23 ms·

A little assertiveness can go a long way. "I was not made aware of this fee, so I am only paying X" and walking away should work.

by jbirer 4y ago

tempestn 4y ago
You can only do that if paying cash. And if you do, what will effectively happen is that the money you intend to leave as tip will go toward the fee instead.
- chamwislothe2nd 4y ago
  Unfortunately for everyone involved, the waiter is complicit in the fraud and no longer deserves a tip.
  - jzb 4y ago
    Yes, because as we all know, service staff have enormous power and dictate restaurant policy. This is why they're so highly paid and aren't abused at all by customers, for example. /s
    - adamc 4y ago
      Their only power is to leave. I don't like sticking them either, but it's true that they are complicit.
      - LadyCailin 4y ago
        Or unionizing.
    - drdec 4y ago
      The server could have made sure they were aware of the policy before they ordered. Seems like the best way to make sure you get a tip to me.
      - 9WwFaLaTtBDaoS 4y ago
        yes. People like to act as if wait staff are completely innocent, but when I was younger I had a policy that if a female waitress started touching me close to the closing out of the deal she got no tip. I personally find that behavior gross.
    - chamwislothe2nd 4y ago
      As I said, for everyone involved it is unfortunate, but the majority of people without power still choose not to be complicit in fraud.
    - unsupp0rted 4y ago
      If I work for a company that I've seen screw over our customers on a daily basis, and enough customers refuse to pay my company, then I don't have a leg to stand on when I don't get my full salary all of a sudden. This is true whether I'm a developer, a ski instructor or a waiter.
    - bakugo 4y ago
      The staff's pay is not the customer's responsibility, neither is whatever the other customers do.
    - jjav 4y ago
      > Yes, because as we all know, service staff have enormous power and dictate restaurant policy. No, as we all know the service staff has no power over the restaurant policy. They are, however, the communication agent between customer and restaurant, so they should be informing the customer about these surprise charges up front. If they don't, they are indeed complicit.
- MichaelNolan 4y ago
  You should be able to do that with a card as well. They can’t charge your card more than you authorize. (And if they did a call to the CC company will get it all taken care of).
  - michaelmrose 4y ago
    They can decline to charge payment for anything other than the full figure leaving you with the ability to walk out or pay. If you opt not to pay you are dining and dashing and subject to prosecution the fact that you offered to partially pay notwithstanding. Logically pay the bill then leave a negative review and never eat there again.
    - MichaelNolan 4y ago
      > If you opt not to pay you are dining and dashing and subject to prosecution Is that actually a crime? My understanding is that you can leave your contact info, walk out. I’m not aware of any cases where police have gotten involved in a payment dispute. I used to work in a law enforcement adjacent field, and when the topic came up, the cops said it’s a civil dispute, not a crime. Edit - after searching online, there are a few cases of diners being arrested, though it seems the charges are always dropped. Also those cases involved posted notices of the fee before the diners ordered.
    - 1000100_1000101 4y ago
      The advertised prices form part of a contract you're agreeing to. The drip fees are un-advertised extra expenses after the contract is signed and completed (you're fed). If you're willing to pay the agreed upon price, and they're unwilling to accept your payment, that should be their problem, not yours. They have violated the contract, added new fees after the fact. They have violated the contract, refusing to accept the agreed upon payment.
      - michaelmrose 4y ago
        This seems like an expensive fight to have wherein the opposing parties lawyers probably already did the due diligence to ensure those fees are legally defensible by virtue of signage. Seems like you would probably be hiring a lawyer with a 3000 retainer to fight an 8 dollar charge.
- BonoboIO 4y ago
  If those things, would be only visible after I payed like on a kiosk or something, I would dispute the charge and report their fraud to my credit card company. Good luck doing that often. Photo of the menu, what i was charged and telling everybody to do the same.
- bratbag 4y ago
  So don't leave a tip.

