r/mildlyinfuriating • u/sublimeGH0ST • 19h ago
Not a single drink has prices on this Chili's drink menu
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u/skinner1234567 19h ago
Ordering a drink shouldn’t feel like rolling dice at a Vegas buffet..
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u/Transportation-Apart 18h ago
Vegas Buffets back in the 90s now the buffets are like $50+
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u/Dandw12786 18h ago
It's all you can eat, Clark. We only need one plate.
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u/dismayhurta 17h ago
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u/imposta424 11h ago
That movie is now a documentary about how much Vegas is ripping us off now.
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u/StubbledCRT1 5h ago
As someone who lives in vegas, you have no idea how bad it is for ripping people off
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u/yourecoolyourecool 19h ago
Technically, Buffets have food and the casino’s have gambling.
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u/Bzchasingpokemon 19h ago
I think he meant eating dinner at a poker table
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u/TheForce_v_Triforce 18h ago
You jest, but there are often video poker games built into bar tops and tables in Vegas.
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u/PeeGlass 19h ago
Probably so they don’t have to make new ones when the prices go up.
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u/asmithfild 18h ago
This is the right answer. They’re not trying to secretly charge you $20 a margarita, they just don’t want to have to reprint. If I remember right they have inserts for seasonal stuff. So, they want to not reprint the whole thing at least once a year.
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u/xtra-chrisp 18h ago
Why tf does that just apply to the drinks menu and not the other menu?
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u/bizzaro321 18h ago
Additionally, alcohol prices are way more regional than food prices.
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u/jxl180 9h ago edited 9h ago
Yep, I was going to say this. I work for a chain and we also don’t have prices for drinks. For food, we have a nationwide contract with Sysco so all food, corporation-wide, is negotiated so prices can be consistent everywhere. Liquor laws vary from state to state, with some (like mine) being state owned and price controlled. The same liquor bottle in the next state 15 miles away can cost 30% more over the border.
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u/ValPrism 18h ago
So the wait staff has to know the price of every single drink? There are ranges of calories so presumably that means different amounts and again, different prices. What a mess for a corporate restaurant.
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u/HurricaneAlpha 13h ago
Each one of those categories is probably set at the same price per drink. So the server only has to memorize like 5 different prices.
The beers might be the only exception.
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u/NuklearFerret 17h ago
Oh, in Hawaii, they openly charge you $20 for a margarita.
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u/asmithfild 17h ago
So you’re probably experiencing tourist pricing.
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u/NuklearFerret 14h ago
Sure, but I live here, and it’s not discriminatory. Also closer to $16, but that didn’t fit the joke as well.
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u/tinacat933 12h ago
Who’s going to order a drink they don’t know the price of?
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u/NotBrooklyn2421 10h ago
Millions of people. Anyone who spends much time in bars is familiar with the idea of not having pricing specifically listed ahead of time.
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u/kaaria11 18h ago
Or, they are looking at implementing dynamic pricing. Fri and Sat drinks are $1 more.
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u/PeeGlass 18h ago
Is Happy Hour considered “dynamic pricing”? Slow part of the day… so drinks are discounted.
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u/asmithfild 18h ago
I’m not sure if you’ve seen, but folks are not going out to restaurants like they were previously. I worked in the industry for a long time, and I can assure you none of my corporate bosses would ever suggest gouging consumers during perceived “peak times” in order to try and make budget sales and profit numbers. It’s literally the best way to turn off consumers to your spot.
But I do appreciate that you saw Wendy’s try this and decided it was something other places thought they would do after the massive blowback and reversal of policy.
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u/AnonymsF43 17h ago
Don’t most locations have those table device menus (with current prices)?
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u/throw_blanket04 18h ago
I typically don’t order if they don’t have prices. Unless its like tasting where the price is already set or like if i go to the original Doe’s where they don’t have menus.
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u/Sad-Purchase1257 18h ago
I guess they want every server to have a whole conversation about it every time. Okay!
