Restaurants are trying to join the junk fee party with one restaurant introducing a Linen Cleaning fee. Marco Pierre White’s London Steakhouse charges £1.50 per person for tablecloths and napkins. The fee is listed on the restaurant’s à la carte menu.
The fee is intended to cover the cost of laundering table linens and napkins. The restaurant also charges a 9.5% service charge. The restaurant also charges a £10 fee for booking certain set menus more than 48 hours in advance.
This fee has been met with backlash from diners and hospitality experts. Some say the fee is unfair and that customers should not be charged for something that should be included as standard. Others say that the fee could lead to diners feeling less inclined to leave tips or pay service charges.
With these types of fees, restaurants can join the likes of airlines and hotels for charging for services that were always included. First, restaurants started to charge for paying with a credit card then some moved on to a reservation fee and what could be next. Maybe they will charge for their employee’s health coverage or a rent subsidy fee.
At a high-end steakhouse, these type of junk fees will just piss off the customers. They should just raise the price of their food by £1.50 and not try to be cute. No one will like these fees and will it be worth all the headaches that will be receive by implementing it?
I remember when a steakhouse tried to institute a valet parking fee. The customers were so irate that they complained everywhere and then some decided to go elsewhere. It impacted business, all for a $5 valet fee. After a month or so, the restaurant rescinded the fee and moved on. Looking back, it was a bad business decision that they realized and corrected. Why don’t other businesses do that?
Restaurants are trying to join the junk fee party with one restaurant introducing a Linen Cleaning fee. Marco Pierre White’s London Steakhouse charges £1.50 per person for tablecloths and napkins. The fee is listed on the restaurant’s à la carte menu.
The fee is intended to cover the cost of laundering table linens and napkins. The restaurant also charges a 9.5% service charge. The restaurant also charges a £10 fee for booking certain set menus more than 48 hours in advance.
This fee has been met with backlash from diners and hospitality experts. Some say the fee is unfair and that customers should not be charged for something that should be included as standard. Others say that the fee could lead to diners feeling less inclined to leave tips or pay service charges.
With these types of fees, restaurants can join the likes of airlines and hotels for charging for services that were always included. First, restaurants started to charge for paying with a credit card then some moved on to a reservation fee and what could be next. Maybe they will charge for their employee’s health coverage or a rent subsidy fee.
At a high-end steakhouse, these type of junk fees will just piss off the customers. They should just raise the price of their food by £1.50 and not try to be cute. No one will like these fees and will it be worth all the headaches that will be receive by implementing it?
I remember when a steakhouse tried to institute a valet parking fee. The customers were so irate that they complained everywhere and then some decided to go elsewhere. It impacted business, all for a $5 valet fee. After a month or so, the restaurant rescinded the fee and moved on. Looking back, it was a bad business decision that they realized and corrected. Why don’t other businesses do that?