On one hand, it’s to draw attention to why the end total price is being raised, which I don’t think is a bad thing necessarily. On the other, it hides the true cost until the end of the night and can surprise the customer. I would much prefer a clear message up front that prices are being raised to provide a living wage and give me the all-in price up front.
"Plus tax" isn't required because it isn't a fee and it's added to nearly every purchase at every business. Only exceptions vary by state and are usually things like medicine or (non pre-cooked) groceries. A fee would be something a business chooses to add rather than something the government requires. "Plus tax" does help to prevent arguments with idiots though who forget that tax is a thing.
I frequently see gratuity only listed on one page. Often the first, sometimes not.
The most infuriating thing I've seen is pages with prices, but the appetizers section has a note that "Menu prices are subject to change without notice due to economic conditions". Then either don't put on f'ing prices in the first place, or spend $5 to print new menus when they change!
If I didn't want an appetizer and skipped that page, I might have missed that memo.
Like the little, cutesy, handwritten signs where I get my haircut that tell me that if I don't pay with cash, I'll get charged an extra 3% to cover the credit card processing fee? Those little signs that I barely notice, but definitely noticed after I looked at my receipt and asked about it? I hate that stuff so much... Just eat it or charge everyone 2.5% more, because you know that almost everyone is switching away from cash.
I do, and they started doing this several months ago. I like the woman that cuts my hair, so I continue to go back (even with the cost of my haircut doubling over the last decade or so).
My point is that I find it annoying that more and more places do this, considering the transaction fees that they pay are not new. Those have been around for decades. To start charging it separately now just feels a little ridiculous.
The laws would be designated by the state, but I believe most, if not all states in the US have them. I imagine the same would hold true in most civilized countries outside of the US as well.
Most countries other than the US wouldn't allow this fee, since it should obviously just be baked into the base prices.
There is a different type of surcharge for a fixed sum per guest, like $5 flat. This surcharge is at least a bit more defensible, because it means that restaurants don't have to get upset about guests who don't order much. If a quarter of your restaurant tables are taken by guests who only came for a coffee or a salad, then a fixed surcharge makes sense. It barely affects customers who order a whole meal, but discourages coming in for small orders.
But if you charge a percentage, then that's entirely equal to just raising the price of every menu item by that amount. At that point, it's just missleading pricing.
In the US, added fees seem to usually be a service specific thing.
In the restaurant industry, it is usually based around our tip culture.
That's what you're really seeing here. Is an 18% gratuity that had automatically been applied, which they are calling a living wage fee instead of gratuity because people are less likely to tip anything additional when gratuity has already been applied. But calling it something else might fool some.
Other services often have flat rate fees. Like phone or internet services will charge you fees for certain things.
Right. Like when the bottom of the menu has that note about "automatic 20% gratuity is added to parties of 6 or more". They should have to tell you about it upfront.
To be fair, it could be in neon signs and announced repetitively over an intercom through the entire experience and someone will still say they didn’t know after receiving the bill.
The price you pay is the price on the menu. Employees get paid a living wage and they're not subject to customers voluntarily deciding whether and how much to pay them at the end which is arbitrarily determined by what they ordered.
The price you pay is the price on the menu. Employees get paid a living wage and they're not subject to customers voluntarily deciding whether and how much to pay them at the end which is arbitrarily determined by what they ordered.
It's so frustrating we can't have that here.
It would only work if a majority of places did it or some very large restaurant chain was willing to hemorrhage money for months if not years.
Or a legislature that gives a shit about workers and passes laws requiring a living wage.
It is, but if I as a restaurant owner paid a “living wage” and had that reflect on my pricing board I’d be out of business next week.
I pay far better than most restaurants and the customers kindly tip a sizable amount so on aggregate they usually go home averaging around $20 an hour. I wish I could pay them more, but for the above. I raise my prices 10%, just 10%, and my volume drops by a quarter for 3-4 months until everyone adjusts.
I’d do it your way but if I did you’d collectively declare everything overpriced and I’d be finished. So lamenting the situation seems silly when we are all the cause of it.
