1×5.50=86 at Grainey’s
March 13th, 2007
In a bizarre turn of events. I have been officially banned from Tom Grainey’s Sporting Pub.!!!
In an earlier post and update -Graineys-$5.50 x 5=29.15-Update/Comments- I spoke of my surprise at at bill of 29.13 for 5 $5.50 scotches. After questioning the management and the staff. I tipped the bar and paid my bill. It was a minor thing and besides posting it that was the end of the story. 
Not quite. After a long day at the end of a long week, I figured Graineys would have dropped their “stupid tax†and I could get a drink. After all ol’ Toms is about the last place to see real music downtown. Wasn’t even thinking about the mix-up of last week.
Since the music wasn’t happening, I only had a drink. When I went to pay the little light bulb went off. Better check the bill. Yep, it read $5.83. When I complained the manager snatched my recept and then handed it back to me. Saying it was taken care of???
The big surprise came when a bouncer came up and asked me to leave. Worked in enough bars to not argue. At this point I was still not that pissed. However when the bar staff made it a point to publicly humiliate me and let all of the patrons know I was being removed it became personal.
So, Boisee readers, any of you like to go and see if I am the only one getting charged extra? Let me know. At this point I still don’t want to make a big deal out of this, or cause the bar any grief. Just want an apology and have this fraudulent, deceitful practice stopped.
I did contest the charges through my bank. Don’t see any reason to pay an extra 6% for a drink because I am using a debit card. Especially without notice.
Let me add a quick review of both posts.
If you buy a drink at Grainey’s and pay with your card (not cash) you will be charged an extra 6%. It is not listed on your reciept as a extra fee or as the accountants call it a “line item.” Just the total appears. No where in the bar is there a sign telling the public of the addtional charge. You will not be told by your bartender of the extra 6%! If you question this charge you may be publicly embarrassed and thrown to the street.
- Posted in About Town
March 14th, 2007 at 7:33 am
I had a similar experience at the Big Easy.. I went to see Switchfoot.. I ordered a diet coke.. I had 2-dollars cash.. The bartender said, “that will be 4-dollars”.. After crapping my pants, I pulled out my debit-visa.. He said, “there is a 10-dollar minimum if you use that”.. I said, “never mind”.. He had to eat the whole 20-cents worth of pop down the drain.. I think the Attorney General would be interested in some of the goings-on at our local price-gouging bars!
March 14th, 2007 at 7:42 am
David - good for you for continuing to expose this issue! For them to treat you as they have is appalling…..and I
certainly hope that notice is taken AND that is effects their business. As a public, we tend to sometimes
just ignore these “little inconveniences”…..and we shouldn’t because they lead to just this sort of practice. This
DOES need to be brought to the attention of the proper officials. Perhaps some ambitious reporter should be made aware?
I won’t be frequenting this establishment - or it looks like the Big Easy either! - until I read that it has been
addressed and resolved.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:16 am
such a bogus turn of events
I have noticed that they do that at old chicago also, I am not sure about there in boise, but here they do, it depends on which bartender I get for the price of my drink. one person will charge $2.50 a pint, and the other will charge $2.75 (happy hour of course), and that is only when I am using my card, but you know, I would much rather go to the bars in Boise, because almost everywhere you go here, when it is not happy hour a beer can come up to $10 in some places, and that is for a miller light bottle, but the usuall is about $5 a bottle.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
To All: with this becoming an issue of size , would it benefit the Boise general public to have an elected offical
or ambitious legal eagle put this ” Stupid Tax ” into a sort of public hearing. Let the involved establishments have a chance to give there explanation for this - might I say- price gouging of the spending Boise public. This Needs too be addressed with a legal outcome.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
It is sad you are being treated so childishly by this place, keep on blogging Dave! Clearly fuzzy logic at Grainy’s.
March 17th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I just put in the website name so that you can show Johnny Weld.
Anyway, so, we can put together a scientific test and then show the results here.
Several of us go down to Grainey’s. Sit at separate tables. Glare at each other. Order drinks. Charge the drinks to our cards. Get the reciepts. Meet at the National Brain Truss in Social Canyon at Tea Time. Compare the results. Sounds fun. Ask Steve and Rock to explain the results. I expect a tooth pick to drop.
Doc
July 30th, 2007 at 4:58 am
Quite an laughable line to bring up about that bar. To all questioning the “hidden tax” at graineys, as you walk in the door look up near the NO ONE UNDER 21 ALLOWED and there is another sign about the tax. It is a sales tax used to pay that state for the tax that the bar is charged on its sales. And another point about the bouncer publically humilating you, I really think that is an over-exageration, i can vouche first hand for the bouncers there, especially the bouncer that asked you to leave. Really this all boils down to simple math: 5 drinks at 5.50 a peice is 27.5 add on the 6% tax and what do you have…..29.15 the exact amount on you ticket, doesnt really seem all that “fuzzy” to me.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:59 am
i have tryed it to… it sucks…