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Mom is steamed over restaurant's pricing rule for kids
Amy Kaplan was told by sushi restaurant employees that her 11-year-old daughter wasn't eligible for the kids' half-price special because the girl was too tall. "I asked, 'Do you really feel that if my daughter is tall that she's going to eat more?'" says the mom. She and her clan left the place. (Newsday)
January 27, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
She should thank them. They probably saved her daughter from mercury poisoning.
Posted by: Dan | Jan 27, 2008 1:58:51 PM
It always amazes me how some restaurants seem eager to turn away customers for no particular reason.
Posted by: kevin | Jan 27, 2008 3:05:38 PM
That's how they priced the kids when we went for all-you-can-eat sushi the other day. My son who is very tall and big for his age barely ate. His cousin, who is tiny and a year younger (2) eats like a HORSE and while she cost half what my son did, she ate five times as much - the restaurant lost money on her. ;-)
I don't care, nothing is standing between me and my sushi. I don't think regular price is fair for a 3 year old, but priced on height is fine, IMHO.
Posted by: LooseyGoosey | Jan 27, 2008 3:46:53 PM
Someone went to extra effort to garner sympathy for this family. Hey if you don't like the rules, don't play the game!
Posted by: Zimbabalouie | Jan 27, 2008 4:08:12 PM
Sorry to say, but a lot of this is based on the premise that people lie about how old their kids actually are, so something as arbitrary as height has to make do. I suppose that in the long run, things even out as far as short kids eating a lot, and tall kids eating little. But we have to remember that we're in America, where any business anywhere can place restrictions on whom they want to serve, or prices they want to charge, as long as those restrictions are not based on bigotry or other discriminatory practices.
Posted by: msgelter | Jan 27, 2008 4:09:49 PM
So prospective mothers take note:
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, Low Birth Weight and Discounted Sushi
Posted by: Bill | Jan 27, 2008 4:19:41 PM
Discrimination because of height is no different than discrimination because of any other reason. The eatery was wrong.
Posted by: Yall | Jan 27, 2008 4:21:15 PM
i'd be more concerned about her ears. not only are they huge, they're bright red! must be years of mercury poisoning....
Posted by: lola | Jan 27, 2008 5:04:56 PM
Their business, their rules. Don't like it, don't go. If they're wrong enough, they'll go out of business on their own pretty soon.
Posted by: steve | Jan 27, 2008 5:15:48 PM
I like the rule...but then again, my kids are all short.
Posted by: mainiac | Jan 27, 2008 5:36:56 PM
We don't call "kids' prices" discriminatory, so however the place determines who's a kid is up to them. The only solution is to ban discounts for children or to have a law requiring state or federal IDs for children--and who wants that?
Posted by: ^ | Jan 27, 2008 5:54:51 PM
"Discrimination because of height is no different than discrimination because of any other reason. The eatery was wrong."
No it's not. Unless the height is a disability (giantism), a tall person is not part of a protected class. The Civil Rights Act is very clear on this.
However, you are correct that the eatery made a fuss on the height of the kid. An eatery should make a bigger fuss over fat people coming in.
Posted by: Naga Please | Jan 27, 2008 6:00:47 PM
So, what's their stance if the customer happens to be an adult little person (pituitary dwarfism) who is shorter than the giraffe?
Posted by: ReginaFilangee | Jan 27, 2008 6:59:23 PM
A friend of mine turned 13. We went to see a movie. His parents told all of us in the car to say we were 12. So for my friend's 13th birthday, his parents made him claim to be 12 in front of his friends. You should have seen his face. From that point on I promised myself I wouldn't be that parent and so far I'm not.
Posted by: DCer | Jan 27, 2008 8:09:47 PM
"i'd be more concerned about her ears. not only are they huge, they're bright red! must be years of mercury poisoning...."
I thought the same thing after seeing that picture. It took me a minute to realize that it was actually a hair-clip I was looking at.