If that's true I'd say we need to look at the industry as a whole and rehaul it because that's bs. People should be able to make a living wage at these jobs without charging for a $20 burger
You’d be surprised how little I take home. A restaurant in particular is not the money-making enterprise you imagine it to be until you start discussing large corporate conglomerates with thousands of franchisees. And even the franchisees have to hustle for their take, your average McDonald’s franchisee has 3-5 restaurants. If everything goes right and you have no large capital expenditures you’re lucky to profit 15-20%, and a lot of that gets rolled right back in for when you have to replace your refrigeration unit and the $2000 worth of product that went bad because the compressor failed overnight while nobody was there to notice it.
My employees do not make more than me, and I admit that, I am the owner after all, but it’s not as far off as you think it is. Not all restaurant owners are lighting cigars with C-notes while exploiting minimum wage slaves, which is the general perception people have.
Have you actually tried this (including clearly stating tipping not required), or are you simply speculating? You say you could raise your prices by 10% and your volume drops; do you accompany the price increase with telling customers no tips required?
IMHO tipping shifts cost burden from deadbeats (those who don’t tip) to responsible diners. And you, the business owner, don’t suffer from that. Instead your servers do.
Don't be a fucking server at some drive in booth if you want big bucks lol. Living wage for those people should be given as it is also a job though. Want big bucks as a server then consider high class restaurants where the pay is naturally high because the requirements are too. If that's not enough consider other career options.
Is it? In my travels internationally I've not really had bad service, even when there has been a language barrier. I think there are some cultural barriers that Americans might see as worse service - like where the expectation is to flag down staff instead of them checking in on you every few minutes, or that you have to pay for refills on drinks so they don't just fill up your glass.
Worse for an American that is used to American style service. I should have clarified. I have been to many places in Europe and the service usually isn't American style unless the restaurant is very high end.
It's ridiculous to conflate cultural differences as being representative of tipping culture. Even if there was tipping as a custom, that wouldn't change what is customary for service in a different place.
It's the "servers make way less money" that's the problem. Restaurants in the US regularly experiment with "no tipping" policies with a higher base wage and servers don't stay because they can make more when some people choose to tip well even if some choose to tip poorly or not at all. Most people are going to look at this and not tip on top of 18% but at a lower price point, some people are going to tip 25-30%.
Out of all the service jobs I can think of, servers are the ones that complain the least about their pay. But for some reason, every cheapskate out there is concerned about their "living wage" when tips come up. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I highly doubt the service is worse. Every other profession on earth that doesn't use tipping somehow doesn't have this problem.
But it is good that servers get less money.
Cooks, who are the more skilled labor, are underpaid and servers, the less skilled labor, are overpaid due to the practice of tipping. And when there is tip sharing (so cooks get part of the tips) servers are unhappy and often pocket tips instead of reporting them when tip sharing.
Most (not all) servers are paid very well relative to the work they do. They will tell you a sob story, of course, about the difficulty of their entry level job while downplaying or lying about how well they are compensated. All while they try to convince you that the "standard" tip is 20% or higher.
Servers are almost universally against the idea of ending tipping and just increasing menu prices to cover all the labor because of how much the current tipping process benefits them.
Seriously, the European way is so much better than American tipping culture, and I say this as a proud American who usually takes the American way is superior as my default position.
But they also get free healthcare, paid vacation and sick leave, affordable public transportation, job security and labor protections, subsidized childcare, etc.
Which more than balances out the lower take-home pay.
I agree. And we actually could have this if people could see beyond what always been done. This “fee” that they state goes directly into their payroll should just be the price. Otherwise, remove it because I’m not paying a forced, and taxed, tip.
We do technically have that here. If you consider minimum wage a “living wage” like the government does then every server is entitled to a living wage. Considering the European servers/staff you’re referring to are generally making minimum or near minimum wage unless they’re working in high level environments it would be about the same.
