# “Honest to Goodness” fee? (Dubious extra fees.) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734 "2024-02-18T17:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/1 "2024-02-18T17:39:30Z")
There’s a chain restaurant here that adds a 3% “Honest to Goodness” fee on the bill “so we can continue to offer you low prices”. One of those sketchy places that advertises small sized, mediocre versions of a meal at a reasonably low price. Then immediately tries to upsell you to a large sized, mediocre meal at a higher one. Some of the sides were borderline nasty. I wanted to suggest they spent the windfall on proper food. I wondered how much business they lost for so little benefit, since it’s not like it was a great meal. I’m not one to worry much about such smegma. Two bits is not worth an argument, it’s not like some pricey Vegas “resort” trying to add on twenty bucks a day to use the Interwebz. **”But what is the most egregious bill padding you have encountered?”** _Charge ‘em for the lice Extra for the mice Two percent for looking in the mirror twice…_ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/2 "2024-02-18T17:48:27Z")
If it doesn’t have to be food related…I got my current car during the chip shortage, there was a a blatant “we’re charging you more because we can” fee, right on the sticker. This isn’t my car, I think mine was an extra $2k, but same idea. > **[https://preview.redd.it/mruzd0c3w5k71.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp...](https://preview.redd.it/mruzd0c3w5k71.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e033ae71a6e5efd4acd64aef1b3c62d0967da0fd)** ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/3 "2024-02-18T20:34:14Z")
At least they didn’t give it a cutesy name or pretend it was something beneficial. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/4 "2024-02-18T20:40:45Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Charge ‘em for the lice > Extra for the mice > Two percent for looking in the mirror twice Food beyond compare. Food beyond belief Mix it in a mincer and pretend it’s beef Kidney of a horse, liver of a cat Filling up the sausages with this and that ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/5 "2024-02-18T20:49:13Z")
We’re shopping for a new RV. Among the other ridiculous add-on fees we got: 1. Enhanced Delivery - $895.00 (this is the charge to show me\* how everything works) 2. Equipment Prep - $295.00 (this is for a battery and propane – which should be included) 3. Trailer Hitch - $3500.00 ($1600 at a hitch shop - for a higher quality brand) We left amid cries of “It won’t last long! You’ll miss out on this deal!”. FTR: It’s a 2023 model and is still on the lot along with several of its twins. RV sales are down almost 50% post-pandemic. We’re waiting until reality works its way into their sales-addled brains. What they don’t know is I’ve watched this particular make/model drop in price 20% since August. I can wait them out. \*This is our 7th RV since 1981. I don’t need “lessons”. > **[The pandemic motor-home bubble bursts with RV sales down 49% year to date](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pandemic-motor-home-bubble-bursts-155343074.html)** > > The pandemic bubble has burst, but one category is still showing growth. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/6 "2024-02-18T23:27:08Z")
Ah. So it’s a fee to keep the _sticker_ price 3% lower. I can’t see how it does anything for the actual price. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/7 "2024-02-18T23:31:49Z")
[Deja Vu](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/service-fee-of-3-applies-to-tips-too/997686/2) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/8 "2024-02-19T04:50:50Z")
I’m sure there have been threads on this. Didn’t see or read that one. I’ll let the moderators decide what they want to do, if anything. I could have got upset about an amount which was under a dollar. This isn’t my style. Certainly not worth clouding the day or even the meal. I tip generously and subtract anything I don’t agree with. But it would make me hesitate to engage in repeat dining there. I’m not sure if the menu mentioned anything in tiny print, or if this matters even if they did, or if this has anything to do with credit card payments (though I did not use a credit card). Again, why would a business risk anguish for so little? Does no one really notice the cutesy name? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/9 "2024-02-19T05:40:58Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > There’s a chain restaurant here that adds a 3% “Honest to Goodness” fee on the bill “so we can continue to offer you low prices”. And apparently they have been doing so since 2015! > **[Restaurant chain charges 'Honest to Goodness Fee' to keep prices low](https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/restaurant-chain-charges-honest-to-goodness-fee-to-keep-prices-low-1.3860398)** > > An extra fee aimed at keeping food quality high and prices low at a Kitchener, Ont. eatery is proving difficult to swallow for some patrons while others are saying they are happy to pay up. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/10 "2024-02-19T13:13:39Z")
