Couple says they thought their food at a five-star luxury hotel was free, then the waiter gives them the cheque: ‘With guacamole?’

A couple enjoying drinks at a luxury hotel bar thought they had been given a complimentary snack, only to find themselves in an uncomfortable disagreement with their waiter over a $16 plate of chips and guacamole. The customer later shared the experience on Reddit, claiming that the food had been delivered to their table by mistake. However, when the server allegedly returned and asked them to pay for it, his response left the couple questioning the hotel’s customer service.

The couple was reportedly having drinks on the patio of a cocktail bar at a Conrad hotel in the United States. Shortly after their drinks arrived, a separate employee allegedly approached their table and dropped off chips and guacamole. Since they hadn’t ordered anything to eat, the couple initially found the delivery unusual. “My partner and I thought it a little odd that these would be complimentary, but after a few mins nobody came back, so we didn’t think too much of it and ate them,” the post read.

About 20 minutes later, their original waiter apparently returned and explained that the appetizer had been delivered to the wrong table. “He then said, ‘So is it OK if I leave the charge for them on your bill’. I said we had assumed they were complimentary,” to which he seemingly replied, “With guacamole???”

The customer apparently didn’t intend to pay for it

The remark reportedly irritated the customer, who said they weren’t comfortable paying for something they hadn’t ordered. The waiter allegedly stared at him for several seconds before angrily collecting the plates and walking away.

The customer acknowledged that they probably shouldn’t have assumed the food was free. However, the user argued that the mistake belonged to the restaurant, which had delivered an appetizer nobody at their table had requested. He also felt the server could have handled the situation more politely by simply asking, “Would you like me to remove them from the check?”

After checking the menu, the customer discovered that the chips and guacamole apparently cost $16, which would have brought the total to approximately $21 after tax and tip. “I did leave an extra $5 tip on top of the standard tip because ultimately we got some free chips, but tbh I still think the waiter’s attitude was wrong,” the user concluded.

The user identified the place as the Beaudry Room lobby bar at Conrad Los Angeles and claimed that they had forwarded the discussion to the hotel. According to the update, the hotel allegedly apologized for the experience and apparently offered them a couple of complimentary drinks and appetizers during a future visit.

A study published in the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management examined how customers respond when restaurants make service mistakes. Researchers found that customers generally preferred an immediate solution to the problem, such as correcting an incorrect order or offering an apology for a service-related mistake.

Interestingly, when the failure involved inappropriate behavior from a server, participants generally expected management to intervene. The findings suggest that how restaurant employees handle mistakes can matter just as much as resolving the original problem.