Flat restaurant surcharge per check

[sam_gordon]

I am so addicted to the 4.5% discount at restaurants I don't think I could ever give up using credit cards

If these fees continue to expand, you will no longer be getting a 4.5% discount for using your card.

 

[amylevan]

I actually find the credit card surcharges ironic, as a lot of businesses seem to be going cashless. So, on one hand we’ve got companies passing on credit card fees to consumers, and on the other we’ve got companies claiming cashless is easier. As a consumer, I know which companies I would prefer to do business with.

Also, seems like some bumps in the road for those that say we’re heading to a cashless society.

 

[MillauFr]

If these fees continue to expand, you will no longer be getting a 4.5% discount for using your card.

I believe you will still get 4.5% discount no matter how the restaurant itemizes the check.

 

[MillauFr]

I actually find the credit card surcharges ironic, as a lot of businesses seem to be going cashless. So, on one hand we’ve got companies passing on credit card fees to consumers, and on the other we’ve got companies claiming cashless is easier. As a consumer, I know which companies I would prefer to do business with.

Also, seems like some bumps in the road for those that say we’re heading to a cashless society.

It is already mostly cashless here. The panhandlers asking for cash have disappeared. No one has cash to give them.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

As long as I’m aware of it ahead of time I don’t have any issues with surcharges for any reason. Personally, I can’t imagine letting it factor into my decision of what establishments to visit.

“Give me something worth paying for and I’ll pay for it.”

 

[tzolkin]

Saw my first restaurants adding on 3% for paying with a credit card while on vacation. One in Key West, one on 30 A. We just paid with cash at those restaurants and used the credit card at all the others.

This fee is optional. Pay cash and avoid it.

If it's not told in advance, I wouldn't really consider it to be "optional". Because so many people almost exclusively use cards, many would not have cash on hand to pay at a restaurant when they receive the bill and see the surcharge.

If it's clearly posted or told to you before ordering, then of course you would have the option to not dine there if you did not have cash.

Exactly. I absolutely despise when a business adds all different charges and fees which you don't see until you're ready to checkout (if online) or worse, when the bill comes after you enjoyed your meal.

People hate being tricked and I think these fees, rather than baking it into the price, just turn people away from a business.

This is absolutely true. Overall, the final price may be exactly the same but people walk away with a better feeling if everything is included in the posted price instead of tacked on in surprise fees at the end. When customers see a bunch of fees that they weren't expecting, people tend to feel like they have been scammed or taken advantage of.

Am I crazy or did it used to be illegal to charge a higher price for credit cards vs cash years ago? At least in Florida, I remember it used to be a law.

It did used to be illegal in quite a few places. There was recently a class action lawsuit between merchants and cc companies and there are now new rules in most places based on that settlement. (A few states it is still not allowed)

In the past the way around it was to offer a discount for paying with cash instead of a surcharge for paying with credit. It accomplished the same thing, but was within the law.

One thing that I'm not sure about is that it is still illegal to surcharge for using debit (even when running it as credit), but I don't know that most businesses are actually making a distinction between the two. If you hand a server your debit card and it says "Visa", I would assume they are probably just adding the surcharge for using a card. There are also all sorts of rules regarding posting notice, the amount of the surcharge, etc that I'm not sure all businesses are doing correctly. I think as these fees are becoming more common, businesses are including them without doing the proper research into what is allowed and what is not.

 

[sam_gordon]

I believe you will still get 4.5% discount no matter how the restaurant itemizes the check.

But if they charge a 5% fee to CC users, you're not getting a discount.

Credit
$100 bill + 5% fee (for CC) = $105 total.
$105 total - 4.5% discount = $100.28

Cash
$100 bill = $100 total

That discount no longer helps you. Now, if they're charging EVERYONE the 5% fee, you're still ahead of the game. But if you now have to pay the CC charge, you don't get a discount.

 

[bcla]

You can stick ones and coins in there?

I’ve never had a problem with ones. The only problems I’ve ever had were with two dollar bills. I’ve never had a self checkout reject them, but have at an ATM.

A coin hopper would be trivially easy, but there isn’t much of a demand. But they accept paper, which can either bills or checks (but not both at the same time), which get scanned.

Every ATM I’ve deposited cash in the past decade made the funds available immediately, unlike checks where it has to clear (although they might make partial funds available). Years ago I remember having to deposit (cash or check) in a provided envelope, and a human had to open and check it to see if the amount matched what the customer said was deposited. But these days newer ATMs read the amount on checks or cash.

 

[Kennywood]

If a surcharge is made known prior to ordering something, that's one thing. But if the surcharge is added after-the-fact, I would refuse to pay it. A business can't charge a customer for something of which they're unaware. If allowed, a business could add any surcharge amount they wanted.

 

[bcla]

If a surcharge is made known prior to ordering something, that's one thing. But if the surcharge is added after-the-fact, I would refuse to pay it. A business can't charge a customer for something of which they're unaware. If allowed, a business could add any surcharge amount they wanted.

