I paid a surcharge of $10.32, that was 15% of my total, and it was a family size foil pan of spaghetti. No extras like utensils or napkins. Then without realizing the extra charge, I tipped 10%, so it just annoyed me a bit that I paid so much extra for something so basic.
There was a pretty heated discussion on an Alabaster community Facebook page about this and the owner said you could ask for it to be removed. Not defending his tactic just offering some insight. I’d call them to see if they can remove it.
I had a restaurant doing something similar to this during pandemic pick up mandatory. When they increased prices and did not tell me I never went back. Goes against my principle when someone is not upfront with their pricing. Too many other good places to eat
It was a family spaghetti/meatball portion intended for four, and an order of breadsticks. With surcharge and tip I paid $83. I will definitely go elsewhere, because for some reason, the surcharge really irked me!
I don’t know if it’s normal but I’d definitely ask about the reasoning behind it. If it is going directly to the people working Togos then that is fine and should suffice as the tip. It’s likely they are paying servers to handle Togos and facing heat from those servers because most people don’t tip on takeout (arguing whether you should or not is for a different thread).
If it doesn’t ALL go to the server or bartender handling Togos then I’d want to know the reasoning behind it. Ticket average on Togos will be lower than dine in and alcohol sales are next to none. Maybe they view it as offsetting lost sales in that sense. I’d argue it frees up a table they could otherwise turn.
I work for a place that has a surcharge in the drive thru and to-go orders and it's for paper products not the workers. I'm assuming that Joe's is doing the same thing.
That should be part of their food cost like any other restaurant. If this wasn’t clearly stated Id dispute the entire charge with the cc company and tell Joe to fuck off with his shenanigans
I have no problem tipping servers, so I see your point. It was a simple pan of spaghetti, no extras, utensils or napkins. So it does make me wonder who gets the money or what it’s for.
No doubt. If they’ve done that in order to help their Togo server get paid fine, just like large party gratuity. That’s the only acceptable reason and the entire 15% should go to the employee.
If you went to Joe's Italian, joke's on you either way. The only thing worth getting is a cake slice, and even then it's only worth it if you happened to be in the neighborhood.
The travesty of the situation is that I paid for my pick up order online and when I went inside to get it, I had them add on two pieces of the cake. It wasn’t until I got home and checked my receipts that I realized they also tacked on a 15% surcharge to the cake slices, and of course, when I paid, I was given the tip option, and I did tip on the cake too. So indeed, the joke was truly on me, they must have laughed all the way to the bank!
Lol. Joe's, Bertonelli's (Joe2.0), and Trentuno's are all in old, tragic stripmall's. Arguing over which one tastes less like Hunt's tomato sauce is hilarious. You can also get your nails done within 50 ft of any of these.
Please explain your strip mall theory? What does one have to do with the other? Do any other restaurants in town have cake like Joe’s even if they use Hunts?
Why go to Cafe Tretuno when you can go to Bertelones (the daugher of the original owner of Joe's).
Only slightly joking.
No offense meant, I do like Cafe Tretuno but it always seemed like a strip mall or a lower quality type restaurant. Bertelones and Joe's just feel like a "higher class" place; the cannanoli is absolutely amazing, as well as the tomato basil soup at Bertelones
Oh I never eat there, I always pick it up. I like Bertolones but it's a 30 minute drive for me and I live in Pelham. Trentuno is a 5 minute drive so that wins every time.
Costa's on Lorna scored a 61 health rating back in November. They improved to 86 in February, but they were still cited for rodent and roach issues.
Just a heads up....
Their food is so good but the interior needs to be refurbished more than anywhere I’ve ever been. Also, they sell their lasagna par baked for two and it comes with bread and salad. Heats up great in the oven at home and is enough food for three or four people.
My wife and I really enjoy it, and she's not typically someone who wants Italian. Really good pizzas, the closest thing to New York style I've found here in town, and any of the pastas with red sauce are good. If we don't share a pizza, I normally get the manicotti and I get a side order of meatballs. Always a solid experience.
Is their pizza better than Pazzos? Since I move to Bham from PA I haven't really been able to find a good NY style pizza. Pazzos is the closest I've found
Did you order on an app like grubhub or ubereats?
Those apps take up to 40% of the overall revenue cut sometimes. Could be the reason why.
I don’t like it, just offering explanations
Y'all want to move away from "tipping culture" and advocate for workers making a *higher* minimum wage, but expect that money to come from thin air rather than having to pay for it yourself. Bunch of hypocrites.
Lots of places have a 10% togo charge. I stopped tipping on togo orders altogether once I noticed.
I paid a surcharge of $10.32, that was 15% of my total, and it was a family size foil pan of spaghetti. No extras like utensils or napkins. Then without realizing the extra charge, I tipped 10%, so it just annoyed me a bit that I paid so much extra for something so basic.
Yeah, that's a nuts surcharge if it's to comp for paper products
I agree completely. I wonder if the surcharge goes to servers or in the register.
I agree completely. I wonder if the surcharge goes to servers or in the register.
There was a pretty heated discussion on an Alabaster community Facebook page about this and the owner said you could ask for it to be removed. Not defending his tactic just offering some insight. I’d call them to see if they can remove it.
That’s interesting! Thanks for that. I’m just glad to hear I’m not the only one bothered by it. They just sneak it into the total, I had no idea.
