That would be more likely to cause me to find another place to eat than a published upcharge for credit cards, but I think it's where things are going. The fast food electronic menus can change prices minute by minute. I don't want to be standing at the counter only to find my meal price is 20% higher due to a surge in demand. Next thing will be bidding on an upgrade for cheese on my burger! To heck with it! I'll break out my George Foreman and make my own burger!My current favorite Mexican place has done away with prices on the menu altogether.
I think the big fast food chains are moving toward app ordering. If that’s the case, surge pricing while you wait in line is less likely, and more likely is you order ahead in the app, where you are more likely to see an offers or prices others may not see and be subject to personalized upselling.That would be more likely to cause me to find another place to eat than a published upcharge for credit cards, but I think it's where things are going. The fast food electronic menus can change prices minute by minute. I don't want to be standing at the counter only to find my meal price is 20% higher due to a surge in demand. Next thing will be bidding on an upgrade for cheese on my burger! To heck with it! I'll break out my George Foreman and make my own burger!
Last year, at my favorite Applebee's restaurant, the server seemed harried and we had trouble finding him at the end of the meal to get take-out boxes and the check. The store manager, a man I know by full name and have spoken to frequently over the years, brought us our take-out boxes. I left the server an average (20%) tip because his service otherwise was okay. I would have left him more if he had been more attentive at the end of our meal.I don’t mind tipping and usually leave 20% unless something is off. But I find myself overriding the default tip suggestions often. I guess I can’t fault them for trying…
It's not $5 after tips.I think especially in recent years, most restaurant service issues stem from being understaffed as places struggle to find enough people willing to work for $5/hr in the midst of a booming economy and record low unemployment.
+1I think the big fast food chains are moving toward app ordering. If that’s the case, surge pricing while you wait in line is less likely, and more likely is you order ahead in the app, where you are more likely to see an offers or prices others may not see and be subject to personalized upselling.
The few times we eat at a restaurant I want to see the menu and prices on their website before I go. Lately many have been omitting the prices. They could at least post a menu in their window but that is extremely rare in our area of Florida. It is also not required for the restaurant to post their cleanliness rating in their window like you find in other states. You just never know until after the fact when the local news has their restaurant reports. I just checked the restaurant inspections for the past 30 days and there were 144 restaurants that didn't pass inspection. Makes me appreciate home cooking.My current favorite Mexican place has done away with prices on the menu altogether.
Want to Pay Cash? That’ll Cost You Extra
From ballpark hot dogs to parking tickets, more cash payments are coming with a fee
The stadium’s concession stands no longer take cash. An employee directed him to a kiosk that could convert his greenbacks into plastic. Khamallah, 41 years old, fed $200 into the reverse ATM, which subtracted a $3.50 fee and spat out a debit card with a balance of $196.50.
It will be even more galling when he goes to use the converted plastic and gets charged a fee to use it.^I'd say that's more galling than a CC fee!
Cash handling does have costs.^I'd say that's more galling than a CC fee!
As I stated earlier, some people are more upset about a 3% increase that can actually be justified than they are about tipping going from 10% - 15% to 20% - 25%...It’s just a price increase with a different name.
What makes that increase in tipping percentage even worse is that the meals cost a lot more now, so it's a double whammy on the tip plus the higher meal cost, and most places, the sales tax has gone up as well. Now add on all these other fees they're throwing at us. It's ridiculous.As I stated earlier, some people are more upset about a 3% increase that can actually be justified than they are about tipping going from 10% - 15% to 20% - 25%...
That's why I dine out much less frequently now. Stopped buying live performance tickets, as I refuse to pay their ridiculous service charges. Only stay at hotels with no or lower resort fees.What makes that increase in tipping percentage even worse is that the meals cost a lot more now, so it's a double whammy on the tip plus the higher meal cost, and most places, the sales tax has gone up as well. Now add on all these other fees they're throwing at us. It's ridiculous.
Chinese restaurants routinely add 18% service charges on top of the bills, so if they eliminate that I will then tip 20% then?I read that California has a new law going in effect in July that bans extra fees over the menu prices. That apparently includes mandatory gratuity not being allowed. Illinois has a bill (Junk Fee Ban Act) for something similar.
It's nuts. That's even worse than Illinois - we're headed from $14 to $15 in less than 7 months at the state level, with some areas being higher. Tipped workers may earn a little less, depending on how that shakes out.California has also increased minimum wage to $20 an hour. So, I think customer will be paying more still.
That's why I dine out much less frequently now. Stopped buying live performance tickets, as I refuse to pay their ridiculous service charges. Only stay at hotels with no or lower resort fees.
People complain about restaurant service charges, resort fees, ticket surcharges, but continue to reward the worst offenders with their business, so nothing changes.
All of this is discretionary stuff. If people voted with their wallet, businesses would adjust. It'll be interesting to see how many places make it through the next serious recession.
I’m sure eating out mushroomed when the US transitioned to predominantly 2 earner families and single parents. This happened when I was growing up and a young adult: 70s and 80s.My grandparents never ate out, and when I was a young boy my parents ate out perhaps once a year, if that. Eating out is not a basic need, it’s entirely discretionary.
Today eating out contributes more than 5% of our GDP, roughly half the average food budget is for food out of the home, and hospitality employs 10% of the labor force. In response to higher prices and or gratuities, we all have the choice of going somewhere else or preparing and eating at home.
This is just another pricing trade-offs, we make them every day. Here is an interesting report on food from the USDA USDA ERS - Food Prices and Spending.
That’s a good point, and you can see the increase in food away from home beginning late 70’s and early 90’s.I’m sure eating out mushroomed when the US transitioned to predominantly 2 earner families and single parents. This happened when I was growing up and a young adult: 70s and 80s.