Original title: Tea seat fee, tableware fee, bottle opening fee, will you refuse the catering "consumption assassin"?

Recently, "there is no seat charge for eating" has become a hot topic on social platforms. Consumers' sharing their experience of successfully rejecting seat charges has caused netizens to discuss the unreasonable charging items of catering. So, which charging items are "consumer assassins" in the catering industry? How should consumers refuse? Lu Yun, a lawyer of China Consumer Association, was interviewed by CCTV. com.

1. Is it reasonable to charge for tableware, bottle opening, and restaurant for additional services?

Lu Yun: This needs to be differentiated. Some restaurants provide some necessary items in the catering service, such as tableware, or some current sanitary and epidemic prevention supplies. It is not very reasonable to charge additional fees for this situation.

Some restaurants only provide disposable tableware, and then charge 1-2 yuan, instead of other ordinary tableware. In this case, it will be deemed as suspected of compulsory sales. It is more reasonable to provide free sanitary tableware while providing paid tableware.

In fact, it is unreasonable for catering service providers to charge high liquor service fees or bottle opening fees by providing liquor service. Why do operators refuse to bring their own drinks? Because drinks themselves are also the profit point of catering. If customers bring their own drinks, it means that the profit of catering institutions is lost. Therefore, it makes up for this profit by charging bottle opening fees.

However, for some high-end restaurants, the wine glasses and utensils provided by them are expensive, including their cleaning, which may also cost the operators more. In this case, we believe that it is OK for restaurants to charge appropriate usage fees based on the principle of fairness and compensation, However, the premise is that the normal tableware and service required by the restaurant cannot be impaired.

2. Do consumers have the right to refuse the restaurant to charge tea fee?

Lu Yun: On the one hand, when the restaurant charges for tea, including some drinks, it should inform consumers in advance to ensure consumers' right to know. Operators shall not charge excess fees in disguised form or compulsorily, nor bundle sales, nor collect such fees at the final settlement without the prior consent and notification of consumers. On the other hand, when consumers see the corresponding service, they should make an inquiry. If they confirm that they have a demand, they can enjoy this service, provided that the price is accurate and the measurement is reasonable.

For example, when consumers use the private room of the restaurant, there is a specially assigned person to provide services. Because the environment and service quality that consumers enjoy are different from those in the hall, in this case, appropriate service fees will be charged. As long as the services and fees enjoyed are equivalent, I think ordinary consumers are acceptable.

3. What is the reasonable way to charge packing fee and lunch box fee for takeaway?

Lu Yun: I think it is necessary to return to the fairness and rationality of transactions.

Now the quality requirements for packing boxes have also been improved. They should be environmentally friendly and recyclable, including some wooden tableware, which may also be expensive. These costs may be passed on to operators. But on the other hand, although the merchants paid for the packaging, it also saved some costs in the store. So it still depends on the operator's consideration.

In practice, some consumers may encounter such problems. For example, three packing boxes are needed, but the actual delivery is also three. However, some consumers may not care about the cost of five packing boxes, but I think this situation should be strictly eliminated.

In addition, in terms of rationality, packing boxes are also divided into different sizes. The value of packing a whole fish and a pickle box is certainly different. Therefore, even if operators need to charge for packing boxes, they should also charge them at a fair and reasonable price.