Posted by: Grey | Jan 27, 2008 10:26:46 PM
...or at least I hope that's a hair-clip.
Posted by: Grey | Jan 27, 2008 10:28:08 PM
It's plain to see the FDS is alive and kicking, even in this day and time! No, if any place lets a short kid eat at a discount assuming they are the right size for their age and denies entry of a tall kid assuming they are older, that is discrimination plain and simple. I know first hand as I went through this when young. Most grown men hated that a twelve year old was taller and more masculine looking than they were (FDS), and were bound and determined to not let me have any of the benefits that my smaller peers received.
I guess the one who denied the taller child to eat at the discounted price had to look up at the kid is why they called upon their "Fiest Dog Syndrome" to discriminate against this child. Petty and discriminatory. Hope they go out of business because of their ignorance.
Posted by: Yall | Jan 28, 2008 2:21:07 AM
"Nikki "eats like a bird" and would not have had a big meal, Amy Kaplan said. "She doesn't even like sushi," she said. "I have tall kids," she said. "What can I do?"
Eat at home? Sushi has become much easier to make at home. My sister makes it and she cannot cook.
Personally I don't care for sushi, but if my family wanted to go I suppose I would. Of course my kids are short.
Posted by: ssarkies | Jan 28, 2008 4:20:26 AM
"She doesn't even like sushi," she said.
So what's the point of going to the restaurant in the first place if your child(ren) won't eat? I agree with ssarkies here.
As an adult I've gone to places where I haven't particularly wanted to eat out of consideration to others - a "sacrifice" I chose. When I was growing up, on the very, very rare occasions we did not stay home for a mom-cooked meal, we went to places where all of us had something we liked. So I'm kind of curious about the family dynamics here.
Posted by: outofsalt | Jan 28, 2008 4:42:47 AM
Just a side comment here.If you are ever on Long Island,or live here, Make a trip to the riverview restaurant.Their chateau briand is unbelievable,my fiance and I go there 1-2 times a year.Very Pricey and the restaurant is hard to find but well worth it.
Ive also been to sushi park...once...nothing like a $9.95 buffet of warm raw fish sitting out under heat lamps..ummmm!!
Posted by: joe | Jan 28, 2008 4:47:25 AM
I think the sad practice of parents lying about their children's ages to save $2 is way more ridiculous and ignorant than the practice of charging a discounted children's price by height.
Yall, do you complain when your oversized kids get to ride on the roller coaster while shorter kids of the same age do not, just because they are taller than some arbitrary height? Probably not.
Posted by: dead cat bounce | Jan 28, 2008 5:00:13 AM
The explanation is simple, if the proprietors eat their own sushi. Mercury poisoning has rendered them mad as hatters!
Posted by: Dave | Jan 28, 2008 5:16:02 AM
Mercury poisoning's mostly from the "predator" fish, like tuna, swordfish, etc. You can also get worms from the raw stuff. :(
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/sushi.asp
Personally, I love sushi... but I only eat it with cooked seafood (cooked shrimp, crabmeat, etc), or vegetarian. It's really good stuff, and easy (if time-consuming and expensive) to make.
The kid didn't like sushi. Why would they take her to an all-you-can-eat sushi place? And the thought of a sushi buffet place makes me slightly ill... Blech.
Posted by: Kestrelmas | Jan 28, 2008 6:01:16 AM
As a parent, I should mention that many many times I take our kids to restaurants they don't really like because we're out shopping. I make sure my kids eat between 12 and 1pm because otherwise they're rude to other shoppers. Trust me, doing this is good. Well, I've ended up in places that I wanted to go to that my 4 year old balked at or would only order, you know, tempura vegetables.
Although he likes sushi and has had it since he was 2.
Posted by: DCer | Jan 28, 2008 6:09:32 AM
a simple LMAO for the morning.
Posted by: sometimesilie | Jan 28, 2008 7:04:59 AM
