Harvard prof fights for $4 on takeout! | GTAMotorcycle.com

Harvard prof fights for $4 on takeout!

What's right is right.. He's really raising awareness about consumers getting fleeced by misleading advertising.
 
It's not $4, it's the principle.
 
Pick your battles. He choose poorly.
 
Harvard prof is a candidate for D'bag of the year. Yeah ask for your $4 back, but..., threaten legal action because your a Harvard business school guru and its within your reach? His 15 mins of fame are up, but he will long be remembered as an ******.
 
If I get fleeced by a merchant, I'll ask for my legal remedy. If the merchant continues to act like a dick and I resort to the use of the courtroom, you can bet your sweet *** my response will not be proportional :cool:
 
If he wasted more than 5 minutes on this, he already lost.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
If I get fleeced by a merchant, I'll ask for my legal remedy. If the merchant continues to act like a dick and I resort to the use of the courtroom, you can bet your sweet *** my response will not be proportional :cool:
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In this case the merchant didn't.
The guy knew of the price difference, so instead of refusing the food,
he wanted to make a big issue out of it.

Many, many websites have trouble keeping their info up to date.
 
Baggsy said:
In this case the merchant didn't.
The guy knew of the price difference, so instead of refusing the food,
he wanted to make a big issue out of it.

Many, many websites have trouble keeping their info up to date.
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Why should I starve for another hour because the merchant tried to pull a bait and switch on me? Them not updating their website is not the customer's problem.
 
I think I can relate. Being charged an additional $3 and change for "shop supplies" on a quicky oil change. I didn't initially see the menu board so I asked and was given a price. Of course I can assume plus tax. Any additional charges I should be made aware of up front. If they can't be honest about this what else are they doing to increase profit. Does one then automatically trust Chinese food ingredients? I say make a fuss. The first time somebody called a 3.5 by 1.5 inch piece of lumber a 2x4 I knew to put all phazers on stun. It's been downhill ever since. Scammers.
 
The restaurant offered him the four bucks back. He said he wanted twelve.

Price list was correct in the restaurant and on the bill.

It doesn't even sound like he preserved through the web, just checked the prices there, and then started making a stink.

Letters kept going back and forth, restaurant finally got ****** and called him on it.

Should every restaurant start prioritizing their web page over everything else?
 
inreb said:
I think I can relate. Being charged an additional $3 and change for "shop supplies" on a quicky oil change. I didn't initially see the menu board so I asked and was given a price. Of course I can assume plus tax. Any additional charges I should be made aware of up front. If they can't be honest about this what else are they doing to increase profit. Does one then automatically trust Chinese food ingredients? I say make a fuss. The first time somebody called a 3.5 by 1.5 inch piece of lumber a 2x4 I knew to put all phazers on stun. It's been downhill ever since. Scammers.
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It's 3 5/8", isn't it? 4" is the starting size before it's squared off. But yeah they've been shrinking over the years. I think they're 3 7/8" in our cottage from the 50's.
 
Baggsy said:
It's 3 5/8", isn't it? 4" is the starting size before it's squared off. But yeah they've been shrinking over the years. I think they're 3 7/8" in our cottage from the 50's.
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It's 3.5..... 4 might have been the rough size at one time but 1/2inch is a lot of waste. Anyways, there are tons of examples of things not being as represented. Why? What's the point? We just accept it. And when you call it out somebody inevitably creates a fuss like you're the weirdo for mentioning it. Like the Progressive VegEssential All in One, the container comes literally 1/2 full. Am I supposed to believe that's "product settle"? Ya, right:rolleyes:
 
Baggsy said:
The restaurant offered him the four bucks back. He said he wanted twelve.
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It's the law of the land... In his jurisdiction, if you get screwed on the price, you're entitled by law to 3x the amount you were being screwed out of. He wasn't asking for anything special, just what the law dictates. Also, restaurants BETTER keep tabs on their online pricing. Everybody and their grandmother uses the web to check prices/availability and even do ordering. Especially true for restaurants offering takeout/delivery. It's not the 80's any more. Welcome to the 21st century.. Actually a properly managed website will have instant pricing updates and it's not all that expensive to set up... Cheaper than a couple of manual corrections, so the restaurant doesn't have an excuse not to have proper pricing advertised. Otherwise, it's bait and switch.