A little assertiveness can go a long way. "I was not made aware of this fee, so I am only paying X" and walking away should work.

by jbirer 4y ago

A little assertiveness can go a long way. "I was not made aware of this fee, so I am only paying X" and walking away should work.

tempestn 4y ago

You can only do that if paying cash. And if you do, what will effectively happen is that the money you intend to leave as tip will go toward the fee instead.

chamwislothe2nd 4y ago
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the waiter is complicit in the fraud and no longer deserves a tip.
- jzb 4y ago
  Yes, because as we all know, service staff have enormous power and dictate restaurant policy. This is why they're so highly paid and aren't abused at all by customers, for example. /s
  - adamc 4y ago
    Their only power is to leave. I don't like sticking them either, but it's true that they are complicit.
    - LadyCailin 4y ago
      Or unionizing.
  - drdec 4y ago
    The server could have made sure they were aware of the policy before they ordered. Seems like the best way to make sure you get a tip to me.
    - 9WwFaLaTtBDaoS 4y ago
      yes. People like to act as if wait staff are completely innocent, but when I was younger I had a policy that if a female waitress started touching me close to the closing out of the deal she got no tip. I personally find that behavior gross.
  - chamwislothe2nd 4y ago
    As I said, for everyone involved it is unfortunate, but the majority of people without power still choose not to be complicit in fraud.
  - unsupp0rted 4y ago
    If I work for a company that I've seen screw over our customers on a daily basis, and enough customers refuse to pay my company, then I don't have a leg to stand on when I don't get my full salary all of a sudden. This is true whether I'm a developer, a ski instructor or a waiter.
  - bakugo 4y ago
    The staff's pay is not the customer's responsibility, neither is whatever the other customers do.
  - jjav 4y ago
    > Yes, because as we all know, service staff have enormous power and dictate restaurant policy. No, as we all know the service staff has no power over the restaurant policy. They are, however, the communication agent between customer and restaurant, so they should be informing the customer about these surprise charges up front. If they don't, they are indeed complicit.
MichaelNolan 4y ago
You should be able to do that with a card as well. They can’t charge your card more than you authorize. (And if they did a call to the CC company will get it all taken care of).
- michaelmrose 4y ago
  They can decline to charge payment for anything other than the full figure leaving you with the ability to walk out or pay. If you opt not to pay you are dining and dashing and subject to prosecution the fact that you offered to partially pay notwithstanding. Logically pay the bill then leave a negative review and never eat there again.
  - MichaelNolan 4y ago
    > If you opt not to pay you are dining and dashing and subject to prosecution Is that actually a crime? My understanding is that you can leave your contact info, walk out. I’m not aware of any cases where police have gotten involved in a payment dispute. I used to work in a law enforcement adjacent field, and when the topic came up, the cops said it’s a civil dispute, not a crime. Edit - after searching online, there are a few cases of diners being arrested, though it seems the charges are always dropped. Also those cases involved posted notices of the fee before the diners ordered.
  - 1000100_1000101 4y ago
    The advertised prices form part of a contract you're agreeing to. The drip fees are un-advertised extra expenses after the contract is signed and completed (you're fed). If you're willing to pay the agreed upon price, and they're unwilling to accept your payment, that should be their problem, not yours. They have violated the contract, added new fees after the fact. They have violated the contract, refusing to accept the agreed upon payment.
    - michaelmrose 4y ago
      This seems like an expensive fight to have wherein the opposing parties lawyers probably already did the due diligence to ensure those fees are legally defensible by virtue of signage. Seems like you would probably be hiring a lawyer with a 3000 retainer to fight an 8 dollar charge.
BonoboIO 4y ago
If those things, would be only visible after I payed like on a kiosk or something, I would dispute the charge and report their fraud to my credit card company. Good luck doing that often. Photo of the menu, what i was charged and telling everybody to do the same.
bratbag 4y ago
So don't leave a tip.