Saturday, July 24, 2010

Order and pay first

Fast food fans anywhere are used to paying for food before eating, but prepaying for a sit-down meal?

We were surprised the first time it happened, but have become used to it now as we’ve travelled within Australia. Pubs in hotels are a good place to have a full meal, and many offer a wide selection of well-prepared food. However, patrons are often expected to place their order and pay for it in full before being served.

Ditto with meals in specialty places like the Allansford Cheese World we visited recently. We ordered from the menu board—a ploughman’s lunch for two at A$27—and were given a table sign numbered 16 when we paid. We found a table, placed our sign on it, and read about cheese making in the area. A few minutes later, a heaping plate was brought to our table.

We lingered over our lunch, and when we realized we had only a couple of minutes to collect our things to attend the next scheduled cheese tasting, we were able to jump up and go.

No need to wait for a bill.