Breakfast cafe charges 'no food or drink' surcharge, causing social media uproar

A coffee shop with breakfast in Dong Ha City ( Quang Tri ) charges an additional fee for 'food and no drinks' in the bill, causing controversy among netizens.

The bill of the Tea Lotus Palm Oil shop with the "eat but no drink" surcharge is causing a stir in the online community - Photo: HT

On October 24, social networks in Quang Tri were abuzz when a Facebook account shared a story about being charged an additional fee for "food and no drink" at the Tra Sen Co Dau coffee shop (located in the Co Dau eco-zone (Hung Vuong street, Dong Luong ward, Dong Ha city, Quang Tri).

The person who posted the story said he came to have breakfast at the restaurant on the morning of October 24. Accordingly, he had a portion of fried noodles that cost 50,000 VND.

However, when asked to pay, the bill included an additional 10,000 VND called "food without drinks". The additional charge made the customer quite surprised and unfamiliar.

The customer shared his story along with a photo of the receipt on social media.

After that, the story spread like wildfire on the internet. Many other people on social media also commented with their bills from the Palm Oil Lotus Tea shop they had visited. They showed that there was an additional charge for "food and no drinks".

Someone said that their group of 9 people came to have breakfast at Tra Sen Co Dau restaurant on July 7 but did not order drinks. When paying the bill, they were charged an additional 90,000 VND.

Many social media accounts were surprised by this "unique" surcharge, and said that the "food and no drink" surcharge was unreasonable. "Eating or drinking depends on each person's needs. When a restaurant opens, it must serve each customer's needs, so why charge customers extra money when they don't use a certain service?", said one account.

However, some people think that this is the restaurant's own rule. And customers have the right to choose whether to come or not.

Responding to Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Nguyen Phu, the owner of this restaurant, said that his restaurant charges extra for "food and no drinks" to partially cover the cost of serving employees.

Mr. Phu said that before customers ordered food, the staff informed them that the restaurant would charge an additional 10,000 VND if they did not order drinks. The restaurant has been doing this for a year now.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quan-an-sang-ca-phe-tinh-phu-thu-an-khong-uong-khien-mang-xa-hoi-day-song-2024102418260215.htm