Friday 11 April 2014

Fleeced

Posted by Rosie 


The Reading Residence

fleeced

 flēsd/
verb
past tense of fleece

informal - obtain a great deal of money from (someone), typically by overcharging or swindling them.


Those of you who saw my post earlier in the week about our week-end trip to Paris will see that we had a great time.   There was however one rather large fly in the ointment that did put a bit of a damper on our trip, namely that we were totally fleeced by the restaurant where we ate on Saturday evening.

To be avoided :(
It was a small family run place just across the roundabout from our flat.  It looked lovely and when Ben and I walked past it having dropped Simon and Tom at the rugby the night before the food smells coming from it smelt delicious.  It was pricey but we accepted that Paris prices are more than Normandy and it had the advantage of being really close so there was no need to drive to it.  

Unfortunately it turned out to be a very bad choice.

Initially it was fine - the ambiance was good and we perused the menu salivating ever so slightly at the thought of the French culinary delights we were about to eat.  So 18€ for a piece of salmon is expensive and 25€ for some John Dory VERY expensive but this was for our 20th wedding anniversary so we were happy to push the boat out a bit.  Hang on though - those prices EXCLUDED extras such as veg or salad which were 4€ each.  Hmmmmm.  Not good.

We ordered and then we waited.  In fairness it wasn't too long in coming but then they weren't exactly heaving with customers.  When it did arrive there were bits were missing - a portion of chips and only afterwards did we realise that Simon's fish from the Specials Board was supposed to come with spinach and it hadn't.  My salmon came with what the waiter called purée, in other words mashed potato but I can say that what I got was NOT purée.  It was a small bowl of almost liquid potato with some odd green bits in it.  How I was meant to eat this with a fork was beyond me.  My salmon was was well cooked but Simon said his John Dory was overcooked.  Ben's steak hâché (burger) was OK but in France you are always asked how you want your burger cooked (well done, rare etc) and he wasn't, although luckily it came out how he liked it.  Tom's mussels were small and the sauce very odd.  All this came to 63€.  Add in a bottle of wine at 28€ (nice but probably about 6€ wholesale) plus 2 soft drinks and the bill came to 107€.  We didn't stop for dessert and went to leave still feeling hungry and definitely feeling fleeced.  On the way out we spoke to a waiter and aired our complaints but he simply shrugged his shoulders and said that was Paris prices, no mention of the poor food.  He was neither surprised or concerned,

Later we had a bit of a search online and all too quickly on TripAdviser and a French restaurant review site we found that Le Parc, Rue de Château, Boulogne-Billancourt has some very poor reviews.  It would appear they rely on passing tourist trade not expecting diners to return and fleece them for what-ever they can.  

We wrote our negative reviews on both sites as we filled up with cake I had brought with us.  When writing a review for our apartment we said what a bad meal we had had at Le Parc and suggested to the owner that he warn other guests from going.  Anyone can have a one off bad meal or something they don't particularly like - but this was not a one off - it was deliberate over-pricing of poorly prepared food.  It wasn't what we had hoped to have for this special meal.

21 comments :

  1. Oh no. The worst fleecing I've ever experienced was in Paris too funnily enough. Not good

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    1. We had poor food the last time we went 2 years ago and others have said the same - seems like this in becoming the norm :(

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  2. Ohh no! What a shame....So glad you left bad reviews....People need to know about places like that!

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    1. Let's hope the power of the review saves others from visiting this bad restaurant.

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  3. What a shame :( It's awful feeling that you've been let down! #WotW

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  4. Such a shame when you are on holiday, I always think of PAris as the home of great food.

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    1. Not any more and certainly not for food aimed at tourists. You need to eat where the locals go.

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  5. At least 6 brought came - I think I might start keeping emergency cake in the car, because you just never know.
    Such a shame, especially as it was an anniversary treat - hopefully you had the chance to try again somewhere better (although it sounds like that wouldn't be hard). As Kim said, great that you left the review.
    Lucas
    (Found you through WotW)

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  6. Oh no, such a shame. So frustrating, but at least you've tried to warn others, too. Sad that this was an overriding feeling from your trip. Thanks for sharing with #WotW x

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    1. In fairness it didn't spoil our trip but it stopped it being perfect.

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  7. Aww thats so bad. Not giving proper customer service cuz they know they wont come back? They are giving Paris a bad name. #wotw

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    1. And they are far from alone. We also paid 24€ (£20) for 4 soft drink at a café in a popular location :(

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  8. Urgh - there is nothing worse than going to a restaurant and paying through the nose for bad food that you could have way surpassed in your own kitchen. Its a gutting feeling but at least you're getting the word out to other unsuspecting souls! #WotW

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    1. With luck we will have stopped someone else now going!

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  9. What a disappointment. I hope that you've managed to put someone else off from going with your poor reviews. Restaurants like that should not be allowed to get away with such bad service. #WotW

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    1. Hopefully they will get their comeuppance one day soon.

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  10. Thats pants! What a shame :-( #WoTW

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  11. Thanks everyone. Whilst we cannot change what happened we can try and warn others. We also told the owner of the apartment to tell guests not to go and wrote the same thing on the review we added on the booking site. If any of this stops one person going, our bad meal was not in vain!

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