Companies adding surcharges due to material shortages

[kdonnel]

That way of thinking is the reason many businesses can't get or keep employees.

How does the owner ensure only proper tippers are allowed to eat?

 

[JimMIA]

How does the owner ensure only proper tippers are allowed to eat?

They can't, but that's not the point.

In this environment surcharges are an open invitation to reduced tips -- which the owners can remove by simply using less obvious ways of accommodating rising costs of food. For example, some restaurants are moving to virtual menus -- eliminating the cost of menus entirely.

If they are not smart enough to find a better way, they may well lose staff...and it would be an unforced error on management's part.

 

[kdonnel]

They can't, but that's not the point.

In this environment surcharges are an open invitation to reduced tips -- which the owners can remove by simply using less obvious ways of accommodating rising costs of food. For example, some restaurants are moving to virtual menus -- eliminating the cost of menus entirely.

If they are not smart enough to find a better way, they may well lose staff...and it would be an unforced error on management's part.

I despise virtual menus and have stopped going to places that only offer virtual menus.

They are stuck for sure because they are not going to make everyone happy with whatever decision they make.

People are already saying that they will stop going to a restaurant that adds a surcharge or will reduce their tip thereby reducing the wages paid to servers. The owner could raise prices the 10% in increased costs and the 20% to pay for higher wages and institute a no tip policy. How many people will they alienate as customers with a 30% prices increase?

 

[JimMIA]

They are stuck for sure because they are not going to make everyone happy with whatever decision they make.

Right, and that phenomenon is not limited to restaurants.

All businesses will face how they handle inflationary pressures, and those increases are going to come from every imaginable aspect of their business -- personnel costs, raw materials, wholesalers, increased fuel costs, increased utility costs, local/state/federal tax increases, etc ad nauseum. The details will vary, but the overall problem of the cost side of the equation rising is a problem everybody will face.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Political comment deleted

Comparing what is happening now to the 1970s isn't an apples to apples comparison....more like apples to wood. Completely different world...we're a global economy now. Also, there were price and wage controls put in place in the early 70s...which only made things worse....think shortages of food...etc. Cattle ranchers stopped shipping their cattle because they didn't want to accept lower prices. And two massive oil shocks that really sent things spinning out of control. I'm hearing this all over talk radio....which is funded by people selling gold for the most part it seems. For those comparing this to the 70s...let me know when interest rates for mortgages hit 20%.

And good grief....what's the "design"? I was a kid during the 70s, but I remember it. But, I'm going to guess that unless we have some DISers who are 110+ years old....this is the first really serious global pandemic that we've all lived through. It was terrifying at the very beginning....as a society and for the global economy. Not one country came out of this unscathed....and nearly every country is still experiencing a very bumpy road. There are no easy answers to the issues created by shutting down the world's economy. It's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride.

 

[Kestryl]

There are a few places I’ve been to that have pulled the surcharge thing. We haven’t been back to them, but maybe we don’t eat out (or get take out) enough to justify that that’s the reason.

I don’t tip on taxes or surcharges, so if a place was to add the surcharge of 10%, I wouldn’t be paying the ~20% of that as a tip.

There one we will not go back to. They charged 15% service fee for pickup. OK, sounds like thats to cover a tip for the employees, right? And it’s 15%, so pretty reasonable to think that would be a take out tip… so I didn’t tip extra. Found out later it wasn’t a tip, they just were using it to increase prices without updating their online ordering menu. I felt sort of bad- I guess I should have checked, but when the fees start getting in the range of what I would tip for takeout, and other places are tacking on an automatic tip, I don’t think it’s weird to assume that’s what it’s for.

 

[RamblingMad]

Exactly --and if you lived through the days of Jimmy Carter inflation it was bad with very high interest rates and rapidly increasing energy costs (sound familiar) Hold on to your hat because this is going to surpass inflation of the mid 70's coupled with low or nonexistent inventory driving commodity prices higher and higher. Food will not be exempt from this ---already seeing shortages of somethings. Sad thing this is all by design.

If this is true, then I'll be able to sell all of my equities, buy double digit 30 year treasury bonds, and chill. I honestly don't think it will get that bad.

 

[tcufrog]

Most of the restaurants around here now have menus you access by scanning a QR code.

 

[barkley]

Somebody has to foot the bill for those rewards you get back.

i don't do rewards cards for the most part b/c they tend to come with a yearly fee (i don't pay for credit-no fees/no interest-paid in full before the statement hits my mailbox). the only one that gives me a reward is the one most universally unaccepted by merchants-american express. i only hold on to them b/c they will fight for their customer tooth and nail on a charge dispute (so if i'm questioning how reliable an online merchant is i opt to use my amex). amex charges me zero fees for the card.

Back when I was a kid, gas stations had a cash and credit price. It looks like these are coming back too.

that's the way all the places are around us, been that way for as long as we've been her (about 15 years).

