Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar

Review: On March 11, 2014, which was on a Tuesday, some of my family and I went to Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse in Lynchburg, Virginia to celebrate the birthday of one of our family members. Before we were even seated, they told us that kids 10 and under eat free on Tuesdays, as has been the case the last month. We have been going to Wasabi every Tuesday for the past month because kids 10 and under supposedly eat free on that day.. The sign out in front of the restuarant doesn't specify that the special is only for dinner. We have come in every Tuesday for the past month during lunch and have never had to pay for the kids during the lunch hours. Our kids are 1, 3, 5 and twins who are 7 years old, all of which are under the age of 10. We had separate receipts and also received poor customer service. When we asked for the yum yum sauce, the person cooking the food acted like he didn't want to give us any. Also, one of the waitresses kept taking our salads from the table when we weren't even finished yet. We paid over $125 for 10 meals when five were suppose to be free. Again, the sign out front on the chalkboard doesn't specify whether the kids eat free for the lunch or dinner hours, but when my brother and I asked the manager about it, he acted as if the sign was wrong, that the special was only for dinner. Also, we had someone in our party who had a birthday and we had to take the pictures and practically sing the birthday song ourselves. As for our grill chef, he was the rudest of them all. When we requested something from him, all he would say was "what" and was very rude about it. The waitress acted like she was floating, didn't know if she was a waitress or in space. Another thing, the only one who works there who even seems like he has a personality is [redacted], one of the grill cooks. He is the nicest of them all.Desired Settlement: We paid over $125 in total for all of our meals, but were charged for the kids meals, most of which they didn't even eat. What we want is a $50 gift certificate or something because we were charged for the kids meals and the restuarant wasn't suppose to charge us for them.

Business

Response:

Thank you for your letter to our business regarding the advertising of our "kids eat free" special.

We are aware of Miss [redacted]' complaint and frustration.

The company's policy regarding special offers and coupons is that they cannot be combined with

other discounts or specials. For example, an individual who gets half-price sushi cannot also use

a $10-off coupon, as that would be combining offers. Lunch entrees are served at a discounted

price, thus constituting a special and disallowing the use of coupons or other offers. This policy

is covered in our advertisements by our disclaimer "cannot be combined with any other offer,"

which is standard amongst our coupons and weekly specials.

As a management team we recently came together to discuss said policy in regards to the "kids

eat free" offer. We decided that, as an act of hospitality, henceforth we will no longer apply that

policy to the "kids eat free" special, allowing the special to cover both lunch and dinner.

At Wasabi we are dedicated to giving our customers the best deals possible, as is showcased by

the numerous amounts of special and discounts offered on almost every day of the week, in

addition to the plethora of coupons available. Our generosity in this manner is unique amongst

businesses of our size and caliber. Giving people the opportunity to take advantage of this offer

for the whole day is yet another way that we demonstrate our service to the people of Lynchburg.

Thank you for your concern,

Sincerely,

Director of Service and Floor Operations

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

On numerous occasions my family and I have eaten at wasabi on Tuesdays during the lunch hours and didn't have to pay for our kids meals any other time on a Tuesday during the lunch hour. I have reviewed both their signs out in front of Wasabi and there is no mention of the kids eat free only being for dinner hours. What we want is a fifty dollar gift card to cover food expenses we lost due to having to pay for kids meals that were suppose to be free on

Tuesdays. They told us from the beginning when we walked in that kids eat free on Tuesdays. We did not combine the kids eat free special with any other offer as the business claims. Paying for five adult meals and getting 5 kids meals for free is not combining the deal with any other offer. We didn't even have a coupon to use at any point when ordering or paying for our meals.

Regards,

Business

Response:

All advertising issues have been addressed and corrected, thus fulfilling the business obligation to properly close the case regarding the advertising complaint. In response to the consumer's request for a refund for items believed to have been wrongfully charged, it is our position that we are disinclined to acquiesce with such a request. The advertising/infrastructural changes aforementioned in previous responses is a means of explanation as well as cooperation. It is our position that those responses are more than adequate, thus negating the necessity to give requested refund.

Director of Service and Floor Operations

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I'm not sure I understand the business's response to my complaint. I just want the refund. That's all I care about as far as dealing with Wasabi at this point.