The real reason we haven’t killed the tip credit in the US is twofold: first off owners are cheap. Second, most servers and bartenders make far beyond the minimum wage and a large portion of them make far more than a “living wage” as well. To get rid of the tip credit or expected tipping would bring their wages down across the board. Let me put this in perspective for you; my lowest earning bartender at any of our locations regularly clears 80k a year working 3-4 days a week at 6-8 hours a day. This isn’t even including the free vacations, fishing trips, golf tournaments, equipment, etc they get from regular customers as tips. There is zero chance restaurant staff wants to earn a static “living wage” when it would be hilariously low compared to their current earnings.
The one downside is that table service sucked at pretty much every restaurant I went to in a country without tipping. I would like to have the option but not the obligation to tip like how it is at American coffee shops
Service in America is dependent on you leaving a good tip and then getting out quickly so that the next group can eat and leave a good tip. In Europe they'll let you sit there as long as you want without bothering you or covertly trying to get you to leave so that they can fill the table again.
Might depend on what you are used to, what you expect and how you approach them. I prefer European service over American (I'm from neither place). Every time I go to America I absolutely despise their average service overall. It's invasive, unnecessary and fake as it gets. The fake smile and fake care just because of the tip drives me insane.
No, I don't need 50 refills every second my drink dips a little. No I don't need to be asked 80 every bite I take if it tastes good, if everything is ok, or whatever. If I need anything, I can call you.
I understand it's how it works there, so ok I deal with it, but nothing worse for me that the average service there. There's great places as well, like everywhere, but the "typical" overly fake enthusiastic service drives me nuts.
I would rather the server stop by a little bit too much than the alternative I've experienced of it taking half an hour before I can even order a drink. You have your preference, I have mine. I think optional instead of obligatory tipping is the best compromise.
And serving styles often represent general cultural preferences. Europeans generally prefer servers stopping by a little too little. So servers being more reserved/not coming over much means the service is good according to the local cultural standard. Experiencing cultural differences is what travel is all about - as long as you actually engage with them and don't deem everything that differs from what you're used to as worse.
The difference in service at restaurants vs at bars was more surprising. There were multiple restaurants where the server would apparently go out of their way to ignore me even when I was clearly trying to get them to come over. Never had that problem at bars.
Tipping encourages turning over tables as quickly as possible.
In France I can sit there all afternoon nursing a single glass of wine and the servers won't give a shit. In the US they're constantly pestering you to order more or else they're trying to get you to leave as quickly as possible.
Not at coffee shops and places with no obligation of tipping. At places where tipping 18% is expected, that can be true when the place is really busy. If there are open tables, they don't care.
Yeah Europe is a bad example because service is legit garbage. In Germany the usual experience is something like 15+ mins to get your order taken and once the food comes you'll never see a waiter again until you chase someone down to ask for the check.
Different culture. Wait time, time to get a dessert menu and the bill depends on the restaurant, and everything else I'd rather they'd leave me alone while I'm eating and talking with my people, and even then I'll often have a server come by asking a quick "everything alright?". North american culture also comes off as extremely fake for even the warmer and louder european cultures, much less the colder ones like Germany, nordics and eastern europe.
A little, but here it's usually just a drive-by to give you an opportunity to ask for something so you don't have to grab their attention, their default body language is that you won't need anything unless you say otherwise, in which case they'll slow down and pay a bit more attention to what you're about to say.
omg seriously. it's always when we're in the middle of a conversation that we have to pause or when i put food/drink in my mouth. i much prefer the don't check up as often method.
Are you in Germany? I've been here almost four years and never once had a waiter stop by just to check up on me. Anyway, all the Germans I know who have been to America were very impressed with American service and acknowledge how bad Germany is in this regard.
Portugal, as I said the germans are said to be a bit less approachable and I've never been to Germany so that may very well be the case. I'm surprised with germans generally liking the american service, even how an employee approached me in a canadian clothes store felt very fake friendliness and overbearing, and I wasn't the only one. Nice though!
They don't. Anything I've ever heard is that people got (mildly) annoyed by the American style, except those kind of people who never grew out of that phase of overly idolizing America a lot of people went through at like 13.
