COVID-19 'surcharges' take customers by
surprise
Washington Examiner,
by
Jay Heflin
Original Article
Posted By: ladydawgfan,
5/26/2020 3:03:04 PM
Some companies are adding coronavirus surcharges to bills, infuriating customers enough to take their business elsewhere.
“Many customers are angry about the changes,” wrote Ted Rossman, an industry analyst at CreditCards.com. Rossman noted that roughly 86% of respondents from an American Express survey said they would stop patronizing a business if it applied surcharges to receipts.
A dentist in Florida charged patients $10 to help pay for the personal protective equipment worn by staff, which the mother of one patient felt she was not obligated to pay.
"I don’t feel that I’m required to pay that," she told a local news station in Jacksonville, Florida.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
poliposter 5/26/2020 3:05:35 PM (No. 422618)
People are morons. You just raise prices, you don't say it's a surcharge! Jeez. The small business where I work hasn't raised prices in 7 years. Guess what? Prices are going up. Get used to it.
10 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
lazlototh 5/26/2020 3:08:20 PM (No. 422626)
Surcharges are annoying because for some reason they never feel quite right. Best to have a note apologizing for the price increases and say they reflect increased costs due to covid and then incorporate them into the price. I understand that there's a business to run and I'll help. Also, if it's added onto a dental or medical bill as a surcharge it may be difficult to get it covered by insurance.
11 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
chance_232 5/26/2020 3:24:10 PM (No. 422651)
As a customer, I expect that PPE, cleaning supplies and additional labor for cleaning is the cost of doing business. A business recovers those cost thru increased prices or reductions elsewhere. A business's cost should be transparent to the customer, unless said business is trying to make a point.
9 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Safari Man 5/26/2020 3:27:16 PM (No. 422660)
They niggle and dime you to death. Many dentists are pulling in $1 million/year. When they hit you with the $10 ppe fee, I say I can brush and floss and little longer.
8 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
LadyHen 5/26/2020 3:31:07 PM (No. 422670)
Assuming the surcharge goes away when the extra measures and costs are no longer needed and the surcharge is a small enough fraction of my total bill, this would not get my knickers in a twist.
I can also definitely see medical or dental offices using this method since insurance company payment contracts were negotiated pre-Covid and you would sooner get blood from a turnip than an extra penny from an insurance company.
5 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
DVC 5/26/2020 3:34:43 PM (No. 422675)
Interesting. My dentist and staff have been wearing masks and gloves for about 4 or 5 years, perhaps longer, I can't really remember. THAT is normal, medical staff wearing masks and gloves so that they don't infect the patient.
Patients don't wear masks and gloves.
And a small upcharge at this point bothers me not at all. There have been massive losses that need to be at least stopped if not recouped.
7 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
bad-hair 5/26/2020 3:36:44 PM (No. 422676)
I took an unopened clinically sealed bottle of Crest mouthwash back to my local Kroger store because I had bought one that was not what my wife put on the list. Cashier said WE DON'T TAKE RETURNS OF ANY KIND.
Asked for store manager. Store manager said WE DON'T TAKE RETURNS OF ANY KIND. Dropped bottle on manager's FOOT and said
Yes you do but I don't get my 5 bucks back.
Took the manager by surprise too but the probably put the bottle back on the shelf. I now shop at H.E.B.
5 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
stevendm 5/26/2020 3:51:54 PM (No. 422692)
At least a surcharge MAY go away. A price increases never does.
6 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
anniebc 5/26/2020 3:59:42 PM (No. 422702)
Dentists should already be wearing protective equipment. Germs didn't just start yesterday. Good grief!
7 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
wilarrbie 5/26/2020 4:05:37 PM (No. 422708)
The reason for the policy #7, is that people were overbuying EVERYTHING, especially toilet paper in panic buying. As a store owner - they cannot possibly restock all of that - so the only way is NO refunds. If you check, they have a sign saying so. And if they make one exception they have to make all, so....
6 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
padiva 5/26/2020 4:20:10 PM (No. 422720)
Sometimes there is a 'no return' policy because the item might have been altered.
I work at a dept store with a hair salon. Hair care products can be returned and are thrown out. (other that aerosol spray) Usually, the customer didn't like the product.
The salon ladies have found that certain customers will replace the shampoo/ conditioner with a cheaper product and expect a favorable return policy.
4 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
MickTurn 5/26/2020 5:08:19 PM (No. 422751)
I have no problem helping business get back on their feet...Democraps and the MSM should be paying all the surcharges, NOT US!
3 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
mc squared 5/26/2020 5:41:41 PM (No. 422787)
My sis in law works for a dentist. She and other staff have been out of work for nearly 2 months. Lets see that dentist try to raise prices due to covid. No one has received a paycheck for 8 weeks!
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
BeeJolly 5/26/2020 7:31:14 PM (No. 422899)
I manage a dental office. We are not reimbursed by ANY insurance company for PPE and we cannot, according to contractual obligations, raise our fees. For now, we are not charging extra for PPE, even though we now wear disposable gowns, head coverings, and face shields. They are extremely expensive and hard to come by. Please be kind to your local practitioners. The regulations and legal responsibilities are pretty overwhelming.
3 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
ThreeBadCats3 5/26/2020 7:51:45 PM (No. 422910)
Dentists, like physicians in private practice, if you can fine one, were screwed when they were forced to accept “insurance”. They were much better off when they said “I”ll pull your rotten tooth for $100.00” Now the insurance company decides what, when and if they will favor the dentist with $15.00, hardly enough to buy extra PPE. But the insurance “executives” are happy with the system. Their only concern is which beach house, lake or yacht they want to go to this month.
1 person likes this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
DVC 5/26/2020 9:25:47 PM (No. 422970)
#15, when I retired, I looked at dental insurance, decided that I could easily match what they were charging for my wife and my own dental care by just paying the dentists at time of service. I'm perfectly fine with paying for good dental care, and both of us rarely have much to do, although I have had some ancient trauma damage that occasionally rear's it's ugly head. She's had nothing but cleanings for the last 50 years.
1 person likes this.
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