Shoreditch eaterie slammed for charging clients for paying invoice
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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 trattoria Gloria on March 28, where they were hit with an unusual surcharge.
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 took the total payment of the meal from £193.50 to £222.64 – an extra £29.14.
The ‘checkout fee’ is a charge added to every bill for those using the mobile phone app Sunday.
The Sunday app was dreamed up by French entrepreneurs Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux, who also co-founded The Big Mamma group which owns Gloria.
However, 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.
Italian trattoria Gloria (pictured), on bustling Great Eastern Street in trendy Shoreditch, is part of the Big Mamma restaurants group
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
Taking to social media the diner shared an image of their bill and asked users if being charged for paying their bill was standard.
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.
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’.
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.’
The Italian restaurant, which is located at Great Eastern Street, is part of the Big Mamma restaurants group
The interior of the restaurant which first opened its doors in 2019
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 Tigrane Seydoux, Victor Lugger 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’.
The company claims to have more than 2,000 businesses adopting the app, with over 50 million diners having used it since its creation in 2021.
It raised $124 million from investors within five months of launching, while within eight months Sunday was available across five countries and employed 200 full time staff.
Ms de Wendel said in an interview in 2022: ‘It’s a web app, so you don’t have to download anything or sign up for anything,’
‘When you’re ready to go, you just scan the code and it pops up on your phone, and literally 10 seconds later, you’re out of there, being able to split the bill, tip and leave a review.’
Sunday app founders Tigrane Seydoux, Victor Lugger, and Christine de Wendel (pictured)
Tigrane Seydoux (right) and Victor Lugger (left) are also the founders of Big Mamma restaurant
However despite its apparent global success, it has received a measly two star rating on Trustpilot, with 79 per cent of reviewers rating it one star.
Natalie Morgan said using the app was ‘daylight robbery’, claiming it ‘fleeced’ her out of money on an ‘already expensive bill’.
She added: ‘The staff in Big Mama Group are notoriously slow and avoid you when it comes time to pay, so you have to be quite determined to get hold of them.’
Another furious reviewer, Ramon, said the app was ‘seriously unacceptable’ and vowed never to ‘go to a restaurant that uses this app and pay a checkout fee’.
An outraged Ben also rated the app one star, saying: ‘Rip off fees charged to customer paying in restaurant to pay their bill. Any fees should be responsibility of the restaurant.’
Gloria, which is run by Big Mamma group, has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
