Melbourne coffee shop’s sign enrages customer
A Melbourne coffee shop has apologised and removed a sign from its register after an angry customer complained.
A Melbourne cafe has apologised after an angry customer called it out on social media for refusing to accept cash for his coffee and then having a surcharge for card payments.
The customer posted a picture of Puzzle Coffee at Southern Cross Station’s register on Reddit, which had one sign that said “card payment only” and another that listed a 1.2 per cent surcharge on debit cards, credit cards and Liven.
The post has sparked a debate on whether it is legal to refuse cash and have a surcharge on card payments, with the customer claiming doing so is “blatant scamming”.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission website, a business does not have to accept cash but if there is no way for a consumer to pay without paying a surcharge, the business must include the surcharge in the displayed prices for the product.
The customer said the listed price for a regular sized mocha was $5.10 and $5.16 was the price they were required to pay via card.
They claimed when they questioned it at the cafe, the staff member serving said it was the boss’s rule not theirs.
Puzzle Coffee told news.com.au it removed its card surcharges as soon as the customer complained via email on Tuesday and before it was shared on social media.
“We acknowledge that we made an accidental oversight and we sincerely apologise to any customers affected,” Puzzle Coffee said.
“We went cashless during Covid to protect our staff as well as a method to reduce theft by having no cash on premises. The surcharges were always prominently displayed at the counter prior to the customer making their orders.
“Our customers mean everything to us and we apologise and will ensure we do what we can to get this right and always take on board customer feedback which is what we did instantly upon receiving an email from this customer yesterday.”
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