Thoughts on Paying Extra for Employee's Health Ins.

[Uncle Coaster]

Is this just a standard statement that is copy and pasted into every restaurant thread now? It adds nothing to the conversation. It's ok to question restaurant practices, you don't need to call out affordability to somehow justify literally anything that goes on in a restaurant.

I think it’s a valid response. Some people don’t care how or why any company charges what they charge. Wouldn’t matter if they line item each ingredient. As a consumer many only care about the bottom line.

I think knowing that people feel this way absolutely contributes to the conversation.

 

[Turn the Page]

I would rather they just up their menu prices a touch but if they are going to attach a surcharge to the bill and state that the reason for the surcharge is to cover health insurance for their employees then I want some kind of confirmation that the employees are actually getting the insurance customers are being charged for and the restaurant isn't pocketing the difference. I have worked in enough restaurants over the years to see a bunch of unsavory business practices.

 

[NYDisGuy]

I think it’s a valid response. Some people don’t care how or why any company charges what they charge. Wouldn’t matter if they line item each ingredient. As a consumer many only care about the bottom line.

I think knowing that people feel this way absolutely contributes to the conversation.

So you wouldn't know that someone "wouldn't eat out if they couldn't afford it" unless it was posted here?

 

[Uncle Coaster]

So you wouldn't know that someone "wouldn't eat out if they couldn't afford it" unless it was posted here?

I wouldn’t know that that was their primary concern when choosing a restaurant.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think it’s a valid response. Some people don’t care how or why any company charges what they charge. Wouldn’t matter if they line item each ingredient. As a consumer many only care about the bottom line.

I think knowing that people feel this way absolutely contributes to the conversation.

The comment in question said "If I cannot afford to eat out and tip well, I will stay home." That's different than a preference towards not having a receipt show line by line charges or a preference towards not wanting the cost of an employer's health care to be reflected on the bill.

I suppose if anything it reflects that the perception to the PP is those who do not like the surcharge are really just saying that because they cannot afford it. So I guess that is helpful in that way.

 

[SteveH]

Finally, there is no tax on a surcharge, and like meals tax, a surcharge is not included in the tip calculation.

This depends on the state, in both CA and WA they are taxable, I'm not sure about Florida.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

The comment in question said "If I cannot afford to eat out and tip well, I will stay home." That's different than a preference towards not having a receipt show line by line charges or a preference towards not wanting the cost of an employer's health care to be reflected on the bill.

I admit I don’t know the poster who wrote the line in question at all. Just suffice to say that you and I are reading into it completely differently.

 

[mnrose]

Raise your prices sufficient to cover your increased cost. And, no that doesn't mean a even dollar on everything to use the example above. If a businesses cost increase X dollars month, whatever that is, you increase the cost of goods X dollars, spread anyway you like. That may mean increasing everything 50 cents in price. Increasing a few things a dollar in price. Adding 50 cents to beverages, and .25 to food items. Heck, I don't know. What I do know is that there are many ways to do it OTHER than a surcharge. It's annoying. And, foisting whatever your political beliefs are on everyone else. It's a good way to offend a lot of people

There are plenty of restaurants I go to where they have added slightly to the food cost on their menu. Sure, I notice. And, I don't particularly care that my bill is now $3-5 more than it used to be. Their costs have risen. Seems fair to ask me to pay a little more to cover them.

 

[tvguy]

Where is this happening, so I make sure I never go there.

Some San Francisco restaurants have been doing this for 10 years, so nothing new. @jrmasm

https://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/expanding-sf-restaurant-surcharge-statewide-is-a-bad-idea/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I admit I don’t know the poster who wrote the line in question at all. Just suffice to say that you and I are reading into it completely differently.

lol ok. I'm not sure of another way to interpret "if you can't afford it stay home" in another way other than "if you can't afford it stay home". But if you're inclined you could for sure enlighten me as to how you're reading it.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

lol ok. I'm not sure of another way to interpret "if you can't afford it stay home" in another way other than "if you can't afford it stay home". But if you're inclined you could for sure enlighten me as to how you're reading it.

The original quote was if *I* can’t afford it... not *you*.

You’re reading a passive aggressive meaning into the post. I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that it was a statement of their own apathy toward how the cost is presented.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The original quote was if *I* can’t afford it... not *you*.

You’re reading a passive aggressive meaning into the post. I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that it was a statement of their own apathy toward how the cost is presented.

