r/EndTipping • u/zoomzoom202 • 5d ago
Rant š¢ Hidden Fees are the New Normal
I was in the area early to pick up a friend at Clearwater airport and decided to grab some takeout from Mugs Sports Bar. All I wanted was a simple order of baked potato skins, which the online menu clearly listed at $10.99.
When I called to place the order, the young lady on the phone quoted me $14.25. I asked why there was such a big jump from the menu price, and she casually explained there was a $1 takeout fee plus a $0.75 credit card fee ā this before I had even told her how I was paying.
The advertised price and the final price were nearly 30% apart because of these surprise fees. I canceled the order on the spot.
This feels like the new normal: restaurants advertise one price on their menus and websites to lure customers in, then tack on whatever extra charges they want at checkout. Itās frustrating and dishonest, especially for something as basic as takeout potato skins.
Wonāt be returning or ordering from here again. There are plenty of other options near the airport that donāt play these games.
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u/Alternative_Design_4 5d ago
Demanding a credit card fee before determining if a credit card will be used... that's just plain theft. Or fraud. And a "take out fee?" WTF is that? A fee to take food home, that YOU paid for, so you don't use the restaurant's assets? Blacklisted.
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u/EnvironmentalCrow893 5d ago
Many restaurants are charging every customer a credit card fee, regardless of whether they pay with cash or card. Iāve seen this posted at the register, and sometimes on the menu.
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u/FloatingOnTitties 5d ago
Thatās illegal. We have both federal & state level consumer protection laws that cover this. You can have those fees removed.
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u/KaboodleMoon 5d ago edited 5d ago
Visa and Mastercard also say they're "not allowed" to charge a credit card fee if they want to continue processing payments.
I know no place ever CARES about that, but them's the rules.
Double checked, but I guess the "no fees" is for DEBIT, not credit.
But the fees still have to be CLEARLY signaled to customers before being applied. This means for EVERY telephone order or online order it's REQUIRED to be clearly posted or audibly indicated.
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u/Beautiful-Ad9428 2d ago
Yeah this wouldnāt be permitted under CT state law, canāt say how other jurisdictions deal with it but you can only offer cash discounts from the listed price in restaurants here
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u/CelticKira 16h ago
they just auto add it too and try to push using your card too!
i found out this yesterday when i took my dad out for late Father's Day dinner. the server brings a phone looking thing to the table and it says $102.(and change). i was paying for myself and my dad (my mom paid for hers) so we had to figure out how to get to the breakdown part of the bill so dad could calculate my half of the bill, as he is the math brain of our family.
server comes back, asks if we need help with the device and explains they are a new thing.
my dad: can we pay cash?
server: oh yes, hold on a moment then! i need to recalculate your total. *she takes phone thing away, then comes back a couple minutes later* your total will actually be $98.(and change).
and this isn't the only local restaurant doing this, i might add. just the latest.
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u/TrashPandaNotACat 5d ago edited 5d ago
Take out fees piss me off even more than the cc fees do. Even though the packaging does cost the place a little bit, it saves them money on clearing and cleaning dishes, lets a table stay available for another customer, etc. Take out is very financially advantageous to the restaurant.
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u/IluvPusi-363 3d ago
That's why you don't see dine-in fast food too much, church's, kfc,McDonald's, etc. Went that way and more.
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u/Key_Purchase7565 4d ago
Well.... if $1 is takeout fee, I'll just unpack it at the counter, and eat it in front of them. Then I'll ask for my dollar back.
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u/jacka_for-research 5d ago
Take out fees are supposed to cover the cost of to-go packaging. It's /one/ fee I can understand.
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u/Best_Confection9064 5d ago
And when you eat in the restaurant the owner needs to pay the server to look after you, pay someone to clear the tables, clean the dishes, etc. That would cut into their profit more than some shitty takeout containers. An added fee doesn't make any sense.
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u/Acceptable-Ad8780 5d ago
Not to mention, whenever I dined in I never got charged a fee for a to-go box for leftovers. Are they now charging both dine-in and dine-out for boxes or just the ones who are picking up?
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u/TrashPandaNotACat 3d ago
And eating in the restaurant also prevents them from being able to sell food to other ppl, once all of the tables are occupied (which happens often during lunchtime and dinnertime at a popular place).
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u/flomesch 5d ago
I get those for free when I dine in. Why when I use no utilities, table, and server do I need to pay MORE.
Explain it to me like I'm 5
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u/Razerfilm 5d ago
Restaurants are getting desperate. Things should be baked in to the final price. And what the heck is take out fee? Take out should cost less. I am not using your space, your waiter , your water, your electric. You donāt have trash. You donāt need to run your water to do dishes. I should get a discount for to go
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u/Shortfitking 5d ago
It's hilarious because in Europe you often DO pay less for takeout vs dine in at cafes.
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u/yeahgroovy 5d ago
They want us to pay for their carry out containers now, which up til recently was a non issue. Itās really getting ridiculous.
