CharityHost_org banned.

PineappleM · May 2

@yoursunny said:

@Alyx said:
When a customer …, and pays for it, he pays for all that.
This, in the end, also includes the fees which are caused by him paying in the first place.

Restaurants in Washington DC like to tack on "wellness" fees, especially since the minimal wage for tipped workers increased.
They also like to tack on credit card surcharge, sometimes in excess of actual processing cost.
These are in additional to state tax and optional tip.
Every time I encounter such fees, I leave a 2-star review on Google Maps.

I do one better and scrap those BS fees off the tip. If I meant to give a $15 tip and they tacked on $10 of fees, then I leave only $5. I don't care if that means the employees get less take home pay, that's not my problem (they should take their disgruntlement to management).

I'm also extremely dubious if such fees actually do what they advertised or just another way to fatten up management's bottom lines.

Alyx · May 2

@yoursunny said:

@Alyx said:
When a customer …, and pays for it, he pays for all that.
This, in the end, also includes the fees which are caused by him paying in the first place.

Restaurants in Washington DC like to tack on "wellness" fees, especially since the minimal wage for tipped workers increased.
They also like to tack on credit card surcharge, sometimes in excess of actual processing cost.
These are in additional to state tax and optional tip.
Every time I encounter such fees, I leave a 2-star review on Google Maps.

The naive European here still thinks people should just sell an honest product.
Tell me what I get and what I need to pay for it; it's really not that hard...

Noct · May 3

@yoursunny said:

@Alyx said:
When a customer …, and pays for it, he pays for all that.
This, in the end, also includes the fees which are caused by him paying in the first place.

Restaurants in Washington DC like to tack on "wellness" fees, especially since the minimal wage for tipped workers increased.
They also like to tack on credit card surcharge, sometimes in excess of actual processing cost.
These are in additional to state tax and optional tip.
Every time I encounter such fees, I leave a 2-star review on Google Maps.

A 100-percent-credible statement.

hyperblast · May 3

@Alyx said:

@yoursunny said:

@Alyx said:
When a customer …, and pays for it, he pays for all that.
This, in the end, also includes the fees which are caused by him paying in the first place.

Restaurants in Washington DC like to tack on "wellness" fees, especially since the minimal wage for tipped workers increased.
They also like to tack on credit card surcharge, sometimes in excess of actual processing cost.
These are in additional to state tax and optional tip.
Every time I encounter such fees, I leave a 2-star review on Google Maps.

The naive European here still thinks people should just sell an honest product.
Tell me what I get and what I need to pay for it; it's really not that hard...

can you explain the context again, because i didn't understand it. when it comes to europe, i'm always particularly sensitive! (i love europe and despise the eu!)

Alyx · May 3

@hyperblast said: can you explain the context again, because i didn't understand it. when it comes to europe, i'm always particularly sensitive! (i love europe and despise the eu!)

We don't have this whole hidden cost culture.
When I go to a restaurant and order a burger that costs, let say, $15, I only pay $15. There's no "wellness" fee, no credit card surcharge, and even the taxes are already included in the price. I don't even have to give a tip because we have a (proper) minimum wage.

The same goes for other stores or even online shops. The price on the price tag is the final price, including taxes. No extra fees. (Expect shipping)

hyperblast · May 3

@Alyx said:

@hyperblast said: can you explain the context again, because i didn't understand it. when it comes to europe, i'm always particularly sensitive! (i love europe and despise the eu!)

We don't have this whole hidden cost culture.
When I go to a restaurant and order a burger that costs, let say, $15, I only pay $15. There's no "wellness" fee, no credit card surcharge, and even the taxes are already included in the price. I don't even have to give a tip because we have a (proper) minimum wage.

The same goes for other stores or even online shops. The price on the price tag is the final price, including taxes. No extra fees. (Expect shipping)

yes, you are describing the situation in germany/the rest of europe?

Alyx · May 3

Specifically thought about Germany when writing this, but out of my head, not aware of any European country where this would not apply. Definitely not in Central Europe.

PineappleM · May 3

This is a USA-specific stupidity (or “American exceptionalism” if you want a tinge of sarcasm). The rest of the world does a lot of things more sanely than we do.

That said, I’m not a big fan of the VAT being included in prices since that makes it politically easier to hike taxes in secrecy (I know it’s listed on the receipt but still). Still better than a surprise charge being added to the checkout but has some pitfalls too.

Alyx · May 3

I'm not sure how it is in the US, but VAT rates are very stable here.
In Germany, the last change was in 2007, and in the UK, it was in 2011. In both cases, the changes were planned years in advance and were covered by the media for weeks, if not months.

So, if you live here, there's no way you wouldn't know about it.

Personally, I like the convenience of not having to think much about it. You have $15 in your pocket, the price tag says $15, great, you can buy it.

PineappleM · May 3

@Alyx said:
I'm not sure how it is in the US, but VAT rates are very stable here.
In Germany, the last change was in 2007, and in the UK, it was in 2011. In both cases, the changes were planned years in advance and were covered by the media for weeks, if not months.

So, if you live here, there's no way you wouldn't know about it.

Personally, I like the convenience of not having to think much about it. You have $15 in your pocket, the price tag says $15, great, you can buy it.

There are state and sometimes local sales taxes. They can be different even across the street (if a municipality border is on the street itself). Dallas, Texas for example has a local sales tax to fund its public transit system. Muddying up waters more, Virginia has a different sales tax rate for restaurant food vs everything else.

The only two things that are “taxes included” are fuel taxes (diesel, gasoline/petrol) and airfares, so even we are inconsistent in our own weird ways.

Stripe boasts that they have gone through all the pain of calculating sales tax rates for every street address in the US to accurately charge and remit the appropriate sales tax to the correct authorities. That shows how convoluted the whole system is.

itachikonoha · May 3

@PineappleM said:

@Alyx said:
I'm not sure how it is in the US, but VAT rates are very stable here.
In Germany, the last change was in 2007, and in the UK, it was in 2011. In both cases, the changes were planned years in advance and were covered by the media for weeks, if not months.

So, if you live here, there's no way you wouldn't know about it.

Personally, I like the convenience of not having to think much about it. You have $15 in your pocket, the price tag says $15, great, you can buy it.

There are state and sometimes local sales taxes. They can be different even across the street (if a municipality border is on the street itself). Dallas, Texas for example has a local sales tax to fund its public transit system. Muddying up waters more, Virginia has a different sales tax rate for restaurant food vs everything else.

The only two things that are “taxes included” are fuel taxes (diesel, gasoline/petrol) and airfares, so even we are not consistent in our own weird ways.

Stripe boasts that they have gone through all the pain of calculating sales tax rates for every street address in the US to accurately charge and remit the appropriate sales tax to the correct authorities. That shows how convoluted the whole system is.

Any accountant will be having lots of frustration if that's the case. You'll need to take care of lots of different parameters.

hyperblast · May 3

@Alyx said:
I'm not sure how it is in the US, but VAT rates are very stable here.
In Germany, the last change was in 2007, and in the UK, it was in 2011. In both cases, the changes were planned years in advance and were covered by the media for weeks, if not months.

So, if you live here, there's no way you wouldn't know about it.

Personally, I like the convenience of not having to think much about it. You have $15 in your pocket, the price tag says $15, great, you can buy it.

but! tax rates are to high in germoney and EUdSSR!