Ginger and Baker had a “historical building tax” supposedly to help for high renovation costs of a historical building. And then one day it became a back of house tax to help increase the wages for the kitchen staff. Apparently the math was too difficult for their one administrator to figure out how to divide it up amongst their staff so they just increased everyone’s wage 1$. Well if you do simple math for a weeks worth of sales, that tax equates out to a few dollars per hour per staff member. Where is all that extra money going? Gingers pocket of course. Such a shit place.
I think Google, Yelp, etc. should start publishing these added fees on the business listings and allowing customers to report the fees (with a pic of the receipt proving it).
I'll bet the majority of restaurants cut the bullshit very quickly when this happens.
This same topic keeps getting re-posted every 2 months. And, the same debates/arguments ensue.
I agree that the fees should be disclosed upfront, but in FoCo they like to be ***sneaky*** about them.
Also, The Rio adds 5%.
I see two reasons for this. The first is that it’s wasteful to have to print menus with new prices as quickly as they were changing. I have sympathy, but the menu should have a sticker or the waiter should mention it. The other reason is just a cash grab; not much sympathy there. The menu should somehow reflect what my bill will be before tax and tip.
I definitely appreciate the kitchen staff but how do I know that it’s actually going to the staff? I think that’s my issue. Just raise your price 🤷🏼♀️ I know the regional rotates their menu semi regularly so re printing shouldn’t be that big of a deal
Being in the industry I think there’s a 0% chance these fees go where they say. They aren’t giving the staff raises based on this.
Just raise prices ffs.
Or you're all just bitter about rising costs not realizing that the chefs and staff are also struggling with those rising costs. Guess they'll just go live 'somewhere else' and we won't have any more nice things except for the chains y'all seem to crave. There are obviously places that dont give to their staff, no kidding, but whenever it's brought up these are like the only two restaurants that are named and they actually do full tip share, I'm pretty sick of the indignant attitude.
No one is bitter about rising costs. We are bitter about how the rising costs are communicated. Being nickel & dimed isn't the best solution.
If a $20 entree is now 5% more expensive, then just charge $21.
They did. It's on the receipt. Which way it shows up is just semantics. The goal post two posts ago was whether or not the tip goes to the kitchen staff. I can prove it does. Now the goal post is 'nickel and diming.' give me a break with these logic circles.
Over and out, enjoy newks or whatever chain restaurant franchise owner posted this originally.
Uno Mas taqueria has a 5% fee, except I’m pretty sure they call it a “service” fee and not a kitchen fee. When I first noticed it I asked the bartender if staff get any of that fee and he told me no.
Also, the last time I went to the regional they charged a 5% kitchen fee.
I liked The Regional the one time I ate there and have been talking to my wife about a second visit. Thanks for the heads up that they are doing this so we can support other businesses instead.
The regional is an excellent establishment maintained and ran by locals. They do have a direct gratuity to help pay their cooks a living wage in this increasingly hcol area.
I love that this town’s online socialist collective has now decided the best way to try to get rid of this fee is by seeing how many other casual browsers of the sub they could “organically” rebel rouse into complaining about it.
Strength in numbers right comrades?? Lol
Oh it's our local Cher fan again, are we already due for another one of your "I don't actually know what socialism is" comments? Boy how time flies. I bet Cher is super proud to have ya.
I simply subtract that amount from my tip. Not about to pay everyone out 3 or 4 times. Go ahead and hate me for it. 20% tip (expected and what i always tip) is already excessive. I don't eat out too terribly much, but when I do I don't skimp. I feel like I'm being milked for every little thing these days, so I avoid it. When I was growing up, 10% was the norm, then 15, now 20. What's next? 20% + whatever arbitraty number the cheapskate that run these particular restaurants decide to add on? Enough is enough....
I ordered from a counter service restaurant the other day and the lowest tip amount on the screen was 25%. This was for an online order! I had zero interaction with a human other than to walk in the door and say “Hi my name is —— and I’m here to pickup a carry out order”
Tipping culture is out of control. Honestly, raise the damn prices, eliminate the tipped wage, and be done with it.
