Whining about surcharges

Lincoln Tan in the Herald reports:

Diners and cafe customers in Auckland want clearer rules over when the holiday surcharge should apply after some were slapped with the extra cost on their bills when eating out yesterday.

Aucklanders potentially face a four-day stretch of surcharge, but several cafes and bars which imposed the additional charge during the weekend told the Herald they would not charge extra today.

Restaurants added the surcharge on statutory holidays after changes to the Holidays Act in 2004 gave workers time-and-a-half pay and a day in lieu for working those days.

However, because Christmas Day and New Year fell on a weekend this year and were both replaced with holidays on Mondays and Tuesdays, there’s been confusion over which days should be considered “public holidays” for the surcharge to apply.

People seem to think cafe prices are regulated. They are not. So long as the cafe or restaurant makes clear what prices apply on a day, they can crage what they want – and you can decide whether or not to dine there or not.

If a cafe owner wants to impose a 50% surcharge on Wednesdays, then so long as they clearly inform people in advance, they can. It may be bad business for them – but it is their decision to make.

So if you don’t like a surcharge, don’t complaint to the Government. Complaint to the business. Of course they may point out the extra costs of paying staff effectively 2.5 times ordinary pay on a stat holiday, but it is their decision to make that up by way of surcharge instead of an overall higher charge every day.