Ah I see yeah I don't think that's in the spirit of the post to refer only to them personally being unable to afford a 3% surcharge and personally being unable to afford to tip well so they'll just stay home.

I'm going to go on a limb here and say they probably wouldn't say they can't tip well so they'll stay at home. I'm going to go on a limb and say they probably do tip well.

But that's nice of you to see it in that light. I don't necessarily think that was the intent though especially mentioning tipping habits. Sure though if the poster was only speaking about themselves and for sure not a comment aimed at anyone else but themselves and their personal ability to afford a meal with a surcharge and afford tipping well they have my apologies

 

[kaytieeldr]

Why not a 3% electricity surcharge and a 3% rent surcharge, and a 3% natural gas surcharge, and a 3% workers comp surcharge, and a 3% food cost, and a multitude of other 3% other normal cost of operating a restaurant surcharge?

I have no idea, i don't own or manage a restaurant. I would expect it's because these costs were previously calculated into the operating costs and menu prices. This is a new expense. Maybe they want to be able to adjust it up ir down as needed based on the cost of insurance.

Is requiring employers to provide health insurance an issue in which voters had direct input? Not minimum wage - that's not where the income from the surcharge is going.

Because the restaurant owner is politicizing their cost of providing health care.

Unless voters got to vote on requiring employers to provide (costly - ask your own HR department) health insurance, this is NOT political.

They started this surcharge in Jan 2017, it's not to cover any unexpected or short term costs at this point.

The surcharge is to pay or offset some of the additional ongoing costs incurred by employers due to having to provide health insurance.

If these restaurants added the surcharge 15 months ago, why in the world is it a story now?

These are all high-dollar restaurants, no one would bat an eye at raising the prices. He has made the choice

Diners have choices. Don't patronize where you disagree with policies.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Unless voters got to vote on requiring employers to provide (costly - ask your own HR department) health insurance, this is NOT political.

I'd say the increase in overall health insurance is something that has been widly considered political. It's a bit hard to talk here on the Boards but not being able to vote on something is by no means the definition of political. I, as a registered voter, don't get to vote on a lot of things that are absolutely political in nature.

 

[Deb & Bill]

That was the socialist state of Austin, TX. Lived there for two years in the 1970's. Went back about ten years ago, hated what I saw and will never go back. The city is destroyed. It looked like the restaurant that added the surcharge, also taxed said surcharge. Just deduct the surcharge or Insurance tax from the tip since the surcharge it actually going to the employee in the form of insurance.

 

[North of Mouse]

Why doesn't the restaurant (s) just start a 'Go Fund Me' for his employee's health insurance? Isn't that what a lot of people do when they want others to pay for something they want?

 

[Colleen27]

I agree with those who have said this is essentially politicizing a price increase. It is designed either to agitate diners into supporting or opposing a particular policy (such as the minimum wage surcharges popping up in places where it has been raised) or to deliberately shift responsibility for the higher prices onto waitstaff, which is likely to result in lower tips. Either way, it is a classless, tactless move and not something I'd support.

Rising insurance costs are a cost of doing business in America, in every field and every industry. Build it into your pricing, like everyone else does.

 

[skyblue17]

"I would be fine spending the extra money, but now that I know that a server who mostly survives on tips is getting better health insurance for it, I'm out!"

Wow.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Rising insurance costs are a cost of doing business in America, in every field and every industry. Build it into your pricing, like everyone else does.

This isn't currently about rising insurance costs. It's about the cost of providing health insurance, period, by businesses that never had the expense before.

 

[Colleen27]

This isn't currently about rising insurance costs. It's about the cost of providing health insurance, period, by businesses that never had the expense before.

Either way, it is an expense that other businesses simply build into their pricing or pass along to employees (my employer offers health insurance but pays almost nothing towards it... there's nothing stopping a restaurant from doing the same). Making it "transparent", in the form of a surcharge, is done to make a statement, whether that statement is (as in the link about the Austin restaurant) "Look how great we are, raising prices to offer paid sick leave!" or (as has been done in my area) "Look how that terrible ACA is making *everything* cost more!", there's a specific motivation between choosing to add health insurance or sick leave as a line item on customers' checks rather than just rolling the cost into menu pricing. And regardless of the political motivations for the surcharge, as a couple of posters on this thread have already confirmed, it is likely to be taken out on the servers in the form of some customers deducting the surcharge amount from the tip they leave.