It’s no longer just that restaurants pay their employees poor wages or that workers are insistent on tips. Now, several places are adding fees to try to make even more money. For example, this restaurant in Louisiana added a hidden 2% fee called a Kitchen Appreciation Surcharge. It’s no longer just about raising prices. However, if restaurants continue down this path and nobody does something, they’ll end up charging for the use of a table to eat at.
Redditor WhiskeyGummiBear shared on r/EndTipping a clear example of how a restaurant is scamming its customers. In this case, OP became extremely angry upon noticing the breakdown on their receipt after a while. The reason is that OP explained that they went to a restaurant in Louisiana and did not see that there was a hidden fee on the bill for a 2% “Kitchen Appreciation Surcharge”. OP admits that they were distracted by talking to others, which led to their mistake. They failed to notice the mandatory fee or tip on the bill and did not verify if it was advertised anywhere in the restaurant. OP also says that for their entire bill, $7 is not too much, ‘but the principle alone is annoying.’
‘The point isn’t the amount. It’s the fact that they need to hide it as a fee rather than just raise their prices. Even if it’s disclosed somewhere on the menu, it’s still hidden in my opinion‘ said SmgLame.
Many agreed that the restaurant should adjust the prices of its dishes instead of adding a fee, even after announcing it. However, this sparked a debate among users about whether the food prices were exaggerated or not. Raising the prices would only make eating at that place more expensive. Another issue is that several people said that this fee only represents the greed of the restaurant. So even if they raised the menu prices, they could probably leave the same fee in place.
In the post, Op even asked what exactly “Kitchen Appreciation” is and commented, ‘Isn’t the kitchen ‘appreciated’ with a solid wage?‘ Be that as it may, everyone who goes to a restaurant, bar, or similar establishment should be very alert to avoid ridiculous fees or someone adding an extra tip. Even so, these places are looking for more ways to implement these fees, some more covertly and others more cynically.
