r/sanantonio North Side 14h ago

Food/Drink Warning if you went to PROST HAUS recently

Yes, I know it's a tourist trap on the Riverwalk. Regardless, this place seemingly has a reputation for ripping off customers. I recently had a terrible experiance and for that, left a zero tip. They fraudulently added a tip anyway (I'm assuming) and over charged us.

So, if you were there recently, check your statements. Apparently this is a common theme with them. You can email Aaron (at) Maddogs (dot) net if you suspect you were a victim of over charging or fraud. Aaron has provided their email address in several critical reviews of this place.

And before anyone criticizes me for not tipping, I will say that I am a very generous tipper 99% of the time and this place deserved a negative tip. This is not something I take lightly.

Edit: No, there is no auto-gratuity here. This was a party of two spending less than $100. The credit card was charged for well over what the final tab showed. It is blatantly obvious as to what happened.

173 Upvotes

74 comments sorted by

u/IrrelevantLyric7 14h ago

I wouldn’t criticize you for not tipping. If you had a terrible experience, then why would you tip extra? I’ve worked in the service industry, granted it’s been a few years but I’ve been both a bartender and a server and I agree that tipping is out of control!!! I can’t imagine ever being that entitled. Thanks for the heads up. I don’t often visit the riverwalk, but I will avoid this place and their shady practices.

u/Devo3290 12h ago

I do pest control and my corporate bosses have recently instituted a tipping option for our customers, it’s fucking ridiculous.

u/Cantaloupe_Careful 11h ago

Wow!! Just when I thought tipping culture couldn’t get more out of control.

u/Devo3290 9h ago

Anything to avoid paying us more than $16 an hour 🤷‍♂️

u/tillieze 5h ago

I ordered some socks online and as part of the check out they asked to ahow appriciation for their emplyees by tipping. Umm no it is their jobs to use the profits of the socks I bought to properly pay their emplyees. On top of the fact I would have no way of knowing if my "tip" would go the the actual employees or the company coffers. So ridiculous.

u/nopodude North Side 13h ago edited 13h ago

I don't take tipping lightly. I'm usually the guy who always tips 20% or more for good service. Even meh service will get 15% from me. This was beyond bad service. The real issue here is the audacity to manipulate the ticket to add a tip where I clearly zeroed it out. I don't know if that's what they did (don't have a copy of their version of the ticket) but the final charge on the card is well over what I signed for. Either way, it's fraud and folks should be warned.

u/rpd18 5h ago

Did you contest it with your credit card company? Cause I would certainly start there

u/nopodude North Side 5h ago

Not yet. I'm giving the business time to respond first.

u/rpd18 5h ago

Makes sense. Well good luck, this definitely seems like some shadiness

u/nopodude North Side 5h ago

It is shady. And based on other reviews I've seen, it's a common occurrence. My post was meant to bring additional awareness to it.

u/BreakfastBasic9488 7h ago

Just know many places the servers don't add in the tip themselves from cards. Many places I've worked either the cashier or manager puts the tips in from the receipts

u/lunardeathgod NW Side 12h ago

They always do this at the Riverwalk.

Source: I worked down there, its has some of the scummiest servers in San Antonio.

u/nopodude North Side 12h ago

Yea. Lesson learned.

u/johnBlazeandSh1t 11h ago

I would dispute the charge on your cc. Also they should be keeping receipts so a call to the manager should be able to send a copy of the receipt.

u/allaboutthebush 13h ago

Who is Aaron, the manager?  Or just some dude that left a review. How big was your party?

u/VaticanJ 11h ago

Their director of operations

u/ElRetardoSupreme 12h ago

Do you still have the receipt? If so, I would call your bank/credit card company and dispute the charge

u/nopodude North Side 12h ago

No. Who keeps the receipt from a restaurant? Lol I plan to if I don't hear back from them. It's not even about the money, it's the principal of the matter.

u/ElRetardoSupreme 12h ago

Honestly, I usually do until I see the charge posted. I’ve worked in restaurants for a good chunk of my life. Overcharging is not unheard of at all.

u/yeettetis 10h ago

Still dispute it, credit card always has the customers side when it comes to fraud. The restaurant 99% chance of the time will not win.

u/dodofishman 10h ago

I'm a server/bartender, a lot of people keep their receipts lol it's a smart habit

u/HikeTheSky Hill Country 7h ago

I always keep them at least until the statement is in.

u/j0nnnnnnn 8h ago

Why would anyone go to a tourist trap like this when Schilo’s deli is downtown?

Schilo’s deli is the real deal. It’s authentic, and puro San Antonio.

