More businesses are charging the credit card charge to customers who pay via credit. I have no problem with that, as the convenience of using a credit card generates a fee of about 3.5-4 % on the purchase. I’ve always believed that cash customers shouldn’t subsidize the convenience of credit card users.
But what I’ve noticed, mainly at restaurants, is that if I pay cash, they still charge me the credit card fee !! Trying to explain this to the cashier gives mixed results – some just don’t get it.
I think that the cashier and the receipt should have the cash price and the credit card price (like gas stations of old!)
A restaurant near me does this. At first, they would not remove the charge if paying with cash. I have not been back. But since then, I’ve heard that they will remove the charge if asked when paying with cash. Too much hassle for me. All the more reason to pay attention to the check.
More restaurants are also adding in automatic gratuities for kitchen staff and others. Fine, but I will reduce the tip I add to make up for these.
It’s starting to feel like going into a restaurant is like going into battle. It makes me not want to go at all anymore.
Yes I agree. And with some states that pay $15/hr, should you really tip 15-20%?
the price of your food is higher
the server makes $11/hr more than in states with the tip credit and thus there should be a lower tip assuming going from $4/hr to $15/hr
you are tipping higher because of the prior 2
The purpose of tipping is because servers were making below minimum wage. If a $15 burger is now $16.5, shouldn’t the tip decline from $2.25 to 75 cents or from $3 to $1.50 for excellent service?
If you continue to give 20%, are you now giving an effective tip of 32% or 26.5% for a 15% tip?
The minimum wage in our state is now over $15. It was only a few years ago that you could still go to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and get the $6.95 special. No more, it’s at least $11.95 and probably more. And now everyone wants a minimum tip of 18% and the service has not necessarily improved.
When I do go out, I tip at 15% and don’t tip on the tax. I spend much more time scrutinizing the bill than I used to. But in reality, we just don’t go out that much any more.
More and more restaurants are going out of business and I expect this trend to accelerate.
I think those have been absorbed in the past because an average credit ticket would be enough higher than cash ticket to offset the fees. If a restaurant charges me a credit card fee then I will no longer go there…plain and simple. I have not seen any of this in my area…
In most states that I am familiar with, minimum wage does not apply to restaurant workers (not counting fast food personnel who are not normally tipped). In theory, tip plus an extremely minimal wage should at least equal the equivalent of minimum wage, but often more $$. I think there may be a clause that requires the tip+wage to equal minimum wage, and if not, wage must be increased to meet that minimum.
One of the places we go adds a fee for paying via credit/debit card. The bill clearly reflects both the cost for paying with cash, and the cost for using plastic. After the first time they had this in operation, i made a point to pay with cash. And yes, the cost is lower. I tip based upon the cash cost, sometimes remembering to not include tax, sometimes not.
My understanding is that fast-food places have the $11-$15 minimum wage (depending on your state). I don’t tip – it’s like buying something at a retail store.
But many? most? regular restaurants with wait service still pay the ridiculous $3/hr. So I tip there.
But I think the underlying problem is the business model. Many businesses depend on the customer or the government to subsidize part of their costs.
For a restaurant, instead of paying a decent wage, they make customers tip to make up for it. For corporations, one example is to never account for disposal costs of your product – that is passed on to the consumer or local government. What if a business had to account for ALL of its TRUE costs? Yes, things would be pricier, but then we wouldn’t have issues as simple as tipping, or as complex/dangerous as pollution (how many companies poisoned land/water/air and never paid? But the government had to pay – which is really taxpayers).
I wonder if one of the lessons taught in business school is to pass your costs onto others rather than how to be responsible. Makes me think that business people aren’t so “good at business” but rather, “good as manipulating the system”
We were in Alaska in 2018. At a couple of the restaurants there the first thing the wait staff told us when they walked up to our table was that they now make a “living” age and tipping was not necessary. I don’t recall if Alaska had a new minimum wage at the time or what. But, it was nice they mentioned it. I still tipped some.