Regards,

Review: On Tuesday March 11th, my family (5 adults and 5 small children ranging from 2 to 7 years) dined at Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse in Lynchburg, VA for lunch. There were 2 different signs outside of the restaurant advertising a Tuesday special in which kids can eat free with the purchase of adult entrees. This special has been on display for at least a month because the past few Tuesdays, we have eaten there for lunch and ordered this same special with no problems. However, yesterday after ordering 5 adult entrees thinking we would be receiving 5 children's meals for free, we received the check and noticed we had been charged the full price. We spoke with several of the staff members who said the manager told them the special only applies to dinner although there was no indication of this anywhere. We advised them that we have ordered this same special multiple times during lunch hours the past few weeks but they said there was nothing they could do about it. After paying for our food, we took a photo of the signs out front to show the manager but he said they had the wrong information. One of the signs was a chalkboard advertisement so I could understand if someone accidentally put the wrong special there but being that both signs had the same special listed, something does not make sense here. Not only is this false advertising but it's immoral and deceitful. It also sets a bad example to the children on how to run a business properly and honestly. This restaurant charged my family over $50 extra which is uncalled for and cannot be swept under the rug. If we had known in advance that we would be charged full price for the children's meals, we certainly wouldn't have ordered as many because my 2 and 3-year-old brothers didn't even touch their plates. The worst part about all of this though is that while we were eating, my 5-year old brother exclaimed "this is my all time favorite restaurant!" but unfortunately due to this circumstance, we will not be dining here again.Desired Settlement: While we were placing our orders, we verified the "buy one get one free" special multiple times with the waitress as well as the cook and another staff member but no one corrected us. They only did so AFTER the check was brought to us when we questioned the additional charges. For that mistake alone, it's only fair that we be refunded for the five children's meals to honor the special that we ordered. Thank you.

Business

Response:

Thank you for your letter to our business regarding the advertising of our "kids eat free" special. We are aware of [redacted]' complaint and frustration,

The company's policy regarding special offers and coupons is that they cannot be combined with other discounts or specials. For example, an individual who gets half-price sushi cannot also use a $10-off coupon, as that would be combining offers. Lunch entrees are served at a discounted price, thus constituting a special and disallowing the use of coupons or other offers. This policy is covered in our advertisements by our disclaimer "cannot be combined with any other offer," which is standard amongst our coupons and weekly specials.

As a management team we recently came together to discuss said policy in regards to the "kids eat free" offer. We decided that, as an act of hospitality, henceforth we will no longer apply that policy to the "kids eat free" special, allowing the special to cover both lunch and dinner.

At Wasabi we are dedicated to giving our customers the best deals possible, as is showcased by the numerous amounts of special and discounts offered on almost every day of the week, in addition to the plethora of coupons available. Our generosity in this manner is unique amongst businesses of our size and caliber. Giving people the opportunity to take advantage of this offer for the whole day is yet another way that we demonstrate our service to the people of Lynchburg.

Thank you for your concern,

Sincerely,

Director of Service and Floor Operations

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

While the restaurant

has now agreed to honor the discount for both lunch and dinner hours, the staff failed

to tell my family of the "dinner only" rule while we were ordering our lunch. We verified

several times that we were ordering the buy one get one free special but

not a single staff member corrected us. It was only when we questioned the high charge on our bill that they advised us of the guideline. Because of this failure and poor customer service, I feel that we should be reimbursed for the extra meals.

Thank you,

Business

Response:

All advertising issues have been addressed and corrected, thus fulfilling the business obligation to properly close the case regarding the advertising complaint. In response to the consumer's request for a refund for items believed to have been wrongfully charged, it is our position that we are disinclined to acquiesce with such a request. The advertising/infrastructural changes aforementioned in previous responses is a means of explanation as well as cooperation. It is our position that those responses are more than adequate, thus negating the necessity to give requested refund.

-[redacted]

Director of Service and Floor Operations

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The business in question is not resolving my complaint. They are only trying to prevent another situation like this from happening again while at the same time ripping my family off and throwing us under the bus; one full of passengers that might have driven by this restaurant, seen the sign and were possibly cheated as well. By changing the rules of the discount ONLY after I filed a complaint, the owner is justifying the reason for my complaint even more. With that said, the fact that he refuses to grant a refund is contradictory and backwards. As I've said before, we dined at the restaurant many times within a month's time ordering the same special with no disclaimers or complaints from any of the staff so for it to suddenly be an issue the last time we were there doesn't make sense. Might I remind all parties that it was ONLY a problem AFTER we placed our orders and ate our food. It seems that another resolution to this issue is that the staff need to be fired if they can't properly communicate with their customers and/or take down orders correctly. Furthermore, the key to running a successful, long-lasting business is consistency and honesty. At the very least, I hope the owner and staff of this restaurant learn that, whatever the outcome of this may be.