OUTRAGED diners have slammed restaurants for adding extra surcharges onto receipts – with some customers making an unusual request.
The hidden fees were branded “silly and disingenuous” by online users, who poured out on social media to vent their fury at the changes.
US restaurants have been adding surcharges to receipts[/caption]
One user posted online a picture of their receipt – with an extra four per cent charged on top of the bill titled “Sustainability Surcharge”.
The user fumed: “Check out the Sustainability Surcharge Fee. I asked the waiter what it was.
“He said that the restaurant didn’t want to raise their prices. I was too tired to argue.”
And in another Facebook post, another user had a similar experience.
He posted a picture of his receipt which charged him an extra three per cent “as a way to offset rising food costs associated with the restaurant”.
It said: “We have added a 3% surcharge to all checks.
“We do this in lieu of increased menu prices.”
It added: “You may request to have this removed from your check should you choose.”
The user said: “So this is the second time we encountered this since being in Chicago.
“The restaurant we ate at tonight, Rose Bud, adds a 3% surcharge to the bill to account for Trump’s tariffs.
He added: “They don’t want to show the price increase on the menu because it makes an already expensive pasta restaurant look even more expensive so the tariff comes after the fact.
“I talked to the manager and asked him … ‘What if you went to the grocery store and when they rang everything up, the price was higher than what the shelf price was?’
“He agreed, said it was corporate’s decision, at which time I informed him that as the manager he represented corporate.
He said: “It’s amazing what companies are trying to get away with.”
Shocked users flooded the comments with their reactions to the bizarre surcharge.
One user said: “What a rip off.”
Another revealed: “San Francisco joints do this as well.
“It is silly and disingenuous.”
While a third chimed in: “Customers should protest.”
On outraged customer made a suggestion
They said: “I think they should denote the additional charge next to every item on the menu so people see exactly what they are paying for.
“Or…even better…list the exact costs associated with eat dish listed, including the profit margin!”
