SCK Blog

RESTAURANTS and cafes across Australia are breaking the law more than a year after public holiday and weekend surcharges were banned,yet not one has been prosecuted by the national consumer watchdog.

A three-week investigation into restaurants and cafes found more than half had either a weekend or public holiday surcharge, or both. The surcharge was advertised in small print on the menu or was added to the bill, sometimes without the customer's knowledge.

Out of 120 randomly selected restaurants and cafes in Sydney, Canberra and Perth, 64 did not comply with the law. More than 50 were in Sydney's inner city, eastern suburbs and inner west.

The longstanding practice of charging on average 10 per cent extra in the form of weekend and public holiday surcharges was ruled illegal in May last year through an amendment to the Trade Practices Act.

Restaurants and cafes are now required to incorporate such surcharges into their prices, meaning most must supply a separate weekend menu if they wish to recoup additional staffing costs through their clientele.

Yet many operators appear ignorant of the changes.

The manager of the Waterfront Grill, in Darling Harbour, Jeremy Sloss, was imposing an illegal surcharge but changed it once a customer informed him of the amendment.

"We never had any emails sent from ACCC [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] and the restaurant and catering association .. in regards to that,'' Mr Sloss said.

The federal Minister for Consumer Affairs, Craig Emerson, said the commission was responsible for enforcing the anti-surcharge law, but it admitted this week that it had yet to prosecute a single business for illegal surcharging.

The ACCC deputy chairman, Michael Schaper, said the commission preferred to "educate and inform", rather than impose criminal punishment.

But Dr Schaper also dismissed the survey's findings, which suggested the practice of illegal surcharging was widespread.

"We've recently had a look at compliance within the restaurant and catering sector within particular cities and our evidence today indicates that there is actually not a big issue for most industry participants,'' he said.

Yet the restaurant found to be levying the most exorbitant illegal surcharge during the investigation happens to be just around the corner from the commission's Canberra headquarters.

As recently as last week, the menu at Tosolini's restaurant was warning customers they would be slugged an extra 20 per cent this long weekend.

A manager at Tosolini's identifying himself only as ''Sam'' said the restaurant changed its menu for the first public holiday following the amendment.

''But no one else did, no one else was complying,'' Sam said. ''So I thought, 'I'm not going to comply until we get told to.'''

He said the restaurant would not be including the surcharge this weekend.

A spokesman for the consumer advocacy group Choice, Christopher Zinn, said restaurants had had more than a year to educate themselves on the new laws.

"One would have thought the message has been sent out there very clearly," Mr Zinn said.

The chief executive of Restaurant and Catering Australia, John Hart, said the ACCC had failed to consult the restaurant industry before passing the law.

"If there are to be changes like this, that impact on a large number of businesses, there should be the commitment to enforcement that they promise there is," he said.

Story by PATRICK WRIGHT, LAUREN SAID-MOORHOUSE AND AMANDA HOH June 12, 2010at www.smh.com.au

Restaurant 2010 announces new dates to coincide with the Sydney International Food Festival

The inaugural Hotel Hospitality + Design Expo 2010 held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 24 to 26 May was a boom for visitors and exhibitors alike. The new hotel industry show with a key focus on design, fit out and refurbishment for the hotel, resorts, spas and hospitality industry, proved a welcome addition to the exhibition calendar. 

The expo was attended by key figures from the hotel, architecture and design industries and delivered on the promise of creating business opportunities for over 150 exhibitors who made HH+D 2010 happen.

In his launch speech by Wayne Kayler-Thompson, CEO of VECCI, spoke about the importance of refurbishing our hotels and hospitality venues for a more buoyant tourism industry and economy. The quality of the visitors and the breadth of the exhibitors were evidence the design, architectural and hotel industries were behind making HH+D a necessary platform for doing business.

Hotel Hospitality + Design 2010 showcased modern and exciting design and architectural elements of the hotel industry including the hugely popular Hotel Room of the Future, the Dulux Refurbishment Stage and the ISIS Design Forum. All these exciting and interactive additions to the show highlighted real possibilities for the future of design in hotels. Top designers presented how they would refurbish a three and five star hotel room while experts in their field advised visitors on new innovations and trends in design and demonstrated how to implement these in our own hospitality venues.

Co-locating with HHD was The Hotel Operations and Technology Show and Conference, which included a rich conference program that featured high profile international speakers including Scot Campbell, Vice President and CIO of MGM Mirage, Las Vegas, David Garrison CEO of iBAHN in the United States and Peter Barge, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle in Singapore. All offered their expert knowledge, advice and informed insights into how technology will change the face of the hotel industry and the opportunities for the Asia Pacific region.

Exhibition manager, Michael William-Kelly said, “We are delighted at the huge interest in Hotel Hospitality + Design’s first year. Based on the success of similar shows overseas we saw this as a real opportunity to bring the architecture, design and hospitality industries together and it has been a resounding success. This is an important show for Australian and Asia Pacific and although niche, we are happy to report the show attracted quality delegates and key players. Exhibitors were very pleased with the amount of business generated through the show.

I am happy to announce the success of HH+D 2010 now sees the show as a permanent annual industry event and we look forward to an equally successful show next year in March 2011 in Sydney.”

Hotel, Hospitality + Design 2011

"The techniques restaurants adopt to make customers part with their cash have been revealed.

The top tricks are using a specials board to charge a premium for old food, set menus and targeting women with desserts.

The techniques, featured in UK food magazine Olive, also include manipulating menus by putting items the restaurant is keen to promote in the right-hand corner, which draws the eye. French terms were often used to make dishes sound more exotic and justify a higher price tag."

My comments are: 

1. Maybe the writer has never heard of marketing! I mean every business tries to put their wares in the best possible light.

2. I don't know many restaurants who sell "old food", however it is natural to try to use all food prior to it's use-by-date. It is just good business practice, especially in this tough market.

I will bet anything that even the writer has rehashed something in his or her career! However, unlike a rehashed story, if the food is 'off' or 'old' then no self respecting restaurateur is going to offer it to his clientele. Oops, I used a couple of French terms, sorry, I meant customer and food place owner of course. I was just trying to make my story more attractive.

The words restaurant and cafe, both have their deriviatives in the French language and suddenly I am pressed to find an alternative word. I would hate to be accused of dressing up my story!

3. As for desserts, if restaurants only targeted women my guess is that they would be cutting out half of their market. I recall in my restaurant we made desserts appealing for people who liked ... well desserts, actually.

Well, that is it. I have said my piece. Over to you!