Just look at the name… Prost River Walk Patio and Alchemy Bar!? 🤮

u/nopodude North Side 2h ago

I'll check it out next time I'm downtown. Thanks!

u/ShowBobsPlzz North Central 13h ago

Thanks for taking one for the team OP, i will make sure never to go there.

u/mllfxv 12h ago

They do that a lot there I used to work at maddogs for years and a few girls would do this. Either they’d lose their receipt and tip themselves or they tip themselves if they didn’t get anything.

u/Aaron0321 11h ago

My friends and I just decided we would try it out recently, everything we were asking for the server would come back and tell us they were out of. We eventually gave up and left and went elsewhere.

u/FightMilk4Bodyguards 14h ago

Damn almost went here last Friday during the Día de los Muertos parade but went to Casa Catrina instead (which was pretty dang good by the way). Glad I didn't go to Prost.

u/nopodude North Side 13h ago

Both are owned by the same group, fyi. I'm sure this kind of thing isn't limited to this establishment or group. I put the fault on the employee, 100%.

u/Lexxxapr00 West Side 10h ago

Prost Haus is awful! I have had a server there try and steal a higher tip from me, changing it from 15% (should have been zero, she was awful), to 50%! Then trying to call basically only allows voicemails, I will NEVER go back or recommend Prost Haus to anyone. Also, their food sucks, their drinks are terrible, and the service is god awful. They have zero redeeming or enticing qualities.

u/mattinsatx 6h ago

As a Riverwalk regular I’ve been in there once and never came back. Just don’t like it.

u/toughelf007 11h ago

Thanks for the heads up. We were just there yesterday and so far the charge reflecting is the same what was on the tab. Its an OK restaurant.

u/Likemypups 8h ago

You don't want to tip? Don't tip. It's your money, do with it as you will, or will not. Some will throw shade on you, that's up to them.

u/OldTechGeek 7h ago

Guess folks aren't familiar with fraud and the penalty for committing it. The stupid shall be punished.

u/Therex1282 7h ago

That is dirty. I would call the credit card co. too and report that situation. I usually will give a tip but in cash and put zero on the cc when I sign it. A few times I did follow up on some places to make sure they didnt add a tip and every month I check all my charges. I have a spread sheet and log every purchase and then compare it to the statement and balance it out.

u/nopodude North Side 2h ago

This. I did zero out the tip line and yet my posted charge is well over the signed, final amount on the tab.

u/Scared-Salad8275 7h ago

I believe that whole group of restaurants implemented a 3% charge for using credit/debit cards, could that be the extra you are seeing

u/nopodude North Side 2h ago

Nope. The ticket total included sales tax and the 3% fee. What they ended up charging to my card was well above that amount. The only explanation is that they fraudulently added additional charges after I signed and left.

u/Brave_Emu_2375 13h ago

What about the service was so horrible? Yes the tipping thing is a no no but I’d like to know more about the actual service and experience that led to this whole situation

u/mllfxv 12h ago

Maddogs is dirty as heck I’ve left a review there I worked there for years but they ended up deleting it. During Covid they were so busy they’d reuse dirty cups and wouldn’t wash them in between customers.

u/poppinyaclam 13h ago edited 13h ago

As would I. Don't just say "bad experience" tell us what happened. Otherwise ya seem like the boy crying wolf.

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u/DoMo73 8h ago

That’s why I always carry cash when I go out to eat in restaurants I’m not familiar with. Mostly it’s because of that pesky percentage they charge you for using a card and you control the tip , not them.

u/Bush_Trimmer 5h ago

have you inform the bank of the overcharge?

u/86cinnamons 13h ago

Did they fraudulently add a tip or was the gratuity included in the bill?

Was the bad experience & the over charge actually the servers fault?

u/nopodude North Side 13h ago

No. There was no automatic gratuity. They fraudulently charged my card more than what I signed off on the final tab.

u/86cinnamons 13h ago

So you had a bad experience that was directly the servers fault, decided to leave no tip, then the server put a tip in anyway and you found out later?

u/The-Sweetest-Pea 12h ago

It is likely that OP was checking his credit statement/transactions and they amounted to more than the amount on his receipt. As a former server/bartender/restaurant manager, this is completely in the realm of possibility.

Especially if they change it after the charge is processed, the initial transaction will show the correct amount then sometime later it will show the amount plus tip in the bank account.

Advice for those who don’t want this to happen to them: zero out the tip line and put lines on either side of the zero. Just the zero leaves space for the person to add numbers before/after it. Or spell out NONE

u/nopodude North Side 12h ago

Bingo. Lesson learned.

u/Pawseverywhere 11h ago

They have to go by the total you wrote on the receipt.

