Shoreditch eaterie slammed for charging buyer for paying their invoice
Diners at a Shoreditch restaurant have been left with a bitter aftertaste after seemingly being charged for the ‘privilege of paying their bill’.
One customer shared a picture of a digital receipt from their visit to Italian restaurant Gloria on Sunday, March 28, where they were hit with the unusual extra charge.
Upon receiving their bill, the customer was subject to not only a 13.5% service charge, totalling £26.15, but also a ‘checkout fee’ of £2.99.
This brought the total paid for the meal from £193.50 to a whopping £222.64.
Taking to social media the diner shared an image of their bill and asked users if being charged for paying their bill was standard.
The ‘checkout fee’ is a charge added to every bill for using the mobile phone app called ‘Sunday’ – dreamed up by the people behind Gloria – to pay a restaurant bill.
Other diners said they were only able to avoid the charge if they went out of their way to ask to pay via contactless card on a card machine.
The Italian restaurant located at Great Eastern Street is part of the Big Mamma restaurants group.
The Gloria in Shoreditch (pictured) where one customer was charged a ‘checkout fee’ for paying their bill
The total bill came to a whopping £222.64 with the service charge and ‘checkout fee’ included
The Sunday app was created with the aim of saving customers time at the end of their meal
Social media was left outraged by the ‘checkout fee’ and a number of users took it upon themselves to leave one-star reviews of the restaurant in revenge.
The hospitality app was launched by the team behind Gloria and was created with the aim of saving people time at the end of their meal.
Christine de Wendel of Zalando and Big Mamma restaurant founders launched the app which allows diners to scan a QR code, split the bill with a friend and tip in ‘as little as 10 seconds’.
An image of the bill was shared to social media by the dissatisfied diner yesterday with the caption: ‘Is Gloria in Shoreditch the only restaurant that charges you for the privilege of paying your bill?’
The social media post received over 1,600 likes and more than 440 comments from users who were quick to vent their fury at the cheeky ‘checkout fee’.
Sunday app founders Tigrane Seydoux, Victor Lugger, and Christine de Wendel (pictured)
One user commented: ‘It actually borders tacky. Would put it on their Google reviews, they might not be aware that it shows up like that, or that it just ruins the whole experience.
‘They might see it and reconsider. People are sick to the back teeth of booking places, bonkers service charges and still expecting tips, and now stupid things like this.
‘It’s for their own good they know about this!’
Another added: ‘This needs stamping out fast before it spreads. I hope the restaurant gets boycotted until they see sense.’
A third wrote: ‘I’ve done my bit and left a one-star review.’
Another commented: ‘Sounds like a great reason to remove the service charge.’
Gloria, which is run by Big Mamma group, has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
