In Guangzhou, "drinking tea" is not only a catering habit but also a catering culture. It is a common experience for citizens to be charged for tea in restaurants. Have you ever thought about whether it is reasonable to charge for tea places?

Yesterday, the Consumer Council of Guangzhou released a public opinion survey report on the charges for tea places in the catering industry in Guangzhou. According to the report, 99% of the consumers surveyed have been charged "tea fee", and 77% of the consumers surveyed think that it is unreasonable to charge "tea fee". The Municipal Consumer Council said that if tea is not provided free of charge, food and beverage outlets should inform consumers in advance, so that consumers can choose whether they need tea or not, and do not force consumption in disguise.

Data

98% of the restaurants surveyed charge tea table fees

Recently, the newly promulgated Regulations on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests in Liaoning Province mentioned that "it is not allowed to charge table fees, tableware disinfection fees, bottle opening fees and other non-compliant fees in disguised form." For a time, topics such as meal fee and tea fee attracted public attention.

"tea table fee" generally refers to the basic tea table fee, and also includes such charging items as table fee and tableware disinfection fee. Recently, a survey conducted by Guangzhou Consumer Council found that among 715 consumers surveyed, 99% had been charged "tea place fee" and 77% thought it was "unreasonable" to charge tea place fee. Despite this, the attitude of more than half of the consumers surveyed is "although they have opinions, they can only accept it".

79% of the consumers surveyed support the cancellation of the tea fee. At the same time, 8% of the consumers surveyed don't suggest canceling the tea fee, and 66% of these consumers suggest "let consumers choose after clearly marking the price" because they are worried that the service quality will be reduced, the price of vegetables will rise, and the cultural characteristics of tea in Guangzhou will be lost after cancellation.

With regard to the tea table fee, the report released by Guangzhou Consumer Council shows that volunteers visited 52 offline restaurants and found that 98% restaurants need to charge tea table fee, table fee and disinfection tableware fee, 83% restaurants have clearly marked the tea table fee, and 65% restaurants have a basic tea table fee of 1 ~ 5 yuan per person. However, 49 restaurants are not allowed to choose whether to pay the tea place fee, that is, "as long as they consume, they must pay the tea place fee".

The Consumer Council pointed out that it seems to have become a hidden rule in the catering industry to charge all kinds of tea fees. Many food and beverage outlets charge tea fees, one of which is to "consciously" follow the trend, and the other is to "subsidize" the price of vegetables. The phenomenon of tea fee in catering industry has gradually evolved into a disguised charge, which invisibly deprives consumers of their right to choose independently.

Remind

Being forced to pay for tea places can actively protect rights

Guangzhou Consumer Council suggests that consumers should face up to the phenomenon of being forced to pay for tea places, actively protect rights, and keep the evidence in their hands as much as possible during consumption. If consumer infringement is found, you can call Guangzhou 12345 service hotline to make a complaint and report.

Voice

Citizen: Should I charge for tea without drinking tea?

When talking about the tea place fee, some citizens expressed doubts: Is it reasonable for merchants to charge tea place fees for drinking boiled water instead of tea? Mr. Chen, a citizen, said, "Once I went to have tea, the merchant said that I would charge for tea, so I said I would just drink boiled water instead of tea, but they would charge the same fee for tea. I don't need tea, why do I still charge the same fee? "

Some consumers said that even their children who drink their own water will be charged for tea. Ms. Li, a citizen, said, "They said that my child is over 1.2 meters and must charge for tea."

Businessmen: Tea place fee includes service fee and tableware fee

Yesterday, when a reporter visited Tianhe Business Circle, he found that many merchants would charge tea place fee as long as consumers sat down to eat, regardless of whether they drank tea or not. In Tianhe City's banquet in the south of the Yangtze River, one person in 6 yuan is charged for ordinary tea, and one person in 3 yuan is charged for drinking white water. On weekends, one person in 5 yuan is charged for drinking white water. In Daoxiang Restaurant, the tea fee is for one person in 8 yuan. Even if you choose to drink boiled water, you have to charge the same price.

why do you charge for tea when you drink boiled water? The staff of the banquet Jiangnan said, "The tableware fee is also included, so even if you drink boiled water, you have to charge." The staff of Daoxiang Restaurant said, "Drinking tea and drinking white water includes service fee and tableware fee, so the price is the same."

Consumer Council: It is compulsory to collect tea without consent.

The Consumer Council of Guangzhou said that the Measures for the Management of Catering Industry (Trial), which explicitly prohibits the minimum consumption of catering, has been implemented for more than a year. However, many citizens still report that there is still a minimum consumption of private rooms for catering in Guangzhou, and even if some catering enterprises do not have the minimum consumption, they will add various additional charging items and consumption restrictions, which will increase the burden on consumers.

The Consumer Council said that the "Measures for the Management of Catering Industry (Trial)" is only a basic provision, lacking detailed standards. It is hoped that relevant functional departments can supervise the behavior of charging in disguised form, and clarify whether the service fee for private rooms and expensive tea places are allowed to be charged as surcharges.

The Consumer Council believes that catering operators should provide tableware that meets the quality standards and sanitary conditions free of charge, clearly state the prices of the food and services they provide in a prominent position, and must not set minimum consumption, charge or charge fees that are not in compliance with the regulations, such as table fees, tableware disinfection fees and bottle opening fees. The catering industry should respect consumers' right of independent choice and fair trade, clearly mark the price, and do not force consumption in disguise. Regarding the "tea place fee", if tea is not provided free of charge, restaurants should inform consumers in advance so that consumers have the right to choose whether they need tea or not.

although there is no explicit stipulation on whether it is legal to charge tea fees, this behavior violates the principles of equality, voluntariness and fairness in the Civil Law. Consumers should pay as much as they should spend, and other extra fees of merchants are unreasonable charges.