Cancel plans for anniversary dinner in DC due to crime and hidden fees?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw that article too. I feel bad for the restaurant owner, staff and residents of the neighborhood. The likelihood of OP being targeted going to a restaurant is very unlikely. I live in DC (though a safer part) and travel a lot and have a higher risk tolerance l guess.

Regarding fees, are you hearing they’re worse in DC than close in MD and VA? I had not heard that.

Because DC passed salary laws for restaurant workers. The restaurants are now trying to pass the cost off to dinners with all sorts of hidden fees you can't see until the end. And staff still expect tips now in top of it. No way in hell I'm dropping and extra 40% on top of a bill. It makes for a very uncomfortable situation due to all of the hidden fees and expectations for ridiculous tipping.

I think the service fee for wages is to meet DC 82- phaseout on tip to reach targeted minimum wage. If the 20% goes to all employees it's not paying for the fine service done by front of the house staff. Like a wait staff person posted some will tip less-in that case it was 3.5%. So why don't the restaurants raise the menu prices? If people on a budget scan the menu it can be really awkward ... the whole thing could be 23.5% more before gratuity.

They already have. And then added fees on top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw that article too. I feel bad for the restaurant owner, staff and residents of the neighborhood. The likelihood of OP being targeted going to a restaurant is very unlikely. I live in DC (though a safer part) and travel a lot and have a higher risk tolerance l guess.

Regarding fees, are you hearing they’re worse in DC than close in MD and VA? I had not heard that.

Why? They intentionally opened a restaurant/chose to work in a high crime neighborhood. Shaw wasn’t safe 8 years either. Businesses investing in these neighborhoods know that and assume the risk.

I guess you didn’t read the article. It talks about how the neighborhood was
experiencing a revitalization 8 years ago.

“I am in the line of fire, and people are waiting for me to be a casualty. And one day, somebody from my restaurant — a guest or a staff member or myself — is going to get injured or worse because this is the wrong location,” Maupillier told The Washington Post. “Because the police and the city have created a worse crime zone than it was eight years ago.”
Then the chef paused. “I’m sorry,” he added, “but I’m mad.”

……also l have a heart

Do you not understand what “revitalization” means? It doesn’t mean no crime. Developers tried to make Shaw happen but the crime life is too compelling. Shaw has never been a “safe” neighborhood.

And GTFO with that snot attitude. How do you think I knew about the reference to 8 years ago without reading the artice.

Namaste

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw that article too. I feel bad for the restaurant owner, staff and residents of the neighborhood. The likelihood of OP being targeted going to a restaurant is very unlikely. I live in DC (though a safer part) and travel a lot and have a higher risk tolerance l guess.

Regarding fees, are you hearing they’re worse in DC than close in MD and VA? I had not heard that.

Why? They intentionally opened a restaurant/chose to work in a high crime neighborhood. Shaw wasn’t safe 8 years either. Businesses investing in these neighborhoods know that and assume the risk.

I guess you didn’t read the article. It talks about how the neighborhood was
experiencing a revitalization 8 years ago.

“I am in the line of fire, and people are waiting for me to be a casualty. And one day, somebody from my restaurant — a guest or a staff member or myself — is going to get injured or worse because this is the wrong location,” Maupillier told The Washington Post. “Because the police and the city have created a worse crime zone than it was eight years ago.”
Then the chef paused. “I’m sorry,” he added, “but I’m mad.”

……also l have a heart

Do you not understand what “revitalization” means? It doesn’t mean no crime. Developers tried to make Shaw happen but the crime life is too compelling. Shaw has never been a “safe” neighborhood.

And GTFO with that snot attitude. How do you think I knew about the reference to 8 years ago without reading the artice.

Namaste

As you should.

[Anonymous]

See, told you. Dining in DC has become so hostile. Restaurants have the utmost contempt fir their customers and they all want to gouge the crap outta you like you’re their own personal bank account:





https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/17zx6zl/its_this_or_we_close_this_service_fee_is_not_a/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See, told you. Dining in DC has become so hostile. Restaurants have the utmost contempt fir their customers and they all want to gouge the crap outta you like you’re their own personal bank account:





https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/17zx6zl/its_this_or_we_close_this_service_fee_is_not_a/

Hopefully they are out of business before the end of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See, told you. Dining in DC has become so hostile. Restaurants have the utmost contempt fir their customers and they all want to gouge the crap outta you like you’re their own personal bank account:





https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/17zx6zl/its_this_or_we_close_this_service_fee_is_not_a/

This makes more sense than constantly hiking menu prices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See, told you. Dining in DC has become so hostile. Restaurants have the utmost contempt fir their customers and they all want to gouge the crap outta you like you’re their own personal bank account:





https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/17zx6zl/its_this_or_we_close_this_service_fee_is_not_a/

So you get robbed either on the street or inside the restaurant. I have no interest whatsoever going into DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:See, told you. Dining in DC has become so hostile. Restaurants have the utmost contempt fir their customers and they all want to gouge the crap outta you like you’re their own personal bank account:





https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/17zx6zl/its_this_or_we_close_this_service_fee_is_not_a/

This makes more sense than constantly hiking menu prices.

Ahhh yes, deceiving the consumer always makes more sense than simply listing the actual price of goods and services.

Are you off your meds today?

[Anonymous]

People should now know what it costs to have a meal in a restaurant. It should be straightforward on the menu.

When all these surcharges are added it makes people feel like chumps. It leads to tension with the server, which no one wants. And an all around bad dining experience.

Throw in the worry about crime.

Who wants this when they're going out? Particularly the suburbanites who have plenty of good options in Virginia and even Maryland sometimes.

The restaurants in DC that do this need to go out of business. DC needs needs to get tougher on crime. Otherwise things spiral. No one thinks it's worth it to go the Wharf, or 14th, or Shaw, or Noma, or Navy Yard for all that aggravation and stress. Let those restaurants die. And let's encourage DC politicians to do something about crime.

But in the meantime, northern Virginia in particular is pretty good

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived in the area since the 90s and let me tell you: people are going out to restaurants in droves. I now look for dinner reservations 3-4 weeks in advance or I don’t get a reservation. It cracks me up because I remember very well moving here from NYC and DC was not a food town. Restaurants closed at 10pm back then. So, OP, you can try and make “don’t go into DC for dinner b/c of crime and fees” a thing but it’s not going to take off any time soon based on what I’m seeing. Also, I do find the uptick in crime in DC worrisome but restaurant fees are at the bottom of my list of world concerns. None of the restaurant owners and staff I know are living high on the hog. Take out your angst somewhere else or just stay home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:See, told you. Dining in DC has become so hostile. Restaurants have the utmost contempt fir their customers and they all want to gouge the crap outta you like you’re their own personal bank account:





https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/17zx6zl/its_this_or_we_close_this_service_fee_is_not_a/

This makes more sense than constantly hiking menu prices.

Ahhh yes, deceiving the consumer always makes more sense than simply listing the actual price of goods and services.

Are you off your meds today?

One of us is!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fees are so annoying. Restaurants should have pricing transparency. No added fees. I went to Perry’s tonight and they added 20 percent service fee which they argued was not a tip.

No. If you add a 20 percent service fee to the posted prices, it is a tip.

Never going back there…

Did you tip on top of the fee or hold firm? What did they say the service fee was for if not a tip?

For social justice.