Depending on how much it is, getting the restaurant bill can make or break the night. But one customer was left gobsmacked after noticing an unusual charge on their bill.
In some ways, this isn’t so uncommon. In the past, BroBible has reported on customers who have had to pay for other diners’ meals or, in the case of Chick-fil-A, pay what is known as a “public improvement fee.”
But this example of an extra cost is really pushing things to limit. The TikTok, which was posted by the account @kerchmagic, consists of an image of a restaurant bill. At the bottom of the bill, a “house fee” is listed.
According to the bill, a “House Fee” includes security, music, health insurance, wage increase, and taxes. It appears to be charged as 5% of the rather hefty bill. This means that the patrons were expected to fork out a whopping $79.51.
The TikTok has amassed 779,500 views. BroBible reached out to @kerchmagic via TikTok direct message.
What Did Commenters Say About The Restaurant Bill?
On the whole, commenters were pretty unimpressed with this charge.
“Looks like no tip will be given since restaurants are charging fees for all the stuff the tip normally pays for,” one wrote.
“Large party charge,” a second noted. “Restaurants charge you for giving them too much business.” They followed up their comment with a crying-laughing emoji.
“Why is no one talking about the 39% tip, automatically added?” a third asked.
While a fourth remarked, “Making $500 a hour to bring food and drinks to a table is crazy.”
However, other commenters were on the restaurant’s side.
“Y’all will be mad at restaurants before you get mad at billionaires for exploiting workers,” a fifth commented.
In total, the customer had to pay $2,372.07.
As a result of this, a sixth said, “Complaining about how much the fees were on a meal that costs more than most people pay in rent is certainly a choice.”
Has This Happened Before?
As it turns out, charging for music in your restaurant bill isn’t an uncommon practice. In a now-deleted Reddit post (via Heart Radio), one Redditor shared an image of the restaurant bill his girlfriend got.
The bill, which was split between four people, included an $8 charge each for live music. This racked up to $32 in total.
In response to this Reddit post, users were split.
One Redditor said that it “sounds like someone couldn’t afford live music and put the bill to the customers.”
Another asked, “Why do people go out anymore?”
However, other users defended the restaurant.
“We did this at a restaurant I worked at,” this Redditor said. “We had music every night and the menu stated there was an 8-dollar cover charge per person when there was music playing. The money went right to the musician(s). Nobody ever complained, the key was having signs everywhere.”
Ultimately, it isn’t clear whether the music mentioned on the original TikTok’s bill was live or not. But even so, it seems like a better route is to be more upfront about music costs.