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u/PoisonWaffle3 18h ago
The last time I went to Chili's I asked the waitress about this. She said that they don't list drink prices at any Chilli's location, but couldn't give me a good reason.
So I found a few drinks I was interested in, but I had no idea if they were $5 or $20, so I asked her about the prices. She (very snarkily) said that she didn't know offhand and didn't have time to go check.
I ordered a glass of water with my meal, didn't leave a tip, and didn't go back.
I won't do business with any restaurant that doesn't list drink prices anymore, either. Vote with your wallet, people.
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u/PeeGlass 18h ago edited 18h ago
Well they do all the ordering on tablets now. So now they can push a button and find the price.
California's recently passed a "Honest Pricing Law" (SB 478) A new law that went into effect on July 1, 2024, requiring businesses to show the total price, including mandatory fees, upfront. Which is pretty cool.
Unrelated—In my city we have a 33% tax on liquor sales at restaurants. So you can easily be very surprised that your $9 drink is $12 with tax. Most places here do not include the tax.
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u/NuklearFerret 17h ago
Wow. That’s a good way to get people to drink in further away bars that they have to drive to, with more expensive cab rides home. Do you also have a higher DUI rate than surrounding counties?
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u/PeeGlass 17h ago
I think it might be the whole state or close to it. It’s like 4(!) separate taxes stacked up. Convoluted Bible Belt bullshit. (Arkansas)
State, county, and city sales taxes: The combined sales tax rate in City is 9% (6.5% state, 1.5% city, and 1% County).
City mixed-drink tax: 10% on mixed drinks sold in restaurants, bars, and hotels.
State mixed-drink tax: An additional state tax of 10%.
Supplemental state mixed-drink tax: An additional 4% tax that benefits the University for Medical Sciences.
In the right area you might get it down to 27.5%!
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u/cool_beans550 16h ago
How much you want to bet these restaurant chains print separate menus with prices just for California
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u/samwelches 15h ago
The fuck? It’s one thing to not list them, it’s another to refuse to say what they are
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u/sublimeGH0ST 18h ago
Exactly what we did, just got some soda and left, food was too greasy, and honestly it reminded me why we stopped going there. Did leave the server a tip because she was nice, but it's the principle of not listing pricing that it's a huge turnoff. The local fancy restaurants in town all list pricing for everything, so if they can, surely a big chain can too
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u/Ambitious_Count9552 7h ago
Very weird to gatekeep alcohol...it's not a luxury, it's just that apparently stupid, overpriced chain restaurants like Chili's get off at making alcoholism seem "mysterious" or "exclusive". Corporate America can fuck off for that bullshit, I'll skip the overpriced drinks and make my own at home.
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u/DefinitionMany6754 18h ago
My fucking hero, kudos to you for standing your ground and not buying into the bullshit
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u/Live-Second-4652 11h ago
They never did any of this. This is what they would hope someone would do.
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u/EarthmanPerson 8h ago
Just curious, her overall service was deserving of no tip? Because no drink prices wasn’t her fault and not checking for prices but having good service otherwise is still worth a tip in my opinion. But then I’m always a very generous tipper so that’s just me. I do 30-50% so who knows.
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u/ThisGuy2319 18h ago
Do what I do and ask the price on a bunch of different drinks and then not order one.
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u/Pure-Plankton-4606 16h ago
Yeah let’s be annoying to the server who has absolutely no say over this
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u/Live-Second-4652 11h ago
Yeah, OP never would do that. This thread is so full of BS "talk to the manager" energy
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u/SammySunshine88 18h ago
That feeling when your drink’s gonna cost you more than your 3 for 10.99. Lmk how much my marg off the gun is gonna cost, plz.
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u/LonelyCakeEater 18h ago
That $10.99 Burger meal is a go to when I’m really hungry. Also, all day happy hour on Saturday and Sunday is fire. $5 for a 22oz Modelo. People talk shit about Chili’s but they’re pretty good for the price imo
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u/Whole_Sweet_Gherkins 17h ago
ppl sleep on chili’s! my 2nd favorite chain restaurant behind longhorn steakhouse
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u/LonelyCakeEater 16h ago
I miss Longhorn. The closest one to me is 50 miles away. In LA that’s the equivalent of a roadtrip.
