The FTC is trying to crack down on "junk fees." Restaurants are fighting to keep fees and surcharges on their checks.

Lawmakers want to crack down on “junk fees,” but restaurants are trying to stay out of the fight.

Surcharges or fees covering everything from credit card processing to gratuities to “inflation” have become more popular on restaurant checks in recent years.

Last year, 15% of restaurant owners added surcharges or fees to checks because of higher costs, according to the National Restaurant Association. In the second quarter, 3.7% of restaurant transactions processed by Square included a service fee, more than double the beginning of 2022, according to a recent report from the company.

Opponents of the practice say those fees and surcharges may surprise customers, hoodwinking them into paying more for their meals at a time when their wallets are already feeling thin. Fed-up diners compiled spreadsheets via Reddit of restaurants in Los Angeles, Chicago and D.C. charging hidden fees. Even the Onion took a swing at the practice, publishing a satirical story in May with the headline “Restaurant Check Includes 3% Surcharge To Provide Owner’s Sugar Baby With Birkin.”

  • snooggums@midwest.socialEnglish
    64·
    3 months ago

    All listed prices should be the final maximum cost for any specific product. “Additional fees may apply” should not be allowed, as they exist to deceive the user about the final cost.

    Upcharges for additional things is fine, as long as the customer knows what the additional cost is.

    Also, tipping needs to fuck off and all employees need to be paid a living wage. If businesses can’t pay a living wage they don’t need to exist.

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
      34·
      3 months ago

      Yup, at this point it’s just false advertising. Per the article, restaurant owners are saying they want to keep menu prices low as to not scare off customers, which is really just a fancy way of saying they’d rather bait them on the promise of low prices, and then ram the full cost of the meal up their asses at the end of it.

      Just roll everything (cost/taxes/tips/fees) into the menu price. This constant bait and switch in the US needs to finally die. If you won’t survive by showing the true costs your customers need to pay, maybe you need to rethink your business model or find a new profession.

      • JCreazy@midwest.socialEnglish
        18·
        3 months ago

        The way I see it, if a restaurant can’t provide a living wage and also provide reasonably priced food, then the restaurant is being run poorly and the money is not being managed properly.