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Restaurants are facing backlash for adding charges to customers’ bills for various items, including water and employee healthcare costs. The rising cost of running a business has prompted one in six restaurants to implement fees or surcharges, a trend that has generated controversy, according to a survey by the National Restaurant Association.
Last week, Alimento, a restaurant in Los Angeles, went viral for charging a 4% surcharge that it claimed would help cover workers’ health insurance expenses, as reported by CBS. In response to the backlash, the owner of Alimento, Zach Pollack, defended the decision on social media, emphasizing that patrons have the option to remove the surcharge from their checks.
“As some of you may have heard, my restaurant, Alimento, was recently targeted online by a number of people fueled someone’s rant about our 4% healthcare surcharge (a charge which we offer to remove as printed on the very check he photographed),” Pollack said on Instagram.
Other restaurants across the country have also started implementing additional charges to offset costs and boost profits. This includes charging for items like water or bread, which customers usually expect to be complimentary. Some establishments have also encouraged customers to leave higher tips or allow them to tip employees even when there is no table service.
Regulations regarding surcharges vary across different jurisdictions, but in most cases, few restrictions exist. However, the practice has been criticized by some industry observers, who argue that it obscures the true cost of a meal. They suggest that restaurants should be more transparent by simply raising menu prices instead of adding surcharges.
The trend of surcharging began before the pandemic but saw a significant increase during the health crisis as businesses struggled to stay afloat. Even as concerns about the pandemic have diminished, these additional charges continue to proliferate. In some cases, customers are being asked to pay for non-food-related causes, such as a 1% fee in California to combat climate change.
“Prior to the pandemic, we started to see operators tack on surcharges for compensation,” said Brian Warrener, a professor of hospitality management at Johnson & Wales University. “The pandemic catalyzed it.”
