Thanksgiving deception

by Anthony Fontana, Hamilton

I had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at a local restaurant. The restaurant was clean, the service was very good, the turkey and dressing was excellent, and the menu price was reasonable … the restaurant had earned a generous gratuity. When finished with the dinner and feeling relaxed, I looked at my check (bill) and saw a strange item … it was labeled “Loss of Cash Discount.” Now what on earth does that mean? I hadn’t lost any cash but if the restaurant wanted to give me a discount, regardless of whatever the definition might be, I guess that was okay. However, on closer examination of the check, I discovered that the restaurant had not subtracted the “discount” but had added the “discount” to increase the total bill.

Now that seemed odd. If a cobbler has a sign on a $100 pair of boots that says 10% discount, I expect to pay $90 … not $110. What’s going on here? Upon asking, I’m told this is a surcharge for using a credit card. Well now, lots of merchants charge a fee to offset their cost of doing business with credit card companies and this is acceptable and I have no objections … but these merchants voluntarily advise in advance that if you pay with a credit card, they charge a fee. (Wonder what the motive is behind being so obviously deceptive?) Call the “Loss of Cash Discount” a “Credit Card Use Fee” and I recognize the words, know the definition, and willingly pay the fee or decide to not use my credit card … I have a choice. (Note that the check was printed before the restaurant knew whether or not I intended to pay by credit card, bank check, or cash.)

At this point I should pause and make a disclaimer. Although I don’t recall being charged a “Loss of Cash Discount” before, it is possible that this terminology is more common than my experience indicates and that such may be understood and widely accepted by other consumers. Maybe I didn’t notice the surcharge on previous checks or maybe I am just naive. However, in any case, this commentary may be of interest to those (like me) who do not know or are not expected to know the definition of “Loss of Cash Discount.” 

Okay, so be it. But now at the checkout counter, when I insert my credit card, a separate checkout screen appears … a touch screen that is significantly larger and more complicated than the normal charge-confirmation-signature screen. The screen asks me to select the amount of my gratuity. My choices are 25%, 20%, or 15% … in that specific order, in large letters, and inside touch-buttons large enough to accommodate all the fingers of my right hand. Now I’ve seen these screens before but I’m still not comfortable with a pre-programmed machine suggesting now much I should tip … especially in light of the discovery of the deceptively labeled “Loss of Cash Discount” and especially in the presence of the waitress who served my turkey and, even worse, in the presence of the restaurant manager or owner. While pondering my situation and reading the fine print on the screen, I felt like the four eyes watching me were laser beams penetrating my brain and disturbing my reasoning. I felt intimidated and the implication was that I should be embarrassed if I don’t punch the 25% button.

Then, on the checkout screen, I found a very small button labeled “Custom” in very, very small letters inside a touch-button that could not accommodate a single finger. Although the definition of “Custom” is not obvious (except in retrospect), I discovered that this small button allowed me to specify the exact numerical amount of my gratuity, instead of selecting one of the pre-programmed choices (percentages).

Although I obviously needed help navigating the screen, the waitress and the manager remained silent while I struggled. Well, almost silent. The manager said, Iit is legal” … presumably referring to the “Loss of Cash Discount” charge. I thought to myself, it is not a matter of legality but a matter of ethics. (I wonder how many customers never see or find the very small “Custom” button and don’t know and are not advised that they have the option of specifying a numerical gratuity. More deception?)

So what did I do? I chose to treat the “Loss of Cash Discount” just like it reads … as a discount. I subtracted the “Loss of Cash Discount” from the value of my customary gratuity and used the “Custom” button to enter the difference. Remember that the “Loss of Cash Discount” is the deceptively labeled surcharge for using a credit card.

I’m a “come here” from the humid Virginia coast but I have lived in Montana a long time … long enough to have grown old in Montana (I’m 84) and to have adopted the independent attitude of Montanans. I resent being deceived by those that sell products using purposely misleading labels and deceptive advertising and I resent being told what to do by machines that are programmed by humans and are proxies for humans. I like to make my own unbiased choices.

Note: My wife advised me not to write or submit this commentary. So to all her friends and associates, be advised that Jean does not necessarily share my critical views.