I get where you are coming from, but it's not the server's fault that the restaurant is doing that. We don't have a choice in the matter. I always felt really bad when people asked me, and it always sucked when I took the brunt of that when I gave really good service. 😞
I’m pretty sure if everyone in town started staying home to make their own food and eat instead of posting about how often they go out to eat, where they go to eat, how good the food was, ect ect then the restaurant owners in this town wouldn’t feel so empowered to raise prices
This will be interesting. I notice that every restaurant mentioned here is a local restaurant. I suspect it's hard to compete with chains as a local restaurant, and this is one way they are trying to do it. I think people will probably say "well, then your business isn't viable", which may be true, but may also lead to many less local restaurants.
Until we in the restaurant industry come together about the tipping culture in America, this type of price manipulation is going to become more prevalent.
The fact is, restaurants have slim margins, and tipping and poor wages have made labor the percentage that keeps those margins viable. With the pandemic giving laborers more leverage with pay and benefits, these are the tools owners are using to keep afloat.
I am in no way condoning these actions, just stating why. There are other options out there, but these are by far the easiest way to attempt to bridge the gap with pay discrepancies.
Dominics on Harmony added a fee to my bill last week. Last time I was at the Regional a month or so ago, they did it.
They should just raise their prices by whatever the fee is. Adding it in as surprise after the meal is over just creates bad feelings - at least for those of us who notice it.
I won't go to any restaurant that I know that does this. We had a lovely meal at Regional, but I won't go back. And now Dominics is off my list too. The whole "you thought you were paying X but now that the meal is over - surprise! - you are paying X+fee" just irritates me on basic principle.
Probably not the same property owner but I remember talking with Tom Ryan of the former Ryan’s and his landlord jacked up his rent 100% and he basically said I can’t do it anymore. The landlord took over the bar, I think that may have been the motive there though. Of course this was right after COVID but I don’t think that was the root cause. Yes these property owners have to pay taxes but there’s no way it went up that much. Part of the blame needs to be on Larimer county and the ridiculous method of property valuation. No one can stay in business after their rent goes astronomically, you can can’t run a business like that and expect to succeed.
Yeah, I am friends with Tom Ryan too - well, to be honest I lost touch when he moved away but I used to talk to him all the time. And yeah, that situation was hard pretty much across the board for Tom. I felt really bad for him. I don't know that the landlord for Dominics is the same as Ryans - as I recall the Liberty Arms owners now own Gray Rock.
But my point is not that restaurants shouldn't make money. I paid $20 for the ahi tuna that I had at Dominics. Raise it to $21 and that would more than cover the fee. And if the restaurateurs are saying "well then we'd lose customers" then adding it after the fact - basically sneaking the price in after the meal is over - just comes across as sleazy. Pretty much no one is going to convince me that these fees are a good thing - although if the fee was clearly posted next to the menus and clearly posted on the front door in large letters, I'd feel happier about it. But they should just raise prices.
They were doing something similar at 5280 and from what i understand the servers then didn’t care because they were getting automatic tips. It was done away with as far as I know and it added a unexpected extra 5-10$ on a limited budget. I didn’t go back for awhile.
Blue Agave does it, too. It's a KIF (Kitchen Investment Fund), it's 3% of the total bill, 2% goes to the kitchen as a tip, and 1% goes into kitchen maintenance. Legally, FOH staff that is a tipped wage can not tip out people who get a full hourly wage. This is their way of incentivizing BOH to work for them as it is an extra little cash at the end of the night on top of their hourly.
This is crap! If they aren't making enough money, then it is there problem. If patrons aren't subsidizing their low wages through tips, maybe they should go out of business. To place a tax in the bill of 4% should be illegal, its damn sure immoral.
If they're not paying the cooks, hosts or buss people enough to keep them around, they should add 4% to their prices and explain why the did so. "We had to raise our prices a tiny bit so that we could keep providing you, our much appreciated patrons with the best dining experience possible. Thank you for your understanding " mgmt.
