Have you ever been shocked by an unexpected fee when eating out?
One customer was left particularly shocked after dining at a US restaurant and discovering a surprising charge on their receipt at the end of the meal.
The restaurant and cocktail bar, located in Georgia, has been shamed online on Reddit for charging their customers a $20 fee for “live band entertainment”.
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The receipt showing the unexpected fee was posted to Reddit, sparking an influx of disgruntled comments.
The receipt includes the food and beverage items and then at the bottom clearly states “Two Live Band Entertainment Fee — $20”.
People were divided in the comments with some calling it “ridiculous”, whilst others were saying “$20 isn’t much”.
“This is one of those leave money on the table, hand the waiter a tip and leave, sorry but if I didn’t order it, I’m not paying for it,” said one commenter.
“Great way to not have repeat customers,” said another.
A third added: “This will backfire for them, just be honest and upfront.”
Other commenters were less sympathetic.
One wrote: “When you’re paying seven dollars for a bottle of water, you really don’t get to complain about ‘unexpected costs.’ You knew what you signed up for”.
“Imagine a live band getting paid, huh,” said another.
“They’re buying $7 bottles of water, they can probably afford it,” added a third.
This isn’t the first time a restaurant bill has sparked outrage.
Last year, a group of diners were left furious after being charged almost $75 for a “mandatory” service fee and $30 for water at a popular Italian restaurant in Sydney — despite already splurging more than $720 on dinner.
The nine friends enjoyed a huge feast — including 13 antipasti dishes, six mains, four sides and drinks — at Merivale’s Bar Totti’s in the CBD on Friday night.
But upon checking their bill totalling $826.75, they noticed they were hit with an extra $74.45 for a little-known “service charge” and $30 for three 1L bottles of still water.
“It’s outrageous, it’s basically a mandatory tip. And for what? It was the most basic level of service anyway,” one diner told 7Life.
“The service charge makes no sense.”
She said the group was “more than happy” to leave a tip - but the hidden service charge “ruined” their dining experience.
Regarding the water charge, her friend described it as “very sneaky”.
“The waiter brought over the bottles of water, without clarifying, only to charge us for it all at the end,” she said.
According to the restaurant’s website, groups of eight or more incur a 10 per cent service charge.
“I don’t understand what the service charge is for - what they were doing for us that they weren’t already doing for a group of six or seven? Seems excessive,” the diner said.
She added: “We know restaurants have struggled a lot in the last two years with the pandemic.
“But being charged an exorbitant amount for service and water with no explanation just doesn’t seem fair on customers.”
7NEWS previously contacted Merivale for comment.
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