Management and waitstaff need more integrity and follow-through

Why didn't you check the reciept. I always scrutinize my tabs after a
debit or credit card transaction(can be voided). I hope you recieve
your gift card(deserved)and take this as a primer for the future All
the best.

It would have been nice if the server had explained what had happened
and showed you the credit to your account for the incorrect charge
placed on there, along with the correct one so you knew what was
coming.
Maybe I am different than most, but mistakes are made and if people
own up to and rectify these then it does not make me angry.
I would however be very angry as you should be because this has not
been straightended out to date.
However these people it seems are jerking you around...and that is not
good for their business.

I do not think that a charge was placed on your card for the other
customers bill. I do not think a refund was ever issued. I think what
happened here is that an authorization was placed on your card. When
an authorization is placed on your card, it just checks to make sure
that it will go through. On credit cards, this usually never shows up
to the cardholder and does not make any difference. When an
authorization is placed on a debit card, many banks will immediately
deduct the amount of the authorization from your balance. A four day
period seems reasonable in instances like this.
When a restaurant runs a pre-auth, it does not actually charge the
card until you close out the check. Likely what happened was that
Freddie swiped the card, had an "Oh Crap" moment, and then swiped the
other tables card and closed it accordingly, therefore charging the
correct card. I doubt he is a thief, selfish, or lacks integrity. I
bet he honestly thought that nothing would be charged and it would
balance out since he closed the check to the correct card. In the end
this did happen, there was just a slight hold on your funds by the
bank. If this had been a credit card, you would never have known.

I think that this is an excellent training opportunity for Olive
Garden's waitstaff. They should be informed that if they ever auth the
wrong card on a table, they should inform the guests immediately in
case it is a debit card. I think that the staff has integrity, but
needs to be better informed on the working of the payment system.

As for the gift card, I hope you get it!

Something like this happened at California Pizza Kitchen this weekend.
My Mom & went in for lunch and were seated about the same time in the
same area as another mother/daughter.

The waiter brought both checks out at around the same time but
processed my bill with the other table's credit card. Hey, it
happens.

But the server came out and apologized to both tables and fixed the
problem. That's the way to handle it - come right out and speak to
the customer, explain what happened and fix it. Do not leave it for
the customer to discover on his/her own, as it looks really shady.

And I think if they promised you a gift card, then you should receive
it. Otherwise, again, it looks really shady.

Good luck.

Train someone to have integrity? Doesn't that start at home when you
are growing up?

How old was Freddie? Is it possible that he was young and naive and
possibly didn't know that when he reversed the charge it would take a
bit to get the money put back on your card? I agree completely that
this never should have happened and it really bugs me that they didn't
at least offer to do something more immediate, ie: cash. Not everyone
has plenty of funds lying around to cover issues like this. I would
also love to know what they would have done if checks had bounced as a
result of their error.

I wwouldn't fret about the gift card just yet. This happened on the
15th and it's only the 27th now. I've been offered coupons as
compensation in the past and it usually takes at least a week and a
half to receive them. Most times two weeks or more.

"I expressed my frustration that the server did not bother to let me
know of the error and allowed me to walk away not knowing that my
account would be charged upwards of $50 for a $12 meal."

I completely agree. I understand mistakes happen, but the very least
the waitperson could've done was let you know a mistake was made and
corrected. I can't imagine NOT letting the customer know.

And this is a good example of how a business tried to make a situation
better but failed due to lack of follow-through.

In many cases, mistakes don't automatically add up to poor service;
it's how they are handled afterward that do.

They should have asked you to come by the restaurant and handed you
$40. Plus reverse the charge. The gift card is nice and all, but that
don't pay the light bill. They messed up, they should pay up.

As far as I'm concerned, since Freddie didn't fess up, he is a thief.

Ah the joys of credit cards.

Had you used cash, you would have only paid for your bill, not someone
else's.


Good Day

They should have told you immediately that your card had been charged
by mistake, and then they should have give you the option of having
your account credited in a few days (as was done), OR having $40 cash
given to you so you could deposit it in your bank account.

Integrity: "adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of
moral character; honesty"

Freddie shouldn't be handling people's credit cards if this is how he
behaves. He should have fessed up to his careless error. He can't
walk and chew gum at the same time, as he should have obtained a
receipt for the errant charge. One is left to wonder if he threw it
away.

You can't train integrity. You either have it or you don't. I think
it is obvious where Freddie falls on this scale.

As far as the gift card, these things fall through the cracks often.
Usually a call to remind them resolves the issue.

to immediately void the transaction, it does take a few business days
to reverse a charge. You have a right to know that. I know that I can
call my bank if there is a duplicate charge to the same vendor within
a few minutes, and they will void one. The other option is for the
vendor to fax something to your bank stating that they are going to
release the hold, but that would probably still take a couple of days.
I also agree that it's poor service to promise something like a
gift-card and not follow through. Even allowing that the next
business day would have been the 18th, that should be long enough for
you to receive the card.