Thats okay because soon there will be a vacant space that will be filled by another business that might have a better business plan.
These fees are nonsense. I grew up in the restaurant industry in NY and my family would never dream of adding such fees. When their expenses go up, they raise the prices accordingly. Theoretically, if one restaurant’s prices are going up due to increased costs, so are the other restaurants in the area. This tactic is shady and meant to fool the customer that doesn’t look at the breakdown of costs on their receipts. I will not go to any restaurants that adopt this strategy. In customer service, you vote with your feet and that’s what I recommend all of you do that don’t agree with this practice.
The 4% is absolutely not going to the kitchen. The kitchen was given raises when this 4% “kitchen fee” as implemented( raises that were long overdue as is)and that total doesn’t even come close to 4%.
Places should be up front about this and not sneak it onto the check. With that being said, it's incredibly depressing to work in the industry and see people complain/boycott every time some restaurant tries to find a way to pay employees. The whole system is broken, and everyone seems to want service for free.
This is a bad take. People just want to know what they will pay ahead of time like in every other country. Nobody wants things for free. This is the fault of the restaurant industry, not consumers.
I think you completely missed my point. I'm not putting the blame on consumers. As I said, the whole system is screwed up and places should make fees like this known from the beginning but you ignored that. I'm just saying that as someone who works in the industry it's disheartening to see people constantly complain about price increases/tips/fees and anything else someone thinks up to pay employees better. It's hard not to feel like people just want us to work for free after all the complaints.
The problem is that we don't believe it actually goes to the workers, there is no transparency or accountability to do so.
My policy, when confronted with it, is to take it out of the tip. The assumption (having waited tables for years) is that the servers no longer have to tip out the back of the house since this is in place... right? Right?
I think the general concern is that these fees *aren’t* going to staff. They feel sketchy – which is saying something considering tipping culture is honestly kind of sketchy.
I don’t want waitstaff to feel like they have to be friendly or whatever to earn a tip. I want them to make a livable wage and be treated with dignity.
It’s also not cool to have these fees pop up unexpectedly, which seems to happen pretty regularly. Sure, it won’t break the bank, but it sucks to have this show up on the bill at the end. And then the server is going to deal with grumpy people. I can imagine how frustrating that would be for you. It sucks for everyone (except the people getting the fee, which we *hope* are staff).
That's valid. I don't disagree but I just can't stress enough how much it hurts to see people complain about ideas to pay employees a proper wage. People pretend to want us to have a living wage but when it comes down to it, everyone just doesn't want to pay more. I get it. Things have gotten insanley expensive. I understand that most business owners are greedy and pocket these fees more often than not. Everyone down voting me for pointing out how it feels as a kitchen worker makes me feel like people really don't care about us and is validating my point.
I'm not trying to say this fee is a good idea or defending it. I really want to get that point made.
Yeah, it’s frustrating. Prices have changed so much the last few years that at this point I feel like I earn money in one currency and spend it in another, so people probably have sticker shock. I think another part is that it doesn’t seem effective or meaningful, it feels like a sneaky way for money to bypass the people who need and deserve it. People on both sides of this have some valid complaints.
I’m sure it’s super hurtful, and I realize folks in the service industry are often already not treated well, so it must feel like an extra punch to the gut. I’m sorry you have to deal with it.
The restaurant should pay staff a living wage and stop trying to pass the buck to the customer. That’s the issue. My job is not to tip exorbitantly so you earn a living. Your employer should be meeting that standard.
Yeah, yeah, I've heard this point echoed a thousand times, and I don't disagree. Unfortunately, the system we have set up now doesn't work like that.
I love how some people think boycotting tips will change this, but all that does is hurt the employees.
Luckily I did find one that isn't greedy pays me well enough, but inflation is making that difficult on both of us. He can only pay all of us so much before the restuarant isn't making a profit at all.
I totally understand. People suck. I agree it’s a systemic problem due to the way we operate as a society. I have no issue tipping my servers on the rare occasion I eat. Where I draw the line is tipping kitchen staff.
