Or reminding your divorced waitress with 4 kids that there will be no tip because your boss included her tip in credit card fees.

That would effectively penalize people for paying cash.

I agree. It’s got to be recorded somewhere within the cost of goods sold which is a driver of the sale price to the consumer

Not really, you and I would walk out of there paying the same amount for the same meal. The restaurant would make more profit from your meal than from mine but you and I would have been treated the same.

To a degree, I agree. I wouldn’t want to tip based on a fee I am paying for using a credit card any more than I would want to tip based on the tax on my meal. I tip based on level of service.

One of my clients is a 7 store vitamin & minerals retailer - part of a national franchise.

His fees are about 1.44% for the total of visa, mastercard, discover and debits and about 2.75% for Amex.

The smaller the transaction the larger the fee. National franchises have tremendous negotiating power.

Arnold Palmer is making money on these service fees!

Sounds good, but:
Customer 1 orders spaghetti marinara at $10.
Customer 2 orders spaghetti/lobster sauce at $35.
In both cases server takes order, delivers 1plate to each customer. Same level of service, yet customer 1 tip (@ 20%) $2 while customer 2 tip (@ 20%) is $7. Customer 2's tip for same service is 350% more.

3.75%
 

This is all over. I was in Ocala and the same thing happened to us, I'm paying by cash now when ever I go out.

Not true, if the price is the same for cash or credit card, it’s cheaper using our rewards credit card that gives us 2% cash back. If the establishment adds a fee of over 2% for paying with a credit card, it’s cheaper for us to pay with cash. It’s not that paying a percent or two more would make any difference to us, I just like getting the best value for our hard earned money.

Our Sams card pays us 3% back for using the card but do agree like to get the best value for our money.

It isn't necessarily the 2 or 3%, it is the principle.

We've been watching this for over a year now. First it was 2.4% added to the net total in a few restaurants. It appeared at the bottom of the bill, no signs and no notices on the menu. A complete surprise! I complained to the manager and got: "Everyone is doing this now!" My reply was: "OK, I won't come back then."

Then I noticed the fee was 3%. In a few months it was 3.5%. One place added it for "any plastic payment" (CC or DC). Then suddenly it was 4% added for CC surcharge last month. We just went to a restaurant for the first time last night and the charge was 4.3% of the net. This is getting out of hand. No prior notice either.

So I now write on the merchant's copy of the charge slip: "Owner: This 4% CC surprise fee is an underhanded tactic and not customer friendly. You just lost my frequent business!"

If everyone did this, the practice would soon stop. Even the servers that we talk to, hate the practice, it eventually affects their tips.

If we have a "law" in Florida, it should be enforced.

Suggest we all let the merchants know that their low 1-2% fee to the CC companies should not be passed on as a 4.3% rip off to the unsuspecting consumer.

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So now this is a way to increase profits at our expense. Great idea to pass the comment onto the owner

Just FYI, I own a retail store and the fees vary based on the card. All those rewards, the retailer pays them. So a bank card with no rewards may be 1% but a cash back rewards card may be as much as 3.5%. Even debit cards have a fee for the retailer.

I always try to pick cash. Never give anybody my credit card especially when they take it away from me. But 3.75% convenience fee or not seems awfully expensive used to be one and a half to 1.75% I believe although AMEX Is usually more expensive with their fees to the merchant and passed on to customers