Lincolnite

Ask for the manager.

Explain to him that the gift card has been paid for, he has the money, and he can process the gift card when the server is back on-line.

Tell him or her good evening.

Leave.

Damn, dude. Sorry to hear that.

I agree with Peter. There’s no way I’m forking over cash. They could hold the gift card until later when the server is back up and running.

(That really bums me out.)

You know, if the restaurant wouldn’t take care of you, it would make me more mad at Venue than it would at most places. When you pay a premium price (and that has to be one of the 5 or 6 priciest places in town), you expect - and should receive - premium service.

I look forward to learning the rest of the story.

A similar thing happened to us at huhot. We’d gotten a gift card with the value clearly marked, but the machine said the card was empty. They were able to look back in their records and pinpoint the problem- the person that had rung up the gift cards (several at one time) had put twice the value on another card and $0 on the card we got. We were given no options at all. We paid, tipped well (the server had nothing to do with it and spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on), and have never gone back.

I am a non combative person. I don’t argue my case. I don’t even usually complain.  Bad experiences like these are enough to make me never, ever go back to a business, because I then associate that place with bad feelings.

Would have totally stood my ground and insisted that it is THEIR problem and not mine. 

One would think they could look up the gift card in their records and verify the amount on the card?

This is their problem. While the waitress may not have known what to do, it is probably best to speak to the manager. I would let them know that I’m leaving and that they can keep the gift card. But, I would leave my contact information and assure them that I would be back to pay if for some reason the gift card didn’t have enough money on it. But, there is absolutely no reason for them to expect to receive another form of payment from you at that time.

I would talk to manager…leave the gift card for them to process.  I would go a step farther and leave my Credit Card info with them.  Just getting up and leaving the card on the table could get you in a little bit of a mess…ie, confusion, cops show up, etc.  Not worth that mess. 

But on the other hand…you do still have the gift card for another visit…and their food is top notch.  yeah you paid this time…but next time that machine had best be working…or I would be a little suspicious at that point about if something else was a foot.

I pretty much agree with this course of action. Its fair, and there is no need to throw a fit or get all riled up, sparing you from ruining the evening.

The server was either not well trained or she was not practicing what she had been taught. She should have brought the problem to the manager’s attention before returning to the guest. This should all have been worked out seamlessly to spare the guest any embarrasment. THAT would be great customer service.

I hope that you did not pay from your pocket for the dinner, and instead let the establishment work through its server problem. After all, they are the ones who SOLD the gift card to begin with (which means THEY ALREADY HAVE BEEN PAID!).

and others who said to speak with the manager, and to leave the gift card with him/her for them to run after their tech troubles were fixed. Depending on how that went - if they were acquiescent, fine, no problems.
If that was a problem then they would’ve been paid, and hubby & I (and likely our adult children once they heard the tale)would have silently vowed to never patronize their restaurant ever again. No fuss, no bother, just tell people what happened and don’t go back.

I would act the same way. I wouldn’t make a stink beyond a cool conversation with a manager. However, I’d never go again, and I’d tell everyone I know, and if I authored a blog, I’d tell the world there, too.

Mr. W., if it didn’t get resolved to your satisfaction, you could go back to the person that gave you the gift card and that person could get a refund and complain to them as well.

Maybe I’m a pushover, or maybe it’s just my forgiving nature:  I’d pay, & then I’d come back and use the gift card another time.  Peter’s solution is a fair one, but if I’m being honest, I probably wouldn’t make a fuss. (No, I never send back food either.)

I also wouldn’t swear off a restaurant because of a minor incident with one specific server.  Chalk it up to a bad night for her.

I would normally agree. I’m pretty passive about these things. However, if I walked into Venue, and had, say, a $50 gift card, I might have a dinner that I wouldn’t have most nights. I’d consider an appetizer. Maybe a couple of drinks. Maybe desert. (Note, I rarely, if ever, go out and spend $50 at a restaurant). If I did all that, then got the bill and found out I needed to pay it myself, I think I’d be more displeased than if I was dining at Chipotle or KFC or something.

I am surprised that the server or manager didn’t offer a proactive solution.  I’ve waited tables for more than 5 years and this has happened before.  Typically most people do have another form of payment but often we’d comp the meal if there was no alternative.  I’ll let Venue know about this on their FB page and hope someone reaches out to you.

In the heat of the moment I might have caved and paid - if I had the money on me or in my account.

But analyzing from afar, I’d agree with everyone that you leave the card(s), leave your contact info. and possibly even leave a credit card number. But not pay.

Any restaurant worth its salt wouldn’t have let this happen so passively. I chalk it up to your server not knowing what to do and not having much guidance.

I would like to propose not to hold off until you get big sum of cash to buy all you need! You should just get the personal loans or term loan and feel yourself fine