In California we have the [Covered California Small Business Mandate](https://www.coveredca.com/forsmallbusiness/mandate/), in place since 2016 for businesses with 50 or more employees. It’s a penalty for not offering health insurance coverage for employees, or offering only crappy plans. It’s intended to dissuade employers from skipping insurance coverage and forcing people into the marketplace to ultimately use subsidies - to keep businesses from kicking health insurance to the state. Most restaurants that deal with this penalty just bake the additional cost into the prices on the menu and the customer doesn’t know or think about the business and their employee’s health insurance. But, some businesses, to make a political statement, add a 5% “CA Employer Mandate fee” to every receipt (rather than offer their employees health insurance coverage). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/11 "2024-02-19T13:40:29Z")
If I ate at that place that had that “honest to goodness” fee, then I’d thank them for doing what it took to keep prices low, and since they kept the price low, I’d pay, in cash, the price that it said on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/12 "2024-02-19T13:52:19Z")
At least The Idiot Tax was upfront about it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/04P2u-QOMHA/hqdefault.jpg "4 On the Floor - Episode 5 (Part2)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04P2u-QOMHA&t=218) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/13 "2024-02-20T02:58:15Z")
We have a digital subscription to a newspaper based in a middle-sized city close to where we live. Recently they had an op-ed piece begging for contributions to purportedly be used for hiring investigative reporting staff. I value investigative reporting but figure paying for our subscription should be enough, especially for a paper that seems to publish several stories a week on high-priced bourbons (yes, we’re in bourbon country, but still). ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/14 "2024-02-20T07:25:56Z")
I remember when Ticketmaster would charge you extra for getting your tickets mailed but digital tickets were free. Then it became a “Convenience Fee” for digital tickets on par to getting the tickets shipped despite it still being a free email delivery. Now it’s both a “Convenience Fee” alongside a “Service Fee” for the exact same digital tickets. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/15 "2024-02-20T23:24:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I value investigative reporting but figure paying for our subscription should be enough, Subscriptions have never been a major part of any newspaper’s revenue stream. They make their real money from the ads. Subscriptions are just their way of proving to the ad-buyers how many people are reading their paper. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/16 "2024-02-21T00:10:16Z")
The point was that asking readers for donations on top of subscription costs to allow for coverage that should be part of any newspaper’s mission is a non-starter, at least for me. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/17 "2024-02-21T00:34:41Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I remember when Ticketmaster would charge you extra for getting your tickets mailed but digital tickets were free. At one time, maybe 20 years ago now, Ticketmaster charged a “convenience fee” for printing your tickets at home, but they would mail them to you for free. That never made any sense to me. They wanted me to pay them extra to use my own ink and paper, but they would print them for me and pay the postage to mail them to me for no extra charge? I seem to remember one of the ultra low cost airlines (Frontier maybe?) charged a “convenience fee” for paying for your ticket online with a credit card. > [@snowthx](#): > > But, some businesses, to make a political statement, add a 5% “CA Employer Mandate fee” to every receipt (rather than offer their employees health insurance coverage). Along the same lines, Uber Eats adds a “CA Driver Benefits Fee” to every bill now that CA requires them to provide benefits to gig workers. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honest-to-goodness-fee-dubious-extra-fees/997734/18 "2024-02-21T02:02:13Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I remember when Ticketmaster would charge you extra for getting your tickets mailed but digital tickets were free. > > Then it became a “Convenience Fee” for digital tickets on par to getting the tickets shipped despite it still being a free email delivery. > > Now it’s both a “Convenience Fee” alongside a “Service Fee” for the exact same digital tickets. I wanted tickets for an event this weekend. Looked at both Ticket ~~Master~~ Scammer & Stubhub. They show you the base price but won’t show you the total cost until you sign in, which means they know what tickets you were interested in & will, no doubt, bombard you with emails/texts to come back & buy 'em. Fees ended up being ⅓ of the total cost for two tickets. I bought thru Stubhub, when I got the tickets & went to download them, the link took me to TicketScammer, except I don’t have a TS account (she does, but was out). When she got home I fwd’d the email to her but she couldn’t do anything w/ it because it wasn’t under her Stubhub acct & when she tried to sign in to TS it said it was not valid (different email, I’m assuming). Got to the venue early to hopefully straighten it out that the box office & not have to deal with them on the phone & try to pull up the tix before we go outside into the cold…& magically they pull right up. I guess you only need a TS acct if you want to look at them early. A couple of years ago, I bought tix to a concert _at the box office_ & was charged a ‘convenience fee’. I thought that convenience fee was for not having to go to the box office & being able to get them elsewhere, closer to you. One couldn’t get those tickets for the advertised price anywhere!