The restaurant Andonis Café and Bar, which advertises itself as serving contemporary Australian cuisine with a touch of Greek flare, charged a diner a 25% surcharge on a public holiday, which many customers found excessive. While there is no legal limit on public holiday surcharges, the typical range at venues is between 10% and 15%.
The customer who was charged the 25% surcharge shared the menu, including a 7% split bill charge at the register, on Reddit, asking how much is too much for a public holiday surcharge.
Some customers felt the surcharge was reasonable, given the large and tasty portion sizes of the restaurant's dishes, while others found it outrageous. Many were also frustrated by the split bill surcharge of 7%.
The Reddit post has received over 550 comments, with many claiming the surcharge was too high.
One person said 25 per cent was 'extorting customers' while another called the surcharge 'robbery'.
'25% = I eat elsewhere,' one person commented.
'Seriously. Almost $25 for a gyros is already too much, let alone a 25% surcharge,' another person wrote.
However, a spokesperson for Andonis Café and Bar defended the surcharge to the Daily Mail, stating that it is difficult for small businesses in the hospitality sector to stay open on public holidays due to the increasing costs of inflation, rising ingredient prices, and other operational expenses. The 25% surcharge enables the restaurant to cover these additional costs and pay its employees fairly under the Restaurant Industry Award 2020, which includes penalty rates. The surcharge only applies to the 14 public holiday days a year.
The restaurant cannot justify raising prices year-round to cover these costs without negatively impacting customers for the remaining 342 days.
This controversy has sparked a debate among customers and the general public about the reasonable rate for public holiday surcharges. While some believe that 25% is too high, others argue that small businesses must charge more to cover their costs and stay afloat.
