This is what happens when a Harvard business lawyer goes to war with a Chinese restaurant over $4 - Polidicks

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;46699175]sometimes people use takeout to mean delivery??[/QUOTE] but, why would you mean delivery and use a word that is not delivery

I like how he at first tries to get 12 dollars, which is pretty unethical, since he's a lawyer and he's basically telling the guy "Believe in me!".

[QUOTE=Doneeh;46694644]Just thought I'd post this from Edelman's site too: [IMG]http://i.gyazo.com/1c9e234ea6653409833f0521dffff233.png[/IMG][/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubU-dB8B-94[/media] Seriously. He is only saying that because he was caught. Had nobody known about it, he would've continued to pursue it. What an ass

[QUOTE]In addition to teaching at HBS, Edelman also operates a consulting practice where he advises clients like Microsoft, the NFL, the New York Times, and Universal Music on “preventing and detecting online fraud (especially advertising fraud).” [/QUOTE] So, he basically picks on the little guys while working for the better maintenance of the machine? Great business teacher.

It's not about the $4, it's the fact that a business should not advertise a certain price and then charge a higher price. It's illegal for a reason, no matter how small the amount. What if you got overcharged $4 on every transaction you made, and the law didn't protect you? The guy isn't an asshole, he's just upholding consumer law. Personally, I've had crap experiences with businesses trying to rip me off. I was buying a PC case once, and the business's website and clerk on the phone said $135, but when I went in, they wanted $180. I get charged fees to access my own damn money, and to pay for things with it. A bottle of WATER costs $2-$4. I'm sick of getting ripped off bit by bit everywhere I go. It really adds up.

The people are saying this is ok are so cheap. It's $4! The most he should have done is complain and then let it go. If it happened repeatedly then he might have a justification but it's always better to resolve it without having to sue. Report them to the government or whoever regulates that kind of thing.

[QUOTE=Shifty Pete;46713367][B]It's not about the $4, it's the fact that a business should not advertise a certain price and then charge a higher price. It's illegal for a reason, no matter how small the amount.[/B][I] What if you got overcharged $4 on every transaction you made, and the law didn't protect you? The guy isn't an asshole, he's just upholding consumer law.[/I] Personally, I've had crap experiences with businesses trying to rip me off. I was buying a PC case once, and the business's website and clerk on the phone said $135, but when I went in, they wanted $180. I get charged fees to access my own damn money, and to pay for things with it. A bottle of WATER costs $2-$4. I'm sick of getting ripped off bit by bit everywhere I go. It really adds up.[/QUOTE] I'm trying to figure out why he bothered to go through with this, and I'm starting to lean towards thinking maybe this was the intention. The money isn't really something that would be really worth fighting over. Was it an asshole/dickhead/cunt thing to do? Sure, it's definitely not a positive gesture, all things considered. But neither is [possibly] intentionally, be it passively (in this case; not keeping web prices accurate) or actively, misleading consumers on pricing. Is is stupid that this is news? Sure. But the fact that it has gained attention and we're talking about it was probably, in part, to make a point. Whether the professor contacted news outlets to push the story or they themselves picked up on it and chose to run it, I don't know. I don't want to truly side with the professor, but it kinda appears to me that perhaps a point is being made here. I'm not gonna scream dickhead cuntbag as I'm not inherently offended by this, but that's partly because I can't honestly tell if this guy intended to make an issue and be irrationally stuck up or really just wanted to shed light on a practice without getting involved in something big. Probably gonna be debating this in my head for a while...if I was X what would I have done and so on.

Never going to live that down... xD Thanks to the internet, the rest of Ben Edelman's life is going to be haunted by that $4 lol

[QUOTE=AlexConnor;46715063]Never going to live that down... xD Thanks to the internet, the rest of Ben Edelman's life is going to be haunted by that $4 lol[/QUOTE] Thanks to the nature of the internet, the rest of Ben Edelman's life is going to be forgotten in a week.

[QUOTE=peepin;46695582]I'm sorry to burst your bubble but prices do go up and many small restaurants can't hire web devs to update the prices. Hell over the summer I helped out my favorite bar with their website (prices on alcohol/foods was wrong). Got a pitcher and a pint of Guinness for less than 10mins of work.[/QUOTE] I'm sorry to burst your bubble but it's exceedingly easy to update a number on a website Having incorrect pricing information is illegal, overcharging is illegal. It might seem petty, but an almost 10% arbitrary charge is definitely not a small oversight.

The thing is, many of these places intentionally advertise a price, then charge you a different one. I've made many purchases where the price is advertised as X, but the cashier rings them up as Y. Sometimes, you notice and tell them, sometimes you don't notice, and sometimes, you just don't care to go tell them about it. Maybe this guy was really ticked off about this.

He arguably tried to extort them out of $12. Massachusetts definition of Extortion. [quote]"Whoever, verbally or by a written or printed communication, maliciously threatens to accuse another of a crime or offence, or by a verbal or written or printed communication maliciously threatens an injury to the person or property of another, or any police officer or person having the powers of a police officer, or any officer, or employee of any licensing authority who verbally or by written or printed communication maliciously and unlawfully uses or threatens to use against another the power or authority vested in him, with intent thereby to extort money or any pecuniary advantage, or with intent to compel any person to do any act against his will, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than fifteen years, or in the house of correction for not more than two and one half years, or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars, or both. " [/quote]