LETTER: Restaurants nickel and dime their guests

To the editor:

As a consumer, I feel like I am getting nickeled and dimed to death.

When I was young, we paid our bills in either cash or with a check. Credit cards came into use in the 1980s, I guess. I did not trust them, and I stuck with checks or cash for a long time. Eventually, I gave in and went almost exclusively to the use of credit cards. Credit cards have worked well for me.

When I buy gasoline, groceries, or items using Amazon, I expect to pay nothing extra for the “convenience” of using my credit card. In fact, all industries have pretty much required the use of our credit cards. Recently, I have noticed that certain restaurants are now “charging us” to use a credit card. They are very, very sneaky about the way they do this. If I look at a restaurant website, they tend not to mention their “convenience fee.”

The other thing that bothers me about this “extra fee” is that I pay extra, not just for the food and drink, but I am also paying this extra fee on the tip, and on any taxes. I am getting taxed to pay tax.

Because of this, I did a survey of Shawano area eateries this spring. I did not go to all restaurants, but I hit a lot of them. The information I gathered was from staff members, not necessarily from the owners of the eatery. If any area restaurants notice an error in my data, please let me know, and I will do a correction.

Please consider the message you are sending to the restaurants that charge you for using your credit! (The message is, “Do what you want to me. I am powerless.”)

Worst fees include Kassie’s Studio Lounge, 3.99%; Luigi’s, 3.75%; Docker’s on the Corner, 3.5%; Brother’s Pub, 3.5%; Doc’s Timeline Saloon, Amy’s Roadhouse, Lighthouse and Torchlight, 3%.

Big City Gyros only $1.25 for phone orders. Farm Inn, Longhorn Saloon, Perkins, Hunan Restaurant, Seasons Restaurant, Shawano Café, El Tequila, Stubborn Brothers Brewery and Launching Pad do not charge.

In summary, I would say that I like the food at all of these area restaurants. The quality of the food is not an issue. Being sneaky about payment is the issue. I would prefer that a restaurant be up front, charge more for the food and take away the sneaky “convenience fee.” Please consider talking to the owners of restaurants you like to go to, and let them know how you feel about this extra “fee.”

Richard Sarnwick, Shawano

Category: