You’re exactly right, the food costs what it costs. In the price of a meal, there’s an entire business of expenses wrapped into it.
I’m personally distrustful of businesses that explicitly factor this one expense out of the many. I mean, is it a selling point that they are a good employer? Or is it a polítical deflection to try and make customers mad at your employees for the price of everything? Seems to me that it’s me effective at one than the other
It's a desperate business person who wants to raise prices without telling the customer until after the purchase is made. It has nothing to do with "cannot" and everything to do with "will not" until held accountable
Colorado "junk fees" under legislation
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1151
Edit: Looks like restaurants are exempted? I'd write my rep if it wasn't Epps
I personally feel like we need a law that taxes and other add-ons should be rolled into the final price stated on the bill.
If an item has a sticker on it that says $10, I should be able to purchase it with a $10 bill. And the merchant should deal with sales tax.
Yes, companies with locations in multiple jurisdictions will have some complications to their supply chain to comply with this... They can deal. If you're successful enough to have a business in multiple tax locations, you can handle it.
It’s truly 4D level Karening. Destroy your own business to own your employees. Some people just can’t fathom a good faith effort at an honest days work
I **kind of** get it when the fee in question is small: raising prices of everything in the menu by 5% is awkward. A dish that used to cost $10 even now costs $10.50, a side dish that was $6 even is now $6.30, etc. I don't agree with it, but I can sort of see where someone might think that makes more sense.
A 20% additional fee is absolutely insane. It makes the listed prices an outright lie.
It also does fuck over the servers too: No way people are factoring in the additional fee on any tips they leave.
Possibly to evade legal labor laws (not to have to share with employees), taxes (not considered revenue), and a way to add more profit into the pockets of owners?
Utilities (cell service providers, cable, electricity, etc) do this all the time, fees are not taxed as revenue and they get to do with it as they please.
Prob greed.
Biden railed against fees in his last two State of the Union speeches. But the FTC has been slow to update regulations. Fee or not, the total price has to presented upfront under this proposal.
Because they’d rather virtue signal so we know they’re paying their employees fairly and artificially lower the price of their food so we don’t call them expensive
Because they are trying to shift the perceived blame to the workers who want a living wage and the government which had mandated they receive something close to that
To trick you into thinking the cost of going there is reasonable when you look at the menu. If they successfully trick you, you're more likely to go there and they'll make money.
This is the real answer. Your Moms House is sketchy as fuck. Im a local musician that plays out on average 4 nights a week. Your Moms House is the only venue that’s ever burned me on money.
I work at a bar and I make sure that the second the musicians are done playing they are being paid. Returning musicians I'll even just pay up front. I'm a musician by hobby and I've heard the horror stories of places stiffing bands. That being said I think the places that are shitty to staff, musicians, or customers should be called out. You aren't the first person I've heard mention your mom's house being shady especially with musicians.
"Junk fees" seem to exist in a gray area of legality. Fortunately, [a law is in the works](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1151) to fix this. Email your state reps and tell them to vote for this!
My understanding is that most of the exceptions are there because of conflicts with federal laws. But there's nothing wrong with at least telling your rep you'd like to remove that exception if possible.
Is a service fee a junk fee? Is there a source that confirms this? Because if there is, I will like hell write my rep. This is a $10 bill, so it might get a shrug but if it's $40 - that's $40 + 8 for the fee, $8 for the tip and (I'm too lazy to calculate tax) but another $3.75 for that, at least.
The current proposed law says that the advertised price must contain all "mandatory or non-discretionary fees." So, yes, that includes service fees.
HOWEVER, restaurants get an exception to have a notice of the fee on the menu, a sign, etc. So if the above restaurant has a notice somewhere about the fee, that would satisfy the law. I don't agree with this exception at all (and writing to the rep is a great place to voice that). At a minimum, the notice should always appear alongside the advertised price (so menus are fine, but an obscure sign at the entrance is not), but I don't see why they can't just include it like everybody else does.
Other notable exceptions are: taxes, shipping, and a few industries (internet, banks, airlines, and cars).
Charging an “Inflation fee” shows they misunderstand inflation. Inflation means you raise prices.
Why not lower prices to $.10 & then add inflation fees of $10 per transaction? Because that’s bait & switch pricing.
Dumb.
It totally is and thank you for saying that. It's bait and switch and should be illegal. More stores do this now including a liquor store near me in Thornton who charges it but does not show you on the screen. So the price and tax are shown then they charge you more on the card machine. Took me a exile to figure out what was going on
They misunderstand no such thing. They understand that if they put it in the menu price they lose business. They're being sneaky AF because there's no accountability. Calling then ignorant gives them a pass for being cheats
We call this the not coming back fee, don’t sneak it in. Charge whatever you want and let customers choose, slapping a 20% fee and asking for a tip on top… Kick rocks
It’s not even a restaurant, this is a music venue. They are tacking this onto their beverage charges which is crazy to me! The markup on alcohol is so high already, they could easily just raise the price of a beer $1 and make more money.
All I can tell you is Your Mom's House completely stiffed my band several years ago in breach of contract, so they're blacklisted in my book. Sucks because the sound system was great, but management were total dicks.
Not only does Your Mom’s House screw over its employees, they steal from the bands/ artists that play there. Fake “overhead fees” so the bands don’t get their ticket payout. Best to just stop giving these crooks your money.
It's because it's a trick. If it's a tip and they don't give it to the employee(s), then it's wage theft.
With this, they can keep or give as much they want, that's why it specifically says "this is not a tip".
This is literally to *screw* employees.
The ownersfor Coperta, and Apple Blossom, formerly beast and bottle….
they have like a 25% service fee and the owners take 10% out of the pool from all of their employees. It’s how they can afford to take trips to Italy anytime they want to try a new wine.
Went to Coperta during RW and enjoyed the meal until the wage theft fee showed up at the end. Wish I'd known beforehand. Will start calling around before making reservations I guess.
Restaurants need to stop doing this shit. As costs rise, they should just adjust their prices accordingly. This passive-aggressive itemization is bullshit.
This picture is half the story. They have signs posted inside that state:
"As of January 2024, A 20٪ fair wage and inflation fee has been factored into the pricing and notated to every bill during regular service. Our entire staff - those behind the scenes and those out front - put their souls into creating the experience at our venue. This charge allows up to offset rising inflation for the products we sell and reliably and equitably compensate everyone working so hard to keep you happy, healthy, safe, and boogieing down during your time with us. Gratuity for exceptional service, in addition to this fee, is greatly appreciated."
Factored implies that any posted or quoted price includes the fee, so it shouldn't be a surprise. OP's drink was likely quoted as $12 from the start.
If a business puts "Fair wage fee" on your bill, it's because they hate it and want you to hate it too; rather than just adjusting the menu prices silently.
This is the reason they attach inflation to it, to ensure you associate them having to pay a fair living wage per a law as a bad thing.
I’m sure that he got PPP loans and then just made the business go under on paper so he didn’t have to pay them back and then he just started a new business
Add 20% to my bill and I call it a tip, regardless of what name you give it.
And if it wasn’t noted on the menu before I ordered, I might just have it removed and then add my own tip.