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u/kasualanderson 18h ago
That’s really annoying. If you’re going to constantly adjust prices or do some sort of dynamic price gouging so you can really stick it the people who keep the lights on then at least have the courtesy to have some sort of digital menu with the current prices. I’m not ordering a Budweiser and a Spice-a-Rita at Market Price.
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u/PeterNippelstein 12h ago
You know your country is fucked when drinks are market price.
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u/athennna 5h ago
I hate this, I’ve noticed it everywhere. Even today at the farmer’s market, whole signs with sizes and quantities and not a price in sight. And when you say what you want and check out, they don’t even tell you the price unless you ask! They just take your card and tap it and say thanks, don’t even show you the screen.
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u/Nevermore_Novelist 16h ago
"If you have to ask, you can't afford them."
Sir, this is a Chili's. Not the Ritz Carlton. Put some fuckin' prices on your menu and leave me the hell alone.
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u/beans_ofthe_lawless 16h ago
Items anywhere not having a price mildlyinfuriates me more than it should!
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u/Graham_Wellington3 13h ago
It's all overpriced anyways. Who wants to sit around a bunch of other people and drink and eat? Go to the park and spend half the money.
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u/WaffleHouseGladiator 12h ago
I wouldn't be surprised if Chili's has quietly gone to a surge pricing model. The food is okay, but people (used to) go for the 2-4-1 margaritas.
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u/BunkyFlintsone 7h ago
Our Chili's has prices. And they are pretty cheap. Actually very cheap.
Definitely just don't want to reprint menus.
They have cardboard pop ups with happy out prices and an electronic tablet that has the menu with prices.
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u/MyReligionIsArt 7h ago
Reprints, reprints, reprints. Not adding prices and keeping a consistent inventory prevents constant reprints and saves money. If you want to blame someone, blame celebrity tequila for putting a strain on the agave market, and blame your president. The rising cost of agave and other spirits, driven by that strain and by inflation, is the real reason prices don’t stay the same. And if they printed the wrong price on the menu, you’d be pissed when you got your bill. Prices are left off menus to avoid reprints, which in turn is why Chili’s has remained one of the most successful fast casual dining companies in these financially trying times. By cutting costs on labor, inventory, and reprints, they’re able to pass more value on to customers.
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u/Cold_Ad_9326 6h ago
That would be completely illegal in Mexico, where you are also required to show all prices with tax included
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u/AllenKll 1h ago
Must be complimentary... as in free. Are there prices on other items? if so, then these are definitely free.
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u/Deshackled 18h ago
Well, turn the tables. Maybe you pull out a 20 to pay up, or maybe a fiver. Two can play at that game!
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u/Jaxsso 19h ago
Point to everyone one of them and ask how much it is, and then write it in.
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u/incomplet-31 19h ago
Going to Chili's was your first mistake.
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u/asmithfild 18h ago
Chilis, in my experience, is the best of the chain Applebees, fridays genre.
I do tend to prefer and go to local restaurants. But sometimes you just want a super fast, easy, convenient experience with a large enough menu to accommodate everyone. This place fits the bill for several of my most picky family members.
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u/500rockin 16h ago
The Applebees in my parents town died last year. I can’t remember the last time I was at (or even seen) a Friday’s. Chili’s is fine based on last time I visited even if it’s just meh
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u/gotterfly 17h ago
Have them tell you the price of Every. Single. Drink. Then ask them a couple more times.
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u/Pink_honeysuckle 3h ago
This always makes me so mad. It’s so they can increase prices/charge whatever they want
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u/sharkey_8421 18h ago
I ordered a margarita last week and it cost $1 extra for a flavor.
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u/PeeGlass 18h ago edited 18h ago
Par for the course at most Mexican places or otherwise. Usually when they add extra ingredients, they charge extra money.
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u/Dead_Inside50 17h ago
Can't take anyone, or any establishment, who uses Margs seriously.