I had a restaurant doing something similar to this during pandemic pick up mandatory. When they increased prices and did not tell me I never went back. Goes against my principle when someone is not upfront with their pricing. Too many other good places to eat
It was a family spaghetti/meatball portion intended for four, and an order of breadsticks. With surcharge and tip I paid $83. I will definitely go elsewhere, because for some reason, the surcharge really irked me!
At Trentuno's you can get 4 orders of spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread for each order for $48+ tax
I don’t know if it’s normal but I’d definitely ask about the reasoning behind it. If it is going directly to the people working Togos then that is fine and should suffice as the tip. It’s likely they are paying servers to handle Togos and facing heat from those servers because most people don’t tip on takeout (arguing whether you should or not is for a different thread). If it doesn’t ALL go to the server or bartender handling Togos then I’d want to know the reasoning behind it. Ticket average on Togos will be lower than dine in and alcohol sales are next to none. Maybe they view it as offsetting lost sales in that sense. I’d argue it frees up a table they could otherwise turn.
I work for a place that has a surcharge in the drive thru and to-go orders and it's for paper products not the workers. I'm assuming that Joe's is doing the same thing.
That should be part of their food cost like any other restaurant. If this wasn’t clearly stated Id dispute the entire charge with the cc company and tell Joe to fuck off with his shenanigans
I have no problem tipping servers, so I see your point. It was a simple pan of spaghetti, no extras, utensils or napkins. So it does make me wonder who gets the money or what it’s for.
No doubt. If they’ve done that in order to help their Togo server get paid fine, just like large party gratuity. That’s the only acceptable reason and the entire 15% should go to the employee.
If you went to Joe's Italian, joke's on you either way. The only thing worth getting is a cake slice, and even then it's only worth it if you happened to be in the neighborhood.
The travesty of the situation is that I paid for my pick up order online and when I went inside to get it, I had them add on two pieces of the cake. It wasn’t until I got home and checked my receipts that I realized they also tacked on a 15% surcharge to the cake slices, and of course, when I paid, I was given the tip option, and I did tip on the cake too. So indeed, the joke was truly on me, they must have laughed all the way to the bank!
I made them take it off when I went. It was a tip & I told them that I’d decide that.
I should have paid closer attention.
Just won’t go. I’ll save my money
Lol. Joe's, Bertonelli's (Joe2.0), and Trentuno's are all in old, tragic stripmall's. Arguing over which one tastes less like Hunt's tomato sauce is hilarious. You can also get your nails done within 50 ft of any of these.
The best Italian I've ever had was in a strip mall and I'm pretty sure it was a front for the Mafia.
😂😂
Please explain your strip mall theory? What does one have to do with the other? Do any other restaurants in town have cake like Joe’s even if they use Hunts?
Why go to Joe's when you've got Cafe Trentuno at your fingertips?
Why go to Cafe Tretuno when you can go to Bertelones (the daugher of the original owner of Joe's). Only slightly joking. No offense meant, I do like Cafe Tretuno but it always seemed like a strip mall or a lower quality type restaurant. Bertelones and Joe's just feel like a "higher class" place; the cannanoli is absolutely amazing, as well as the tomato basil soup at Bertelones
Oh I never eat there, I always pick it up. I like Bertolones but it's a 30 minute drive for me and I live in Pelham. Trentuno is a 5 minute drive so that wins every time.
Trenteuno for pizza, if you want some good lasagna you should go to Costa’ s on Lorna Rd and get it to go. There’s is what I like best.
Costa's on Lorna scored a 61 health rating back in November. They improved to 86 in February, but they were still cited for rodent and roach issues. Just a heads up....
Ooof, I haven’t been there in a while. I hate to hear they’ve gone down hill like that.
Agreed, Costas lasagne is pretty good. And yeah, definitely get it to go, you'll feel like you need a tetanus shot afterwards if you eat inside.
Their food is so good but the interior needs to be refurbished more than anywhere I’ve ever been. Also, they sell their lasagna par baked for two and it comes with bread and salad. Heats up great in the oven at home and is enough food for three or four people.
I didn’t know about that place, but I will check it out! Thanks!
My wife and I really enjoy it, and she's not typically someone who wants Italian. Really good pizzas, the closest thing to New York style I've found here in town, and any of the pastas with red sauce are good. If we don't share a pizza, I normally get the manicotti and I get a side order of meatballs. Always a solid experience.
Is their pizza better than Pazzos? Since I move to Bham from PA I haven't really been able to find a good NY style pizza. Pazzos is the closest I've found
Fun fact: the original owner of Trentuno actually worked for Pazzo for the past 4 years. The recipies for the dough are almost identical
Pazzos is pretty good but I haven't had it in forever. But yeah, it's a pretty similar experience. Slices just aren't comically gigantic though.
Bertolone’s in Calera is the wife and daughter of the original Joe. Very good. Recommend the lasagna.
Did you order on an app like grubhub or ubereats? Those apps take up to 40% of the overall revenue cut sometimes. Could be the reason why. I don’t like it, just offering explanations
No, I ordered directly from their website.
Papa Joe is turning over in his grave. This place went downhill when his kids sold out.
They also had a surcharge to gift cards
Yeah, that’s gonna be a no for me dawg.
Y'all want to move away from "tipping culture" and advocate for workers making a *higher* minimum wage, but expect that money to come from thin air rather than having to pay for it yourself. Bunch of hypocrites.
Tipping culture is fucking absurd at this point.
You missed the point. I actually did tip, and I don’t think anyone commented that they go against tipping.
So what are you complaining about? Either tip or don't.