By ANEEKA SIMONIS
SHELLEY, who celebrated her 29th birthday last week, said she was having a great time with friends and family until Gembrook waiters abruptly ended the fun.
While blowing out her candles, she was promptly interjected with news that serving her cake would cost half the price of the cake itself.
Ms Smith went to the Gembrook restaurant on Sunday 1 February with eight friends and three children to celebrate her birthday.
Her sister-in-law, who called ahead to ask if it was OK to bring a cake, was not notified the $34 cheesecake would attract an additional $16 fee by the restaurant to slice.
“We were never told about the extra charge until I blew my candles out. They should have told us when we first got there,” the peeved 29-year-old said.
She said the extra charge was particularly shocking given the total bill almost rung up to $300.
“I think it’s completely wrong to be charged for slicing a cake. If they had given me the knife, I would have done it myself. We spent a lot as it was.”
She said she never brought it up with the staff as they were very busy.
“We didn’t bother. They were really busy. We had to wait an extra 20 minutes for them to cut it up as well. With kids, we just wanted to quickly eat and go.”
Shelley said she took a cake to a nearby restaurant at Pig and Whistle for her mum’s birthday and they “didn’t even bat an eyelid” at the request of having a birthday cake sliced.
