Hidden consumption survey in the catering industry: Nothing but tens of yuan has been spent, and most customers default
Recently, Ms. Min Wang of Shenzhen, Guangdong, complained to the Shenzhen Consumer Council that she and her friend ate at a beef hot pot restaurant and found that each tableware was charged 3 yuan at the checkout.
The merchant said that "the cutlery was originally charged."
In response, the Municipal Consumer Council stated that the operators using the format clauses should remind consumers in a significant way to pay attention to the content that has a major interest in them, otherwise the content of the format clauses will be invalid.
From tableware fee to table fee, from tea fee to sauce fee, a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily found that there are various hidden consumption in the catering industry. When ordering a meal, the store does not voluntarily inform the charge, but it is calculated at the checkout. Enter the bill.
In an interview with reporters, more than 20 people from Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places said that hidden consumption in the catering industry has a long history and is commonplace, and they hope that relevant departments can regulate and rectify them.
Speaking of hidden consumption in the catering industry, Mr. Li, a citizen of Beijing, still had his mind about the 20 yuan tableware fee charged at a restaurant in Nanjing, Jiangsu last August.
"At that time, the restaurant provided a set of dishes and a disposable towel. I thought it was free. I didn't pay much attention to it. Then I accidentally read the bill and discovered that these two items charged me 20 yuan." Mr. Li said , This made him feel "killed", and his mood when traveling went bad.
Similar situations are not rare.
Interviewees told reporters that the price of charged tableware provided by restaurants varies. One item costs two or three yuan, and there is also one that charges five or six yuan or even higher. The key is that many businesses do not tell or prompt when ordering meals. Customer tableware is charged.
Of course, the hidden consumption of restaurants goes far beyond tableware expenses.
According to the interviewed people, they have encountered various hidden expenses, including table fee, paper towel fee, tea fee, service fee, sauce fee, baking tray fee, etc.
"Anyway, as soon as a few people sit down, they consume more than ten yuan or tens of yuan without ordering anything." An interviewee complained.
It's nothing more than the charge for tea. What makes Mr. Zhou of Tianjin Jizhou not understand is that some restaurants charge for boiled water.
He said that once he and a friend went to a local restaurant for dinner. There was a pot of boiled water on the table, and they poured it easily. When they checked out, they found that the boiled water was charged for 10 yuan. There is no prompt".
Ms. Jiang from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, told reporters that she had also encountered hidden compulsory consumption.
There is a local hot pot restaurant. She has been to a hot pot restaurant many times. One time, she found that the dipping material was charged per person. I was speechless, and I never went to this store again."
At the same time as the hidden charges, many interviewees complained: The sanitary quality of the tableware charged by many restaurants is worrying, and the uncleanness is visible to the naked eye, and sometimes there is a strange smell, and customers have to use hot water by themselves.
Not only catering shops, hidden consumption is also more common in industries such as beauty salons and hairdressing.
Public reports have shown that due to the ambiguity of the charging items and prices, there are often chaotic phenomena such as charging towels for washing hair, charging shampoo fees for hair care, and arbitrarily increasing beauty items when doing beauty.
Shanghai university student Xiao Xue applied for a membership card with 40% off consumption at a hairdressing shop near the school. During her sophomore summer vacation, she did a soft care project worth 1178 yuan at the hairdresser, and the discount was 706 yuan.
At that time, the card balance was more than 50 yuan, and Xiao Xue thought that he would only need to pay another 600 yuan. Unexpectedly, the boss said at the checkout that the recharge amount must be higher than the original consumption price to be discounted. Xiao Xue reluctantly recharged 1,500 yuan.
"There is too much hidden consumption now, and it is impossible to prevent it." Xiao Xue sighed.
Faced with the hidden consumption routines of merchants, what do consumers do?
Most of the more than 20 people interviewed took a calm attitude.
Some people think this can be regarded as an unspoken rule of the industry. Many stores operate in this way and can only recognize it; more people think that it is not worthwhile to entangle the theory and entanglement with the merchant for a few yuan or more than a dozen yuan. Leave; there are also a small number of people who are honest with the business, or choose to lodge a complaint with the consumer association, etc., and this fee is often waived in the end.
The interviewee Ms. Jiang said that once she went to a restaurant in Tianjin to eat barbecue with a friend. When she checked out, she found that the business had to charge a charcoal grill fee of 10 yuan per person, so she started arguing with the boss.
"The boss argued that other restaurants charge 20 yuan, and they don't charge much. I said that the charge should be notified in advance. The boss sees that I am fighting for reasons, so he confiscated the money."
Ms. Cao from Fuzhou, Jiangxi, told reporters that she thought it was normal to charge a table fee until one time when I went out to eat with my boyfriend. He took the bill and said directly to the waiter that you didn’t tell me in advance that I would charge the table fee. This is a violation of the rules. If you charge a fee, I will complain to the relevant department.
Upon hearing this, the boss immediately waived the table fee.
"Although it is only 4 yuan, it makes me feel that knowing the law is too important." She said.
Respondents also reminded that in order to prevent customers from leaving evidence of their illegal charges, some merchants would tamper with the name of the charging items secretly, such as changing the table fee to service fee, tea fee, etc., in an attempt to prevent customers from paying attention. Muddle through.
In the face of hidden consumption, why only a few people will stand up to defend their rights?
In this regard, some believe that the deep-seated reason is that the implementation regulations of the Consumer Rights Protection Law are not clear in this regard, and the practicality is not strong. There should be more detailed provisions for the system and regulation of the catering industry, rather than waiting for consumption. The customer finds the problem on his own when eating, and then argues with the merchant for reasons.
Han Dandong, Chen Yiqi