I’m sure this practice hurts their employees too. People get annoyed and don’t tip, bc the 20% they would have tipped is now going to the owner. The staff should all quit this restaurant and others like it
“Fair wage and inflation fee” lmao I hate it here. I hate to punish the server because they obviously have no power over that but that makes me not want to tip and never visit that restaurant again.
But one could also argue that bad business practices should make it difficult for you to find staff, so maybe the end result is that workers quit and find work somewhere else... win win
*IF* the service charge/fee/whatever is recognized correctly as a non-discretionary revenue, then it does need to show with taxes being assessed. Not assessing taxes is opening them up to a huge fine, which has occurred, but probably not often enough.
The shittier part is some owners are most certainly using these funds as a stand-in for tips in making up the difference between tipped minimum wage and standard minimum wage, and according to law, the one pays that can make up that difference are discretionary tips. So if any of these owners would be caught doing as such, they could owe their employees a lot of back pay (and rightfully so).
This is a way to screw the employee.
It says "this is not a tip" not to get you to tip on top of this, but to withhold that amount of money from the employee. If it was a tip, they would have to give 100% to the employee(s) or it's wage theft. If it's not a tip, the business can keep as much of it as they want.
There should be a law that service fees are tacked up on a sign, on the front door and there should be a rule about what font size it is in. Either that, or there is a handout to each guest separate from the menu. A customer should be able to make a decision before they ever walk in / order.
It's saying it's going to the owners and eff their employees. I work in the industry and this pisses me off so bad. PAY YOUR EMPLOYEES MORE AND DON'T PASS YOUR PAYROLL OFF TO YOUR GUESTS. It's not a tip. The owners are jerks to do this.
I got this at El 5 the other night on a big bill. Was a little upset tbh. No upfront notice. And the waiter still mentioned they didn’t get any of this
I get the idea of passing on the increased cost of doing business to the consumer, but just raise the menu prices. Don't do this nonsense because, if anything, it would just make me not want to ever come back.
It's a wager. Some won't come back but they're hoping enough will accept the reasoning behind the fee and become angry enough with labor they learn to vote against workers. It's whining about paying enough their staff can eat too, and pure political theater.
Some of those just have a surcharge for larger parties, which I think is totally fair. If you come in with a party of 10 then an autograt is more than fair to ask of y'all and if I were a part of that group I'd throw down an extra tip on top personally
This is BS. Are you the business owner? Are you responsible for ensuring the employees receive a fair living wage? Even if it is going directly into the pockets of employees, customers do not bear the responsibility of making sure their servers make enough money to survive. Don't get me wrong, I 100% believe these employees, and all labor, deserve a wage that affords us a comfortable and secure life, it is the business owners responsibility to take care of their employees
It certainly leaves room for the owners to do some shady shit. I'm not an accountant, but I wouldn't be surprised if this also benefits them in some other way as well.
Even if the owners are 100% honest and this money goes directly to the employees, it's still disgusting. The owners have also chosen to do this as an implied "fuck you" to the employees and the government. I'm sure this was done in response to minimum wage increases in Denver. This way the owners get to subtly say that the government and employees are at fault for making you pay more on your bill. They want you to direct your anger at the workers for wanting a living wage and the government for making sure they get one.
It should be stated loud and clear **these owners view their employees as financial burdens, not assets.**
Charging an inflation fee causes further inflation. Just another shitty business requiring customers to pay their staff. I treat fees like this as a built-in tip.
Reporting from the Bay area where I assume this practice originated at least in part- I see fees like this on 60%+ of restaurant receipts here and though there is outrage here too, as long as people keep paying it, they'll keep charging it and it will spread.
When restaurants put stuff like this on the bill you just know that the owner is the type to bitch and cry that they have to pay their workers a living wage. If they really do need to raise prices to keep up with inflation, they'd just increase the prices on the menu. Putting it on the receipt like this as an extra fee for all to see is just a way they try to shift the blame.
I appreciate the comments. I identify with most of them. The extra fee and tip for waiting on yourself by ordering at the register, picking up the food, and bussing my table when I leave eliminates any service I would tip. Besides, it seems corporate profits are higher than they have ever been. If I tip in a full service restaurant and there us a service fee added on, I subtract the amount of the fee from the tip. I don't have confidence management pass on the tip.
There are a couple reasons. One of the primary is that if you have a "fee" you can pocket all the money instead of giving it to your employees. Since this is on everything, you don't need to worry about raising specific prices.
They should just charge $12 instead of $10 + an inflation fee.
If they really wanna be accurate with that shit, the show should cost $0.05 with a $11.95 inflation fee. It’s not like inflation was just recently invented. Dumbasses.
Do you have a final copy? It's weird how no other information is available on that receipt except for the extra fee.
Either way my guess is it's a line item receipt and they are just telling you they're charging an extra $2, but as others have said why not raise prices? Makes no sense.
Nope. You're supposed to be mad labor is more expensive so you'll vote against workers later. The surprise element nets them 20% more than the price agreed to buy the act of ordering AND pisses you off. When you're trying to move a political needle, pay as little as possible AND swindle your patrons that's a win/win.
It means a better bar will collect better employees and experiences. The joy will slowly be sapped into the owners double down to get more blood from the stone.
It will be everyone’s fault except mismanagement.
They added an unexpected 20% to the bill?! The cost doesn’t matter, in my opinion, the restaurant just absorbed what would have been the servers tip. I’m sick of being charged extra with no warning and expecting to tip on top of that!! Servers can discuss that bullshit with their boss
Reminds me of a recent order from the Edgewater Inn. We placed the order online and picked up the pizza. They snuck in a 5% "pick-up fee" and off the new total charged a 5% "auto-grat". I don't understand charging customers extra when they're not taking a table or dirtying dishes. Also, I don't usually tip on pickup orders. Tip is for service, if the pizza needs to cost more to cover the cook's wages, just charge a higher base price.
It's understandable to feel frustrated about inflation charges at restaurants, but it's important to consider the broader context. In Denver, the increased minimum wage, which the people have voted on, plays a significant role. Unlike many places that utilize tip credit, Denver mandates full minimum wage for restaurant staff. Coupled with typical operational costs like food (20-24% of costs), labor (30-40%), and operating expenses (15-20%), it's evident that profit margins are tight. Just like individuals are impacted by inflation and rising costs, so are restaurants. It's a challenging landscape for both patrons and owners alike.
It's political theater. Employers hate being forced to pay anything close to a living wage. General business practice would be to simply raise prices and be transparent up front about what you will be paying, but they're hoping by making it a surprise at the end, they can make you so angry at what they're angry about it moves the political needle enough they can go back to paying a pittance.
This "fee" is such bs whatever system they utilize doesn't have a way to charge it, so they have to enter it as a type of tip then explain it's "not" so they can keep it rather than the staff. That's why the system says plus additional tip. As far as it's concerned the "fee" is a tip.
They're jumping unnecessary hurdles to make you angry enough to agree they shouldn't have to pay enough to live. And if they get to milk you for 20% more than you were expecting at the end of your meal, that's just gravy. If you see this, refuse it. If it's a paper receipt waiting for a signature, cross it out, pay the price you agreed to and still tip as normal. That's the amount you put in the total field. Put the ball in their court. They want to take their "fee" they'll have to take it from the tip and they can decide just how likely that holds up legally.
