Why do restaurants / cafe have surcharges on weekend / public holiday, but normal store (Woolworths, Coles, clothing store, Bunnings) don't?
Isn't it the staff wages that is causing it?
Surcharge on Public Holiday / Weekend
hentabara on 17/06/2023 - 08:09
Last edited 17/06/2023 - 10:08 by 1 other user
Last edited 17/06/2023 - 10:08 by 1 other user
Comments
Not quite
woolies stores 1099 and their profit equates to about less than 1 million dollars per store per yearhttps://www.9news.com.au/national/woolworths-half-yearly-res…
The surcharge Its just a cash grab nothing more nothing less
Agree. Same with cc surcharge.
I made up the profit figures obviously. Was simply meant to illustrate the divide between the local cafe and a massive company. If you think it's a cash grab, don't go there on a public holiday.
If a business cant profit from paying workers an award rate they shouldn't operate
If a business charges extra does the worker get the extra or just their award rate and the owner gets all the profitIts a cash grab with the owners justification rolled into "but its a public holiday and costs me more" bullshit
The owner/manager should have already made adjustments to the budget to accommodate public holidays without a cash grab it just shows poor management and forced upon the sheeple to carry the burden of their mismanagementprivatize the profit socialize the loss
does the worker get the extra
Penalty rates.
Its a cash grab with the owners justification
Would you be happy if they also did away with cheaper meals etc on weekdays?
privatize the profit socialize the loss
Not only have you incorrectly applied that to this situation, in Australia we use "s" and not "z".
@brendanm: Penalty rates.
That's why i said
If a business cant profit from paying workers an award rate they shouldn't operateexcess profits are driving inflation, not wages
https://twitter.com/i/status/1669896763417960448@Loot N Plunder: I'm pretty sure they aren't talking about the local cafe 😂
That's why i said
If a business cant profit from paying workers an award rate they shouldn't operateHaving variable pricing doesn't mean they can't make a profit.
But how much the capital Woolworth need to spent? Vs cafe
Coz they are more reliant on staff's output than the ones having goods on the shelf.
Also essentail spend versus lifestyle spend?
But they also got more businesses coming?
Supply and demand. If you don't want to pay more on the weekend then go on a weekday when they're less busy. Or don't go there at all if you don't support their surcharges.
Coles makes enough profits on weekdays to cover the extra costs on weekends.
Weekend surcharges are ultimately a political tactic to encourage shoppers to put pressure on the government to reduce weekend and public holiday penalty rates that they are supposed to pay (but often don't pay) to their employees to compensate them for working unsociable hours.
It's kind of like climate change protestors blocking streets, but in this case it's small business owners having a hissy fit about having to pay reasonable wages to their employees.
This is a campaign that has largely been successful, because penalty rates have consistently been whittled down over the last few years to the point that nowadays surcharges are just a bit of extra money in the pocket of business owners.
Businesses open on weekends because the volume of trade is typically higher than weekdays, meaning higher profits too even if some fraction of those higher profits have to be split with the business' employees for working unsociable hours.
The main reason that "normal" stores don't need to charge penalty rates is because the retail employees union (the SDA), which is an organization completely hijacked by conservative Catholics, has historically negotiated crap enterprise bargaining agreements with those businesses that do away with even the normal minimum penalty rate expectations, contributing to lower wage expectations across the entire retail sector.
Notwithstanding the above, the retail businesses you have mentioned are volume turnover businesses. A much smaller percentage of their costs are employee wages in the first place, compared to a small restaurant which has to pay cooks, waiters, dishwashers, cashiers, etc.
But to return to your original question, businesses charge surcharges when they think they can get away with it and don't when they think that their customers won't cop it. All the businesses you mention trade on a reputation of "low prices" and surcharges would undermine that reputation.
Some very good points (if you ignore the occasional political posturing and read from the notwithstanding para).
Some simple maths..
A restaurant has a set number of tables.
So the return on the weekday is the same as on the weekend Taking other factors as equal.
The Labour costs are higher on the weekend, so the cost per table to service, increases, unless they could somehow increase the table space, then they dont get any extra income to offset that.
Thats the simple basis.
Of course there are so many other influences which can improve or reduce revenue, which can be argued for or against surcharges.
One other simple one, is people tend to go out over the weekend to eat. Supply and Demand.
So it could also be seen that no weekday surcharge is a discount? For example many Clubs have weekday specials but not on the weekend. $10 Snitty wednesday's. Kids under 12 free on thursday etc. Domino's Tuesday specials.
You could also ask,
Why are businesses allowed to discount?
Why cant all products be the same all the time? Its unfair that someone pays $10 more the day before a sale?
Shouldn't Student or Seniors discounts be banned? They cost the same to provide.
Why do we have Ozbargain, where some pay less because they have the internet and have found this site?
Just have kfc
Shut up and take my money.
(Viewer discretion. Your eyes might bleed. You have been warned).
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4213093913/Interesting how the prices haven't changed after so much time has passed.
It would cost more to introduce a variable pricing system at woolworths than to just absorb the cost. Shift allowances have been slashed for years along with staffing levels, the cost is pretty minimal to woolworths for the staff within the store.
However a cafe the cost of employees actually working in the cafe are often the main cost, it's hugely different.
Higher labour costs on weekends so they pass on the costs rather than revenue from customers through the week subsidising extra costs on the weekend.
I have absolutely no issue with it. They are free to set prices as they see fit. Go elsewhere if you don't like it. That's the beauty of this country, plenty of other options.
Are they actually paying their employees more though? Cash in hand low pay is rife in the hospitality industry. I'd be surprised if they paid their employees more on the weekends if they are willing to underpay them in the first place
Its not just those places anymore. A lot of barbers around here are also charging extra for weekends. Its beyond a joke. I've seen split price charging popping up all over the place.
Boycott all places with the surcharge.
There should be no penalty rates for hospitality anyway, their normal operating hours are not 9-5 Monday to Friday.
As long as surcharges or whatever add-ons are clearly disclosed IDGAF as we all have choices.
Because I'm getting paid double today to sit at work and read yet another thread on the weekend / public holiday surcharge.
Why do restaurants / cafe discount their prices on non - weekend / public holidays, but normal stores (Woolworths, Coles, clothing store, Bunnings) don't?
Went out for a meal on a Saturday and was charged a Saturday surcharge last weekend. I was fuming… But I think it is the natural progression to what began as a Public Holiday Surcharge, moved to a Sunday and Public Holiday Surcharge now obviously some have it as simply a weekend surcharge. Personally I won't be back.
I bet you will 🤣
That's bad, I guess it must be worthwhile to them to do that or they'll stop doing it.
if this is trend eventually some clever business will advertise with no surcharge and they start getting more business and competition will set in hopefully
Vote with your feet if not happy.
they should have an option surcharge or tipping
I would tip for the workers as this money goes to them and surcharge goes to the business and they don't always pay workers more.
but I general tip waiter and waitress if they provide good services
Literally the only reason why other stores don't have weekend surcharges is because nobody wants to be the first to do it.
You can guarantee that everyone would do it if it was acceptable to do so. It somehow became acceptable with cafes at some point.
Woolworths/Coles et al would do this in a heartbeat if they could get away with doing it for the types of products they sell.
Unfortunately for them, it doesn't work for the types of products they sell.If i want to have a sunday lunch out with my family, i can't wait till monday to do that.
Yet if woolies start charging 10% more for my groceries on a sunday, then i'll just do my grocery shopping on monday. It can wait.This is the only reason they don't do it.
Cafe profits - $50k
Woolworths profits - $5 billion