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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| COVID-19 'surcharges' take customers by surprise |
| 2020-05-28 |
| [Washington Examiner] Some companies are adding coronavirus surcharges to bills, infuriating customers enough to take their business elsewhere. "Many customers are angry about the changes," wrote Ted Rossman, an industry analyst at CreditCards.com. Rossman noted that roughly 86% of respondents from an American Express survey said they would stop patronizing a business if it applied surcharges to receipts. A dentist in Florida charged patients $10 to help pay for the personal protective equipment worn by staff, which the mother of one patient felt she was not obligated to pay. "I don’t feel that I’m required to pay that," she told a local news station in Jacksonville, Florida. In Texas, a hair salon added a $3 "sanitation" fee to customers’ receipts. The owner of the salon said the extra charge was to cover new expenses that are now required to run a business. "The cost of reopening includes all the extra supplies that we need and all the cleaning supplies that we need. It's worth it! It's absolutely worth it," Rachel Gower, owner of the Upper Hand Salon, told the local ABC news station. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #21 Could also mean, f'it a couple more dollars there and I know where they spend their money compared to Big Box misers. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2020-05-28 21:43 |
| #20 What can I say, I'm a bean counter. On my receipt, I want to see Federal, State, County, Municipal, and Commerce Region charges, as well as Compliance Charges and Special Build Charges. If I'm in a rural area and see a x% tax for schools, ok then. If I'm in an urban area and see a x% charge for a new water fountain, well then... It may make a difference whether I return to a service industry, a safety surcharge (in this case, it is government mandated or else they get their license pulled - an excellent lesson in regulations being passed onto the consumer). With a major purchase like appliance or vehicle, that lower priced urban ticket may end up being more than a higher priced rural ticket without the additional charges. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2020-05-28 21:40 |
| #19 Me personally, I like to see how much of the cost of my tank of gas goes where. That information is readily available. Just turn to your favorite search engine and search for it. |
| Posted by: Graviter Gurly-Brown5390 2020-05-28 21:01 |
| #18 I had a friend who went to work in a lawn mower factory after college. The front office was delighted when they landed their first Walmart production contract. The annual Walmart sales increased year after year until Walmart became their largest customer. I suspect you can imagine what happened next. If they turned away any customers or did capital improvements because of increased business from Walmart, they screwed up. Because Walmart likely asked for price reductions that brought revenues below their operating costs, thereby driving them out of business. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2020-05-28 20:48 |
| #17 I’d be surprised if my dentist doesn’t add one. He upgraded his filtration system and all staff now have N-95 masks and heavier covering. That stuff isn’t cheap. |
| Posted by: Klem Kadiddlehopper 2020-05-28 16:16 |
| #16 Of course, Cali is attempting to repeal Prop 13, with Chinavirus adding to the repeal's "urgency". Meanwhile, Colorado is talking about repealing the Gallagher Amendment, which is its equivalent of Prop 13 (but as a state constitution amendment of course). Never let a crisis go to waste. |
| Posted by: charger 2020-05-28 16:02 |
| #15 Wait until people see the government surcharges. Think that state, local and federal governments will gracefully accept reduced budgets? Already seeing more cops out writing more tickets ... for safety of course. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2020-05-28 14:24 |
| #14 86% of respondents from an American Express That's rich. Would the Discover users like to weigh in as well? My state doesn't allow such things; I ask if and where these charges must be displayed - 1st chance to learn about the surcharge is with the receipt is a bit shady. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2020-05-28 13:53 |
| #13 I'm so desperate for a haircut that I wouldn't mind paying. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2020-05-28 13:24 |
| #12 Skid is right. Most states allow a business to add a surcharge for accepting credit card payments. Also known as 'pay with cash discount'. Also, you know when you are on one of those price comparison sites, and the price listing all are similar except the one at the top is $20 less. What a deal! Well, except for those who dig a bit deeper and see +$30 S&H. Me personally, I like to see how much of the cost of my tank of gas goes where. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2020-05-28 12:04 |
| #11 I don't see a compelling reason to put a separate freakin' Covid-19 'surcharge' on a sales receipt The point-of-sale (POS) system will have made that charge available. Until 'the tax' is ruled eligible or not, it ups the AR book for the business. Coded separately for extraction later. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2020-05-28 11:05 |
| #10 Among other tragedies, the financial tragedy; American taxpayers are still paying the wages of intelligence organizations and members charged with monitoring (years in the making) events such as those in Wuhan. Yes, 9/11 redux and epic fail. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-05-28 09:31 |
| #9 And people think the economy will roar back...sheer folly. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-05-28 09:26 |
| #8 She should of course get the money from the state as they imposed the extra costs. I think regulators should pay the first 5 years of any regulatory costs. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2020-05-28 09:24 |
| #7 Perhaps they are itemizing receipts as sales taxes are. Or, they are making a point (doubtful, but...) about the whole COVID-19 response by gum'ment. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-05-28 09:24 |
| #6 "I don’t feel that I’m required to pay that," she told a local news station in Jacksonville, Florida. I feel your pain. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-05-28 09:21 |
| #5 I don't see a compelling reason to put a separate freakin' Covid-19 'surcharge' on a sales receipt; just raise the price like a normal business would and be done with it. |
| Posted by: Raj 2020-05-28 08:41 |
| #4 I had a friend who went to work in a lawn mower factory after college. The front office was delighted when they landed their first Walmart production contract. The annual Walmart sales increased year after year until Walmart became their largest customer. I suspect you can imagine what happened next. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-05-28 08:40 |
| #3 @#1- Agree, B. Impose burdensome rules on small businesses that don't have the legal & financial muscle to fight. And, so often, those fees get passed on to the angry consumer. But I have heard about the PPE surcharge in other places as well. What can one say? This country is "fee'd" to death. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-05-28 08:35 |
| #2 I don't know Besoeker. From what I've observed - CV19 was a real blessing for the small stores around here. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-05-28 08:09 |
| #1 Some prices go up, some go down. Gasoline is, or was down. Auto and truck prices are down. Air travel costs are down. I paid nearly $9.00 per gallon for exterior cleaning bleach last week at a small hardware store. Suppliers to small hardware stores are forced to raise prices. The supplier's money is found in large volume, box store sales contracts. Just another marketing strategy the box stores use to push Mom & Pop operations out of business. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-05-28 08:06 |