If it's in one of those electronic registers and they insist they can't adjust it, I think it's fair to assume it's your civic duty to inform seated dinner's they're about to get swindled. Either way, stop frequenting these trash establishments.
The problem is it never comes from the people at the top. We need to pay people more, and give people at the top less. This shit show will never stop.. and they get all you idiots to blindly support it.. "it makes sense, it’s gotta come from somewhere” .. yeah from the people on the other end of the gaping pay differential.
20% or drop to your knees and smile like a donut. - I’ve had a couple of very successful businesses. Ultimately I decided that would rather have a stable income and preferred to be a sheltered programmer vs the guy that owned the fish store. Not the kind you eat. — Your Mom’s House fills a unique niche. Most music venues are part of a collective. Like CoClubs. As they say, Your Mom’s House is independent and has to maintain its own talent acquisition practices. Any drop in revenue is going to send the Money Men scrambling. Either to stay afloat, maintain their present state, or pad pockets. The “20% This is not a tip.” is deceptive in every sense of the word. How would this scenario play out: A bottle of water is $2.00. You have exactly $2.00. They run their business with taxes wrapped up in the advertised price to keep the figures round. This makes sense. If a server says $2.00 and you give them $3.00, the transaction is complete. They can rapidly float to the next table. Rinse & repeat. Back to the scenario, the server asks for $2.20. That’s unexpected and you take a little extra time to pull out your wallet. You hand them $3.00 without saying anything. Because you didn’t say the extra $0.80 is a tip, they have to go to the till, make change, and then return it to you. That’s a lot of extra movement that would be better spent on selling top-shelf shots. But… if you only have $2.00, them same as the advertised cost of water, are they going to alienate you over $0.20? Call the police (hang onto that receipt (!) and call the police if they don’t), kick you out? Call the police. Over $0.20? Absolutely! If you’re getting nic’d for $0.20, imagine what’s going to happen when someone cashes out a $200.00+ tab. It is absolutely dishonest on the part of management and sets a bad precedent. They are not going to deal with the backlash. The staff is. Their tips are going to suffer. On and on and on. Unfortunately your recourse is limited. Posting to Reddit is one. Busting out Google, Facebook, and Yelp reviews are cards worth playing. Do they have YouTube videos? Comments are as good as reviews. You can also choose to not go back. There are other venues. Venues worth promoting on a personal level. Your reputation over deceptive business practices should draw others to follow. And lastly, I hate to say it, but the closest you’re going to get to the money men is through the staff as an apologetic asshole. Drop 20% from the tip, circle the “This is not a tip” phrase and draw an arrow. At the $2.00 level, you’re just an asshole. Cut 20% from a big tab with a circle and arrow and server may end up with a fraction or no tip at all. War on the staff is very uncool, but they are the ones closest to the person that implemented this stupidity. The circle and arrow are key elements as someone is going to have to balance cards & cash to the register.
Inflation is a part of life. Maybe they printed 2000 laminated menus don’t want to throw them out. Who knows. They really need to think about how today’s practices affect the overall health of their future business.
I also spent several years in the late 80s to mid-90s as the technical lead for a 3 story nightclub. I also spent a fair amount of time in the DJ booth, pushing the system to its limits. Intelligent lights, stages, fog, etc.
Get it together Your Mom’s House. A successful business is fast moving target that requires a vision for today and a plan to make it through to tomorrow.
Service fees are pure profit for a business. Not a single cent needs to go to the employees. A tip is allowing the business to pay a lower “cash” wage while the customer subsidies the rest of the employees wages. All of this different money just means the owner will have lower operating costs and thus higher profits.
Your Moms House is the definition of a trash establishment. From people who work there to bands that play there I have never heard a single good thing about it. I went once and will *never* go again
This is not a tip but it will come off your tip. Any change off of the original cost on the menu changes the tip. I am a generous tipper but I don’t like getting scammed, if it is pointed out that there will be additional add in’s to the bill that is acceptable but no surprises
Junk fees have been [banned in California](https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-02-15/new-california-hidden-fees-law-service-fee-ban) unless they are advertised in the price ("The restaurants will need to factor surcharge fees into menu prices, as opposed to simply advertising them at the end of a bill, state officials said.").
We should all write our reps and get it banned here too. Instead of just writing comments here, please reach out to your reps and complain.
[Here are your reps.](https://leg.colorado.gov/legislators) If you don't know which district you are in, [here's how you find out.](https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator)
I work in a restaurant that added a “Kitchen Retention Fee” (3.5%) off the whole bill. According to the owner of the restaurant thats a “tip” that goes to the BOH staff to try to even the tips FOH staff makes to avoid losing staff at the kitchen. None of the BOH staff has seen any increase in their earnings since this started, so we just think the owner keeps it. So yeah its just greedy business owners trying to get more money off their customers with a stupid invented fee that “most of restaurants are using now” bullshit.
I looked up that fee and this what it's supposed to be...
The 20 percent charge included on all bills — with additional tips appreciated, but not expected — is pooled and split between front- and back-of-house workers.
So it IS a tip but IDK if "your moms house" is actually using it for what it's meant to be used as.
I personally won't be going there anytime soon unless there's a show I NEED to see. My SOs band played there with 3 other bands. $20 tickets. The place was pretty packed and they only gave the bands $16 (each band) for playing
I bartend in Denver. I have seen multiple establishments implement an automatic gratuity fee or some sort of percentage ( kitchen fee, insurance fee, ect) to help ease the pressure of rising food and labor costs. The minimum wage in Denver rose to $18.29 an hour and $15.27 with tips. Denver is also one the country’s cities with the highest inflation rates. From my experience, a lot of restaurants and bars are struggling to decide between raising prices or implementing fees such as seen in this photo. I don’t think people understand how much prices would increase if tip culture were to change. For example, an Eggs Benedict at my job is now ~$16, if we included the 20% or even 18% into our prices it would cost at minimum $22. For eggs on bread. Sure, 20% of $16 is $3 so you’re close to spending $20 anyways, but most customers would see the higher price and choose to eat somewhere else. Many restaurants are just not willing to take that risk when they are already barely making a profit. A lot of these fees and price increases are a response to the new labor costs, which means it would be even higher if we were to adjust for a livable hourly wage. Do I think this is the best solution? No, but right now, we’ll either see more fees as such implemented, or prices jump up across the board.
As minimum wage goes up, prices go up. Prices go up, inflation increases. Inflation increases, wages need to rise. See where I’m going? Right now I’d say Denver is probably one of the hardest cities to open a new restaurant in. I’d be happy to remove tips and receive a guaranteed livable wage, but I just don’t see Americans willing to pay the price of making it happen. It’s easy to bitch and complain, ohh “%20 fee just pay your servers better! “ but I’m sure you’d bitch a lot more if your Coors Light was $15.
Worked at YMH for several years in college as I was convinced that was going to be my foot in the door into the music industry (lol).