BTW I personally wouldn't do what he did, but I respect his right to demand his due.
 
inreb don't be a jamok , its a 2x4 nominal, its been that way since Noah wanted planed lumber for the ark11. Nominal refers the fact its planed and as such is probably usable, nobody wants a rough dimensioned timber. Your 3 1/4 framing nails will be too short. Damn that Stelco wire works, nails used to be 3 1/2......... no representation gone amiss, just misinterpretation. If your Chinese takeout is tasty (as admitted by the protestor) and yet overpriced, asking for your $4 is fine , asking for triple , even if that's your right , makes you a total wank. threatening further legal action makes you a biblical wank, with enough supporters to achieve the status of biblical. I mourn for Harvard grads under his tutelage.
 
crankcall said:
inreb don't be a jamok , its a 2x4 nominal, its been that way since Noah wanted planed lumber for the ark11. Nominal refers the fact its planed and as such is probably usable, nobody wants a rough dimensioned timber.
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Lol yes I know Mr. Tutelege but this is the closest thread I could find to fit another one of my feeble rants. Fact of the matter is that there are a gazillion examples of something not literally matching the label it's given. I mean, that's almost like a phenomena. I'd like to explore the psychology behind that, motives etc. How many people think a KTM690 is 690cc. It didn't used to be. Or the new RC390 is 375cc. Why? What's the point? We won't talk about the R6 tachometer fiasco, that was just insane.
 
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Every time I'm out, I get sucked back in. Now explain why the Teflon in my frypan sticks to the pan?
 
Baggsy said:
The restaurant offered him the four bucks back. He said he wanted twelve.

Price list was correct in the restaurant and on the bill.

It doesn't even sound like he preserved through the web, just checked the prices there, and then started making a stink.

Letters kept going back and forth, restaurant finally got ****** and called him on it.

Should every restaurant start prioritizing their web page over everything else?
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You don't see the prices in the restaurant when you order on the web and by the time you see the bill, it's already too late. If the restaurant knew that there was a discrepancy and he based his purchase on the web, they have a duty to inform the customer of the changes. If the law is treble damages then that's the law. It's that way so that there is a greater punishment for false claims and if this guy is willing to go to bat for all of the other customers who were taken in this way by 'wasting his time', then good for him.
 
crankcall said:
Every time I'm out, I get sucked back in. Now explain why the Teflon in my frypan sticks to the pan?
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Stickiness is not my area of expertise but speaking of teflon, I'm waiting for the new generation 6 litre V10 Mustang Cobra Jet. It'll come with a 4 litre v6 to save gas.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
It's the law of the land... In his jurisdiction, if you get screwed on the price, you're entitled by law to 3x the amount you were being screwed out of. He wasn't asking for anything special, just what the law dictates. Also, restaurants BETTER keep tabs on their online pricing. Everybody and their grandmother uses the web to check prices/availability and even do ordering. Especially true for restaurants offering takeout/delivery. It's not the 80's any more. Welcome to the 21st century.. Actually a properly managed website will have instant pricing updates and it's not all that expensive to set up... Cheaper than a couple of manual corrections, so the restaurant doesn't have an excuse not to have proper pricing advertised. Otherwise, it's bait and switch.

BTW I personally wouldn't do what he did, but I respect his right to demand his due.
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It's not the law of the land. Triple the amount contested is what he (the lawyer) claims courts routinely award to the plaintiff. So he appointed himself judge and awarded himself $12.00, without any of that pesky due process or recourse for the restaurateur. And him not only a lawyer but a professor.
Additionally, according to one of the messages from the restaurateur, the lawyer actually looked at the website for a different location, with different prices. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but given the zeal with which this guy chased after $4.00, I'm willing to believe he did look at the wrong website.
Yes, the restaurant is responsible for ensuring its representations are accurate but we ALL make errors. The restaurant made a good faith offer to rectify the situation but the lawyer was far more interested in feeding his overblown outrage fueled by a massive ego than in coming to any kind of agreement. In the end it has cost him considerable embarrassment and rightly so. He's a disgrace to his profession and to Harvard and anybody who acts in a similar manner in a similar situation is a d'bag who deserves the public scorn and humiliation that will be heaped on them.
 
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