On why I'll never visit The Hofbrau again UPDATED

I'm a stickler for good customer service.

And I have NO issues calling companies out on their poor customer service when it happens to me.

But I also make it a point to always answer the surveys for good customer service with stellar remarks. Simply because good work should be rewarded as well. And since I've worked in customer service before, I realize it's kind of a shitty position at times.

Last Saturday Matt and I went to The Hofbrau for Angelica's birthday party. We got there right at 7:00 and left around 9:30. We paid our tab separately, and while I could have seen a little bit better table service for some of our friends, I understand we were a large party (about 10 of us) and it was a busy night. Our tab was accurate when we received it with an 18% gratuity included, and we paid it and went home after a long two days of moving and little sleep.

Matt noticed on Monday morning that in addition to our tab, there was an extra $283 charge pending from The Hofbrau on his bank account. I called the manager regarding the issue while Matt was at work, just to find out their policy for us to follow up on if the charge went through later. He stated that all they'd need was the last 4 digits of the card, and that they'd remove the charge. I was marginally satisfied with this answer, mostly because I knew at the time there wasn't much else we could do about it, but a $283 charge is mildly disturbing to me.

This morning Matt let me know that the charge had gone through and was no longer pending. So I took his card information down to call The Hofbrau again and get the issue resolved, thinking that it'd be no big deal and this situation would resolve easily. I mean, things like this happen all the time, right?

Once I called The Hofbrau, I mentioned to the manager that I had called several days ago about a charge that wasn't ours and he proceeded to tell me that he had called me back and would refund both my tab and the other tab since this was, clearly, their mistake.

Which was a nice thought, but he had the wrong person. I not only didn't leave a call back number for the manager, but also didn't leave the last 4 digits of Matt's card with him, because I didn't know them at the time. So not only has he confused me with someone else, but alerted me to the fact that we are not the only customers who were charged extra tabs that weren't theirs. Apparently, running tabs that don't belong to you is a frequent past-time at The Hofbrau, so if you go there, you should check your bank accounts.

Moving on, the manager took these all-important last 4 digits and reviewed the records from Saturday night. He found our actual tab charge, but failed to find the exorbitant $283 tab that was not only charged, but collected. His next piece of advice was to call the bank, because this was, clearly, an issue on their end.

And it's a huge hassle on my end.

He apologized for the inconvenience, but basically told me that he couldn't help me, but there was no tab at all run on Saturday night that was that high.

Interesting.

Let's note one thing: This was Matt's and I's first experience at The Hofbrau. We had heard excellent things about it from all of our friends, and were definitely looking forward to experiencing it ourselves. But the whole hassle of this situation makes me want to not return. EVER. Especially since I have a sneaking suspicion that someone (ahem, one irritable waiter) somehow ran an additional tab or tip for himself on Matt's credit card, as I've had that happen to friends before.

Well, Matt calls his bank, explains the situation, and they are able to give him a reference number, approval number, tracking number, and even the number of the credit card terminal which the amount was run at. How nice of you, bank. Thank you for making this simpler. I find it hard to refute this many numbers. And how efficient were they? Very.

The Hofbrau, in response to this information, tells Matt that the General Manager is the one who can access this information in the system and he will be in at 4pm. That we can call back then.

I'll be making an in-person appearance, actually. A little sense of urgency didn't hurt anyone.

Since at this point, I'm pissed that no one at The Hofbrau even seems to care that their staff is running mysterious credit card charges. I realize that a customer's missing $283 is really not important to your daily lifestyle and that you really don't particularly care (and if you wish to counter this belief, then please prove it to me through actions), but I would think that customer service and the livelihood of your business does matter. I may not have that much social media pull, but I do know a fair amount of people. And I'm persistent.

To be fair, should The Hofbrau correct their mistake as well as comp our actual tab for the hassle and as a general customer service stand-by, I will update this entry to reflect their actions and consider returning as a customer. But until then, I'm unleashing as much social networking wrath that I can.

So no, UrbanSpoon, I would *not*  recommend The Hofbrau to my friends. Because the last time I checked, my friends didn't like having the wool pulled over their eyes through poor business ethics. And to The Hofbrau, you are a reflection of your employees, always.

Update: After a 45 minute visit yesterday with the general manager of The Hofbrau, Matt has gotten all his monies back, and I have acquired a voucher for two free entrees. Apparently, our waiter ran Matt's credit card initially for the entire table bill. Then voided it and ran our actual tab. The bank had a tiny miscommunication about the whole thing, and the manager had to call them with me present in order for them to reverse the charge.While this happens all the time, and I understand it's an easy mistake to make and we're all human, they were busy, etc. etc..... I still maintain that the manager should have come to our table to notify us of the situation. Or someone could have just dropped by and said "Hey, look, I'm sorry, but we accidentally ran this total first, and voided it, so it should disappear in a few days, but you'll see a pending charge of $263 on your bank statement later this week. I apologize, and here's a free dos-a-rita coupon. We hope you come back."

It wouldn't have been that complicated. And it would have saved a TON of hassle.

Just sayin'.