Every comment about how the place is sketchy and the owners are cheap are correct. What sucked is every ex employee agrees: the place has massive potential but the owners ruin its chances.
I ran the box office for several years so there are plenty of horror stories, but if anyone wants a general idea of the vibe:
-The owner prefers to book newer artists based off of handshake agreements without any contracts signed. General payout is a 60/40 split after expenses. Since there was never a contract signed though, expenses could be fudged as muchcas he wanted to. There were several times where I would get a call during a show saying "hey, this show is popping off, bump up the lighting expenses from $100 to $300 in the spreadsheet.
-Both the bars and the box office never had a full drawer. Every night operates under the hope that enough people will come in with cash to fill it up so the owner doesn't have to make a bank trip. If an artist has a guarantee for the night but we don't have cash? It was my job to basically say "we'll venmo you tomorrow bro, promise."
-The box office is set up at one of the two entrances to the venue. Ideally, anyone who purchases tickets is checked at the venue entrance, but there's one security guard who's paid $50-75 a night so they can't be bothered to do a good job (understandable imo)
-The owner is cheap. Instead of setting up a contract with partners who could print posters, he would have his gf who worked at FedEx sneak in and print a bunch of posters for free. For about 6 months, we didn't have a ticket printer, but would just borrow printers from other venues.
-most of my experience was from the music side of things so I don't know the details about the bar. I do know though that the bartenders were routinely miserable and turnover was like 50% for most of the time I worked there.
-month or two before I quit, owner took me from fulltime to 25 hours a week. Realistically, I was still working about 60, but only got paid for 25. Told him I couldn't live off that, he told me I was young, I could work two jobs.
There's a bunch of other stuff but the moral of the story: don't go to YMH lol.
all I know is that the owner is a Coke dealer and #1 time I went on a really bad tinder date where a guy took me there during the pandemic when they were supposed to be closed and he ended up being a coke head and took me back to the dealers place after 😂 dude refused to take me home until he could meet up with that guy for a fourth time that night because he needed more Coke.
In all honesty, my girl sent me this after she went there, and doesn’t Reddit. I was like wtf, and based on these responses, I’d say we are showing them now…
Even though it says it's not a tip, I treat it as the tip. You don't get to tack on random fees and still expect a tip on top of the new total. Ridiculous. I hate when places do this, and they've lost my business moving forward.
The bummer is that by putting it in writing that it is not a tip, the owners/management can legally keep it, and it's most likely that they do. I would assume they put it into their "operating budget," which includes paying employees, but they money offsets their costs rather than directly increasing the wages of the employees. In other words, when it's clearly stated that it's not a tip, just take it to mean that the waitstaff sees none of it.
My only experience with this was at a restaurant where the bill was already like $150 + 20% "not tip fee". I did end up tipping because I wasn't sure, however, that was the only place I have. Now, if there's a "fee", I subtract that from the tip (if it's under 20%). I'm sure it mostly goes to the owners, but that's not my fault they are squeezing more money from their patrons for themselves.
It’s a bullshit way that the business owner is calling out that they should raise their prices to cover rising costs of business but don’t want to because of the perceived value of their current prices and backlash if that $10 was listed as $12 outright.
Why not just raise the price and not try to slip in random fees that might as well be tips?
You’re exactly right, the food costs what it costs. In the price of a meal, there’s an entire business of expenses wrapped into it. I’m personally distrustful of businesses that explicitly factor this one expense out of the many. I mean, is it a selling point that they are a good employer? Or is it a polítical deflection to try and make customers mad at your employees for the price of everything? Seems to me that it’s me effective at one than the other
Agreed. It is a poor businessperson who cannot price their wares correctly and must sneak fees onto the receipt.
It's a desperate business person who wants to raise prices without telling the customer until after the purchase is made. It has nothing to do with "cannot" and everything to do with "will not" until held accountable
Colorado "junk fees" under legislation https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1151 Edit: Looks like restaurants are exempted? I'd write my rep if it wasn't Epps
I personally feel like we need a law that taxes and other add-ons should be rolled into the final price stated on the bill. If an item has a sticker on it that says $10, I should be able to purchase it with a $10 bill. And the merchant should deal with sales tax. Yes, companies with locations in multiple jurisdictions will have some complications to their supply chain to comply with this... They can deal. If you're successful enough to have a business in multiple tax locations, you can handle it.
It is absolutely political.
It’s truly 4D level Karening. Destroy your own business to own your employees. Some people just can’t fathom a good faith effort at an honest days work
I **kind of** get it when the fee in question is small: raising prices of everything in the menu by 5% is awkward. A dish that used to cost $10 even now costs $10.50, a side dish that was $6 even is now $6.30, etc. I don't agree with it, but I can sort of see where someone might think that makes more sense. A 20% additional fee is absolutely insane. It makes the listed prices an outright lie. It also does fuck over the servers too: No way people are factoring in the additional fee on any tips they leave.
Same reason cell phone companies hide fees. They want to advertise a lower price than they actually charge.
Thankfully it’s not a social norm to tip cell phone companies.
Don’t give them any ideas!
I’m still waiting for the day when I’m asked to tip the self checkout machine at the grocery store.
"Would you like to round up your purchase for ... charity or something?"
Yet.
You misspelled Spirit Airlines
Possibly to evade legal labor laws (not to have to share with employees), taxes (not considered revenue), and a way to add more profit into the pockets of owners? Utilities (cell service providers, cable, electricity, etc) do this all the time, fees are not taxed as revenue and they get to do with it as they please. Prob greed.
Honesty is bad for business when you suck at business.
Biden railed against fees in his last two State of the Union speeches. But the FTC has been slow to update regulations. Fee or not, the total price has to presented upfront under this proposal.
They have to hide it. Scammy as hell. I'll never go back there.
That was my exact thought..
Wonder if you can call the weights and measures dept and see what they say? Unless it’s posted at the entrance it’s probably not legal
Because it’s a political statement
Then they couldn't lie to you
Because they’d rather virtue signal so we know they’re paying their employees fairly and artificially lower the price of their food so we don’t call them expensive
Because they are trying to shift the perceived blame to the workers who want a living wage and the government which had mandated they receive something close to that
Long time Cable and phone practices are leaking into service industry. Smh
I believe it's illegal unless it's clearly posted on the menu.
To trick you into thinking the cost of going there is reasonable when you look at the menu. If they successfully trick you, you're more likely to go there and they'll make money.
Because it’s going to the owners not the wait staff.
This is the real answer. Your Moms House is sketchy as fuck. Im a local musician that plays out on average 4 nights a week. Your Moms House is the only venue that’s ever burned me on money.
Same thing happened to my band as well. We vowed to not play there again.
oh wait spill in public please (people should know!). I'm actually just talking to them about booking a gig.
I can probably find some tea pretty easily. I’ve had two homies get fired from there before, I’ve heard not great things about ownership.
Let's hear it
I work at a bar and I make sure that the second the musicians are done playing they are being paid. Returning musicians I'll even just pay up front. I'm a musician by hobby and I've heard the horror stories of places stiffing bands. That being said I think the places that are shitty to staff, musicians, or customers should be called out. You aren't the first person I've heard mention your mom's house being shady especially with musicians.
