Thursday, August 07, 2008

Madonna And Guy Are Ripping Off Tourists


Good to know that no matter your station in life or what you do for a living, everyone wants to take advantage of a tourist and do a little price gouging. The problem with Guy and Madonna is that they hired a guy who couldn't keep the prices straight and so now they are being investigated.

Madonna and Guy own 20% of a pub called The Punchbowl which is next to their London home. Apparently, The Punchbowl has its regular customers and they get charged one set of rates for beers and food while tourists get charged about 20% more on average.

Everything worked pretty smoothly until a new guy moved into the neighborhood. One bartender knew him and knew he lived in the neighborhood and so charged him the local rate of $7 for a pint of beer. The next day he went back in and the bartender having never seen him before assumed he was a tourist and charged him $7.80 for a pint. Whoops. When the customer complained, the bar denied, denied, denied.

The manager of the pub said, "That should not be the case and it won't be the case. As far as I'm aware, there is no change (in price). There is no difference... Everyone should be paying the same."

Uh huh.

Sue Jones, head of trading standards at the local council, says, "In light of these allegations we will be seeking to make contact with the landlord. This may well constitute unfair trading procedures and this is something the council would look into."

All for an extra $. Well Madonna and Guy probably need the money.

28 comments:

mooshki said...

Can't they just call it a "nuisance surcharge?" What I would've have given to charge annoying people more when I was in customer service. And we all know tourists are annoying. :)

West End Girl said...

Not the greatest pub in the area anyways, so no great loss.

Isn't it vaguely ironic given some of the BIs about them, the pub's name?

mooshki said...

WEG, I hadn't heard that - does Madonna beat poor Guy up? Wouldn't surprise me a bit. ;)

West End Girl said...

It's a Lainey BI. Just found it -

Strong & Not Blind -- May 2006

She might speak her own mind, but I hear she doesn’t act her own mind. Tough as nails is what we thought all along. All of us. Which is why this is surprising the small but growing network of people who have been privy to the inside scoop – the real reason behind the rumoured rift in the relationship.

It’s not infidelity, it’s not career motivated, it’s not the workaholism but it’s much, much worse. Word is, he’s rough. He’s been rough. Physically rough. On two or three occasions. Serious occasions. And in textbook fashion, he’s tried to make amends every time. But the shocker of it all is that she’s textbook too. Because she takes it. In spite of the bravado and the image, she takes it. Which is the most heartbreaking thing of all. And if you think about it, she’s been taking it for years.

~

It's been more or less solved and everything thinks it's those two.

mooshki said...

Holy cow, I missed that one!

West End Girl said...

Yeah, tis a little out there but to be honest, it does seem about right. So sad :( and I say that as someone who loathes Madonna.

mooshki said...

OT: My brother just called and told me a guy got stabbed to death in his house a block away from him last night, and they don't know who did it. After the crazy bus attack, that freaks me out. We both agreed not to tell my mom or she'll never sleep again.

Kristen S. said...

Lines up with what her brother said in his book about Guy being a Neanderthal.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

I dunno. Yeah, it sucks, but if you're willing to spend SEVEN DOLLARS on a glass of beer, what's EIGHTY MORE CENTS? Jeebus.

"What I would've have given to charge annoying people more when I was in customer service."

Yes. YES.

When I waited tables a few years back at a fancyish restaurant, my boss let me tack on an automatic 20% gratuity to every single Prom table that came into eat each May -- whether it was just one pimply-faced duo or a table full of obnoxious young people in tuxes and sequins. These kids would take up the entire restaurant and order filet mignon with their parents credits cards and totally "forget" that you're supposed to tip.

Wish I could have done the same for extremely old people and/or hardcore Christians, because they don't tip worth a shit, either.

Please note that I said HARDCORE Christians. And I'm specifically thinking of the time that Franklin Graham gave some speech at some local megachurch and about a trillion people flocked to my town. Awesome.

Molly said...

why is that shocking? you don't think sean penn kicked her ass a few times? that's what she likes. she either gets shit on or she'll shit on you and if she's the one doing the shitting she wont have respect for you for long.

Ms. said...

Administrative assistants are pretty horrible to wait on too and are lousy tippers.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

Sorry to interrupt this thrilling post, but I have a brief digression: according to Michael K, Katie Holmes' publicist has just confirmed that the notorious roll n' pegged look KatE has been sporting is courtesy of Tom. SHE'S BEEN WEARING HIS PANTS. What? She can't afford her OWN JEANS?

I've been known to toss on my bf's sweatshirt in a hurry, or I'll wear his boxers around the house at night, but that's about it. I'm actually pretty glad that we're not the same size.

Back to the discussion of how Guy beats Madonna. I trust Lainey, if only because her blinds are SO insane. Didn't Madge have a black eye a few months back? I thought that was plastic surgery-related, though.

Oh! And Lainey never ruled out J-Lo and Marc for the two douches who can't pay their bills!! I think it's THEM! YYYAAAAAAY!

And I hate to say this, but is John Edwards the politician who has the girl on the side? I really LOVE Edwards. I would really love for him to be VP. It's going to suck if the fucking Enquirer is actually right.

Alright, back to this boring bullshit.

Carte Blanche said...

@ ms

once upon a time, I was an admin assistant for a couple of millionaires (boys club, financial industry, etc.) and they were such assholes that even when I was off work, I was miserable just thinking about going back the next day. They also paid crap. Glad that phase of my life is over!

Anyway, maybe that's why they're lousy customers? They're having the same experience I did and then pass on their pain to others?