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u/HelmSpicy 16h ago
Trick is to just order the monthly margarita special. $6 and its actually always a solid drink
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u/EFTucker 16h ago
Ask them every drink’s price in order, all the way down the line. I know it’s not the server/bartender’s fault but sometimes (rarely) complaints can make it up the line.
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u/Wild-Operation-2122 16h ago
I can't remember the last time I saw prices on a drink menu besides Texas Roadhouse and I go to a few different restaurants a month.
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u/Dragon_Crisis_Core 14h ago
The market on alcohol fluctuates regularly enough places stoped putting prices on paper menues due to needing to reprint them often otherwise youd seee signs up saying "Menue prices for drinks do not reflect current cost"
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u/spacemansanjay 14h ago
For such a consumer driven society it's remarkable how little consideration is given to customers. Like the most fundamental part of a transaction is the price. And American companies aren't even obliged to tell their customers what it is. How does that situation arise?
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u/Mesahusa 13h ago
I don’t get why restaurants do this, and even more so for food carts. At least the restaurant has you captive and for large parties nobody wants to make a fuss, but for in the middle of the street it just makes them look sketchy af.
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u/zombiereign 12h ago
They do it because it takes away the need to order new ones every time the prices are changed.
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u/Grouchy-Reach-8852 12h ago
It’s probably so they can change the price at any given time, like when they get a lunch rush.
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u/neptunexl 11h ago
It's what I call a run-thru restaurant. Just go there get whatever you want and don't tip.
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u/Comeback_Queen28 11h ago
This is why I only order the $6 margarita of the month. I don’t want to sit there asking what the prices of all the other drinks are.
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u/stonks4tendies69 11h ago
Just ask the manager to list all the prices. That’s what I would do to be a dick.
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u/1988Trainman 10h ago
This is when you ask the price of each drink individually on the entire page And then just get a water. Fuck em.
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u/InourbtwotamI 10h ago
Lol, dynamic or market priced drinks? No thanks. Sounds like they look at you and decide what the price’ll be
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u/BeerJunky 10h ago
A restaurant near me has their food reasonably priced on their regular menu but has no prices on the specials menu. My wife ordered an entree that was $80 and mine was $100. Heard about someone that ordered the surf and turf and it was $250.
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u/Ok_Ad5344 9h ago
To be fair, I think it's Chilli goal to get you drunk. Every time id go i would buy one drink get comped like two extra...
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u/pcurve 8h ago
You can see the prices here
https://chilismenue.com/chilis-alcohol-menu-prices/
Seems like to-go price though.
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u/SlidingOtter 7h ago
Ask your server.. if you want to be difficult, ask your server for each item….
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u/mslauren2930 7h ago
I would call for the manager and then start asking for the prices on each drink one by one.
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u/FinbarJG 7h ago
At the rate we're going, everything on the menu will just be "market price"; why set a price when it will just be increased tomorrow?
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u/nck_crss 7h ago
This would be cool if it was because al the drinks are like $3.99 but thats not the case
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u/pingvinbober 7h ago
Probably because happy hour goes almost all day. I’m down to shit on restaurants but chilis is actually one that provides good value. 2 for 1 domestics, house margs, well drinks until 10 pm is crazy when they’re each like $6
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u/Ambitious_Count9552 7h ago
Watered down and expensive no matter the final price...why not just go to a liquor store after your meal and have a real drink?
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u/SprinkledBlunt 6h ago
No cause I don’t care where I’m at I wish they included price on cocktails…just spent $35 on two :)
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u/The_World_Wonders_34 5h ago
This is when you go through and you ask them the individual prices of like 12 different drinks. Do this every single time you go in. Even though you know they probably haven't changed.
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u/Alarming-Stomach3902 5h ago
What is a Chili’s and why do we name the brand instead of the type of establishment? Apparantly this not something all Chili’s do?
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u/woundedSM5987 17h ago
“If you have to ask, you can’t afford it” applying to fucking CHILLIS is wild.