I was having dinner on my way home at an Applebees, and got their fajitas. They gave me 5 tortillas, and tons of fillings. I got done with the tortillas, and needed maybe 2-3 more to complete my dinner. I flagged down a waitress, and asked if I could get a few more tortillas.

Yea, but that'll be $0.90.

You're kidding, right? I can buy a pack of 16 in the store for $0.80.

Not at all.

Well, fuck that. I'll eat this stuff plain then.

What is it with customer service these days? When people say that companies are pennywise and pound foolish, this is exactly what they mean. I felt upset about a meal I ate at Applebees. Now, I'm more likely to associate that with their name, and I'm more likely to mention it to my friends. I feel they think that I should have put more stuffing in my tortillas. That, or they don't give enough, and it was a common enough issue they thought they should charge extra for it. If so, why not give an appropriate amount to begin with? Is it really worth my business to try and gouge me for tortillas? I mean, they're not even very good tortillas! And I paid $10 for the damn meal, just for one plate, not to mention drinks, appetizers, and becky. I brought someone there to pay even more money. But you're gonna split hairs over a few tortillas? Get bent.

Someone needs to send the people running businesses these days back to business school. Don't they realize that customer loyalty is worth more than a buck in the till these days? I mean, they spend a dollar figure to attain every customer that walks in the door. If they're gonna gouge someone, it should be for an amount greater than the cost of customer acquisition, because they risk losing the investment if they anger the customer. Am I right here, or was everything I learned about business wrong?

PS: The waitress wasn't amused when I asked if it would cost extra to split the bill.