tipping at restaurants and everywhere

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Did you see the tick tok post I didn't see it but saw article about the 3.5% surcharge for medical??? https://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-b2183176.html

I agree what is going on in the USA. Why can't we pass a law that restaurants have to pay the minimum wage and not $2. Why are the costs for workers being put on the consumer so blatently. Why can't we pay a living wage?

[QuarterMillionMan]

Uber/Lyft sort of same thing. Drivers were independent contractors without benefits until big government made it mandatory adding the benefits, now we the customers have to pay for it.

[jenn_jenn]

I’d love to see that come for a vote.

In California, service industry jobs are still required to be minimum wage (not the $2/hr things that other states pull) and there’s still surcharges and required tipping.

We were just in Europe for two weeks and I loved not having the expectation to tip everywhere. It was already built into the prices. Why can’t we do that?!

[ua_guy]

Uber/Lyft sort of same thing. Drivers were independent contractors without benefits until big government made it mandatory adding the benefits, now we the customers have to pay for it.

I wonder how that's different from buying any product or service, though. I get benefits with my job, and the only way those get paid for is if our customers pay us for our services. I guess I don't see why someone earning money from an employer isn't deserving of, at least, healthcare insurance. They're giving time out of their life to make money for themselves (and usually more money for their employer).

[rennigade]

I'm sure a law could be passed, but none of us would want to go out to eat anymore. The owner is going to pass the increased wages to the consumer. I'm not about to pay $38 for a chimichanga at a Mexican restaurant.

[Snicks]

We never ate out much. There aren't a lot of options around here anyway. Sometimes we eat out when traveling. Businesses can add charges I guess but I think they need to upfront about those charges. I think it's unfair to tack on charges at the end when these are not usual or customary.

[ua_guy]

I tend to agree about the additional charge being tacked on not being usual/customary. I'm reminded of a restaurant in my old stomping ground who tacked on an "employee benefit" charge. I knew the owners, and the staff. The owners meant well and generally took good care of their staff, but it backfired. Patrons made it political, and others were irked about the "surprise" at the end of their bill (even though there was a little paper tent on the table which explained it, and on the menu, too). They've since raised their prices - for a number of reasons, but one was to cover that surcharge and do away with the 'extra' charge for benefits. Even through Covid, the restaurant continues to do very well.

If 3.5% on a total bill covers basic benefits for employees, to me, that's just the cost of doing business. If we blow $100 at a Mexican restaurant between two dinners and a couple of margs, paying an additional $3.50 is no big deal to me.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Resort fees have tipping fees and other service fees beat. Take this Harrah's Las Vegas nightly rate of $10, but add the $40 resort fee and other taxes and fees and the total now is $56, which is still a good rate but the $40 resort fee seems so deceptive.

[QuarterMillionMan]

'All of a sudden the bill comes out ... 30% to 40% higher': Here's why restaurants are suddenly serving up airline-style fees (yahoo.com)

A restaurant in San Francisco is adding the 5% health care fee. He said he will be dining out less but that remains to be seen.

[disneysteve]

I tend to agree about the additional charge being tacked on not being usual/customary. I'm reminded of a restaurant in my old stomping ground who tacked on an "employee benefit" charge. I knew the owners, and the staff. The owners meant well and generally took good care of their staff, but it backfired. Patrons made it political, and others were irked about the "surprise" at the end of their bill (even though there was a little paper tent on the table which explained it, and on the menu, too). They've since raised their prices - for a number of reasons, but one was to cover that surcharge and do away with the 'extra' charge for benefits. Even through Covid, the restaurant continues to do very well.

If 3.5% on a total bill covers basic benefits for employees, to me, that's just the cost of doing business. If we blow $100 at a Mexican restaurant between two dinners and a couple of margs, paying an additional $3.50 is no big deal to me.

I hate when they tack on extra itemized charges. Just change your prices. Fuel surcharge, resort fee, employee benefit charge, whatever. Stop it! Just charge however much you need to charge so that when I look at the menu or the website and see a price, I know that that's the amount I'm actually going to pay and there won't be any surprises, even $3.50, when the bill comes. It's not the charges I mind. It's trying to conceal them to make the deal look better up front that bothers me.