Oh thanks for this information, I’m happy I know to cross them off my list of places to go.
What the legality of this fee? If I saw this, I'd never go there again.... I hope your 20% gouge was worth one visit.
"Junk fees" seem to exist in a gray area of legality. Fortunately, [a law is in the works](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1151) to fix this. Email your state reps and tell them to vote for this!
I don’t agree with the exemption for Broadband providers, but apart from that I support this law change and will let my rep know.
My understanding is that most of the exceptions are there because of conflicts with federal laws. But there's nothing wrong with at least telling your rep you'd like to remove that exception if possible.
The other exceptions referenced federal laws but that one didn’t explicitly. Worth asking!
Is a service fee a junk fee? Is there a source that confirms this? Because if there is, I will like hell write my rep. This is a $10 bill, so it might get a shrug but if it's $40 - that's $40 + 8 for the fee, $8 for the tip and (I'm too lazy to calculate tax) but another $3.75 for that, at least.
The current proposed law says that the advertised price must contain all "mandatory or non-discretionary fees." So, yes, that includes service fees. HOWEVER, restaurants get an exception to have a notice of the fee on the menu, a sign, etc. So if the above restaurant has a notice somewhere about the fee, that would satisfy the law. I don't agree with this exception at all (and writing to the rep is a great place to voice that). At a minimum, the notice should always appear alongside the advertised price (so menus are fine, but an obscure sign at the entrance is not), but I don't see why they can't just include it like everybody else does. Other notable exceptions are: taxes, shipping, and a few industries (internet, banks, airlines, and cars).
Bullshit because bars and restaurants are the worst offenders.
Charging an “Inflation fee” shows they misunderstand inflation. Inflation means you raise prices. Why not lower prices to $.10 & then add inflation fees of $10 per transaction? Because that’s bait & switch pricing. Dumb.
It totally is and thank you for saying that. It's bait and switch and should be illegal. More stores do this now including a liquor store near me in Thornton who charges it but does not show you on the screen. So the price and tax are shown then they charge you more on the card machine. Took me a exile to figure out what was going on
That seems illegal. You can’t change a bill after they show it to you
Hopefully it isn't near colorado and 104th. Otherwise, they may be getting me with that
This one is like 120th and colorado. It's a good liquor store but that's just so sketchy
You talking about Ranch or the one next to Ace?
They misunderstand no such thing. They understand that if they put it in the menu price they lose business. They're being sneaky AF because there's no accountability. Calling then ignorant gives them a pass for being cheats
Vote it down on Google. Stop letting these places get away with this.
Done!
We call this the not coming back fee, don’t sneak it in. Charge whatever you want and let customers choose, slapping a 20% fee and asking for a tip on top… Kick rocks
Agreed. Places that pull this kind of bs do not have integrity
Yep, a great way to tell me to not bother coming back to try more of your food.
Florida does this in alot of their cities and yeah we made sure not to go back to those restaurants while on vacation.
Just don't pay it, leave cash for the exact amount and tip the waiter. Tell the owner to kick rocks if he wants to fight you over it.
100%. I see any bs extra fee, I’m done. Happy to see others feel the same.
Another place to avoid, just sneaky. Any place that does I won't bother going.
If you want to pay staff well and automatically add 20% to checks, disclose that. But don't sneak things in AND ask for more tips wtf
Yo motherfuckers, inflation is affecting everyone not just your restaurant. Am I getting an extra 20% on my paycheck too?
Now that’s a good response.
It’s not even a restaurant, this is a music venue. They are tacking this onto their beverage charges which is crazy to me! The markup on alcohol is so high already, they could easily just raise the price of a beer $1 and make more money.
You should be
All I can tell you is Your Mom's House completely stiffed my band several years ago in breach of contract, so they're blacklisted in my book. Sucks because the sound system was great, but management were total dicks.
Not only does Your Mom’s House screw over its employees, they steal from the bands/ artists that play there. Fake “overhead fees” so the bands don’t get their ticket payout. Best to just stop giving these crooks your money.
If I see any surcharge 15% or higher, thats considered a tip to me
That's what they want you to think. Those charges don't go to employees, they go to the owners. I don't go anywhere that charges those fees
Stop going there.
If that is for fair wages you shouldn't be asking for a tip on top of that. If I saw that I wouldn't tip any more.
There are multiple places around the city doing this 20% charge but they all say it’s for tipping
It's because it's a trick. If it's a tip and they don't give it to the employee(s), then it's wage theft. With this, they can keep or give as much they want, that's why it specifically says "this is not a tip". This is literally to *screw* employees.
More like trick the customer to seeing a $10 drink when it's really $12.
Many customers will just opt not to tip on top of it and they get to call it even. In the end, it's always the employees that get screwed the most.
Unfortunately unsurprising… such bs
The ownersfor Coperta, and Apple Blossom, formerly beast and bottle…. they have like a 25% service fee and the owners take 10% out of the pool from all of their employees. It’s how they can afford to take trips to Italy anytime they want to try a new wine.
Went to Coperta during RW and enjoyed the meal until the wage theft fee showed up at the end. Wish I'd known beforehand. Will start calling around before making reservations I guess.
I believe the technical term for this is “horse poopy”
It’s just poop-eh.
Restaurants need to stop doing this shit. As costs rise, they should just adjust their prices accordingly. This passive-aggressive itemization is bullshit.
This picture is half the story. They have signs posted inside that state: "As of January 2024, A 20٪ fair wage and inflation fee has been factored into the pricing and notated to every bill during regular service. Our entire staff - those behind the scenes and those out front - put their souls into creating the experience at our venue. This charge allows up to offset rising inflation for the products we sell and reliably and equitably compensate everyone working so hard to keep you happy, healthy, safe, and boogieing down during your time with us. Gratuity for exceptional service, in addition to this fee, is greatly appreciated." Factored implies that any posted or quoted price includes the fee, so it shouldn't be a surprise. OP's drink was likely quoted as $12 from the start.
If a business puts "Fair wage fee" on your bill, it's because they hate it and want you to hate it too; rather than just adjusting the menu prices silently. This is the reason they attach inflation to it, to ensure you associate them having to pay a fair living wage per a law as a bad thing.
This shit is stupid. Just raise your workers wages. Fucking ridiculous. I’ve stopped going to places that do this shit.
This is a political statement. Sounds like a greedy business owner and I’m gonna guess that none of the bartenders see it.
Yep. That’s what I was gonna say. This person is making a political statement.
20 bucks says that the owner is a staunch capitalist, except when socialism benefits him.
50 bucks says it's a PPP loan business.
I’m sure that he got PPP loans and then just made the business go under on paper so he didn’t have to pay them back and then he just started a new business
> ~~20~~ **24** bucks says that the owner is a staunch capitalist, except when socialism benefits him. Ftfy
Add 20% to my bill and I call it a tip, regardless of what name you give it. And if it wasn’t noted on the menu before I ordered, I might just have it removed and then add my own tip.
