I got this fun fee after trying to order takeout from Buffalo Wild Wings (yes I’m naming and shaming). How exactly does adding a dollar help you operate takeout? It’s literally less work than waiting on a table. This is nothing more than a shameful cash grab to pad profits.
I cancelled my order and got local street tacos instead.
EDIT: Look what I found this morning, lol https://www.today.com/food/restaurants/buffalo-wild-wings-takeout-fee-backlash-complaint-rcna90228
You voted with your wallet. That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.
except actual voting is 1 person = 1 vote. shareholders, corporate conglomerates, and lobbyists have made it that 1 person gets millions upon billions of votes. when we do vote with our wallets and buy from the places we want to support, the corporations always win in the end. either by buying them out, or because what we supported decided to cater to shareholders instead of customers. just look at what happened to reddit
If capitalism worked Buffalo Wild Wings wouldn’t exist. Trash food. Go to a local pub or something.
Capitalism does work in the voting with your wallet. However there’s two things that tend to get in the way. Laziness and mergers. Either customers don’t care and/or all your other opinions got bought out.
You forgot regulatory capture and socialism for the business owners
The value that chain and fast food restaurants bring isn’t quality. Their value is (1) convenience, and (2) consistency.
Many people will often prefer to have a known quantity quickly in preference to a highly probably better but uncertain quantity slower. Every Dunkin Donuts has donuts that taste the same as all the other locations. That’s more valuable than people think.
That’s why those locations are successful.
We don’t have pubs in the area next to my local BWW. Lots of places don’t have pubs.
Ya that makes sense.
That’s how free markets work. Free markets and capitalism are different things.
Ah convenience fees. I love paying more money for causing less work. Ticket master, oh these digital tickets that will be distributed immediately will have an extra $14 fee… Per ticket!
It’s literally less work than waiting on a table.
It’s not as if they’re paying their waitstaff normal minimum wage in most states; tipped employees can be paid less if the tips make up for it.
It’s actually more of the problem. They can pay wait staff 2.13 an hour, but they cannot make them pack up take out orders for that. So it literally does cost them more to do take out.
They do exactly that
Yes they can.
I think the point is that if all the staff do is pack up take out orders, they legally cannot make them do it for $2.13/hour. The employer legally has to pay tipped employees minimum wage if tips do not cause them to reach minimum wage. More time on take out orders is less time earning tips.
More broadly, most wait staff aren’t going stick around even if they’re being paid minimum wage and getting no tips. They’ll go elsewhere where they can earn better — presumably somewhere they can consistently earn tips.
If all the staff does is pack up takeout orders, they can legally be paid $2.13 an hour.
Wrong. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped “Basic Combined Cash & Tip Minimum Wage Rate” means that if tips do not meet the federal minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.
What part of that do you think applies to this discussion?
Do you think it’s illegal to tip on a Togo order?
You’re correct, and that’s another beef I have with the whole industry.
“Yes I’m naming and shaming”
God i love not being on Reddit
McDonalds is especially egregious recently. Time was you could get a set for ¥500 (about 5 dollars) Then suddenly all the menu items went up to ¥700 - ¥900. That starts to get very very close to the alternatives which are much better. The only competitive edge they had was price really.
Same in Europe, MacDonalds used to be the cheap fast option. Now it’s almost restaurant prices. If I pay restaurant money I expect restaurant quality, not fast food.
No shit. Last time I went with my girlfriend we just had some fries, couple burgers and nuggets.
€34! Not doing that again.
I’d bet all the cash in my wallet that the tacos were significantly better than anything from Buffalo Wild Wings.
They were delicious, cheaper, and I don’t know what my dumb brain was even thinking
This may be imposed by the take out provider. Some states/municipalities also tack on extra fees
There is no provider. This is me, driving to the restaurant, walking to the counter, and getting my food.
Payment provider. BWW may have a contract with a payment provider, in which they don’t pay the fee to use this payment platform for a flat fee of $1 per.
This is of course, all speculation.
For only takeout orders?
I could see it. Online billing probably uses a different payment provider than physical machines. And it’s probably a smaller proportion of their business, so they’re not willing to eat the cost like they do for physical machines.
It was/is just Buffalo Wild Wings themselves.
https://www.today.com/food/restaurants/buffalo-wild-wings-takeout-fee-backlash-complaint-rcna90228
As a non-US citizen, this is a ridiculous greed.
As a US citizen, this is a ridiculous greed.
I grabbed a single burger at Wendy’s last weekend and it was $6.50. That was my last trip to Wendy’s…I expected half that!
I have to say, where I live Wendy’s is actually cheaper than McDonald’s, so if I’m craving a cheeseburger I hit up Wendy’s instead. But yeah prices for fast food are absurd nowadays.
Same here. Literally no reason to go to McDonalds these days, worse food for a worse price.
I haven’t ordered from BWW in a few years but that is shameful what some of these corporations will add in “fees” to see how much they can nickel and dime their consumer.
Street tacos are going to be better anyways. As good as bww might be, I’ll take a truck with a passionate team any day.
If the taco truck is behind an alley and the owner has a mustache and scratches his ass and the pork tastes great but a little raw, don’t eat there.
Feels oddly specific.
The Greatest Taco
I don’t know if this is the case everywhere, but here a lot of chains are switching to doordash partnerships, which is just gross. At this point I’ll stop ordering delivery/takeout from any chain that does this because I’m just that disgusted by Doordash and Uber.
On the bright side, if you’re in a city, usually there are more than enough delivery co-ops or in-house delivery services available that it’s not too painful to ditch delivery apps.
Why does dd and Uber disgust you?
Can’t speak for the other person, but Uber is disgusting for hacking a raped woman’s medical files to try and slander her in court.
I don’t think I’d call $1.00 absurd, but I’m not a fan of such fees. Am I allowed to bring my own containers and bags to avoid this cost?
Borderline absurd but 100% asinine
If you are sitting in the restaurant, you are probably paying for some ridiculously overprized drinks as well.
Maybe compare it to ordering the same stuff but picking it up yourself.
Or compare it to yet another innocuous bs fee slipped in under the radar by companies testing what they can get away with
Tiping culture has gotten wildly out of hand
I hate when restaurants force me to tipe
Over COVID I tipped 20-25% times we’re tough for everybody and service workers kept it all going. But in other words back to normal I’ve made a conscious effort to put it back in the 15 to 20 range.
And everyone wants a tip, even just picking up food you’re asked to tip.