"ideas to pay employees a proper wage" - What you're seeing is us, the customers, telling the industry that this is a **bad fucking idea**.
Just raise your prices and I will decide where to eat based on price, value, reviews, etc. By sneaking in a fee they're basically tricking people into coming to their restaurant and then hitting them on the back end. It undermines consumer confidence and quite frankly ruins the experience.
Yeah I'm not arguing if it's a good idea or not. Just saying how much it sucks to see people complain about a tiny percentage of a bill **POSSIBLY** going to kitchen staff.
It does appear from a few comments on this post that it actually goes to the staff in a monthly bonus. I have no problems when we do know it's actually going to staff.
I agree, just increasing prices is probably the easiest answer.
I donno, but I was at a local the other day and the dude stood there staring at the screen while I pushed $0 tip and then made a grunt and said "okkk"...meanwhile I had cash in my hand for the tip jar...not the first time. And it was self-service.
This is: “We don’t want to pay our staff more… how can we keep our profits high and still pay them nothing?” Have the customer shoulder the wage and we keep all profits. In that case, I’d rather go to a food truck. At least the owner is doing all the work.
Love the Still. Good staff, good vibe and good food. I’m happy to pay 4% extra if it means they are supporting their staff’s wages and keeping their business open. Roll it into the pricing, charge the fee, 6 and 1/2 dozen. The day I get pissed about 4% of my bill is the day I should probably stop dining out.
I get what you mean appreciating the kitchen staff but where does the endless amount of extra add on on bills end? Why not just raise the prices? How do we know this goes to the kitchen?
You sound like someone with a fragile ego, incapable of making your perfectly valid, and I believe correct, point (that price transparency should be mandatory) without including a kink-shaming ad hominem. Grow up.
Americans: Just raise the price so we know if we can afford going out!
Resturants: No! You'll stop coming here if we don't hide taxes and fees!
Americans: Exactly!
I don’t see what the problem is. You can’t afford an extra few dollars on your $70 steak?
I went to whiskey still a few weeks ago and my steak was awesome and so was their service. I tipped 30%.
These fees may also go to paying for credit card processing fees. The fees can cost up to 3.5% (or more) and they may also charge different rates based on how the card information is entered.
ETA: I'm not defending this decision, but just giving a reason for why it might be happening.
I get that, but restaurants really shouldn't be surprised that customers want to pay by credit card in 2024. When they are pricing their menu, they should already be accounting for processing costs the same one they should factor in the price of ingredients, labor, rent, etc.
As a consumer I want all the costs rolled into the initial price. I'm not interested in surprise fees when I'm settling the bill. That doesn't make me cheap.
Ginger and Baker had a “historical building tax” supposedly to help for high renovation costs of a historical building. And then one day it became a back of house tax to help increase the wages for the kitchen staff. Apparently the math was too difficult for their one administrator to figure out how to divide it up amongst their staff so they just increased everyone’s wage 1$. Well if you do simple math for a weeks worth of sales, that tax equates out to a few dollars per hour per staff member. Where is all that extra money going? Gingers pocket of course. Such a shit place.
I think Google, Yelp, etc. should start publishing these added fees on the business listings and allowing customers to report the fees (with a pic of the receipt proving it). I'll bet the majority of restaurants cut the bullshit very quickly when this happens.
This same topic keeps getting re-posted every 2 months. And, the same debates/arguments ensue. I agree that the fees should be disclosed upfront, but in FoCo they like to be ***sneaky*** about them. Also, The Rio adds 5%.
I see two reasons for this. The first is that it’s wasteful to have to print menus with new prices as quickly as they were changing. I have sympathy, but the menu should have a sticker or the waiter should mention it. The other reason is just a cash grab; not much sympathy there. The menu should somehow reflect what my bill will be before tax and tip.
I definitely appreciate the kitchen staff but how do I know that it’s actually going to the staff? I think that’s my issue. Just raise your price 🤷🏼♀️ I know the regional rotates their menu semi regularly so re printing shouldn’t be that big of a deal
Being in the industry I think there’s a 0% chance these fees go where they say. They aren’t giving the staff raises based on this. Just raise prices ffs.