Dunno, just a thought.

califblondy said...

Hey Ms., AA's usually work their asses off for a fraction of what the big dog makes. I usually tip 20% even when the service is lousy. Years ago we got TOLD by the bartender in Trump Tower that in New York people tip 20%. Only in New York.

I know we all hate rude tourists, but what would the economy be without 'em?

I still have a hard time imagining Madonna putting up with Guy hitting her. But where there's smoke I guess.

califblondy said...

Ernestine, Edwards supposedly has a love child with this lady. Sorry to break the bad news.

Shegundala said...

hey, ernestine, maybe old people are tipping poorly because they're living on a fixed income. god, nothing worse than a "food service industry professional" on their soap box. how much money did you take home tax-free while the rest of us paid 25-36 percent?

what is eight past six? said...

Can we drop the tipping argument? It NEVER ends well no matter where it starts or who started it. And I sense it heading to that not so good ending.

I will only say that I've always been an over-tipper which irks cheap people despite it not being their money. And after one incident where I was told by two friends two days later that they took my five dollar tip off the table because they were pissed at me for tipping TOO MUCH (mind you, those bitches didn't leave a tip and DIDN'T GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!) I made it a habit to also always be the last one to leave the table. That was four years ago and thinking about it STILL pisses me off.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

I don't do food service anymore. It's a thankless job. But everyone should do it at least once in his or her life. It makes you less of a twat when you go out to eat, or stay in hotels, or have to deal with people in general.

Tips ARE taxed. You have to report them. Sorry to break it to you, but the waiter you're stiffing isn't exactly being paid under the table. And very few states pay servers more than $2.13 an hour. California is one of the very few exceptions, because the cost of living is so damned high.

Fixed income or not, if you can't afford to tip at LEAST fifteen percent, then your ass should remain firmly fixed at home. If an old person can shuffle into a restaurant, then he can shuffle his ass to a microwave and eat a t.v. dinner if he doesn't feel like tipping someone who bends ass backwards to make sure his meal was excellent.

There's a LOT of work that goes into food service, and if you've never done it, then you don't appreciate how hard it is.

And who the hell tips 25-36 percent -- besides those who are insanely generous/drunk?

Cheryl said...

Not only did Madonna have a black eye, she had a broken collarbone from "falling off a horse" and another bruise from "walking into a wall". Lainey and others have implied that the injuries were from Guy beating her. When Madonna called the cops on Sean Penn they found her tied to a chair and he was known to treat her badly.

Molly said...

gayla how is it you ask for the tipping discussion to be dropped and then you go on to talk about how you tip?

Molly said...

ernestine i've never been in foodservice but have always tipped 20% even if the food wasn't cooked to order since that's probably the fault of the kitchen. but along your lines let me say i think every twat who bitches about old people should be an old person so they know what its like.

WTF said...

ernestine said:

"Oh! And Lainey never ruled out J-Lo and Marc for the two douches who can't pay their bills!! I think it's THEM! YYYAAAAAAY!"
______________________________________
Sorry but she did rule them out:
http://tinyurl.com/686gq8

I read her site but I think she's mostly full of hot air.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

wtf -- goddammit. FINE. Missed it. Now I'm extremely curious, since she's systematically ruled out virtually every couple CDAN readers tossed out.

Alrighty then, Molly. Stay angry, honey. I'm just gonna keep being nice to waiters. They deserve to not have to wait on twats -- young or old. It makes everyone's day that much better.

lutefisk said...

Don't forget when Sean Penn tied her to a chair--I believe the police found her that way.

Diana said...

RE: tipping - I generally do 20% even though hubby thinks I go too high. My cousin was a waitress and from her I know..... so if service was decent, and even a little bit lower than decent I do 15%, and if it was good (smile :-) ) I'm at 20% - no contest.

I could not sleep at night if I stiffed someone-- just not right....

KH preggers- interesting thought! That's a way to keep in control.

And Madge/ Guy : I can buy in to it. Been there (without the $$ !!)

Rhianna said...

Madonna and Guy are just the kind to stiff everyone they can. Part of the investigation (that isn't shown on Ent's article) is that they refuse to place a price list on view for the customers - a gross violation of the trading standards act in the UK. It's also totally illegal to discriminate and that's what charging tourists more equals.

She's happy to affect a fake accent, steal money from Brits and tourists, close down public walking paths and yet I should feel sorry for her possibly getting a shit load of legal trouble for it? I only hope they kick her ass to an abandoned island! Up near Orkney, or way out in the ocean so she can't put on airs with anyone other than a coconut!

RagDoll said...

Ernestine--

I do. I tip 25% all the time no matter how the service or the food is, because I live in a horrendous tourist trap with pretty much the worst housing values in the USA and terrible salaries, to boot. I know that for a lot of people in my town (especially single parents and young families) the service industry is THE only way to make a living, and I also know that we've got lot of international tourists who don't know that it is customary to tip here (or who pretend they don't) so I tip 25%. If I can't afford to tip that much, then I can't afford to go out to eat, is the way I see it. That's just me, and it's only because i know so many people trying to make it on service-industry wages because so many industries have hit the skids in this lousy economy.

RagDoll said...

P.S. -- I'm a career Administrative Assistant...ha, ha go figure! In fact, when Bosses have given me petty cash for catered lunches and NOT included tips for the driver/delivery people I pull it out of pocket. It's so crummy and unfair in my mind that people who work so hard at honest jobs can't make ends meet, dude!

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