment that has pretty good food, one that I am likely to revisit time and again. Maybe I am way off base, but in an economic climate where families are carefully watching every penny, would it not, should it not be a more logical approach to keep costs affordable so that add- ons to the tab such as drinks, wine, dessert come more freely?

I would completely understand the charge of $7 or more per glass of wine if the wine were a special vintage or even a better than average table wine. It seems to me that tripling or quadrupling the cost of wine by the glass is counterproductive to the whole dinner out regime.
It really makes more sense to me to sell the entire bottle, even at a premium, if its makes the dinner outing a more pleasurable experience for the patron. In my opinion, this would demonstrate to me that the restaurateur wants my repeat business and is willing make it easier for me to return.

Maybe part of the problem lies with the buying public since they know little about the product they consume, and especially little about the quality and cost of that product. I often see folks out for a nice night on the town, enter a restaurant and allow the waiter, generally some young teen or twenty something to choose the appropriate wine for the meal, what a mistake. How could that individual with such limited life experience choose, better yet why would he not choose the most expensive product for you, since by adding to the tab adds to his tip?
That is not to say that every young waiter is completely void of what may or may not be appropriate, just that it leaves way too much to chance. It is far better for each of us to learn the basics of what we like and don't like and the cost we are willing to pay for our education.

While traveling I find that better to upscale hotels often are notorious for raping their clients pocketbooks by charging excessively for mixed drinks and wine. It almost seems t0 me that they go overboard trying to use it as a way to assure a good bottom line. Recall the last time you perused the mini-bar, remember what those teeny bottles cost? After looking through the cost list, you may have decided to go downstairs to the hotel bar instead, only to find the watered down premium drinks aren't much better, and the wine, because you ordered the house Merlot, wasn't up to par either and almost as expensive.

My bottom line is I want value for the dollar I spend, and I feel strongly that every restaurant, hotel, or airline should consider my repeat business as more important than my initial visit. They provide both a service and a product to me and have the responsibility to demonstrate that they appreciate my patronage and want me back. This is no more than my present clients have the right to expect, no more than you should expect when spending your hard earned cash. We need to get back to this sound basic business ethic that provides a foundation for a successful repeat business. Attract customers don't deflect them. Reward customer loyalty don't take advantage of it.

Tell me what you think. Am I right?

Til Later

D.S.