It was on the bottom of each menu page in readable type. I certainly can’t say that I didn’t know about it. I’m just venting about the nature of it, which would seem to dissuade small checks or just getting a drink. I previously considered just ordering a kids meal for my 11 yo to go, but certainly wouldn’t if charged $2 on top of $6.

I found an image that I can inline link from zmenu. Straight from Romano’s looks OK with a preview but breaks on final post.

Also not my photo, but the receipt looks like mine.

I certainly get all these inflationary pressures. It’s pretty simple really, when even fast food jobs are starting at $20/hr. People are awash in cash. I just wish it were a percentage since I rather liked it when I could just spend $6 on a beer.

 

[tzolkin]

But if they charge a 5% fee to CC users, you're not getting a discount.

Credit card surcharges are limited to the actual amount it costs the business to process the transaction (ex. 2.5% for Visa or 3.2% for MC, etc) and are capped at a maximum of 4%. I have seen notices of a 5% charge to use cc, so obviously some places are doing it but they are not really allowed.

 

[EACarlson]

How can I pay cash? I don't use a bank and can't deposit the cash I don't use. I would rather just pay the 3% surcharge.

How do you pay your CC bills? As far as I am aware they all require a bank account to receive payment from. You can also get cash from many CCs some without additional fees.

There is a fantastic burger place in Minneapolis that does not accept cards and never has. Big notices on the door, the walls and an ATM next to the register. Still happens a few times a day that the waitress drops off the check and some oblivious idiot puts a card on it.

If Romano's went to the trouble to print new menus with the charge listed on it, they could have raised prices by $1 per entree and not pull this stunt.

 

[Kennywood]

"Temporary"......

 

[bcla]

How do you pay your CC bills? As far as I am aware they all require a bank account to receive payment from. You can also get cash from many CCs some without additional fees.

There is a fantastic burger place in Minneapolis that does not accept cards and never has. Big notices on the door, the walls and an ATM next to the register. Still happens a few times a day that the waitress drops off the check and some oblivious idiot puts a card on it.

If Romano's went to the trouble to print new menus with the charge listed on it, they could have raised prices by $1 per entree and not pull this stunt.

Depends on the bank. If the bank has a local branch, then one can pay off the bills in cash or money order. I've certainly made credit card payments at a branch. One the years I've had credit cards from BofA, Wells Fargo, City, and Chase, and those are all pretty convenient to make payments in person. When I had a Capital One credit card, that was a little bit more complicated. At least around here they operate with a network of ATMs (a lot of Target stores around here have their ATMs) and no actual bank branches. I'm not sure how to handle it with a credit card only to pay a bill. But once I went to a "Capital One Cafe" where I was told that I could use their ATM to make payments, but they were different than their standalone ATMs where I could pay without a PIN.

As for the prices - I think they already raised them, and this surcharge is on top of it. They've eliminated happy hour and lunch specials, but I'm surprised that they didn't eliminate kids meals, which I understand don't make them much money.

 

[MillauFr]

How do you pay your CC bills? As far as I am aware they all require a bank account to receive payment from. You can also get cash from many CCs some without additional fees.

There is a fantastic burger place in Minneapolis that does not accept cards and never has. Big notices on the door, the walls and an ATM next to the register. Still happens a few times a day that the waitress drops off the check and some oblivious idiot puts a card on it.

If Romano's went to the trouble to print new menus with the charge listed on it, they could have raised prices by $1 per entree and not pull this stunt.

I just use my Fidelity brokerage account. US Bank was a rip off tacking on extra fees for everything. I just closed my bank account back in 2007.

 

[MillauFr]

There is a fantastic burger place in Minneapolis that does not accept cards and never has. Big notices on the door, the walls and an ATM next to the register. Still happens a few times a day that the waitress drops off the check and some oblivious idiot puts a card on it.

My favorite burgers place was the Keys Cafe down on University near 280.

 

[EACarlson]

I just use my Fidelity brokerage account. US Bank was a rip off tacking on extra fees for everything. I just closed my bank account back in 2007.

I agree US Bank is a ripoff, I'm surprised Fidelity doesn't offer something like Schwab does with a free checking account with ATM reimbursements.

My favorite burgers place was the Keys Cafe down on University near 280.

Keys has the best breakfast in town, but for burgers it has to be Matt's on 35th and Cedar. Of course I'm more than a little biased, it's where I took my wife on our first date and I grew up six blocks from there.

 

[Jmljasmine]

It is already mostly cashless here. The panhandlers asking for cash have disappeared. No one has cash to give them.

Where I live they have increased rather then disappeared.

 

[MillauFr]

Where I live they have increased rather then disappeared.

Are they taking Venmo because here people have no cash to give them

 

[Jmljasmine]

Are they taking Venmo because here people have no cash to give them

No idea. They are there though. In more places then I'd ever seen before.