Posted on 01/02/2008 3:57:01 PM PST by SkyPilot
HOUMA, La. (AP) - A 6-foot-3, 265-pound man says a restaurant overcharged him for his trips to the buffet line, then banned him and a relative because they're hearty eaters. A spokesman for the restaurant denies the claim.
Ricky Labit, a disabled offshore worker, said he had been a regular for eight months at the Manchuria Restaurant in Houma, eating there as often as three times a week.
On his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife's cousin, 44-year-old Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double the buffet price for two adults.
"She says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,'" Labit said.
Labit and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their size. "I was stunned, that somebody would say something like that. I ain't that fat, I only weigh 277," Borrelli said, adding that a waitress told him he looked like he a had a "baby in the belly."
Houma accountant Thomas Campo said the men were charged an extra $10 each on Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.
"We have a lot of big people there," said Campo, who spoke for owner Li Shang, whose English is limited. "We don't discriminate."
Labit denied ever being told he would be asked to pay more than the standard adult price.
The argument grew heated, and police were called.
The police report states, "The incident was settled when the management advised that the bill was a mistake and, to appease Ricky, the meal was complimentary."
Labit said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back. He complained that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant only grudgingly cooks more.
Campo said the proprietress tries to reduce waste of quality food, he said.
"Food is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added."
From the thread from 2006,
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1627496/posts
I used to work in a buffet restaurant when I was in high school. One family would come in every Saturday afternoon, stuff themselves to the gills, then fall asleep at the table. After about a half hour or so, they would wake up and start all over.
It’s the me generation.
Who cares about anyone else?
I see that type of behavior all over.
There are only 3 job catagories in Houma:
1. Oilfield Workers
2. Shrimpers
3. Lawyers
I have to say that I mostly agree with you. My mother always told me to take all I want but to eat all I take.
I go to an all you can eat buffet about once every year. There is always someone in there who eats enormous quantities of food. I am sure that these places take these eaters into account as a cost of doing business. I also always see others who eat only a very small amount. Then there are folks like me who eat a reasonable amount and are moderately pudgy. Either way, it costs the same.
To me, “all you can eat” means just that!
Bon appetit!
Win. Fat Boys-RIP Buff
A dear friend and I were in one of those country buffet places a few months back and some lols ensued. There were four (4) forty something ladies sitting at the table across from us chowing down like no tommorrow. So they go up to the buffet and each come back with like 2-3 plates each that are STACKED with fried chicken. My friend looks over at me like WTF? So one of the ladies gets up and starts stretching her arms out (so nobody can see what is going on) and the other three all open up these tote bags and dump all the chicken into it! Then they all scurried out the door before anyone (besides us) noticed. So we go back up to the buffet and they had snatched ALL of the chicken, wings, burgers, EVERYTHING! The tray of hush puppies was completely gone (metal tray and all).
Lol true story.
Incredible. Don’t those places have a no doggy-bag policy? If so, then the behavior you observed is probably theft.
I really don’t know.
LOL!
In most cases you’d be right, but there are a number of us in this development, and we all want to keep the tree cutting along the roads to a minimum, to keep that woodsy atmosphere.
The county wanted to take over the roads, but they require the trees to be cut back to a total width of 60 feet, and we are at about 25 to 30, so we’re keeping it the way it is, maintaining it ourselves.
I have a road grader and I do cut the trees that lean over in heavy snow, and trim branches so they don’t hit the grader cab too much. All in all, the problem of the trees, and admittedly it is a problem, is worth the trade off.
Never mind, I miss-posted.
Dog gone grader just took off on its own!
It was the fried fish and shrimp at the 'All You Can Eat' Buffet that was my downfall!
Cops get there and taze a bunch of folks to get to the buffet.
"No more fu you! You go now!"
A Chinese Buffet restaurant nearby has all-you-can-eat, but charges an extra $5 if you want crab legs, shrimp and scallops. They have a big sign warning people to only take what they will eat or they will discontinue the seafood in the future. Before they implemented the extra charge, there was a lot more waste.
And when we get stuck with HillaryCare, we are going to wind up paying their medical bills. That’s no laughing matter.
Bull. If you serve an all you can eat buffet you are taking your chances and frankly most people don't even consume a fraction of what their all you can eat tab costs at the outset. What he did is false advertising.
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