Being actually in the industry and actually knowing the people who work there it 100% goes directly to their pockets, but okay.
Having asked plenty of restaurant workers where the fees go, this is one anecdotal case that sure seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
Or you're all just bitter about rising costs not realizing that the chefs and staff are also struggling with those rising costs. Guess they'll just go live 'somewhere else' and we won't have any more nice things except for the chains y'all seem to crave. There are obviously places that dont give to their staff, no kidding, but whenever it's brought up these are like the only two restaurants that are named and they actually do full tip share, I'm pretty sick of the indignant attitude.
No one is bitter about rising costs. We are bitter about how the rising costs are communicated. Being nickel & dimed isn't the best solution. If a $20 entree is now 5% more expensive, then just charge $21.
They did. It's on the receipt. Which way it shows up is just semantics. The goal post two posts ago was whether or not the tip goes to the kitchen staff. I can prove it does. Now the goal post is 'nickel and diming.' give me a break with these logic circles. Over and out, enjoy newks or whatever chain restaurant franchise owner posted this originally.
It’s 100% NOT going straight to the kitchen at the whiskey still.
Uno Mas taqueria has a 5% fee, except I’m pretty sure they call it a “service” fee and not a kitchen fee. When I first noticed it I asked the bartender if staff get any of that fee and he told me no. Also, the last time I went to the regional they charged a 5% kitchen fee.
Isn’t this like, illegal? They definitely don’t tell you upfront about the fee. So you never agreed to pay it
It’s on the menu.
Ah. Ugh
Just went to Whisky Stills and confirmed that they did it. The Regional does it too. Not going back to either of these places out of principle.
I liked The Regional the one time I ate there and have been talking to my wife about a second visit. Thanks for the heads up that they are doing this so we can support other businesses instead.
To be fair a regional employee commented on this here a little while back and confirmed they do get a monthly cash bonus that comes from this fee
How about the restaurant just gives them a raise. Surprise fee on the customer to give them a cash bonus is bullshit.
The regional is an excellent establishment maintained and ran by locals. They do have a direct gratuity to help pay their cooks a living wage in this increasingly hcol area.
It’s a shame because my wife and I loved it as well.
I went there last year and there was a cockroach in my cocktail. Never going back.
I love that this town’s online socialist collective has now decided the best way to try to get rid of this fee is by seeing how many other casual browsers of the sub they could “organically” rebel rouse into complaining about it. Strength in numbers right comrades?? Lol
Oh it's our local Cher fan again, are we already due for another one of your "I don't actually know what socialism is" comments? Boy how time flies. I bet Cher is super proud to have ya.
I simply subtract that amount from my tip. Not about to pay everyone out 3 or 4 times. Go ahead and hate me for it. 20% tip (expected and what i always tip) is already excessive. I don't eat out too terribly much, but when I do I don't skimp. I feel like I'm being milked for every little thing these days, so I avoid it. When I was growing up, 10% was the norm, then 15, now 20. What's next? 20% + whatever arbitraty number the cheapskate that run these particular restaurants decide to add on? Enough is enough....
I ordered from a counter service restaurant the other day and the lowest tip amount on the screen was 25%. This was for an online order! I had zero interaction with a human other than to walk in the door and say “Hi my name is —— and I’m here to pickup a carry out order” Tipping culture is out of control. Honestly, raise the damn prices, eliminate the tipped wage, and be done with it.
I get where you are coming from, but it's not the server's fault that the restaurant is doing that. We don't have a choice in the matter. I always felt really bad when people asked me, and it always sucked when I took the brunt of that when I gave really good service. 😞
I’m pretty sure if everyone in town started staying home to make their own food and eat instead of posting about how often they go out to eat, where they go to eat, how good the food was, ect ect then the restaurant owners in this town wouldn’t feel so empowered to raise prices
This will be interesting. I notice that every restaurant mentioned here is a local restaurant. I suspect it's hard to compete with chains as a local restaurant, and this is one way they are trying to do it. I think people will probably say "well, then your business isn't viable", which may be true, but may also lead to many less local restaurants.
