Advertising to mislead?
I recall reading about a popular Lebanese restaurant in Qatar that was closed down for two weeks over the sale of Samman fish labelled as Hamour. The restaurant was also directed to publish the decision on its administrative closure on the ministry’s website and two newspapers at its own expense.The inspection was part of the Ministry of Economy & Commerces’s efforts to monitor commercial activities and crack down on consumer right violations, price manipulation, counterfeiting and sale of substandard goods.
By the same token, have you purchased anything that did not correspond to what had been advertised or promised? Many of us, at some time or another have been persuaded to purchase something, only to discover that we were misled by false or deceptive statements.
Advertising has the potential to persuade people into making ‘informed’ purchases.At the same time, customers have the right to know what they are buying, and that all necessary information on the label or brochure is truthful. False, misleading or deceptive advertising, in the most blatant of contexts, is illegal in most countries. However, advertisers of products and services still find methods that appear legal or technically illegal but remain unenforceable.
Some years ago, the attractive leaflet of a recently opened restaurant in Colombo described an array of Persian cuisine from soups, a variety of rice preparations, kebabs, stews, vegetable dishes, salads and pastries. Claiming to be the first Persian restaurant in Sri Lanka, specializing in ‘kebabs’, the leaflet went on to state that they had decided to offer a daily buffet since they recognised that their guests “need to have a free choice of all their mouth watering dishes”. The descriptor in the brochure was artfully written to convey that all of what was mentioned therein was on the buffet.
Now, most Sri Lankans read the smallest of buffets to consist of over 30 items at the very least- offering a choice of soups, salads, main dishes and desserts. Oh no, at this restaurant the meaning of a buffet took on a new interpretation!
What was served up was a bowl of soup (no choice – more like a ‘soup-of-the-day’), followed by a few strips of thinly cut flat bread with two dips, to nibble at. Both the soup and bread/dips were plonked on the table by a waiter. Diners were then invited to help themselves to the buffet which included just six offerings: a bowl of salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and onions), two types of rice preparations, a chicken dish and two vegetable curries. Kebabs were served at the table – three cubed pieces of chicken and three equally tiny pieces of beef with a single sausage shaped/size minced beef kebab, per guest.
The ‘coup de grace’ was however reserved towards the end, when you are told ‘for dessert we have a choice between carrot cake and tea with dates’. What the server failed to mention is that dessert is not considered to be a part of the buffet, instead the unsuspecting guest only discovers this when the bill is presented and dessert is charged for additionally.
By the way the service charge was 15% unlike the usual 10% and with the only server on duty, working on 2nd gear, whilst single-handedly attending to the needs of around 16 other diners, it was a virtual rip off. Had the server been more energetic and agile I guess she may have earned it…alas, not in this instance.
No small wonder that the restaurant put up its shutters within a year of opening.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier. |
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