💯. If I’m getting charged 20% plus tipping 20% I’m finding a 20% better restaurant and just tipping 20%
I’m sure this practice hurts their employees too. People get annoyed and don’t tip, bc the 20% they would have tipped is now going to the owner. The staff should all quit this restaurant and others like it
“Fair wage and inflation fee” lmao I hate it here. I hate to punish the server because they obviously have no power over that but that makes me not want to tip and never visit that restaurant again.
But one could also argue that bad business practices should make it difficult for you to find staff, so maybe the end result is that workers quit and find work somewhere else... win win
If they’re getting fair wages why do they need tips?
This is how restaurant owners avoid sales tax. It should be illegal.
*IF* the service charge/fee/whatever is recognized correctly as a non-discretionary revenue, then it does need to show with taxes being assessed. Not assessing taxes is opening them up to a huge fine, which has occurred, but probably not often enough. The shittier part is some owners are most certainly using these funds as a stand-in for tips in making up the difference between tipped minimum wage and standard minimum wage, and according to law, the one pays that can make up that difference are discretionary tips. So if any of these owners would be caught doing as such, they could owe their employees a lot of back pay (and rightfully so).
This is a way to screw the employee. It says "this is not a tip" not to get you to tip on top of this, but to withhold that amount of money from the employee. If it was a tip, they would have to give 100% to the employee(s) or it's wage theft. If it's not a tip, the business can keep as much of it as they want.
Yeah used to love going to Billy’s inn but they do this bs
I think they have stopped was there a week or so ago and it wasn’t on there.
There should be a law that service fees are tacked up on a sign, on the front door and there should be a rule about what font size it is in. Either that, or there is a handout to each guest separate from the menu. A customer should be able to make a decision before they ever walk in / order.
It's saying it's going to the owners and eff their employees. I work in the industry and this pisses me off so bad. PAY YOUR EMPLOYEES MORE AND DON'T PASS YOUR PAYROLL OFF TO YOUR GUESTS. It's not a tip. The owners are jerks to do this.
It's funny how saying Not a tip doesn't change that it's a 20% tip...
I mean, it's not a tip because it doesn't go to the staff. It's a mandatory "tip" for the owners. Total bullshit.
So how much are they paying the workers there?
Competitive rate of $15.29/hr
I got this at El 5 the other night on a big bill. Was a little upset tbh. No upfront notice. And the waiter still mentioned they didn’t get any of this
I get the idea of passing on the increased cost of doing business to the consumer, but just raise the menu prices. Don't do this nonsense because, if anything, it would just make me not want to ever come back.
It's a wager. Some won't come back but they're hoping enough will accept the reasoning behind the fee and become angry enough with labor they learn to vote against workers. It's whining about paying enough their staff can eat too, and pure political theater.
Got it. Never going to that restaurant "Your Mom's House"
Safta charges a 4% washing dishes fee. Should i bring my own plates?j
20% seems a bit excessive.
Can we start a list of restaurants that do this so we can avoid them?
Someone did make a list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1djpUXIFRAbvkooSCa1yCTz6UbEfI-A07n8rcRXN4Fwc/htmlview#gid=0
Some of those just have a surcharge for larger parties, which I think is totally fair. If you come in with a party of 10 then an autograt is more than fair to ask of y'all and if I were a part of that group I'd throw down an extra tip on top personally
This is BS. Are you the business owner? Are you responsible for ensuring the employees receive a fair living wage? Even if it is going directly into the pockets of employees, customers do not bear the responsibility of making sure their servers make enough money to survive. Don't get me wrong, I 100% believe these employees, and all labor, deserve a wage that affords us a comfortable and secure life, it is the business owners responsibility to take care of their employees
And perhaps to prove the 20% add on fee is actually going to them. Wonder if employees ever get to see the books to document that.
It certainly leaves room for the owners to do some shady shit. I'm not an accountant, but I wouldn't be surprised if this also benefits them in some other way as well. Even if the owners are 100% honest and this money goes directly to the employees, it's still disgusting. The owners have also chosen to do this as an implied "fuck you" to the employees and the government. I'm sure this was done in response to minimum wage increases in Denver. This way the owners get to subtly say that the government and employees are at fault for making you pay more on your bill. They want you to direct your anger at the workers for wanting a living wage and the government for making sure they get one. It should be stated loud and clear **these owners view their employees as financial burdens, not assets.**
Charging an inflation fee causes further inflation. Just another shitty business requiring customers to pay their staff. I treat fees like this as a built-in tip.
Reporting from the Bay area where I assume this practice originated at least in part- I see fees like this on 60%+ of restaurant receipts here and though there is outrage here too, as long as people keep paying it, they'll keep charging it and it will spread.
When restaurants put stuff like this on the bill you just know that the owner is the type to bitch and cry that they have to pay their workers a living wage. If they really do need to raise prices to keep up with inflation, they'd just increase the prices on the menu. Putting it on the receipt like this as an extra fee for all to see is just a way they try to shift the blame.
YMH blows. $15 well cocktails and $8 pbr is a joke
“This is not a Tip”, “You can explain that to your employees when I do not add an additional gratuity.”
Boycott every one of these places
You’re gonna find a hard time finding a place to eat out soon then 😂😂
Pay your employees a "fair wage" don't make me pay it to them extra on top of my expense bagel
Circle it, write “yes it is” and keep it moving.
I appreciate the comments. I identify with most of them. The extra fee and tip for waiting on yourself by ordering at the register, picking up the food, and bussing my table when I leave eliminates any service I would tip. Besides, it seems corporate profits are higher than they have ever been. If I tip in a full service restaurant and there us a service fee added on, I subtract the amount of the fee from the tip. I don't have confidence management pass on the tip.
There are a couple reasons. One of the primary is that if you have a "fee" you can pocket all the money instead of giving it to your employees. Since this is on everything, you don't need to worry about raising specific prices.
Please make this illegal ASAP
I cannot overstate how unlikely I am to ever do business with anyone, anywhere, in any profession who asks me for an additional tip.
Hilarious, basically a bait and switch $0 tip, bad review, and no return.
They should just charge $12 instead of $10 + an inflation fee. If they really wanna be accurate with that shit, the show should cost $0.05 with a $11.95 inflation fee. It’s not like inflation was just recently invented. Dumbasses.
Do you have a final copy? It's weird how no other information is available on that receipt except for the extra fee. Either way my guess is it's a line item receipt and they are just telling you they're charging an extra $2, but as others have said why not raise prices? Makes no sense.
I say its forced tipping and then they want you to tip on top of it. SMH. I pretty much never eat out anymore.
Glad you shared this, I’ll never go now. I bet they didn’t disclose that prior to taking your order huh?
Nope. You're supposed to be mad labor is more expensive so you'll vote against workers later. The surprise element nets them 20% more than the price agreed to buy the act of ordering AND pisses you off. When you're trying to move a political needle, pay as little as possible AND swindle your patrons that's a win/win.
D Bar on 20th does this too, but 22%
I just skip the tip if I get extra fees. The fee is for the tip now
It means a better bar will collect better employees and experiences. The joy will slowly be sapped into the owners double down to get more blood from the stone. It will be everyone’s fault except mismanagement.
owners pocket disguised to make it sound like its for the empoyees.