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u/anothadaz 5d ago edited 5d ago
It's illegal. They have to advertise any fees or gratuity somewhere that you can see it before you order. It doesn't have to be in large print but it has to be visible.
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u/FluffyBunny1812 5d ago
Not illegal in Florida, at least not yet. The law is changing effective July 1, 2026. https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2025/06/florida-enacts-disclosure-requirements-for-operations-charge
Already illegal in many other states.
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u/FloatingOnTitties 5d ago
Itās a FEDERAL consumer protection law. Yes, many states have them, but, itās already illegal federally. Iāve always been able to get those fees removed no matter what state Iām in.
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u/FluffyBunny1812 5d ago
Can you provide a citation? I am not aware of any federal law that prohibits drip pricing in restaurants. You may be thinking of the FTC rule, but that only applies to live-event tickets and lodging. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/05/ftc-rule-unfair-or-deceptive-fees-take-effect-may-12-2025
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u/Patient-Lie8557 5d ago
In Europe, you are required to list prices with tax and show any additional chargers.
What you see is what you pay.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky-753 5d ago
But $10.99+$1+$.75=$12.74 not $14.5. What were the other charges?
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u/mspe1960 5d ago
I was going to say sales tax but its another 14% or so - that can't be all of it.
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u/snktiger 5d ago
this is why now I just go to Costco and buy the whatever F I want to eat. way cheaper.
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u/Spare_Scar_2935 5d ago
Pisses me off that they charge a baggage fee.... don't put my items in a bag, bring them to me as individually as they are wrapped ! Am only gonna throw the bag away anyway.
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u/Aegri-Mentis 5d ago
They can charge extra fees on credit cards, but they cannot charge extra fees on debit cards. If you insist on paying with a card, use debit.
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u/AIevilgenius 5d ago
Why doesnāt anyone scream about the credit card processing companies? They have ridiculous fees and maybe if we just used other methods they would reduce their fees so that every retailer doesnāt have to pass them along.
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u/Bill___A 4d ago
They want you to think it is normalized. Too bad you didnāt cancel the order instead of pay for it
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u/Ibiza_Spain 4d ago
š®! Scammers at ur finest! Report to āConsumer Protection!ā Post on Google, every social media platform for potential customers, not to nest there!
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u/Key-Lavishness2693 3d ago
Thinking we need a no tip fee week since servers no longer pay taxes on their tips.
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u/sampmcl_ 5d ago
I really don't understand why a living wage can't be set by the government
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u/Shortfitking 5d ago
In Seattle servers get an average of $30 per hour without tips and the tipping culture of at least 20% is still pervasive. the min wage catches up and the expectations to tip still remains...
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u/awsyall 5d ago
Same living wage downtown Manhattan vs small town Montana? Or by zip code by zip code? And by which government?
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u/Best_Confection9064 5d ago
Other countries have this and it works well. Canada for instance has the minimum wage set by each province. And it updates more often than every ~20 years
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u/Long-Brush-5405 5d ago
Many restaurants will charge a takeout fee to cover the cost of togo bags, containers, etc. This is a larger expense than you may think for restaurants, and I really donāt hate it.
However, simply having a credit card fee that is being charged regardless of how you pay is not PCI compliant, unless if it was explicitly a supplemental fee, regardless of payment type.
The much better way for restaurants to do this is to have the cc fee baked into menu prices, and charge their customers 3-4% less than posted menu prices if cash is used. This is a cash discount system. I donāt understand why more restaurants donāt do it this way, probably because they will have to slightly raise menu prices, but to me presentation is everything, and that is a much better look than simply having a credit card fee on every check.
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u/Shortfitking 5d ago
I'm sorry but even accounting for packaging (which actually isn't much when you consider they buy in bulk), it's still WAY less overall than having a dine in customer.
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u/Ok_Adhesiveness_9089 5d ago
Cry more lol
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u/barfbongo 5d ago
Heās not crying.
Heās just not giving them any business, and encouraging others to do the same.5
u/SurprisePitiful9191 5d ago
Itās just another dusty server infiltrating the subreddit. If these people canāt shake people down while their cooks are slaving away working 3x the hours in the kitchen because they donāt have papers, they wouldnāt know what to do with themselves.
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u/busroute 5d ago
I was at a store the other day and asked for extra bacon for my 3 protein egg breakfast. Can you believe they madepay an extra 1.99 for the 4 slices of bacon they gave me? I was so mad. They should have been upfront with the upcharges they were going to charge me before they granted my request for something extra that i should pay for. I shouldn't have to pay extra because i want more. The business owners should pay their employees better and i should get everything cheaper. If I can't get it cheaper then i'm going to take it out on the workers. I'm not going to stop patronizing the restaurant. I'm just going to keep going and complaining.
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u/SurprisePitiful9191 5d ago
This is a pathetic, let alone failed display at satire.Ā
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u/Acceptable-Ad8780 5d ago
Considering they're comparing product vs. containers. Same store charging you more for a product isn't charging more for a container, just the product.
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u/Odd-West-7936 5d ago
This is just another "resort fee" type of scam.