[kork13]

I hate when they tack on extra itemized charges. Just change your prices. Fuel surcharge, resort fee, employee benefit charge, whatever. Stop it! Just charge however much you need to charge so that when I look at the menu or the website and see a price, I know that that's the amount I'm actually going to pay and there won't be any surprises, even $3.50, when the bill comes. It's not the charges I mind. It's trying to conceal them to make the deal look better up front that bothers me.

I hold the same contention about taxes. In most foreign countries, all the various taxes are incorporated into the stated price. No reason to add a separate line item just to make the point that the state/city/whatever is sticking out to you & talking a slice. Just keep it simple -- what you see is what you pay.

[myrdale]

I hold the same contention about taxes. In most foreign countries, all the various taxes are incorporated into the stated price. No reason to add a separate line item just to make the point that the state/city/whatever is sticking out to you & talking a slice. Just keep it simple -- what you see is what you pay.

It can't even be as simple as a simple one liner for tax either. A local Dollar General list multiple sales taxes, state / local.

I had an interesting experience trying to get a refund from Fire House Subs last week around sales tax. A month ago, I demanded a refund after waiting in the lobby for 10 minutes and no one was preparing food (they were throwing a frizbe in the kitchen the entire time). A month later when I got my bank statement and saw the refund didn't go through I went back. The total was $15.83, but when they rung me up they could only transfer $15.81 back to the card. OK I know $0.02 ain't much, and I probably spend more that $15 in headache around the situation, but if they took $15.83 off the card, you would think they could put $15.83 back.

[disneysteve]

I hold the same contention about taxes. In most foreign countries, all the various taxes are incorporated into the stated price. No reason to add a separate line item just to make the point that the state/city/whatever is sticking out to you & talking a slice. Just keep it simple -- what you see is what you pay.

In other countries, is the tax typically the same everywhere in the country? Here in the US, taxes vary by location with different state and city taxes. It would make it impossible for a chain that has locations in multiple places to print menus or post prices on their website because what taxes you pay depend on exactly where you live.

In most states it's actually illegal to include sales tax in the price. Plus if you sell online, that wouldn't work anyway since how much tax is due depends on where the customer is located.

[jenn_jenn]

In other countries, is the tax typically the same everywhere in the country? Here in the US, taxes vary by location with different state and city taxes. It would make it impossible for a chain that has locations in multiple places to print menus or post prices on their website because what taxes you pay depend on exactly where you live.

In most states it's actually illegal to include sales tax in the price. Plus if you sell online, that wouldn't work anyway since how much tax is due depends on where the customer is located.

Obviously things would have to change to make this work but doesn’t make it not possible.

I don’t think it is asking too much for a place of business to be able to display prices including sales tax. Would this be a little more work on them? Yes. An unreasonable or prohibitive ask? No.

Online sales present a unique challenge. Perhaps it becomes that there’s a flat “online” sales tax. Is this likely to happen? No, for a number of reasons.

[ua_guy]

It can't even be as simple as a simple one liner for tax either. A local Dollar General list multiple sales taxes, state / local.

I had an interesting experience trying to get a refund from Fire House Subs last week around sales tax. A month ago, I demanded a refund after waiting in the lobby for 10 minutes and no one was preparing food (they were throwing a frizbe in the kitchen the entire time). A month later when I got my bank statement and saw the refund didn't go through I went back. The total was $15.83, but when they rung me up they could only transfer $15.81 back to the card. OK I know $0.02 ain't much, and I probably spend more that $15 in headache around the situation, but if they took $15.83 off the card, you would think they could put $15.83 back.

Maybe the staff were on break. They should schedule staff coverage and breaks accordingly, obviously, and not make customers wait, but if they have no other choice?. The $15.81, $0.02 mis-key was probably exactly that. If they are using a card reader/terminal to refund, they have to manually enter the amount and probably screwed up when doing so. Stupid mistake.

The line-item listing of taxes is sometimes driven by law and/or reporting requirement to prove that the establishment is indeed collecting sales taxes. Many employers also require line-item receipts for expense reporting through their own companies.

Firehouse is better than Subway for sure, since they're basically the same price now. Subway used to be a deal with the $5 footlong.