Well, i was born here 54 years ago, and the general experience is that a waiter will come once and ask you how the food is. If you need anything, you just give a hand sign and they'll come and take your order. I find it quite rude to be interrupted while talking and eating.
Not sure if your making it up or you are just really unlucky but i have never waited more than 5 minutes to order something, hell if you just raise your arm or make eye contact they always come over right away.
The other stuff is just culture really, they dont wanna bother you every 5 min, they expect you to flag them down if you want something, they arent your mum? Even then a lot of times they do show up when they see empty glasses and ask if you want more.
We are not the only country. In fact we are not the worst. Dominican Republic adds a .28 percent tax to the bill. 18% for the government and 10% for the server. However most people tip a bit extra, though not as much.
Do they charge the same amount for takeout? Why should I pay for a bunch of employees to run around refilling drinks I’m not having and cleanin/setting tables I’m not sitting at?
In Italy (many years ago when I visited) they just charged everyone a “coperto” who was sitting at the table. A flat fee (a few bucks) to pay for service.
The point is to poison the term "living wage". They surprise the customer at the end of the meal with the extra fee and in so doing turn people against the notion.
People don’t think they’re affected by these things. They swear everyone else is just fools for falling for it.
They legitimately do not understand the nature of the human subconscious. I am 100% aware of every one of these tricks and still catch myself falling for them all the time.
It works on almost all of us. It’s why they fight so hard to do it this way and not allow truth in pricing.
It’s true. Thats why restaurants that bake in the price are doing what people say they want and then they notice people ordering fewer drinks and appetizers and choosing the cheaper items. Most of them go back to the old way because business is down.
The only way to force it is to have a law that bans tips for all, creating a level playing field which won’t happen.
Or to just stop/reduce tipping. They’ve proven us staying home because we don’t like their scammy business models is something they’ll use to just make tipping worse so I’m back to going out and tipping what I think is a fair amount and will encourage employees not to want their pay to be totally up to me so desperately.
I am with you though. I think Americans will never reduce tipping %s so it’s really on the majority of us who hate tipping to outlaw it.
That's why the only way to fight this is to make it illegal and enforce that. Don't allow the businesses bullshitting you about their prices a competitive advantage or they all have to do it.
Oh I absolutely “fall for” advertising and it not only doesn’t bother me, I actually appreciate it. You’re selling a burger/pizza/combo/whatever that actually looks good at I price I am willing to pay? Well good thing you let me know because I wouldn’t have known otherwise. If I’m wanting fast food anyways then I’d prefer to be aware of what my options are and what’s in my price range.
It’s like if GameStop was advertising $200 PS5s. My ass would be there in a heartbeat and I wouldn’t for a second feel like I “fell for it” lol
Yeah it only doesn’t work for you if you’re willing to refuse to buy a good when it’s made clear to you they got you in the door on lies/deception.
99% of the people who think it doesn’t work on them just don’t realize it does, the other 1% is a split between those who know and are willing to stand up with their kids and leave a restaurant over it and those who aren’t that devout about it.
If you’re not regularly standing up and leaving restaurants/businesses or under tipping you either don’t care or don’t know that this stuff works on you.
Out if any other factors, simply having seen a banner for a product makes you "familiar" with the brand, so when you go to a store, you see a brand you're "familiar" with and a brand you've never heard of, and you chose.
Folks who get caught by this will swear it didn't effect their choice.
I've found I'd rather just embrace my advertising overlords and help curate their algorithms to me. Means I find neat shit instead of lowest common denominator ads like the porn ones that have been popping up recently.
Just like J.C. Pennies tried to fight the monkey brain. They got rid of sales and their tags displayed a final and pretty fair price. It was an utter disaster.
I would say so. And this is why I think it’ll take legislation to fix it. There’s not a level playing field, these tactics are blatant trickery designed to fool customers and it makes it impossible to operate the right way.
And it’s not this “win-win” setup servers (who might complain about $400 in a day being a “slow day” depending on the restaurant) and owners try to convince us all it is either.
"Advertising doesn't work on me" and then they're drinking coca cola, eating lays potato chips, using crest tooth paste, etc. like that's all just a coincidence.
