Places that charge service fees (discussion)

[VeggieMeat]

... How do I do that with the State of Oklahoma when paying online? ... convenience fee (now I know this is because I am using the online sight, but shouldn't there already be tax dollars paying for the site ...

Most of the pay apps were built for "free" in exchange for capturing a fee. It's been that way since the 2000s. The current version of the contract is SW1111 (https://apps.ok.gov/dcs/solicit/app/...php?conID=3549).

[TheTravellers]

What places are charging extra for using cash? Personal knowledge or just something you heard?

Something I've read and seen. May not have hit OKC yet. Just google restaurant service charge and look at the images.

[Jersey Boss]

Something I've read and seen. May not have hit OKC yet. Just google restaurant service charge and look at the images.

So if the restaurant does not indicate on the menu or before ordering you can ignore this under false advertising. If they do make it known, that will impact server tips.

[TheTravellers]

So if the restaurant does not indicate on the menu or before ordering you can ignore this under false advertising. If they do make it known, that will impact server tips.

It already has impacted tips, from what I've heard. People think "If they're charging me an extra 10%, I'll only tip 10%, screw them for being greedy and/or incompetent for not charging what they need to."

[Anonymous.]

Fee culture is now just like tip culture. It is broken and like Jerrywall said, why are random costs of running a business suddenly special and need to be passed directly to customers?

Restaurant industry in the US has gotten away with it for some reason with labor and now you see tip and fee charges in basically every industry.

The delivery/gig industry is also a huge mess. Shopping in America is becoming a giant bidding war for service.

[Richard at Remax]

I was in Seattle over the weekend. It's all over the place there, but it's for a different reason. Got hit twice on 5% charges




Maybe just pay your people better and not push it off on the consumer? We fought back and had them both removed. Just leaves a bad taste in most instances. Which is a shame because both restaurants were terrific.

[mugofbeer]

I was in Seattle over the weekend. It's all over the place there, but it's for a different reason. Got hit twice on 5% charges




Maybe just pay your people better and not push it off on the consumer? We fought back and had them both removed. Just leaves a bad taste in most instances. Which is a shame because both restaurants were terrific.

Good for you fighting back!

[PaddyShack]

I was in Seattle over the weekend. It's all over the place there, but it's for a different reason. Got hit twice on 5% charges




Maybe just pay your people better and not push it off on the consumer? We fought back and had them both removed. Just leaves a bad taste in most instances. Which is a shame because both restaurants were terrific.

I did not know you could fight them on this. When we were in Denver this past January they all had the living wage % added, but my wife did not let me fight them on it as we were on vacation. Granted all of the places we went had the "fee" advertised before ordering so it wasn't a surprise.

I think it is a bit crazy that the cook gets commission on your beverages, I would think that should be shared with bar staff if we're gouging for staff wages.

I will say, since they all charge my a living wage fee I felt no need to tip them. If they want to steal 5% for living wages then they don't need my measly 15%-20% tip to feed themselves.

[mugofbeer]

I did not know you could fight them on this. When we were in Denver this past January they all had the living wage % added, but my wife did not let me fight them on it as we were on vacation. Granted all of the places we went had the "fee" advertised before ordering so it wasn't a surprise.

I will say, since they all charge my a living wage fee I felt no need to tip them. If they want to steal 5% for living wages then they don't need my measly 15%-20% tip to feed themselves.

^^^^^

[Richard at Remax]

I did not know you could fight them on this. When we were in Denver this past January they all had the living wage % added, but my wife did not let me fight them on it as we were on vacation. Granted all of the places we went had the "fee" advertised before ordering so it wasn't a surprise.

I think it is a bit crazy that the cook gets commission on your beverages, I would think that should be shared with bar staff if we're gouging for staff wages.

I will say, since they all charge my a living wage fee I felt no need to tip them. If they want to steal 5% for living wages then they don't need my measly 15%-20% tip to feed themselves.

to be fair of your experience, both of these places did not have the fee disclosed anywhere, which is why we were successful.

