Ridiculous Surcharges Are Adding Outrage to Arizona’s Bottom Line

I get it. Restaurants are scrambling to keep up with the sudden cost explosion. Rising labor costs due to Arizona's minimum wage increase, which began in 2016, are driving up costs, the insane cost of eggs, a universal spike in the cost of goods, not to mention the added service fees for things like credit cards; this money has to come from somewhere.

Some Arizona restaurants have begun charging additional surcharges and fees to diners' bills. This practice is gaining traction as restaurant owners try to manage the rising operations costs.

READ: 'Least Trusted' Restaurant in U.S. Has 38 Locations in Arizona

Customers Across Arizona are Mad About the New Fees

This is not sitting well with customers. Across Arizona, consumers are getting irritated with this practice, especially when the fees are added as a surprise to the end of the bill.

Check out the Living Wage Surcharge added to the end of this bill. Reddit User u/SourdoughPizzaToast is pretty annoyed by this tacked-on charge, as anyone would be!

Living wage surcharge? Shouldn’t that cost be covered by the owners?
byu/SourdoughPizzaToast inmildlyinfuriating

This is happening across the state and not just in restaurants. In the Facebook group What's Up Flagstaff, user Miranda posted this receipt from a local garden center listing a $4.75 wage surcharge.

Communication is Key

The number one consumer complaint about these surprise fees is a lack of communication by the establishment.

Get our free mobile app

"It feels like a bait-and-switch when it's tacked onto the end of your bill, and no one explains up front that you'll be charged," one Reddit user noted.

The worst part is that the suggested tips listed include the fees and the tax in the final, calculated amount.

READ: There's a New Rule at All Arizona Locations

Calculating a Tip: Should You Include the Fees?

About that. When you're adding a tip to a restaurant bill, should the fee and the tax be included in the percentage? Check carefully because those "suggested tips" often include that in the calculation, and unwitting patrons just pay the percentage without doing their own calculation.

According to Emily Post, the expert in etiquette and modern manners, you should calculate your tip based on the pretax amount of your bill and definitely not include the added fees. 

If restaurants are set on adding fees and not, as some have suggested, paying their employees more, it's simple: Communicate that upfront and let your customers decide.

When Arizona's restaurants and businesses aren't transparent about the extra charges, they risk consumer backlash, and in this economy, that's a fee they certainly can't afford.

If establishments don't tell customers about the extra charges, they probably won't tell you, but they might not come back.

[ Phoenix New Times | Fodors.com | Emily Post | Facebook | Reddit ]