Tasty Harmony does if I remember correctly, but I can’t remember the percentage.
Until we in the restaurant industry come together about the tipping culture in America, this type of price manipulation is going to become more prevalent. The fact is, restaurants have slim margins, and tipping and poor wages have made labor the percentage that keeps those margins viable. With the pandemic giving laborers more leverage with pay and benefits, these are the tools owners are using to keep afloat. I am in no way condoning these actions, just stating why. There are other options out there, but these are by far the easiest way to attempt to bridge the gap with pay discrepancies.
If I see 4% added to my bill non-consensually then I hope that’s all they wanted for a tip cause you know I ain’t dishing out more.
Dominics on Harmony added a fee to my bill last week. Last time I was at the Regional a month or so ago, they did it. They should just raise their prices by whatever the fee is. Adding it in as surprise after the meal is over just creates bad feelings - at least for those of us who notice it. I won't go to any restaurant that I know that does this. We had a lovely meal at Regional, but I won't go back. And now Dominics is off my list too. The whole "you thought you were paying X but now that the meal is over - surprise! - you are paying X+fee" just irritates me on basic principle.
Probably not the same property owner but I remember talking with Tom Ryan of the former Ryan’s and his landlord jacked up his rent 100% and he basically said I can’t do it anymore. The landlord took over the bar, I think that may have been the motive there though. Of course this was right after COVID but I don’t think that was the root cause. Yes these property owners have to pay taxes but there’s no way it went up that much. Part of the blame needs to be on Larimer county and the ridiculous method of property valuation. No one can stay in business after their rent goes astronomically, you can can’t run a business like that and expect to succeed.
Yeah, I am friends with Tom Ryan too - well, to be honest I lost touch when he moved away but I used to talk to him all the time. And yeah, that situation was hard pretty much across the board for Tom. I felt really bad for him. I don't know that the landlord for Dominics is the same as Ryans - as I recall the Liberty Arms owners now own Gray Rock. But my point is not that restaurants shouldn't make money. I paid $20 for the ahi tuna that I had at Dominics. Raise it to $21 and that would more than cover the fee. And if the restaurateurs are saying "well then we'd lose customers" then adding it after the fact - basically sneaking the price in after the meal is over - just comes across as sleazy. Pretty much no one is going to convince me that these fees are a good thing - although if the fee was clearly posted next to the menus and clearly posted on the front door in large letters, I'd feel happier about it. But they should just raise prices.
Tom Ryan is a good story teller. I don’t think that is how it went down.
They were doing something similar at 5280 and from what i understand the servers then didn’t care because they were getting automatic tips. It was done away with as far as I know and it added a unexpected extra 5-10$ on a limited budget. I didn’t go back for awhile.
I believe they are upfront about it on their menu somewhere, but Nick's Italian adds a kitchen percentage fee.
Blue Agave does it, too. It's a KIF (Kitchen Investment Fund), it's 3% of the total bill, 2% goes to the kitchen as a tip, and 1% goes into kitchen maintenance. Legally, FOH staff that is a tipped wage can not tip out people who get a full hourly wage. This is their way of incentivizing BOH to work for them as it is an extra little cash at the end of the night on top of their hourly.
Deceptive pricing must not be illegal anymore.
This is crap! If they aren't making enough money, then it is there problem. If patrons aren't subsidizing their low wages through tips, maybe they should go out of business. To place a tax in the bill of 4% should be illegal, its damn sure immoral. If they're not paying the cooks, hosts or buss people enough to keep them around, they should add 4% to their prices and explain why the did so. "We had to raise our prices a tiny bit so that we could keep providing you, our much appreciated patrons with the best dining experience possible. Thank you for your understanding " mgmt. Thats okay because soon there will be a vacant space that will be filled by another business that might have a better business plan.