That being said, this is one of the most expensive cities in the US to live in. Why is it on me, and other consumers, to help you out a little extra to live there? Kind of hilarious if you think about it because within 1 block any direction I could have walked up to someone homeless or someone doing crack. But you want to give me a fee? Just an interesting mindset.

[mugofbeer]

I live in the Denver metro and l totally agree with you on the fees. Part of the mindset, in Denver, is the restaurant biz is huge here. Being a trendy and "desireable" place to move to (if you can afford it), competition is massive - not just for customers, but for staff - so they have to pay for staff.

Ironic and with the service industry begging for staff help, while there are homeless encampments virtually outside their doors.

[Anonymous.]

My favorite is the audacity of super obscure "services" requesting tips. I recently went to a concert at Paycom Center and got two shirts from the merchandise booth. There was 20, 30, and 40% options for tipping on the tablet. I think I got $80 worth of merch, so any of those options would have been absurd. Of course I did a custom/$0 tip - but the entire guilt-ploy to get consumers to tip at POS is not enough greed. That is what these fees are, it is just forcing your submission and hoping you don't say something.

[bamarsha]

What's the point of tipping in places like Denver, when the minimum wage is $18.29 ($15.27 if you make at least $3.02 in tips)? With the ridiculous minimum wages these days, I see absolutely no reason to tip in those locations.

[BoulderSooner]

What's the point of tipping in places like Denver, when the minimum wage is $18.29 ($15.27 if you make at least $3.02 in tips)? With the ridiculous minimum wages these days, I see absolutely no reason to tip in those locations.

100% agree the min wage has caused menu prices to go way up ...

[mugofbeer]

What's the point of tipping in places like Denver, when the minimum wage is $18.29 ($15.27 if you make at least $3.02 in tips)? With the ridiculous minimum wages these days, I see absolutely no reason to tip in those locations.

I agree.

[The]

So, you want people that are only paying in cash to also cover your fees? lol.

I think it's pretty simple. Pay with cash or pay for the convenience of not needing cash. It's not that difficult.

So they can avoid paying taxes or I can be robbed? You can miss me with this ****.

[Jersey Boss]

So they can avoid paying taxes or I can be robbed? You can miss me with this ****.

Eat at home. Your fears will be put to rest.

[The]

Eat at home. Your fears will be put to rest.

Stupid contribution but thanks?

[Jersey Boss]

So they can avoid paying taxes or I can be robbed? You can miss me with this ****.

Concerning your self about someone else's tax obligation is a stupid contribution unless you work for the IRS or OTA

[TheTravellers]

Concerning your self about someone else's tax obligation is a stupid contribution unless you work for the IRS or OTA

If it's a single citizen, yes, but if it's a restaurant, it has the potential to be not just tax evasion, but also wage theft, other labor law violations, etc., since a lot of times, those things go hand-in-hand. And that can have repercussions beyond just "Oh, "forgot" to pay taxes, here's a check". Not implying that any restaurant that charges service fees is doing that, but it can happen a lot easier if you're focused on cash payment or cash-only.

And yes, "eat at home" is as stupid as "if you don't like it here, move".

[mugofbeer]

Neither of those are "stupid" if all you can do is complain and gripe about something.

[Dob Hooligan]

We are complaining about things that do not appear to harm the businesses engaging in those practices. Like "Resort Fees", "Baggage Fees", or any number of add-on charges. The hard truth is that businesses charge them, we pay them, we complain about them, and then we spend our money at the same business again and again. When the business suffers from doing it, the smart business will stop doing it.

Until then...this is just another "First World Problem".

[Dob Hooligan]

So they can avoid paying taxes or I can be robbed? You can miss me with this ****.

I will freely admit I have done business with people in locations where I feared being robbed, or worse. Maybe the Spanish Moon, maybe not. None of those were legal, registered businesses that took credit cards. And I have never been concerned with a trade partner paying their taxes.