A recent incident at a local pizzeria has sparked a humorous yet contentious debate online after a customer discovered a $5 “bitching fee” added to their bill. Their meal came out to $24.78. This total even included an unplanned charge from something called a customer complaint fee, because someone submitted a complaint on a bad order of beer.
Patron who ordered a Miller Lite but got Bud Light instead confronts server about mixup. In such a case, the server would be required to comp the Bud Light and later return the correct beer to the buyer. Instead, the patron was shocked to find a “bitching fee” on their receipt.
“I’ve complained enough in my life to figure I’ve already paid for it. I do not think I was being bitchy at that time,” said the customer, 25 years after her experience.
The #Divegate2018 exploded on social media with the patron’s post about the incident reaching the front page of r/funny. They even shared a screenshot of the receipt they received that clearly showed the fee charged. The response to the post was immediate, receiving hundreds of supportive comments from other Redditors.
A few commenters joked about the whole thing, poking fun at the “bitching fee” and the offended patron. As one IC user jokingly said, “And here you are bitching.” As one apparent etiquette expert suggested in a simpler solution, the patron should’ve just exchanged the two beers. In an update, the original poster explained that a trade-in wasn’t possible because the server had already cracked open the Bud Light.
The discussion became more serious when users began to raise the concern that charging a fee like this may be illegal. Ha, haha—this is amusing, but almost certainly an illegal act. You can’t invent imaginary fees and then hit people’s credit cards. It’s wire fraud,” remarked one commenter. Another user theorized that it was the server who just put in the fee as a joke on her. They assumed the server just forgot to take it off before processing the bill.
Although many of those comments were joking, some users’ concerns were valid. In particular they feared that practical enforcement of such behaviour would undermine service norms across the hospitality industry. It’s wire fraud. As one user pointed out, “you can’t just invent bogus fees and charge people’s credit cards.”
The patron also accepted the fact that they were charged when they paid without contesting that charge. They reported back, “I didn’t even mention it to her. I just paid and walked out. If I would have told her, she would have been horrified for sure.”
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