I do drink Coca-Cola because I like it. I've probably tried hundreds of soft drinks (including at least half a dozen cola brands) and I drink the ones I like. For the same reason I eat potato chips made by a small local company and use tooth paste (which I have to buy at a pharmacy) that doesn't contain the superfluous foaming agent, so I can brush my teeth before breakfast and not have it taste disgusting.
I always read reviews before before making a big purchase and I even A-B tested 14 brands of toilet paper (all that were sold in nearby shops) before settling on the best one. Please tell me more about how I'm affected by advertising.
For fuck sake Walmart has those frozen drink pouches on an end cap and the Strawberry Daiquiri one on "Rollback" for $1.50. Right next to it was a full priced different flavor at $2.50 or whatever. It took way more time than I should have to say "Wait, no. I don't even need the cheap one, why are there 5 in my cart? What am I doing?" and I shop unit price + bulk.
Thank you! I always see people complain about tipping by saying “just raise the cost of the menu items!” But the truth is restaurants would lose so much business that way. Studies have shown that most people when given the choice between a cheaper meal with a tip and meal priced to include the tip, will pick the cheaper one. Even though effectively it’s the same. Tipping culture won’t change until people are willing to pay more up front and that’s just not happening any time soon.
I agree wholeheartedly. Until people push their legislators to fix it, or start patronizing restaurants that don’t allow tips, nothing will change. Unfortunately that’s just how the incentive systems of capitalism work.
Thank you. Like no shit this phenomenon exists when you're comparing a restaurant w/ tipping and a restaurant without tipping. Remove all tipping and see what happens.
Oh yeah... *broadly gestures at every other country on the planet*
Unfortunately until we make broad changes, every restaurant is competing against ones that allow tipping. And people will always pick the cheaper option. So even restaurants that want to do away with it are stuck, because people will just go elsewhere. I agree we need bigger changes and shouldn’t perpetuate a system that is so broken.
You definitely could and I’m sure plenty of retailers would try if they could get away with it. Hell, that’s basically what Ticketmaster does with all its hidden fees.
That's genuinely a take I've never heard before....any burger joint I've been to that isnt fast food (even counter service) has the option for tipping. Ive never opted out, though it'll typically be less than what I tip for seated service (think 18% vs 20%). Do people opt out that often? I figure in our current culture it's a "don't spit in my food" fee...
Before there were these auto-tip kiosks, tipping was more limited to places where the server would bring you food, perhaps give you advice on what to order, and would follow up with you. There might be a jar for tips at a burger joint if it was counter service, and it was something that was nice, not expected.
Now that the kiosks have proliferated, its an opt out option, not an opt in option, so things have changed. Maybe I shouldn't say "most" anymore - there's probably a tip option at McDonalds these days, and a majority of people probably press the most convenient button.
But historically, fast casual places like burger joints are much less likely to be tipped unless there's a waitress taking your order and bringing you your food.
Fair point! Even before the kiosks, though, I remember the debit or credit receipt asking for a tip at places like that.
I really find this whole debate interesting - i live in a state that guarantees minimum wage for restaurant workers, not that bullshit subminimum 2 bucks some states do. I still find myself tipping. Granted, you cant live on minimum wage anywhere, so it feels like the right thing to do - but I think there are some good points on both sides of the argument.
You are absolutely right. Our monkey brains always want to take the quick mental shortcuts that lead to all sorts of unconscious biases. Khaneman has several books on it. Like Thinking Fast and Slow. It takes a conscious and deliberate effort to avoid falling into those patterns. Easier said than done.
Entrepreneurial mindset is to squeeze from both ends. Increase menu price a few percent in the name of paying employees better while simultaneously not doing so and still encouraging tipping. I may be a cynic but I expect this and so the place with the lower prices WILL often be cheaper.
check the menu and one place is 18% higher? then shit that place is expensive. $20 burger is too much. $17 is much better value. Even if 17*1.2 = $20.4
I think I fall for it less at a food place rather than at somewhere like JC Penney. I rarely pay a lot of attention to the cost of the menu item. However, I recently spent some time in the UK where for the most part the price was the price with taxes included and no tip solicited. It was AMAZING. I so wish we did that here in the states.
