I am getting charged for services at the restaurant, at the gas station, and even at the shoe repair store.
You may have heard that San Francisco passed a measure months ago forcing restaurants to pay for employee health insurance. Meaning all this time the wait staff either had no insurance or had to pay for it entirely by themselves. Now, when you go to many higher end establishments you see on your bill a 'health service charge' ranging from a dollar to as much as two bucks.
Filling up for cash I see more and more stations charging a fee if you use a debit for credit card, usually something like 50-cents.
Now, to top it off, I went to a shoe repair store to replace a buckle on a shoe and was charged a 25-cent handling fee. I asked the clerk what exactly was being handled for my 25-cents, since I brought the shoes in and paid cash. When she could not answer and became frustrated with my incessant questioning she called the manager over who then, in an annoyed and un-businesslike manner said it was for recycling. "We recycle, that is what it is for. We recycle. We recycle." In the process he dragged a trash can full of bags across the floor as if to make his point. Recycle? How does that cost me 25-cents? Now, 25-cents does not break my bank but I am one customer out of many. I think this guy is making a enough to pay for his staff's lunch once a week off this small charge. I am not fully against the charge I am against the way it is being sold to the consumer. I am sure many like me feel the same way about being charged for every little thing. Instead of placing a separate item on the bill just add it into the cost. Raise your prices a bit to cover whatever added expense you may have. If not, business owners run the risk of making more customers angry at this petty charges.
No comments:
Post a Comment