Surcharge for a drink in the dining room?

In-Laws had dinner at a restaurant we both dearly love and has a pretty stellar reputation on Bardstown Rd., but will remain nameless in this post.

After dinner I get a call and he asks if I've ever seen a surcharge for an alcoholic drink that was consumed at the table from this restaurant or any other. I confessed that I'd seen a lot of surcharges, most recently fuel surcharges for shipments at work, but a drink surcharge was a new one on me.

He confirmed with the wait staff that the .36 separate line item charge would not have been charged had he consumed the drink at the bar. He can't be sure, but he seems to remember that the .36 was a percentage of the drink price. In-laws have dined here at least 20+ times and have never seen this surcharge before. His solution for the future, offered in jest of course, is to order and pay at the bar and bring it to his table.

We both have been to what we thought were some pretty high falutin' places and thought we'd seen a bit of the culinary world, but frankly I was flummoxed by this one. I know lots of places are hurting and looking to cut costs or derive revenues from any possible source, but is this a new practice that anyone else has seen adopted at their favorite haunt?

Thanks-Doug

I've never heard of it, and while not much money, I find it to be a shameful tactic.

I will speculate.

At the bar, the drink may be $5.00 -- to make it easy for the bartender to make change. The tax would be included in the price of the drink.

In the dining room, when other items are being ordered, and the need for speed and making change go by the way side, adding the tax separately on the bill might be the reason.

I'm not saying it is right, but that could explain some of it.

Scott,
I'd agree with you accept it showed up as a separate line item. If what you mentioned was the case it would have just been in the tax for the entire meal, they still would have gotten a higher charge for the drink but you really wouldn't have known it. Actually they should give you a discount on the drink if the tax is included at the bar and added at the table.

It's certainly something very strange that I would've definitely questioned it, not as a matter of cost but as a matter of principle.

Hopefully Doug will tell us what a restaurant it was so we can watch for it in the future. Hopefully this isn't the beginning of a trend and was actually just an accident in this case.

I would think it's not an accident as most restaurants have pos systems and it would be programed into the system.

I could be wrong about this, but I think I remember someone long ago telling me that a drink bought at the bar does not get sales tax added, but a drink at a table does. I do know that when I buy a $3.00 beer at the Outlook, they do not add tax. So possibly that might be the reason. Or not.

I would think it's not an accident as most restaurants have pos systems and it would be programed into the system.

If it is the sales tax, then they might not know what to label it as in the POS system, and just came up with a tagline for it. Surcharge is never a good term to use for anything.

Inclusive sales tax

http://searchwarp.com/swa27947.htm

Inclusive sales tax

http://searchwarp.com/swa27947.htm

You're correct, that's one way the price could end up being higher however in this case the additional cost was reflected in the sales tax. In the example given the additional cost was a separate line item listed as a surcharge. Even if it was sloppy programming it would definitely cause a problem for collection of the correct sales tax and certainly makes the customer think they're getting ripped off.

I wish the original poster would tell us what restaurants this is.

Just out of curiosity, was it "on the rocks"? I have gotten surcharges (from 50 cents to a percentage of the total) for ordering on the rocks rather than as a mixed drink. While I think this is awful, many justify it by giving you "more" liquor in an unmixed drink.

Appreciate all the replies, you all have given me a lot of ideas as to what might have happened.

The sales tax idea is interesting. We moved our business from Kentucky to Indiana a few years ago. Having been audited by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the State of Indiana for sales tax in the last year I can see where someone might go to the extreme in documenting collection even if it leaves a less than clear perception of what's happening to your employees and\or customers. Our company came out of the audits with minimal impact, but it was time consuming and expensive to do so.

It was not a mixed drink, which could have accounted for the on-the-rocks extra charge. I have seen that at several bar\restaurants and the explanation was always that it was to account for the extra liquor as one poster offered. It was a glass of wine or sangria in this case.

I'll be seeing the In-Laws over the holiday weekend and would like to see if I can take a look at the receipt and\or give the restaurant a call just to confirm their side of the story before naming the restaurant.

Thanks again for all the ideas and I will post back after I get some more info.

Just out of curiosity, was it "on the rocks"? I have gotten surcharges (from 50 cents to a percentage of the total) for ordering on the rocks rather than as a mixed drink. While I think this is awful, many justify it by giving you "more" liquor in an unmixed drink.

I've never heard that excuse, nor nor have I ever been billed for it. If you look of the reverse side ordering something "UP" would take more alcohol then something on the rocks so it should have a higher charge. Certainly there not charging you more for the ice cubes?

Just out of curiosity, was it "on the rocks"? I have gotten surcharges (from 50 cents to a percentage of the total) for ordering on the rocks rather than as a mixed drink. While I think this is awful, many justify it by giving you "more" liquor in an unmixed drink.

I've never heard that excuse, nor nor have I ever been billed for it. If you look of the reverse side ordering something "UP" would take more alcohol then something on the rocks so it should have a higher charge. Certainly there not charging you more for the ice cubes?

I've actually been charged more in both scenarios, rocks and up, with the explanation that there is a larger pour than in a mixed drink.

Can't honestly say that I've seen it here in town, but I've encountered it while traveling more than once in upscale establishments.

Rocks pours, "up" pours (like martinis or snifter drinks) do get an extra half ounce pour. I have worked in 3 different restaurants in this city and they all charged between 50-75 cents more for these pours and those charges have been visible on the bill of receipt.

Tax inclusive rate for cocktails at the bar, non-inclusive in the dining room is actually a fairly common thing. It goes unnoticed because people always eat at a table, know they're paying tax on the food items, and don't do the math or it just doesn't occur to them.

If it was 36 cents, that's perfect tax for a $6 drink, so my guess is that the restaurant in question is trying to absorb some of the recent tax hikes and programmed incorrectly.

Restaurant surcharges should be things like delivery, room service, banquet extras, etc...

As for the 50 cent rocks/up charge, about 50% of all restaurants do this, have been doing this as long as I've been around, and they DO give you a long pour. If you don't want the extra amount, you're under no obligation to drink it, but it's JUST 50 cents and it's as common as cola.