‘Nobody gets free pickles on BC Ferries’: Family’s White Spot experience goes viral
This article discusses a family's experience at a White Spot restaurant on a BC Ferry where they were charged extra for pickles. The incident went viral, sparking debate about customer service and nickel-and-diming.
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Comment Name Δ 58 comments Scott Imbeau April 13, 2026 at 3:16 pm Nickel and diming customers never goes well for restaurants. 24 years managing them taught me that a few more fries, pancakes that are a little too big, extra gravy all cost minimal amounts to owners but if you charge for the little things, the breakdown is this: 1/3 don’t care 1/3 care but will still go back 1/3 care and will never go back Never give your customer a reason to go somewhere else and if you make a mistake, go above and beyond when reasonable. I was in Brown’s last year and I asked for chipotle mayo.
They brough me 1oz. When I got the bill the charge was $3. 49.
I’ve never been back. JV April 13, 2026 at 2:45 pm I always order my BC Burger without pickles anyways Anonymous April 12, 2026 at 7:15 pm Anything to get in the news. Go away Anonymous #2 April 12, 2026 at 3:09 pm I’m just waiting for someone to organize a ” Pickle Convoy ” now ….
Yup,probably Ben Dover April 12, 2026 at 12:31 pm Cashier was probably a frustrated Progressive Liberal without a pickle of her own The Liberals will help April 12, 2026 at 12:25 pm Dont worry about it,Comrades. PM Mark Carney will hop on his jet and fly to India to sign an MOU for cheaper pickles. The in-flight catering should only cost us another $30 k but we will get cheaper pickles for future generations !
True BC resident April 12, 2026 at 10:51 am To clarify Mr. Dover … nobody said anything about kids… last time I checked kids had limited political views…YOU twisted that into the hilarious ( but true ) comment ! Have a great day and enjoy your pickles !
Ben Dover April 12, 2026 at 5:39 am Raging liberal lesbo bullying a kid. What’s new?! True BC resident April 12, 2026 at 4:41 am People , people , come on.
The real problem on B. C. ferries isn’t too many pickles…it’s too many conservatives!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark April 12, 2026 at 3:09 am Tjw cashier would be left holding a plate of pickles which would go in the garbage. Who buys a burger and is then expected to pay more for the toppings you should have recieved? That’s why she’s a cashier.
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PayAtHome1. Com Kerry Oki April 11, 2026 at 11:12 pm This is what happens when you vote Liberal! Had enough yet, Canada?
Anonymous April 11, 2026 at 9:50 pm White Spot, leave BC Ferries, they are giving you a bad name with their attitude cashiers. Union wages, but can’t smile, be polite, and kind. Decide if this is how you want your White Spot name to be represented Helen April 11, 2026 at 8:01 pm Are you kidding me with this story?!
Ben Hoogendoorn April 11, 2026 at 7:00 pm If this is the best Global can do and call it “news” then we are in a sorry state in this country! A total waste of air time! Not Your Average Jo April 11, 2026 at 6:39 pm Why is this news?
Who cares? Lucky that they didn't wildcat April 11, 2026 at 5:56 pm All employees on BC ferries are UNIONIZED. Expecting them to behave like normal human beings is folly.
Richard April 11, 2026 at 4:28 pm Nexr: A dispenser where for a loonie you get an extra packet of sugar for your coffee.. “We don’t give free packets of sugar on BC Ferries”…. Anonymous April 11, 2026 at 4:01 pm Wow!
This happened to us too!!! Ree Diculous April 11, 2026 at 3:49 pm Why hasn’t anyone set up a go fund me yet?! Kelly April 11, 2026 at 3:13 pm Everyone should ask for extra pickles now and see what happens EVA43 April 11, 2026 at 2:40 pm Find Online Jobs (500$-6000$ Weekly) safe and secure!
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PayAtHome1. Com Kev April 11, 2026 at 1:48 pm Last week I bought a burger and a drink on the Spirit of Vancouver Island. At payment I asked why it was so expensive and the guy said its cheaper if you get fries.
I said charge me the price for the combo with the magical price lowering fries. He wouldn’t. So I guess the trick is to ask for fries even if you don’t want them and give them away, leave them after paying, or throw them away.
Jordan April 11, 2026 at 1:44 pm Sounds like the same cashier I had a few months back. I’ve been taking BC Ferries since before White Spot was there. Family is in Victoria and at least a few times a year I take the ferry.
If I eat, which I often do, I get the chicken strips and fries or salad. For EVER I have turned their honey mustard sauce or whatever back over to them and grabbed 2 sauces from the rack there. Usually BBQ and Plum.
Two times ago I get to the front and the woman is INSISTENT that I had to pay for the 2nd sauce. I told her no, it’s always been 2 little ones instead of the one big one. She doubled down, so did I saying that I was already paying $20 for three and a half chicken strips, I won’t be paying extra for the sauce.
Finally, she said to just take it and she wouldn’t charge me. Next time, I just put the second one in my pocket. I’m not usually that type of person but give me a break.
Fares had just gone up, too and I’ve given them enough money, I am not paying . 79 for another sauce. I get to the till and the girl this time was like ‘you can have two sauces with that’ when she saw the one on my tray.
Whatever, pocket sauce from here until eternity now. Smith April 11, 2026 at 1:22 pm Lousy customer service experience might not be a prime news but sure deserves to be brought to public attention. People need to know which services to stay away from.