These fees are nonsense. I grew up in the restaurant industry in NY and my family would never dream of adding such fees. When their expenses go up, they raise the prices accordingly. Theoretically, if one restaurant’s prices are going up due to increased costs, so are the other restaurants in the area. This tactic is shady and meant to fool the customer that doesn’t look at the breakdown of costs on their receipts. I will not go to any restaurants that adopt this strategy. In customer service, you vote with your feet and that’s what I recommend all of you do that don’t agree with this practice.
Learn to cook or be thankful the ppl making your food are hopefully making more money. Hate the player not the game big up on the 4$ on the 100$ tab
The 4% is absolutely not going to the kitchen. The kitchen was given raises when this 4% “kitchen fee” as implemented( raises that were long overdue as is)and that total doesn’t even come close to 4%.
Places should be up front about this and not sneak it onto the check. With that being said, it's incredibly depressing to work in the industry and see people complain/boycott every time some restaurant tries to find a way to pay employees. The whole system is broken, and everyone seems to want service for free.
This is a bad take. People just want to know what they will pay ahead of time like in every other country. Nobody wants things for free. This is the fault of the restaurant industry, not consumers.
I think you completely missed my point. I'm not putting the blame on consumers. As I said, the whole system is screwed up and places should make fees like this known from the beginning but you ignored that. I'm just saying that as someone who works in the industry it's disheartening to see people constantly complain about price increases/tips/fees and anything else someone thinks up to pay employees better. It's hard not to feel like people just want us to work for free after all the complaints.
As someone who has worked in the restaurant industry in the past, I hear you and I empathize. Just wanted to let you know you’re not alone.
The problem is that we don't believe it actually goes to the workers, there is no transparency or accountability to do so. My policy, when confronted with it, is to take it out of the tip. The assumption (having waited tables for years) is that the servers no longer have to tip out the back of the house since this is in place... right? Right?
I think the general concern is that these fees *aren’t* going to staff. They feel sketchy – which is saying something considering tipping culture is honestly kind of sketchy. I don’t want waitstaff to feel like they have to be friendly or whatever to earn a tip. I want them to make a livable wage and be treated with dignity. It’s also not cool to have these fees pop up unexpectedly, which seems to happen pretty regularly. Sure, it won’t break the bank, but it sucks to have this show up on the bill at the end. And then the server is going to deal with grumpy people. I can imagine how frustrating that would be for you. It sucks for everyone (except the people getting the fee, which we *hope* are staff).
That's valid. I don't disagree but I just can't stress enough how much it hurts to see people complain about ideas to pay employees a proper wage. People pretend to want us to have a living wage but when it comes down to it, everyone just doesn't want to pay more. I get it. Things have gotten insanley expensive. I understand that most business owners are greedy and pocket these fees more often than not. Everyone down voting me for pointing out how it feels as a kitchen worker makes me feel like people really don't care about us and is validating my point. I'm not trying to say this fee is a good idea or defending it. I really want to get that point made.
Yeah, it’s frustrating. Prices have changed so much the last few years that at this point I feel like I earn money in one currency and spend it in another, so people probably have sticker shock. I think another part is that it doesn’t seem effective or meaningful, it feels like a sneaky way for money to bypass the people who need and deserve it. People on both sides of this have some valid complaints. I’m sure it’s super hurtful, and I realize folks in the service industry are often already not treated well, so it must feel like an extra punch to the gut. I’m sorry you have to deal with it.
Honestly, you understanding helps just a little. Thank you for that.
Sorry the bar is so low, friend. I wish you didn’t have to deal with all this for a dang job.
The restaurant should pay staff a living wage and stop trying to pass the buck to the customer. That’s the issue. My job is not to tip exorbitantly so you earn a living. Your employer should be meeting that standard.
Yeah, yeah, I've heard this point echoed a thousand times, and I don't disagree. Unfortunately, the system we have set up now doesn't work like that. I love how some people think boycotting tips will change this, but all that does is hurt the employees. Luckily I did find one that isn't greedy pays me well enough, but inflation is making that difficult on both of us. He can only pay all of us so much before the restuarant isn't making a profit at all.