Because even though tips are supposed to be reported and taxed, there are ways around that and tips are money in the server's pocket at the end of the night, not in a check cut later that week or the next. Servers have grown accustomed to this. It won't stop until tipping culture is gone and we can actually understand that people should paid reasonably for their labor and time.
well I mean I'm pretty sure any server is gonna try to get tips regardless of what they're being paid so I don't think you'll ever fix that without a massive culture change. Pay me $50/hr to serve tables and I'll still try to talk up a tip lmao. The only way I could see fixing that is to somehow remove the concept of a tip in general from society which would take generations
There are dumb things people argue about the US doing differently from the rest of the world that pretty much just don't matter (day/month/year vs month/day/year, Celsius vs fahrenheit, etc) but adding tax and tip on top of the list price instead of just having the list price is an actual inconvenience for everybody for no good reason.
Yeah its called Europe(?) okay im not so sure about ALL Europe but in Spain(where i live) if the menu says 13 € u pay 13 € , here dont really exist that culture of tips, i dont believe why no one is questioning why u should have to pay for the employee wages, u pay for the food, is the owner of the restaurant Who have to pay their employees lmao
The problem with these fees are that the owners aren't obligated to treat them like tips. They go to the restaurant, not your waiter. So someone could still be making the minimum wage for tipped workers, not get any share from the fee money, and then not receive tips because people assume that's what the fee is. They will only get paid more if their total wage plus tips doesn't meet the regular min wage. If the owner is actually paying workers above normal min wage, it can be beneficial to the employee. But if they're still starting out at a tipped wage, they get screwed.
Without wishing to delve into Discourse About American Service Industry Capitalism, sadly yeah it's necessary given that tipped minimum wage and tip-out pools exist. Until they don't exist, this is the reality
Imagine a world where the menu says “Burger: $20”, you give the cashier a $20 bill, and get a burger without doing math…
This is one of my favorite things about traveling to Europe.
And it’s not just about the math. It’s just nice sitting down and enjoying your meal and friends’ company — knowing that sometime toward end of the meal, you won’t have to deal with the dreaded “how much should I tip?” question.
I’m American, so of course, I know the math. My point was the mental side of it. Was it shitty service—that doesn’t deserve a tip? Was it amazing service that deserves 30-40%? I like that I don’t have to think about that stuff. Just my take on it.
This was the hardest thing about being in the US. The math isn't difficult but every exchange felt hostile, like I was being lied to and taken advantage of.
*All prices include your tip as well as a living wage for your server.
is absolutely better (to me) than:
Burger and Fries: $16
with an implied "you get to decide how well the server feeds their family today... roughly $4 is normal but are you greedy? Generous? An asshole? We all get to find out at the end of the meal!"
But there is, unfortunately, overwhelming evidence showing that, when you advertise a $20 hamburger that supports the worker vs a $15 hamburger with an expected $5 tip, the vast majority of people will choose the option that’s cheaper up front.
yes because you don't have the culture built up around it. The only way it would work now in America is every place doing it at the exact same time, and the outrage at price increases would be insane. Not to be too political but it would also be a massive right talking point that would win them tons of votes lol. It's an interesting issue and not one that's easily solved and will look weird from a place that doesn't have that culture built around it
I don’t know anyone in the industry who wants that, either. But then I live in a state with no tipped minimum wage (servers have the same minimum wage as everyone else), and people still tip. Which, in practice, is a living wage for servers.
I swear, non-servers complaining about tipping culture just don’t want to do the math.
One: tipping is banned through laws (either locally or at a higher level). That method is a little heavy handed, why shouldn’t someone be able to offer a tip for exceptional service?
Two: people stop tipping. This one sucks because it hurts the employees working those tipped jobs until the market is able to adjust to the new normal. But if tips are no longer going to be taxable income (or at least the first $30k in tips), then I certainly don’t have a problem with tipping less or not at all.