It’s also pretty obvious this was not an isolated one-off incident. Smith April 11, 2026 at 1:19 pm I’m with the Frasers on this. The kitchen screwed the simple order, and the cashier was rude and severely lacking in customer service training.
The order was clear, no tomato, put pickle on the burger. Hardly a rocket science here. People can be allergic to tomatoes, and if the kid happened to have a reaction, the White Spot could have lost a whole lot more than two measly slices of pickle.
Long story short, you got the order wrong so make it right with some complimentary pickles! Richard Fryer April 11, 2026 at 1:15 pm …this is sad in so many ways… it’s not about the $2. 19, it’s about how everything we do now has been turned into a line item of a ledger sheet… right down to a few slices of pickle.
Not too many years ago this would have never happened…. now it’s commonplace and it’s a testament as to how society has changed, and it hasn’t been for the better. A April 11, 2026 at 12:13 pm They do not have pickles in there burgers in India.
Concerned citizen April 11, 2026 at 12:09 pm Where’s Pierre ? Why isn’t he on this breaking news ? Allen Mayes April 11, 2026 at 11:48 am Well that’s a pickle.
Contact customer service. Get AI assistance which will have no idea about what to do. Wait 30 minutes or longer for a real person.
Who will spend another 15 minutes or more. Finally, agreeing to refund your $2. 19.
Meanwhile, you have just waisted an hour or more, trying to get a refund. What has a customer’s time worth? Absolutely nothing… Take Wendy’s approach.
Who pays your wage? The customer… whether your employees or the owner doesn’t realize this. There is no business if there are no customers.
nigel spencer April 11, 2026 at 11:38 am Much ado about NOTHING! Really. Electronic brain-rot.
Lynn Berg April 11, 2026 at 11:31 am White Spot has always charged for extra pickles. Especially a plate of them. They should have taken the burger back and had the kitchen fix it.
They would have their tomato back and the customer gets their extra pickle Gord Hasay April 11, 2026 at 11:24 am ” Can we just take a pickle? No, it’s $2. 19.
” A million dollars of bad publicity over $2. 19 of pickles. How petty of White Spot!!
The measure of any organization is often found not in what it does right, but in how well and how quickly it handles matters when things have gone wrong. Sean Webb April 11, 2026 at 11:22 am Actually the cost of pickles has really gone up. I could understand if they raised prices accordingly or posted that pickles cost more.
Bad publicity? People aren’t going to ride a ferry because pickles cost more? I doubt it will be a factor.
G James Wing April 11, 2026 at 11:21 am Doesn’t surprise me at all white spot already charges the highest prices in British Columbia for burgers, so why would they want to give you a free pickle?? …. just typical!!
Cashier should be given customer service training!! Sean Webb April 11, 2026 at 11:19 am It doesn’t look like a very appetizing burger to begin with. dan buss April 11, 2026 at 10:53 am seem,s like bc ferry,s is falling apart; they may want to fire sum people with out dely Ben April 11, 2026 at 10:45 am Wow.
Shocked they only sent one reporter to cover this Build a bridge instead April 11, 2026 at 10:30 am Pickle Notsees alive and well in B. C. Show me your papers if you require condiments.
David Fraser April 11, 2026 at 10:24 am So you’ve got a full side plate of pickles when you only wanted two pickles and you’re complaining about having to pay for it? Sounds like you’ve been pulling this scam for a while. Next please.
Edward April 11, 2026 at 10:17 am $2. 19, for a pickle that is presented on the menu. The person on cash really held their ground against a paying customer.
Wonder if that $2. 19 was worth the bad publicity for a pickle slice costing less than a penny. Let them eat crickets April 11, 2026 at 10:17 am $2.
19 for a pickle. Thats a bargain considering that same pickle likely cost Canadian Taxpayers $2000 when served on the Carney’s Jet. Doug Brekfaust April 11, 2026 at 10:16 am I can not believe this is a headline.
And people wonder why mainstream media is dying. I think BC Ferries has bigger problems than a few pickles. TA April 11, 2026 at 10:12 am This made the news??
Anonymous April 11, 2026 at 9:47 am I’m with the kid, the pickle stays in the picture. Linda W April 11, 2026 at 9:26 am Book White Spot and BC Ferries need to learn; “Customers Make Paydays Possible “ You pay for the food, the food should be made right. No tomato, it shouldn’t have been there.
Extra pickles should have been, Customer service has been on a dow hill slide on BC Ferries (including White Spot) for years. Customers are a bother to them PS White Spot; when I order my eggs medium, they should not be hard boiled texture. If your “chef” can’t cook, find new ones, And your server should not be telling me it is the best I will get, as the kitchen is busy with take out lee smith April 11, 2026 at 9:24 am Y A W N I P Freely April 11, 2026 at 7:11 am She probably thinks she got a win over the evil patriarchy by being petty to a little kid lol Hugh Jass April 11, 2026 at 5:53 am Probably a man hating feminist.
It happens. Move on. Lloyd Ryan April 11, 2026 at 3:42 am Sounds like BC needs another big pipeline to be constructed so they have a different pickle of sorts to worry about.
Traveler on ferry April 11, 2026 at 3:14 am It seems to be a case of give them the pickles already! Toby McLean April 11, 2026 at 2:18 am BC ferries is the new “Dumpster Fire. ” From breakdowns, staff shortages, water issues, and now this??!??
WOW.. There is an old saying in the hospitality sector. “Give’m the pickle.
” BC ferries really needs to take a looong hard look at itself.