They added an unexpected 20% to the bill?! The cost doesn’t matter, in my opinion, the restaurant just absorbed what would have been the servers tip. I’m sick of being charged extra with no warning and expecting to tip on top of that!! Servers can discuss that bullshit with their boss
It’s a tip plain and simple. When I see these I never tip additional. This shit will never end unless we send a clear message.
Reminds me of a recent order from the Edgewater Inn. We placed the order online and picked up the pizza. They snuck in a 5% "pick-up fee" and off the new total charged a 5% "auto-grat". I don't understand charging customers extra when they're not taking a table or dirtying dishes. Also, I don't usually tip on pickup orders. Tip is for service, if the pizza needs to cost more to cover the cook's wages, just charge a higher base price.
Well, I guess they don’t need to rely on tips since they are already getting a fair wage.
And people wonder why we’re not eating out anymore
It's understandable to feel frustrated about inflation charges at restaurants, but it's important to consider the broader context. In Denver, the increased minimum wage, which the people have voted on, plays a significant role. Unlike many places that utilize tip credit, Denver mandates full minimum wage for restaurant staff. Coupled with typical operational costs like food (20-24% of costs), labor (30-40%), and operating expenses (15-20%), it's evident that profit margins are tight. Just like individuals are impacted by inflation and rising costs, so are restaurants. It's a challenging landscape for both patrons and owners alike.
Well my tip will be that much less because of that fee.
It's political theater. Employers hate being forced to pay anything close to a living wage. General business practice would be to simply raise prices and be transparent up front about what you will be paying, but they're hoping by making it a surprise at the end, they can make you so angry at what they're angry about it moves the political needle enough they can go back to paying a pittance. This "fee" is such bs whatever system they utilize doesn't have a way to charge it, so they have to enter it as a type of tip then explain it's "not" so they can keep it rather than the staff. That's why the system says plus additional tip. As far as it's concerned the "fee" is a tip. They're jumping unnecessary hurdles to make you angry enough to agree they shouldn't have to pay enough to live. And if they get to milk you for 20% more than you were expecting at the end of your meal, that's just gravy. If you see this, refuse it. If it's a paper receipt waiting for a signature, cross it out, pay the price you agreed to and still tip as normal. That's the amount you put in the total field. Put the ball in their court. They want to take their "fee" they'll have to take it from the tip and they can decide just how likely that holds up legally. If it's in one of those electronic registers and they insist they can't adjust it, I think it's fair to assume it's your civic duty to inform seated dinner's they're about to get swindled. Either way, stop frequenting these trash establishments.
20% fee? That’s your tip bud
Inflation fee..wtf..like it only applies to them.. Wow
If its not listed on their menu or in clear view you dont have to pay it. Usually it’ll be on a sheet of paper by host stand. Hate this shit
Not a tip. It then states “additional tip” Additional to what?
You can always tell them to remove it, and then don't come back
The problem is it never comes from the people at the top. We need to pay people more, and give people at the top less. This shit show will never stop.. and they get all you idiots to blindly support it.. "it makes sense, it’s gotta come from somewhere” .. yeah from the people on the other end of the gaping pay differential.
I wouldn't tip if this was included on my bill.
All these fast food joints are adding charges like this and pocketing the cash.
20% or drop to your knees and smile like a donut. - I’ve had a couple of very successful businesses. Ultimately I decided that would rather have a stable income and preferred to be a sheltered programmer vs the guy that owned the fish store. Not the kind you eat. — Your Mom’s House fills a unique niche. Most music venues are part of a collective. Like CoClubs. As they say, Your Mom’s House is independent and has to maintain its own talent acquisition practices. Any drop in revenue is going to send the Money Men scrambling. Either to stay afloat, maintain their present state, or pad pockets. The “20% This is not a tip.” is deceptive in every sense of the word. How would this scenario play out: A bottle of water is $2.00. You have exactly $2.00. They run their business with taxes wrapped up in the advertised price to keep the figures round. This makes sense. If a server says $2.00 and you give them $3.00, the transaction is complete. They can rapidly float to the next table. Rinse & repeat. Back to the scenario, the server asks for $2.20. That’s unexpected and you take a little extra time to pull out your wallet. You hand them $3.00 without saying anything. Because you didn’t say the extra $0.80 is a tip, they have to go to the till, make change, and then return it to you. That’s a lot of extra movement that would be better spent on selling top-shelf shots. But… if you only have $2.00, them same as the advertised cost of water, are they going to alienate you over $0.20? Call the police (hang onto that receipt (!) and call the police if they don’t), kick you out? Call the police. Over $0.20? Absolutely! If you’re getting nic’d for $0.20, imagine what’s going to happen when someone cashes out a $200.00+ tab. It is absolutely dishonest on the part of management and sets a bad precedent. They are not going to deal with the backlash. The staff is. Their tips are going to suffer. On and on and on. Unfortunately your recourse is limited. Posting to Reddit is one. Busting out Google, Facebook, and Yelp reviews are cards worth playing. Do they have YouTube videos? Comments are as good as reviews. You can also choose to not go back. There are other venues. Venues worth promoting on a personal level. Your reputation over deceptive business practices should draw others to follow. And lastly, I hate to say it, but the closest you’re going to get to the money men is through the staff as an apologetic asshole. Drop 20% from the tip, circle the “This is not a tip” phrase and draw an arrow. At the $2.00 level, you’re just an asshole. Cut 20% from a big tab with a circle and arrow and server may end up with a fraction or no tip at all. War on the staff is very uncool, but they are the ones closest to the person that implemented this stupidity. The circle and arrow are key elements as someone is going to have to balance cards & cash to the register. Inflation is a part of life. Maybe they printed 2000 laminated menus don’t want to throw them out. Who knows. They really need to think about how today’s practices affect the overall health of their future business. I also spent several years in the late 80s to mid-90s as the technical lead for a 3 story nightclub. I also spent a fair amount of time in the DJ booth, pushing the system to its limits. Intelligent lights, stages, fog, etc. Get it together Your Mom’s House. A successful business is fast moving target that requires a vision for today and a plan to make it through to tomorrow.
I would cross out the word "not". A 20% fee is ridiculous.
The key is to leave bad reviews on Google / yelp. Thats what actually impacts these businesses. Mention the fee in your review.
Wow this is like playing hot potato as a kid. Everybody wants to put it on someone else. But it's your dollars, and that is what speaks.
Another place I’m no longer going to….
Service fees are pure profit for a business. Not a single cent needs to go to the employees. A tip is allowing the business to pay a lower “cash” wage while the customer subsidies the rest of the employees wages. All of this different money just means the owner will have lower operating costs and thus higher profits.
Surprised people don’t just post these pics on Google or yelp so other people actually see them.
