Are You Ready To Pay A Covid Surcharge At Local Businesses
I was too happy to find out both my barber and my nail salon would be able to get me in this week.
And before you trip, yes I said nail salon.
I'm a dude that believes in self care. I can trim my own nails. But I mess it up. And I need professionals to take care of these dogs of mine.
Real talk, men need to take better care of their feet.
And trust me, folks notice you take care of your toes fellas. You might get some attention because people are like...oooh, he's well groomed and takes care of himself from the top of his head to the literal bottom of his feet.
Anyway, I made my online barber appointment for Friday. But I had to call my nail salon.
When I talked to them I was happy to be able to get in on Friday around 4 pm. Haircut is Friday around 1. So I'll be fresh to death this weekend.
When I called to book my appointment, they gave me the rundown.
Be here at this time. There will be a form at the door. You have to take that back to your car. Fill it out. You must wear a mask. There will only be so many people in the shop at one time. All good.
Then she told me one more thing.
There would be an added $5 fee.
And this fee was pretty much an additional fee they were charging because in a nutshell it was needed to offset expenses and such due to Covid-19.
Call it a convenience fee, a reopen fee, whatever. This is why they are doing it.
I found out from a coworker and friend they had encountered the same thing at a local restaurant.
You can read bout that here.
The three percent tax is showing up for all the customers bills and it is labeled as a "Special Tax". The customer Elaine Steffek said that she was not told that there would be a new tax on her bill. There was no mention of this on the menu, nothing was posted anywhere at the restaurant and know one at any point told them that there was a new 'tax' that they were expected to pay. A manager at Zeus' Coney Island said that the tax was for COVID-19 to help the restaurant recover.
Read More: Local Restaurant Adds A "Tax" To Bill Surprise Customers
Have you encountered a special tax, surcharge, convenience charge at a local business? What kind of business was it? Do you understand why? Did they explain why beforehand? Was there signage? Are you happy to pay it? Should it be up to you to decide if you want to help out or tip more? Is it a simple price increase?
Is it illegal?
"Generally, restaurants are allowed to structure their pricing however they like," Frank said. "The important question is whether the restaurants are disclosing to consumers what they are paying before they pay it, so they can make their own informed choices."(WUSA9)
And honestly, if they are upfront about it, I think I'm ok with that. I do understand why. And we've all been pretty inspired to support local businesses right?