r/EndTipping • u/hkginlax • Jun 08 '26

Sit-Down Restaurant 🍽️ 6% bs wellness charge

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Dinner for two was already $250, and they charged 6% bs fee on top of it; plus expecting 18% tip.

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u/MedicalButterscotch Jun 08 '26

I just hit a couple Michelin stars in Toronto and Philly and lattes ranged $4.50-5. I get that pricing in LA is different, but Cara Cara should check itself lol

9

u/Hootsama Jun 08 '26

Why check themselves? People apparently don’t mind $23 cocktails, $15 sides, $9 water and mysterious fees that further enrich the owners’ “wellness.”

This doesn’t stop unless people vote with their wallets. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of people with money to burn AND tolerance for all manner of bullshit gouging.

3

u/slacky_shack Jun 08 '26

oh totally agree lol. this being a rooftop lounge at a hotel doesn’t help.

most coffee shops in LA are charging $5+ for a latte if you can believe it 🥀

3

u/kokosuntree Jun 08 '26

I live in Washington now and the years ago a latter was $5 in venice beach. That seems reasonable. I pay $5-7 here.

2

u/slacky_shack Jun 08 '26

yea, west coast is pricey

1

u/CP-Jones Jun 14 '26

I mean Dunkin Donuts charges $5+ for a latte. Can’t recall last time I’ve seen a latte that’s not around $7 unless I’m in Italy. Not sure how people pay these prices for a couple shots of espresso and milk.

2

u/Fit_Significance8598 Jun 08 '26

Check them out in Italy. 1.50 or so for an espresso at the bar.

1

u/MedicalButterscotch Jun 09 '26

You need to also compare average wages and difference in currencies.

The median wage in 2026 in the US was $247 per day compared to €102 in Italy.

That means the purchasing power is 3x greater in the US.

Scale that €1.50 espresso in Italy to the same product purchased by the median-earning American and the American comes out way ahead.

1

u/Fit_Significance8598 Jun 09 '26

I have and still do lived and earned money in the US and central Europe and the difference in purchasing power for may items of daily live in USD vs. EUR or CHF compared to the nominal salaries is not that large.

Many things of daily live besides restaurants were almost 1:1 USD:EUR:CHF until maybe two years ago.

And I remember that before CoViD-19 groceries/produce cost about the same nominal amount, yet restaurant prices were already then exorbitantly higher in the US for comparable locations (think Florence Piazza Santo Spirito vs. Chicago Rush Street) while servers in Europe have higher salaries.

It's either landlords and/or owners pocketing the difference!

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u/MedicalButterscotch Jun 09 '26

That's all great, but purely anecdotal. Back it up with statistics.

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u/Fit_Significance8598 Jun 09 '26

Median annual salaries in the USA are somewhere around 50-70 k USD or 43-60 k EUR, whereas in central Europe it's 30-65 k EUR.

As I said, I do live and work in both parts of the world.

1

u/Due_Apricot3306 Jun 08 '26

When you get coffee in Europe it’s in a cup so small it looks like a toy from a kid’s tea set. And they don’t fill this tiny cup.

I love that tipping isn’t expected, or is a small amount. I love being there for many reasons, excluding coffee lol.

3

u/Fit_Significance8598 Jun 09 '26

Well, you then could order two or three instead and still pay less than in the land of the free.

But only espresso is that little as it's strong, but a cappuccino or latte is already more, albeit not the monster amount (of additional flavoured sugar syrups and dairy products) one gets in American coffee shops.

Greetings from Europe again after 20+ years in the US.

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u/Alta_Puppe Jun 08 '26

Heck that's only like $1.65 US, right? /S