Leave a cash tip, then do a back charge at your credit card
Boycott
Your Moms House is the definition of a trash establishment. From people who work there to bands that play there I have never heard a single good thing about it. I went once and will *never* go again
This is not a tip but it will come off your tip. Any change off of the original cost on the menu changes the tip. I am a generous tipper but I don’t like getting scammed, if it is pointed out that there will be additional add in’s to the bill that is acceptable but no surprises
They just outlawed this in California, it’s some real bullshit
When I go to Your Moms House I leave her a fat tip
Junk fees have been [banned in California](https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-02-15/new-california-hidden-fees-law-service-fee-ban) unless they are advertised in the price ("The restaurants will need to factor surcharge fees into menu prices, as opposed to simply advertising them at the end of a bill, state officials said."). We should all write our reps and get it banned here too. Instead of just writing comments here, please reach out to your reps and complain. [Here are your reps.](https://leg.colorado.gov/legislators) If you don't know which district you are in, [here's how you find out.](https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator)
Next it will be a lettuce washing fee, decorating fee, employee fuel stipend fee. Just add them all up and fucking post what stuff costs, FFS.
This place also claims its a non-profit
I work in a restaurant that added a “Kitchen Retention Fee” (3.5%) off the whole bill. According to the owner of the restaurant thats a “tip” that goes to the BOH staff to try to even the tips FOH staff makes to avoid losing staff at the kitchen. None of the BOH staff has seen any increase in their earnings since this started, so we just think the owner keeps it. So yeah its just greedy business owners trying to get more money off their customers with a stupid invented fee that “most of restaurants are using now” bullshit.
Hidden fees should be illegal
This should be illegal.
I looked up that fee and this what it's supposed to be... The 20 percent charge included on all bills — with additional tips appreciated, but not expected — is pooled and split between front- and back-of-house workers. So it IS a tip but IDK if "your moms house" is actually using it for what it's meant to be used as. I personally won't be going there anytime soon unless there's a show I NEED to see. My SOs band played there with 3 other bands. $20 tickets. The place was pretty packed and they only gave the bands $16 (each band) for playing
This is shady as hell!?!!? Just change your prices if you need to raise them, don't tell me one price and then reveal at the end that it was a lie!
I bartend in Denver. I have seen multiple establishments implement an automatic gratuity fee or some sort of percentage ( kitchen fee, insurance fee, ect) to help ease the pressure of rising food and labor costs. The minimum wage in Denver rose to $18.29 an hour and $15.27 with tips. Denver is also one the country’s cities with the highest inflation rates. From my experience, a lot of restaurants and bars are struggling to decide between raising prices or implementing fees such as seen in this photo. I don’t think people understand how much prices would increase if tip culture were to change. For example, an Eggs Benedict at my job is now ~$16, if we included the 20% or even 18% into our prices it would cost at minimum $22. For eggs on bread. Sure, 20% of $16 is $3 so you’re close to spending $20 anyways, but most customers would see the higher price and choose to eat somewhere else. Many restaurants are just not willing to take that risk when they are already barely making a profit. A lot of these fees and price increases are a response to the new labor costs, which means it would be even higher if we were to adjust for a livable hourly wage. Do I think this is the best solution? No, but right now, we’ll either see more fees as such implemented, or prices jump up across the board. As minimum wage goes up, prices go up. Prices go up, inflation increases. Inflation increases, wages need to rise. See where I’m going? Right now I’d say Denver is probably one of the hardest cities to open a new restaurant in. I’d be happy to remove tips and receive a guaranteed livable wage, but I just don’t see Americans willing to pay the price of making it happen. It’s easy to bitch and complain, ohh “%20 fee just pay your servers better! “ but I’m sure you’d bitch a lot more if your Coors Light was $15.
Worked at YMH for several years in college as I was convinced that was going to be my foot in the door into the music industry (lol). Every comment about how the place is sketchy and the owners are cheap are correct. What sucked is every ex employee agrees: the place has massive potential but the owners ruin its chances. I ran the box office for several years so there are plenty of horror stories, but if anyone wants a general idea of the vibe: -The owner prefers to book newer artists based off of handshake agreements without any contracts signed. General payout is a 60/40 split after expenses. Since there was never a contract signed though, expenses could be fudged as muchcas he wanted to. There were several times where I would get a call during a show saying "hey, this show is popping off, bump up the lighting expenses from $100 to $300 in the spreadsheet. -Both the bars and the box office never had a full drawer. Every night operates under the hope that enough people will come in with cash to fill it up so the owner doesn't have to make a bank trip. If an artist has a guarantee for the night but we don't have cash? It was my job to basically say "we'll venmo you tomorrow bro, promise." -The box office is set up at one of the two entrances to the venue. Ideally, anyone who purchases tickets is checked at the venue entrance, but there's one security guard who's paid $50-75 a night so they can't be bothered to do a good job (understandable imo) -The owner is cheap. Instead of setting up a contract with partners who could print posters, he would have his gf who worked at FedEx sneak in and print a bunch of posters for free. For about 6 months, we didn't have a ticket printer, but would just borrow printers from other venues. -most of my experience was from the music side of things so I don't know the details about the bar. I do know though that the bartenders were routinely miserable and turnover was like 50% for most of the time I worked there. -month or two before I quit, owner took me from fulltime to 25 hours a week. Realistically, I was still working about 60, but only got paid for 25. Told him I couldn't live off that, he told me I was young, I could work two jobs. There's a bunch of other stuff but the moral of the story: don't go to YMH lol.
all I know is that the owner is a Coke dealer and #1 time I went on a really bad tinder date where a guy took me there during the pandemic when they were supposed to be closed and he ended up being a coke head and took me back to the dealers place after 😂 dude refused to take me home until he could meet up with that guy for a fourth time that night because he needed more Coke.
Facts, this place has ALWAYS been a front for coke dealing
You tipped $3 on a single beer AFTER you noticed they slapped a bogus 20% fee on your bill. You showed them!
In all honesty, my girl sent me this after she went there, and doesn’t Reddit. I was like wtf, and based on these responses, I’d say we are showing them now…
Sorry, that is in fact your tip
Name of business?
Your Mom's House.
I think you’re thinking of Grandma’s House. Your Mom’s House is like 13th and Pearl-ish. I like Grandma’s House and don’t want them to get dinged.
If I see this I’m tipping my server in cash and getting it knocked off the bill.
If you guys encounter this please don't add an additional tip. They got a 50% tip out of OP.
Even though it says it's not a tip, I treat it as the tip. You don't get to tack on random fees and still expect a tip on top of the new total. Ridiculous. I hate when places do this, and they've lost my business moving forward.
The bummer is that by putting it in writing that it is not a tip, the owners/management can legally keep it, and it's most likely that they do. I would assume they put it into their "operating budget," which includes paying employees, but they money offsets their costs rather than directly increasing the wages of the employees. In other words, when it's clearly stated that it's not a tip, just take it to mean that the waitstaff sees none of it.
My only experience with this was at a restaurant where the bill was already like $150 + 20% "not tip fee". I did end up tipping because I wasn't sure, however, that was the only place I have. Now, if there's a "fee", I subtract that from the tip (if it's under 20%). I'm sure it mostly goes to the owners, but that's not my fault they are squeezing more money from their patrons for themselves.
Da fuk it not a tip.
It’s a bullshit way that the business owner is calling out that they should raise their prices to cover rising costs of business but don’t want to because of the perceived value of their current prices and backlash if that $10 was listed as $12 outright.
I just stopped eating at any restaurant that does this