FAT PEOPLE BANNED FROM ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFET

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22477703/from/ET/?gt1=10755

HOUMA, La. - A 6-foot-3, 265-pound man says a restaurant overcharged him
for his trips to the buffet line, then banned him and a relative because
they're hearty eaters. A spokesman for the restaurant denies the claim.

Ricky Labit, a disabled offshore worker, said he had been a regular for
eight months at the Manchuria Restaurant in Houma, eating there as often
as three times a week.

On his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife's
cousin, 44-year-old Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double
the buffet price for two adults.

"She says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,'" Labit said.

Labit and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their
size. "I was stunned, that somebody would say something like that. I
ain't that fat, I only weigh 277," Borrelli said, adding that a waitress
told him he looked like he a had a "baby in the belly."

Houma accountant Thomas Campo said the men were charged an extra $10
each on Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the
more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.

"We have a lot of big people there," said Campo, who spoke for owner Li
Shang, whose English is limited. "We don't discriminate."

Labit denied ever being told he would be asked to pay more than the
standard adult price.

The argument grew heated, and police were called.

The police report states, "The incident was settled when the management
advised that the bill was a mistake and, to appease Ricky, the meal was
complimentary."

Labit said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back. He
complained that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant
only grudgingly cooks more.

Campo said the proprietress tries to reduce waste of quality food, he
said.

"Food is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a
wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added."

--
Rob Cypher
robcypher.livejournal.com
YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED - RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

On Jan 11, 9:32*pm, PILL CLINTON wrote:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22477703/from/ET/?gt1=10755
"Food is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a
wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added."

Sounds like that restaurant needs to go out of the buffet business -
if you have seafood on the
menu, some people will eat only that in large quantities - thats why
they came there to eat.
I know a few thinner small framed guys who eat so much at buffets you
would swear they have the hollow
leg syndrome or something because they can out eat Homer Simpson any
day.
So its not necessarily the big guys who eat them out of business.


joanen

On Jan 12, 12:30*pm, joanne wrote:
On Jan 11, 9:32*pm, PILL CLINTON wrote:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22477703/from/ET/?gt1=10755
"Food is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a
wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added."

Sounds like that restaurant needs to go out of the buffet business -
if you have seafood on the
menu, some people will eat only that in large quantities - thats why
they came there to eat.
I know a few thinner small framed guys who eat so much at buffets you
would swear they have the hollow
leg syndrome or something because they can out eat Homer Simpson any
day.
So its not necessarily the big guys who eat them out of business.

joanen

Yes, it is hard to run a buffet using expensive food, so they are
usually things like pizza that they can prepare for pennies. The smart
ones, have something quite tasty and cheap as well...things like fresh
bread or a great salad bar, or really good and cheap desserts, knowing
most people with also eat those other things, thus limiting their
amount of the higher priced foods like meats. With kids, putting mac
and cheese and pop, which costs restaurants about 4 cents a gallon,
are easy ways to increase that profit margin.

The other "creative" ploy of restaurants is to limit how fast they
refill the expensive dishes. They can work on those a long time. In
the meantime, while you are waiting, they want you to eat the cheap
stuff and get filled to the gills. I go to a pizza buffet restaurant
where people can get any kind of pizza they want even made to order,
but if it isn't already out, they take a long time to get it cooked
and served. In the meantime, I notice the people are eating something
else the entire time, so they certainly eat a lot less of that special
order than they would have if that was all they ordered.
Restauranteers know all the tricks. dkw