‘Quiet time fee’ on restaurant bill sparks debate over sneaky pricing tactics

Restaurant bills are seemingly not just about food and drink anymore. Increasingly, they come with extra charges that are leaving diners doing double-takes.

The latest fee sparking debate? A charge that appears when the restaurant is quieter than usual.

A viral Reddit thread has shed a spotlight on a bizarre dining experience.

One user recounted visiting a new restaurant that "seemed quiet," only to discover an unexpected 20 per cent fee on their bill, labelled "Quiet Time Surcharge."

Believing it to be a mistake, the diner questioned the charge. The server, looking "a bit sheepish," explained: "'Management says when it’s not busy, you’re basically getting the place to yourself. It’s kind of like flying private instead of commercial.'"

The customer was understandably left stunned, telling fellow Redditors: "Are you kidding me? I’m not 'chartering a restaurant,' I just wanted dinner. If anything, it’s less service work when the place is empty.

"So now we're at the point where restaurants tack on fees not because they’re busy, but because they aren’t. That’s wild."

iStock

Inevitably, the thread opened the floodgates for a debate, with one writing: "You didn't book the whole restaurant for yourself; it just happened to be empty. I hope you didn't pay that fee."

Another raised: "If this is a true story, I foresee a much quieter time in this restaurant's future."

A third quipped: "This damn place is LUCKY they had you as a customer during 'quiet time'. They could have had zero customers, which is hopefully what they have in the future when you never come back and give it a one-star review.

In the end, the only thing louder than ‘quiet time' was the backlash.

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