I met....Uber-Bitch

[Aethian]

I believe the store thought that most people wouldn't notice it and servers wouldn't bring it up. And that in turn would make it look like they are giving the most to this charity when in fact they are stealing it by not having censent given by those doing the giving.

[SuperB]

She shouldn't have been a bitch about it but she had every right to be upset. I wouldn't let some business tack on an extra penny for "charity" without permission first. If a company wants to set up a donation they can donate a portion of their own funds and not tack any amount and not give people a choice. I donate plenty thoughout the year and it's not up to any business to judge or force it on me. Before I donate to any "non-profit" I check them out first. There are plenty who, after a search, have had records turn up that were less than honest or show a huge percentage goes to "administrative costs". Any one of these crooks can print up heartwrenching images.

I'm not sure about where you are but I don't believe that what your businesses is doing is legal at all.

[tropicsgoddess]

Wow, a mere what five cents to donate to charity isn't gonna kill her. It's not like the OP's company was asking her to donate half of her paycheck or more than that.

[RootedPhoenix]

I'd be upset by being charged anything I hadn't pointedly agreed to, but taking it out on the server isn't the way to go, IMO. I'd go to the manager about it, myself.

[Aethian]

Wow, a mere what five cents to donate to charity isn't gonna kill her. It's not like the OP's company was asking her to donate half of her paycheck or more than that.

It's not the ammount it's more of the not asking first that I think was the cincher.

[Saydrah]

I think a restaurant can charge customers whatever they want, so long as they're informed of the total before they pay it. Telling them one total and charging another amount wouldn't be legal.

If management wanted to do things this way, though, they should have put up a sign saying, "From X date to X date, Restaurant will donate 5p from every order to World Hunger Relief." Then just raised the prices of everything five pence until the drive was over, then lowered them again after the donation drive. Guarantee much less suck would be had. At worst a few snarky customers who would notice the signs about donations and the corresponding price hike.

[cinema guy]

Personally, I would be miffed if a mandatory amount was added to my bill. But I wouldn't kick up a fuss about it.

I already give to charity, voluntarily each month from my wages. Three different charities in fact.

I would resent being guilted into it because I had just eaten a splendid meal.

Now 5p is nothing. But if 5p were added to every transaction you made, every trip to the supermarket, every cup of coffee, would it be okay then?

I don't think it is a bad thing - I just think it could have been handled better.

[AirHostess]

What's 5p in the whole scheme of things?

[SuperB]

It's not the amount. It's the behavior of the business. If I stood at the register and added a nickel to every purchase without telling people for the purpose of sending it in as a donation, it would appear to come from my business but in fact it would have been taken from my customers without their knowledge.

Let an employer take any amount out of their employees paycheck as a mandatory donation to charity, sent in not under the employees name but under the business name, and you leave open a door that should remain firmly closed.

[simpleyme]

I am afraid I would not like it at all, so I might be a sucky customer on that one to

all my utilities add a mandatory fee to help those that cannot pay their bills its not much like 25cents to 50 cents on each bill but it still bugs me and makes my bills less affordable
I am afraid I tend to dislike companies that gather money from others than brag how much they raised unless of course they match the donations of the customers
I don't know charity is so individual being forced into giving does not warm my heart ,giving to charities i believe in priceless

[Talon]

There's something missing from this story.

Just how much of a fuss did she kick up over the 5p charge?

I happen to agree that a mandatory charge is not a donation, and waving kiddy pictures amounts to emotional blackmail in my book.

But the penalty has to fit the crime. If she was spitting neutrons at you over the charge, and not voicing her concerns to management, she was definitely sucky. The same kind of suck as customers who whine "It's the principle!"

More details needed.

[tollbaby]

While I agree that 5p is not an amount I would quibble over I also do not think it's okay to just tack that on to people's bill without telling them, even if it is just 5p. IIRC a lot of the money that goes to those type of organizations gets gobbled up in "administrative fees".

I absolutely agree. In Canada, it is illegal to force people, by whatever means, to donate to a charitable organization. I assume it's the same in the US and the UK. In which case, your management is perpetrating some somewhat shady activity, either by choice or by omission. It is fine to *ask* a person if they would like to donate whatever amount, but it is against the law to simply charge them for it. Charitable contributions are, by law, voluntary, and as such, I would object as well to just having it tacked onto my bill.

[AccountingDrone]

I think the customer was in the right, it was not her choice to donate 5 pence or 5 pounds - the amount is inconsequential it is the principal.

I wouldn't have pitched a fit, I would have politely asked to see a manager and discussed it quietly. And I have pissed off the charity collectors at work before, I refuse to donate through a payroll deduction. Fuck all, my dad before he died was on the board of directors for the local United Way. Anything I wanted funneled to a charity went through him. Besides, my husband is in his own service organization, we donate time and resources through that. My charitable acts are my own business and not the business of anybody but my husband and I.

[Kiwi]

The customer wasn't sucky. Not one bit.

She's right: it isn't a donation because she isn't giving the money on her own free will.
I don't think it is fair for you to be judging people based on this.

I have to agree totally on this.

I will not donate to the Red cross for personal reasons (that I wont go into) and I was made to feel like crap at work because where I worked was a corp sponsor of the RC...my own manager didnt speak to me for an entire day over it

nevermind the fact that I was the ONLY person in my team to take unpaid days off to stand on the street for the breast cancer street appeal, or take extended (again unpaid) lunch breaks for the heart and stroke foundation to collect all they ever did was throw a dollar or so into a bucket that came around every so often

a donation is a choice to donate, if my waitress askes me at the beginning of my meal if I want to donate to "blah" charity I would more than likely add something on. But dont tell me at the end of the meal that its being added automatically, that is not kosher no matter how small the amount.

[JenCdn]

I'd be willing to bet that management would change their policy on such things if you were to send the manager over to every table that asks about the charge or comments on the way the charity drive is being conducted.


They do a similar type of charity drive at grocery/big box stores here. Only the cashier will ask if you'd like to donate before they total your bill. Is that something you could do where you work? You know, when the customer asks for the bill you could say "We're running a charity drive, would you like to donate 5p?" Or is the donation automatically assigned?