True Life Stories
avoid being ripped off in Bulgaria!
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Stung in a Restaurant
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.If this had only happened to me once I would not have mentioned it.
. .And that's why this scam works, most people think they .have made a mistake
the first time. .
.The first time it happened to me I was with my Wife and 2 friends. .
.It was a good restaurant and we had all enjoyed a good meal. .
.The bill came and it was for 62 leva (excellent value for what we had). .
.The waiter brought the bill in one of those little folder things together .with some complimentary mints. .
.It was my turn to pay so I put 70 leva in the folder and thanked him
for .the service he had given us,and said he could keep the change. .
.He picked up the folder (still closed) and walked away.
. .He came back
a couple of minutes later and said " I think you have made .a mistake",
and handed me the folder back. .
.I counted the money and sure enough there was only 50 leva in it.
. .I apologised to the waiter
and gave him another 20 leva note, .it was only afterwards that I realised what had
happened. .
.This happened on two other occasions, each time one of the 20 leva .notes was missing,
however, the vast majority of Restaurants are .staffed
by good honest folk. .
.Tipping:
. .I believe in leaving a tip if I have had good service. . .I accept its not the Waiter or Waitress's fault if there is a problem with the food. . .Tips can be a large part of the workers low income, I aim to leave around .ten per cent of the bill, but if your a high roller leave more and watch their .faces light up! . .Worst service to date : . .3 of us went out for a meal in the Varna area. . .The Waiter brought us the menu which was in English and Bulgarian. . .I read through the menu and saw Sirloin steak served with Mushrooms. . .I find it hard to get a good steak in Bulgaria as the Bulgarians prefer .their meat well cooked and tend to over cook steaks but the temptation .of a good steak, medium rare, and served with mushrooms won the day. . .Everyone ordered and our meals (eventually) arrived. . .My meal arrived about 5 minutes after the others. . .I looked at the plate, there was my steak covered in mushroom sauce. . .I spoke to the Waiter and he told me that was what I had ordered .(that helped a lot - not only am I not getting my steak that I was looking .forward to but I am getting the blame too). . .I queried this and the Waiter fetched the menu. . .I showed him what I had ordered and he agreed.. . He told me that in English it said Steak with mushrooms but in Bulgarian .it said Steak in mushroom sauce, (I really dislike mushroom sauces). . .My friend who was with us took over, he explained that their menu said .it was steak with mushrooms and that was what we wanted. . .He asked the Waiter to take the dish away and bring back the steak .and mushrooms that we ordered. . .The Waiter took the dish away and returned after just two minutes. . .He placed the steak in front of me and legged it! . .In front of me was a steak with no mushrooms. . .On closer inspection it was the same steak, the Waiter had washed the .mushroom sauce off the steak, and bought it back to the table! .