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OutlyingPlasma t1_j2e1xfy wrote

Food vendors raise rates all the time but no one would pay a 3% food cost recovery fee when visiting a restaurant. Its the cost of doing business.

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Spiritual-Chameleon t1_j2e2gjf wrote

But many restaurants now ask for tips for takeout orders, which feels like the same thing. We're not paying our employees enough with the prices we've established, so pay more please.

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LurkBot9000 t1_j2e2xi8 wrote

Paying their employees should be included in the cost of doing business but theyve outsourced labor wages to the customers as a charitable donation line on the bill. Its pretty fucking sick IMO

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UKnowWhoToo t1_j2e4z5t wrote

I dunno, it helps filter out bad waitstaff pretty quickly. But I don’t think poor performance of a job should be paid the same as high performance, which I know is counter to Reddit culture.

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Spiritual-Chameleon t1_j2e5zd3 wrote

There are some studies that found that tipping isn't necessarily related to quality of service

Edit: interesting to see down votes. Here's an excerpt from academic research; "other studies have failed to find a significant relationship between tipping and service evaluations (Bodvarsson & Gibson, 1994; Crusco & Wetzel, 1984; Lynn, 1988; Lynn & Latane, 1984; May, 1978)"

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/72354/Lynn46_Tipping.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwib86qX76T8AhUpK0QIHSohC1UQFnoECAYQAg&usg=AOvVaw3nkAIqOaefKJ32GoQqU7a7

And from the Freakanomics podcast:

"Lynn’s research shows that tipping is an unfair way for workers to be paid, because personal characteristics like a server’s race, gender, and appearance factor too much into customers’ tipping decisions."

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-does-tipping-still-exist-ep-396/

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TacoNomad t1_j2e6b4z wrote

I bet it filters out good waitstaff faster than bad. Anyone who is decent but relying on customer attitudes to pay the bills will go find something that pays steady.

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chism74063 t1_j2e5ouo wrote

I noticed tip jars showing up in fast food restaurants at the end of the COVID restrictions. It is like they are saying "COVID didn't shut us down, so we deserve a tip."

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nyconx t1_j2e2srv wrote

Many of the local chain restaurants are switching to forcing customers pay this fee. You would think they would benefit more to not have to deal with handling cash to make up for this. I think they can start to get away with it because we are at the tipping point where people do not carry cash much anymore.

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TacoNomad t1_j2e655c wrote

Increase prices to cover the fee. Offer discounts on cash payments.

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PissOnYourParade t1_j2e368v wrote

Large ticket items like rent and (especially) condo/hoa fees you want 100% off the funds to flow through to the budget.

I encourage you to participate in your board. You'll get a sense of the ramifications of 3% haircut off the budget.

Commercial stores and such have higher profit margins (and batching deals with the cc processors) such that they pay less in fees and have more "room" to eat the cost as a way of getting you in the door.

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i_am_out_of_pie t1_j2e6cf9 wrote

Restaurants don’t itemize it as a food cost recovery fee — they just raise their prices sometimes to compensate. All costs of doing business are ultimately paid for by customers.

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imsoawesome11223344 t1_j2e2rns wrote

...are you under the impression that restaurants don't raise their prices when food costs increase?

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zeiandren t1_j2e3m0i wrote

Raise the PRICE not keep the price the same then confuse it with add on fees

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Notwhoiwas42 t1_j2eamm9 wrote

One reason to do it as an add on fee is if they believe the prices will come back down. Reprinting menus with different prices for what they believe will be temporary is an unnecessary hassle/expense.

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HotPoblano t1_j2e4drp wrote

I've seen images of some restaurants adding line items for "supply chain issues," etc. Plus, I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I see why some merchants might do it, especially if they don't see a drop off in business.

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DiCatto t1_j2e5yus wrote

>Food vendors raise rates all the time but no one would pay a 3% food cost recovery fee when visiting a restaurant. Its the cost of doing business.

They just lower the portion sizes, get rid of expensive ingredients, increase prices, or all of the above.

Any cost will be passed down to the customer. Including the "cost of doing business". The problem is when the cost is not disclosed upfront. If I am buying a $12 burger, it's a $12 burger. Period.

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