 

[JimMIA]

i don't do rewards cards for the most part b/c they tend to come with a yearly fee

I canceled my family Citibank American Airlines card because the rewards they give (airline miles) have been devalued greatly in the last couple of years. I replaced it with a Fidelity no-fee credit card that gives me 2% cash back on every penny I spend -- no restrictions, no limit.

The only card I have with a fee that's worth it is my Costco VISA. I pay an annual fee for the membership (not the card), but get good cashback and gas which typically costs 10-15 cents per gallon less than others and 4% cash back on gas.

 

[barkley]

The only card I have with a fee that's worth it is my Costco VISA. I pay an annual fee for the membership (not the card), but get good cashback and gas which typically costs 10-15 cents per gallon less than others and 4% cash back on gas.

we have the costco visa as well but i hear that we will no longer get cash back reward certificates yearly-just vouchers that can be used for that dollar amount at costco. not a biggie for me-i'll use it over multiple costco trips but kind of a bummer for those who relied on cashing them in at member services every year.

 

[JimMIA]

we have the costco visa as well but i hear that we will no longer get cash back reward certificates yearly-just vouchers that can be used for that dollar amount at costco. not a biggie for me-i'll use it over multiple costco trips but kind of a bummer for those who relied on cashing them in at member services every year.

I double-checked that with a manager at my store, and here's what I was told. Regular Costco rewards = voucher/gift card; VISA reward = cash or check, depending on the amount. I think he said they'd give a check for >$600.

 

[dvcgirl67]

If this is true, then I'll be able to sell all of my equities, buy double digit 30 year treasury bonds, and chill. I honestly don't think it will get that bad.

100% true!! Wouldn't that make life easier.

 

[NotUrsula]

A huge part of what is wrong with the system is reliance on just-in-time inventory mgmt. Due to the always-present risk of political instability, that system has always been a disaster waiting to happen, and though what hit instead was a pandemic, no one in the industry can realistically claim that it could not have been foreseen. JIT maximizes profit and lowers cost margins, all right, but it depends on a knife-edge balance of all factors, and the minute one of them goes bad the whole system collapses like a house of cards. I've been saying for years that our economy was WAY too reliant on it, and right now industry is reaping a crop of trouble that they themselves sowed.

FWIW, I'm fine with JIT for certain industries (things like holiday decorations, for instance), but it should not be used in the production of subsistence necessities such as grain, fuel oils, staple building materials, or medical supplies.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Most of the restaurants around here now have menus you access by scanning a QR code.

That's what is happening here too...pretty much everywhere I think....including Disney. From everything I'm reading about Disney these days....you're attached to your phone for everything these days...same with DCL apparently.

 

[RamblingMad]

That's what is happening here too...pretty much everywhere I think....including Disney. From everything I'm reading about Disney these days....you're attached to your phone for everything these days...same with DCL apparently.

I don't like the dependency on smart phones at all.

 

[RamblingMad]

100% true!! Wouldn't that make life easier.

It will suck in the short term, but then investing will be easy in the long term. However, that short term could last up to a decade. I really don't want a decade of high inflation.

 

[Southernmiss]

That's what is happening here too...pretty much everywhere I think....including Disney. From everything I'm reading about Disney these days....you're attached to your phone for everything these days...same with DCL apparently.

Mobile ordering while at Disney was one of the best things ever when we were there in June.

Order quick service while in line for a pick up whenever you want and pick it up. With 7 of us eating in parks for 6 days, we only had one hiccup and they more than compensated us for it.

Checking wait times on the other parks was helpful, too.

 

[tvguy]

i don't do rewards cards for the most part b/c they tend to come with a yearly fee (i don't pay for credit-no fees/no interest-paid in full before the statement hits my mailbox). the only one that gives me a reward is the one most universally unaccepted by merchants-american express. i only hold on to them b/c they will fight for their customer tooth and nail on a charge dispute (so if i'm questioning how reliable an online merchant is i opt to use my amex). amex charges me zero fees for the card.

I've had the same credit card since 1982. No rewards then, but they were added probably about 10 years ago. I'm dinosaur when it comes to banking. I expect everything to be free, so I would not pay an annual fee for a credit card, safe deposit box, checking, checks, cashiers checks, travelers checks or notary services.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Mobile ordering while at Disney was one of the best things ever when we were there in June.

Order quick service while in line for a pick up whenever you want and pick it up. With 7 of us eating in parks for 6 days, we only had one hiccup and they more than compensated us for it.

Checking wait times on the other parks was helpful, too.

I'm with you....we like some of the changes that have happened during the pandemic...and I'm sure we'd be fine at Disney. I might miss a fancier menu at a more expensive sit down restaurant...at Disney and here in my area, but for the most part....it makes sense. I also like the the QR thing for check-in at my local vet speciality hospital. People who bring pets in for an emergency can bring pets inside, but I'm always there for maintenance stuff with my two dogs...and really like checking in from the comfort of my car....having a vet tech come out and get my girls....and have them return them to me. I pay over the phone on my way home....it's something I hope sticks.