Isn't it fun how "the price should just be the price" makes you a filthy commie in 2024?
this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
179 points (99.4% liked)
News
23310 readers
3796 users here now
Welcome to the News community!
Rules:
1. Be civil
Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.
2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.
Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.
3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.
Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.
4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.
Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.
5. Only recent news is allowed.
Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.
6. All posts must be news articles.
No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
7. No duplicate posts.
If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.
8. Misinformation is prohibited.
Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.
9. No link shorteners.
The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.
10. Don't copy entire article in your post body
For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
We need European pricing where the price is the price. I would go as far as making asking for a tip illegal too. Have restaurants put on their menu that prices include the tip. Raise minimum wage for restaurant workers.
And not just for restaurants, everything, from airline tickets to concert tickets, etc.
I think clear signage and message on the bill indicating "tipping is optional, service charges is included in the menu price" should suffice.
Making tipping illegal goes too far, but I am okay with implementing it for couple decades, in order to correct a bad habit.
OP said “asking for a tip”. If I want to tip a particularly good server experience, everyone should be free to do so. But asking for it, and it comes to mind those places that explicitly stipulate that 10% is minimum mandatory tipping, should be illegal. That's a hidden fee, not a tip.
load more comments
(6 replies)
load more comments
(8 replies)
Fees are predatory on people who are swayed by lower advertised cost. Basically, they are extorting the way many people's brains work. It's just another way to keep the not rich from ever catching up. Not just in dollars, but time. If you try to price compare, you have to sink a ton of time into uncovering all the fees. The rich just don't have to worry about that. So it ends up as a time tax.
It's called a Bait and Switch and is a form of Fraud.
It's just that in the US, the grey area between Fraud and "Sharp business practice" is legally way broader than the rest of the Developed World.
Kudos to California to have forces some clarification on at least this one form of misrepresentation/false-advertising/fraud.
load more comments
(4 replies)
Only fees that are entirely optional — like leaving a tip for staff — can be left out of the posted price.
Wrong move. They should have outlawed tipping too. No more hiring for shit wages and leaving adequate compensation up to chance. Bump up the menu price and pay your staff an enticing salary.
Agreed. I hate tipping. Some tippers will hate for tipping to go away because they can use their charisma to make a lot of money. More power to them but tipping is just a way for these businesses to keep their labor low. Many other countries don't have tipping and can still have restaurants. For some reason the US needs tipping to be able to have restaurants.
load more comments
(8 replies)
A restaurant in my area recently put up signs saying they pay their staff a living wage, raised prices, and forbaid tips. More like this, please.
Meanwhile, most places in London pay at least the minimum wage (not lower for waitstaff, but not necessarily living wage) and tack on an optional 12-20% service charge, and don’t give it to staff.
You have to determine if the service charge goes to staff, awkwardly refuse the service charge, and (optionally) tip your waitstaff in cash (and if you do, ask they split it with back of house)
The times we’ve done it seems to make the staff happy. Still a shit thing to do.
load more comments
(7 replies)
load more comments
(26 replies)
My new favorite is a hotel tax I just saw today which conveniently isn't included in the room rate.
This has been the case forever. Itemizing receipts for hotels is always a pain and at least my company's expense tool has buttons for more than 7 different tax fields each night. It's like filling out a whole spreadsheet it the nightly rate varies.
load more comments
(3 replies)
I realize when I go out for a special event, like I did Friday night to see Harry Connick, Jr. play with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall that I wasn't going to quibble about costs.
However, after the non-optional 18% "gratuity", they also had an additional "server" tip field. Ha, GFY, bitches!
At that point just increase the price of menu items and pay people what their worth instead of lying about the final bill
Sorry, that's just for the developed world.
load more comments
(2 replies)
Do it like in Europe. Prices are all inclusive, any kind of tip is just a thank you for outstanding service, and not a necessity so the waitress won't starve.
It is a sales business with service, like buying clothes. Can you imagine having to tip the salesperson in a boutique?
Same in colombia. The price advertised is the price you pay. No need to calculate the tax in your head in the grocery store, just add everything and you’re golden.
I've seen tip jars in botique clothing and other non-food related shops for some time now in the US.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(9 replies)
Minnesota is currently working on a similar law to stop surcharges and just have a final price.
The restaurant owner arguments are all super weak as usual.
"Menu prices will rise!"
No shit, but everyone was already paying the prices but now you can't just surprise patrons with the increase.
"There will be pullback. People will lose jobs and hours!"
Doubtful but even if true, that means that they knew they were lying to customers and clawing extra charges that they wouldn't know about already.
"'They' are thinking restaurants will absorb the costs"
Not exactly but they will have to compete with pricing as it should be.
They're just trying to get away with playing the same game Telcos have gotten away with for far too many decades.
That's what pisses me off, if the consumer knows what they'll actually have to pay they won't buy.
They are arguing that they should be able to lie to the consumer and trick them. They think the consumer shouldn't be informed to make a decision on what is right for them. And once again, they are putting the business before the customer.
load more comments
(3 replies)
"Menu prices will rise!"
nothing a bunch of ~~two-bit con artists~~ MBAs hate more than an informed ~~mark~~ customer.
The actual good businesses run by good people will not suffer by this. only those that relied on duping their customers.
load more comments
(3 replies)
One step closer to the fucking common sense of the rest of the world where the price you see for something is the price you actually pay. Nobody cares about a number that's mathematically related to the price they have to pay, just tell me.
"If it's in the core price of the menu, there will be a pullback" in patrons' spending, she told NPR shortly before the attorney general released the guidelines. "There are some people, I think, that are hoping that the restaurants will just absorb that cost, because we've seen people say, 'Oh, it's too expensive with the service charge.' "
If you add bullshit charges that are not added into the price on the menu, I don't return ever. So you may lose a couple patrons initially but they'll be back once they understand that is the general price. You will also get me back since there is no more possibility of bullshit charges.
Oh, so you mean people won't order your food if they know what the real price is? Well... fuck you
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
I'd really love it if they did like some countries and added the sales tax(es) to the sticker price in stores too
load more comments
(1 replies)
Great, now do tipping next.
Article is about California, where tipped employees must be paid minimum wage same as everyone else
view more: next ›