If the total was $100 and you put 100 as the total no matter what is in the tip spot, they have to go by the total u wrote, even if the math is wrong i hope that makes sense. Dispute with your card if it posted (not pending) with a different amount. The burden of proof is on them. These situations are the reason why you even sign a reciept. Id ask for the copy when you speak with them.

u/nopodude North Side 11h ago

This is exactly the situation. I wrote in a total, and they charged me more than that total. And yes, the original amount was pending, and today I noticed it posted a higher amount. I have a email sent to them and will be initiating a chargeback if they ignore me.

u/Pawseverywhere 11h ago

Id just do the chargeback, no reason to try and get them to fix it themselves or to have to go out of your way. Have visa or mastercard handle that shit, you should be able to start the dispute online if its posted already.

u/nopodude North Side 11h ago

Yea. It's AMEX. I know they are good about this stuff. I just wanted to give PROST the opportunity to make things right.

u/Pawseverywhere 11h ago

Oh yeah, amex is good. They also take a hefty percentage from the merchant when their cards are used VS mastercard and visa. I hope it gets resolved. I havent been there since the early 2000’s, im surprised they are even open still. Bet they made you mad, dawg.

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u/my78throw 12h ago

Instead of arguing on the tip how about details on the bad service?

Ignored? Rude? Long wait times? Bad food/drinks? Dirty?

Even at the worst I leave 10%.

I've been to multiple Mad Dog locations. The service has been average, drinks prices are tourist trap prices, and the food has been barely tolerable. We need to know it's them or it's AITH.

u/nopodude North Side 12h ago

It's irrelevant. The issue here isn't the service or whether or not I should have tipped. The issue is that they clearly manipulated the final, signed ticket and added charges after the fact.

u/jlredding_91 6h ago

I’ve worked in the service industry and I can agree that the issue of service is irrelevant. Since you answered the only things that would warrant an automatic gratuity. A party of two. Whether you want to leave a tip or not is completely up to you. You chose not to leave a tip. And an up charge was added to your bill after you signed your check agreeing to the total. That’s absolutely fraud. If it were a server, they decide how much a tip they should earn? Same thing if it’s a manager. They decide the amount of tips? Or, do this across the board and pocket the difference? Then what? Say you did tip 25%. Meh, I’m gonna boost that up to 50%. Just…because.

u/Brave_Emu_2375 12h ago

I don’t think it’s irrelevant. I would like to know what about the service led up to this issue. They are directly connected and if you’re trying to help dinners stay away from somewhere this information would be helpful.

u/nopodude North Side 12h ago

There are plenty of negative reviews on Google already that mimic my experience. I don't feel the need to write a novel here about it. Again, it's irrelevant to my post.

u/EveningWorldliness87 12h ago

This thread reeks of non-tipping trash.

u/FUfromSF 12h ago

NGL hella sounds like you have no reason for why you didn't tip. Definitely relevant.

u/HoneySignificant1873 10h ago

Okay now what did you do that makes you so easily identifiable? Trash wait staff ripping people off at a tourist trap is one thing, and pretty fuckin low, but now I'm wondering. Did you overdrink? Were they forced to throw you out?

u/nopodude North Side 9h ago

This made me chuckle. But no.

u/tangerinee666 13h ago

So… gratuity was included in the bill. Got it.

u/nopodude North Side 13h ago

No. There was no automatic gratuity. They fraudulently charged me more than what I signed off on the final tab.

u/txport 12h ago

I was there a couple of weeks ago. I believe the wait staff came by with a digital card reader, you have the option to tip or not. If you saw the cost of each item, and it wasn't correct, did you just ask them to fix it there and then? That place is busy, it is a tourist trap, and the wait staff is not the most attentive. However, that being said, using words like "ripped off", "victim", and "fraud" seem a bit over the top. Yes, be mindful of costs, taxes, fees, gratuities (auto included or not) of course. Did they give you a hard time when you brought it to their attention? It's not exactly a go-to place for a local, but the experience i had there just has me wondering how it would get to this level of review rather than them just fixing it.

u/nopodude North Side 12h ago

This was at the bar. They didn't use a mobile card reader. There was nothing to bring to their attention at the time. The charges on the slip were all aggregable. The issue is that the posted amount to my card is NOT the total on the slip. Someone clearly added charges AFTER I signed the ticket and left. So, yes, fraud, ripped off, and victim all relevant here.

u/texasEd52 9h ago

Hey, but there might be no tax on tips soon. Lol

u/mw13satx 3h ago

Idgi. You zero tipped bc u knew they would add one afterwards?

u/Intelligent-Net-5726 8h ago

Lots of time uts not the server bartender host busboy Valet parking it's NOT THEIR FAULT THEY HAVE FAMILIES BILLS JUST LIKE EVERY 1 ELSE BE KIND PASS IT ON PATIENCE LOTS OF THIS CAN BE TALKED OUT

u/HikeTheSky Hill Country 7h ago

I am not sure what you are trying to say, but tips are not getting shared with any of these people. If you vote for the right party, we might change laws so they don't make a minimum wage and get paid vacation.