Workers protest Delray restaurant’s new ‘service tax’

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Lucas Appleton said he is about to lose $1,000 a month after Hampton Social, a restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, changes the way he is paid as a server.

The change would add a 20 percent service charge to customers’ bills. Ethan Stein of Records WPTV obtained that the show’s employees would only receive 18% of that fee, while the restaurant kept 2% for expenses.

Appleton said the change will create a big gap for people in the industry who live paycheck to paycheck. He also said that it will become more difficult to pay for daily expenses.

“It’s going to change my budget a lot,” he said. “I try to live a simple life. I’m not too crazy and I don’t really go out partying. But just paying the rent, which has continued to go up… It’s drastic to lose $1,000 a month in this economy.”

Organizers said similar protests are taking place at the chain’s other locations in Orlando and Naples. Appleton said he’s also frustrated that the restaurant is tricking customers as if the money was going to the staff.

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Bill Riley, who went to dinner at the restaurant, said he was unaware that the service charge did not go entirely to the restaurant staff. He said he felt misled because he would have tipped more depending on the service he received.

“I think it’s all about full disclosure,” Riley said. “Okay, tell us what the deal is. It would prevent me from ever coming back here.”

Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com, said surcharges are becoming more common and customers don’t like surcharges. He also said that these surcharges are becoming more frequent due to inflation.

“Surcharges are a sneaky way to raise prices without raising prices,” Rossman said. “There’s this perception that you don’t want too much sticker shock, but if you add it as a separate line item, maybe people don’t notice, or maybe it’s so late in the transaction that they’ve already taken their business.”

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Rossman said tips are supposed to go to workers, but once a restaurant names a surcharge, then the business could pocket the money. He said this could lead to customers tipping less or not at all because they think the surcharge is the tip.

Records show Hampton Social Club is owned by Brad Parker of Chicago. The address matches the same address used by Parker Hospitality, which said it owns the brand online. We reached out to the company this afternoon and are still awaiting comment.

A representative of the company was at the restaurant on Friday evening. He told Stein “no comment.”