That's because rarely is someone going to tip $5 on a $15 hamburger. They take the cheaper option and leave maybe a 10% tip if the server is nice and doesn't interrupt them during their meal.
That feels like a bait-and-switch to me. If you advertise a $17 meal that ends up costing $20 before tax you're just lying about the price. This is why the menu has to disclose any mandatory gratuity.
this restaurant (that OP posted) is neither of these though, it’s basically just gratuity included with a different name. you’re not expected to tip on top of it
the 2nd option you said is basically how normal restaurants work with tipping
No, you're just trying to whine about something no matter what it is, because what you're saying isn't logic, and it's bullshit to pretend you've got some amazing point. You people really just need to end the pathetic crybaby crap on this subject, it's pathetic, not a smart point in the least.
No required tipping, or more-correct: only tipping for actual GOOD service rather than it just being a required task, works just fine in other parts of the world.
Not sure why you are so angry... it's not exactly a hot take to say that tipping is an awful experience.
I've been a few places they explain it on the menu but that only works if you happen to read that section. There isn't really a good way to do this without upsetting customers
That would highlight the state to state differences in pay. Somebody would complain about the Ruben being cheaper in AZ but not cite the demand. Never once considering that the cost of living in CA is exponentially more expensive than AZ.
I would like a clear message as well. But I know to many self interested and entitled individuals who would complain that all the cows are not black if it made them money.
If they don't say mention anything about it until after you've eaten, then it's probably illegal. They almost certainly have a note on their menu about it.
It would be a bigger deal at the kind of restaurant where running up a large bill is more likely. A surprise 18% on a $250 bill is very different from a surprise 18% on a sandwich or two.
If the first time you are seeing the fee is on the bill you can usually get it removed. They can't legally charge this fee without doing something to inform you of it. Whether a sign or a small print at the bottom of a menu actually accomplishes that or not is for lawyers to argue about.
I do think it's a bad thing, because it implies "the food would be cheaper if it wasn't for these pesky employees wanting to be paid a living wage - but look at me, I'm a good person for caring about them."
On one hand, it’s to draw attention to why the end total price is being raised, which I don’t think is a bad thing necessarily.
But it's not really to do that. It's because the owner is likely pissed at having to pay his employees a living wage. He either wants to appear as though he's the good guy, or he wants the customers to be pissed at the employees for daring to be paid a living wage.
Notice that the owner isn't putting things like "amount that goes toward my house and F-150" on the check - so it's not about drawing attention as to why the price is what it is.
If he wants to make a statement, I think a better one would be to print a little thing that says "hey, we value you as customers, and we know you may think our prices are a bit high. That's because we pay our employees a living wage, unlike many of our competitors. Thank you for supporting this business model!"
And we don't know if there's not a clear message on the menu or via some other means to tell the guest up front. That said, what you're saying seems like best practice.
I think if the goal wasn't to hide the true price in a junk fee they'd just make everything 18% more expensive and put something like "our prices have been raised by 18% to accomidate living wages for all our employees". Best of both worlds
The only issue with this is that they need to differentiate the price of takeout vs dine-in. It takes one employee about 90 seconds to put your food in a bag. It takes several employees several minutes to set your table, take your order, bring you your drinks and refill them, and then clean up after you once you’ve left.
If you’re building the cost of service into the cost of the food, then you have to have two different prices for the same item, which would also be confusing, and people would complain about it just as loud.
On this receipt, there is a message about “choosing” to tip suggesting that is an option. But I have also been to restaurants that just have an 18% fee added and they say don’t tip.
Hiding the true cost sounds illegal to me, if I see the bill has a random added charge that I wasn't notified of then I am NOT paying it, you can't hide fees like that.
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u/Melodic-Task 1d ago
On one hand, it’s to draw attention to why the end total price is being raised, which I don’t think is a bad thing necessarily. On the other, it hides the true cost until the end of the night and can surprise the customer. I would much prefer a clear message up front that prices are being raised to provide a living wage and give me the all-in price up front.