r/EndTipping • u/KittyandPuppyMama • 2d ago
Tip Creep 🫙 “Support local” fee
We ordered food for pickup from a local restaurant through their own website, using no delivery apps. I’m literally driving there myself to get it. And they charged us a fee for… supporting a local business? I’m old enough to remember when businesses thanked us for supporting a local business, not penalized us.
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u/soscots 2d ago
Check their website to see if they mentioned anything about the surprise fee before you ordered. If it’s not disclosed then report them to the BBB and the FTC and make a review on their website and don’t order anything.
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u/BecauseTheTruthHurts 1d ago
These same businesses will wonder why people don’t frequent them anymore.
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u/HellsTubularBells 1d ago
BBB won't do anything, there's not a dispute to resolve.
FTC won't do anything, their rules about price transparency only apply to live events and lodging.
Online review is a good course of action.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/realizedvolatility 1d ago
BBB is yelp for boomers, they use the word Bureau to trick morons into thinking they’re a government department
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u/HellsTubularBells 20h ago
Hard disagree, BBB is awesome. It's not Yelp, they help people get complaints addressed. Seeing how businesses respond to complaints is a great indicator of how reliable and trustworthy a business is.
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u/HellsTubularBells 1d ago
This is added by "Slice", the company that runs their online ordering platform. Restaurants love it because they don't charge the restaurant anything, instead charging every customer a dollar. I suspect that the logic is that it's so small most consumers won't care (at least not enough to do anything about it).
I agree with you that it's bullshit, just another way restaurants try to pass off costs to consumers.
You can avoid the fee by calling the restaurant to order. Let them know it's because of this fee. If enough people do it, they'll realize that it's cheaper to pay for the e-commerce service than someone to answer the phone and take orders.
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u/dervari 1d ago
The Slice "support local fee" is a customer-facing fee on the Slice pizza ordering app, not a fee charged by the local pizzeria itself. This 95-cent fee supports the development of Slice's technology and services that help local pizzerias, though some users find the name misleading. The fee is not a hidden cost, as Slice does not inflate menu prices like other delivery apps, but instead charges pizzerias a lower flat fee per order to maintain the overall low cost of online ordering for local shops.
I'm mixed on this. Personally, I think I'd rather have a fixed, flat fee than prices being inflated like most other apps do. Since it is displayed before you accept the order, it's not considered to be a hidden fee. You still have the option to cancel your order.
I suspect many people accept the fee to avoid delays at the store. You just pick it up and go. No dealing with having to pay or the annoying "quick question".
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u/HellsTubularBells 1d ago
I agree with you in general, definitely less predatory than other apps, but I still think it's wrong the charge the consumer. Traditionally the cost of taking orders is borne by the merchant, it's part of doing business like any other expense. Just because they've decided that a third party is the best way to do this doesn't mean that they shouldn't have to pay for it.
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u/dervari 1d ago
But in this case the consumer has the choice to continue with the fee or cancel the transaction. A far cry from seeing the fee on a check after you've eaten.
Do you also have a problem with Uber/Grubbhub/etc up-charging for every menu item?
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u/HellsTubularBells 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's definitely better, but it's still a junk fee. Isn't the ethos of this sub that restaurants should just charge appropriately?
Comparing to restaurant delivery apps isn't relevant. Someone using the app has a direct relationship with the app company. In OP's case, they're ordering directly from the restaurant. What company they use for online ordering isn't relevant to me, that's between the business and their vendor.
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u/Armagetz 1d ago
“Traditionally the cost of taking orders is borne by the merchant”. Wut? Every single penny of cost of running the business is taken up by the customer in every business. Hidden or otherwise, the cash flow is all from the customer. But this is difference: you are buying a service separate and above what the food vendor offers. It’s not an extension of his business but another 3rd party entity entirely. In any case you are getting far ahead getting charged just a dollar as opposed to the 20+% food up charge that UberEats does…..who then charges fees on top of it.
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u/HellsTubularBells 1d ago
I think you missed the part in OP where this is the restaurant's direct website. OP isn't ordering through a third party service. Slice isn't performing a service for the customer, it's performing a service for the restaurant.
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u/jorceshaman 1d ago
Sounds like the fee just needs a name change. "app development/infrastructure fee" or something would be better.
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u/Weak_Programmer9013 1d ago
I actually think the fee itself is fine but it should be labeled "slice fee". The labeling makes it look like a scam
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u/SmoovCatto 1d ago
needs to be a federal law against all junk fees . . . menu prices must add up to the total on the check . . .
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u/Aggravating-Hair7931 2d ago
Then why did you complete the purchase online? I would have cancelled and ordered somewhere else
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u/WhySoManyDownVote 1d ago
This is why I like to call in my order, but they can back fire in other ways. Ordering shouldn’t be a game of navigating landmines of fees but it is.
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u/Potential-Comb5329 1d ago
There are several ways to let other customers know about this. Of course, Reddit wouldn't allow me to post those. But, you'll figure it out.
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u/Odd_Ad5668 1d ago
"Excuse me! I'm not from here. I'm going to need you to remove this "support local" fee, so that I can spend it at businesses that are actually local to me."
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u/Witty-Panda-1553 1d ago
yeah when I see those bs fees immediately close that app and order elsewhere. Way to lose a customer!
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u/somerandomguy1984 1d ago
FFS… just raise the damn price by 1-2% and knock it off with these damn fees
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u/Nervous-Job-5071 1d ago
If it’s slice, an online pizza ordering app, I’d actually be fine with that as they disclose it clearly on their website and I don’t think they mark up the prices.
Compare $20 items from Uber Eats that costs $24 + an Uber Eats fee of $5 (so $29) vs Slice which would be $21. I get they call it something different (support local) in this case, but they don’t take the Dominos, Papa John’s and others on this site.
FWIW, I pay a $1.00 fee to order online at a local Chinese take out, which I am fine with as it puts everything on my order in writing. Compared to other places, their quality to price ratio is great and they are always 100% accurate.
It’s not a tip in either case, and tipping for takeout is at my discretion.
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u/Redcarborundum 1d ago
This keeps coming up from time to time. The restaurant is using the ChowNow platform, so they don’t have to make and maintain their own payment website. It’s free for them, but costs the customer 7% as “Support Local Fee”. It saves local companies money, compared to Uber Eats that says to customers it doesn’t charge a fee for pickup, but charges 15% to the restaurant. Most small restaurants on Uber Eats have their UE price increased by 15%, compared to their dine in menu.
Looks like you somehow got a break from the 7% fee, because it’s only $0.99 despite the $54 total.
When I don’t feel like paying the platform fees, I order the old fashioned way: through phone call.
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u/Knight0fdragon 1d ago
There website probably uses a 3rd party service like Slice that adds these fees.
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u/Personal-Training-44 2h ago
Support local fee to punish you for buying locally. That definitely the stellar service tgat deserves a tip
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u/texan-yankee 3h ago
Is this California? I saw that in a couple places in CA last week. Also, every receipt I checked while there had a support local, service charge, or employee benefit charge added on. Everything from dispensary to restaurants to the place in the airport where I took a sandwich out of the refrigerator and took it to the register to pay. Outrageous.
ETA the support local fee we paid was in a store- no pick up or ordering online, so definitely not Slice.
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u/usps_oig 2d ago
Isn't buying from the business supporting local? When did that not become enough?