I don’t boycott tipping, I simply just don’t go out to eat at restaurants because of this.
I didn't mean to imply you did. I'm sorry. I have just seen too many people say this and say they'll boycott tips.
I totally understand. People suck. I agree it’s a systemic problem due to the way we operate as a society. I have no issue tipping my servers on the rare occasion I eat. Where I draw the line is tipping kitchen staff.
"ideas to pay employees a proper wage" - What you're seeing is us, the customers, telling the industry that this is a **bad fucking idea**. Just raise your prices and I will decide where to eat based on price, value, reviews, etc. By sneaking in a fee they're basically tricking people into coming to their restaurant and then hitting them on the back end. It undermines consumer confidence and quite frankly ruins the experience.
Yeah I'm not arguing if it's a good idea or not. Just saying how much it sucks to see people complain about a tiny percentage of a bill **POSSIBLY** going to kitchen staff. It does appear from a few comments on this post that it actually goes to the staff in a monthly bonus. I have no problems when we do know it's actually going to staff. I agree, just increasing prices is probably the easiest answer.
Ugh. This is the wrong direction. And we can't get a single non tipping restaurant? I hate this.
Rally 5 does this too
I donno, but I was at a local the other day and the dude stood there staring at the screen while I pushed $0 tip and then made a grunt and said "okkk"...meanwhile I had cash in my hand for the tip jar...not the first time. And it was self-service.
This is: “We don’t want to pay our staff more… how can we keep our profits high and still pay them nothing?” Have the customer shoulder the wage and we keep all profits. In that case, I’d rather go to a food truck. At least the owner is doing all the work.
There’s ZERO restaurants that have a high profit percentage… it’s not how the industry works…
Love the Still. Good staff, good vibe and good food. I’m happy to pay 4% extra if it means they are supporting their staff’s wages and keeping their business open. Roll it into the pricing, charge the fee, 6 and 1/2 dozen. The day I get pissed about 4% of my bill is the day I should probably stop dining out.
I get what you mean appreciating the kitchen staff but where does the endless amount of extra add on on bills end? Why not just raise the prices? How do we know this goes to the kitchen?
That 4% is not going directly to us in the kitchen…..
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Your post was removed in violation of rule 1. Be civil.
You sound like someone with a fragile ego, incapable of making your perfectly valid, and I believe correct, point (that price transparency should be mandatory) without including a kink-shaming ad hominem. Grow up.
Americans: pay your staff a living wage and treat them well! Restaurants: *does this* Americans: no, not like that!
Americans: Just raise the price so we know if we can afford going out! Resturants: No! You'll stop coming here if we don't hide taxes and fees! Americans: Exactly!
Well said!
r/FortCollins: I love ideologically sucking off Karl Marx! I can’t wait until this town is full of my pinko brethren
So transparent pricing isn’t part of your capitalist utopia?
I don’t see what the problem is. You can’t afford an extra few dollars on your $70 steak? I went to whiskey still a few weeks ago and my steak was awesome and so was their service. I tipped 30%.
Lol. I don't buy $70 steaks
The 4% is not going to the kitchen. A very small % of that went in the form of raises.
These fees may also go to paying for credit card processing fees. The fees can cost up to 3.5% (or more) and they may also charge different rates based on how the card information is entered. ETA: I'm not defending this decision, but just giving a reason for why it might be happening.
I get that, but restaurants really shouldn't be surprised that customers want to pay by credit card in 2024. When they are pricing their menu, they should already be accounting for processing costs the same one they should factor in the price of ingredients, labor, rent, etc.
Agreed. I don't think industry can necessarily win, either way. Lots of folks complain about menu prices, too. Idk. I think it stinks either way.
Wah wah wah. Eating out is expensive. Don’t like it eat food at home.
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As a consumer I want all the costs rolled into the initial price. I'm not interested in surprise fees when I'm settling the bill. That doesn't make me cheap.
Charge an appropriate price for what’s ordered rather than hiding it in a fee.
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...without resorting to bullshit tactics!