CHARLOTTE — Taylor Furr says he went to the Luke Combs concert recently, bought two rounds of beer, and then noticed he paid a tip both times — and not just a tip, a 20% tip.
“I was frustrated,” he told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “That’s charging a tip that I didn’t authorize.”
Levy Restaurants is in charge of the food and beverage stands at the stadium. It runs some and supervises others. It says that when you buy something, the checkout screen on the tablet will show tip options and it automatically highlights 20%. You can change this, even down to zero, but if you don’t, just remember the default is 20%. It says this applies to all events at all the food and beverage stands in the stadium.
Here is Levy’s full statement:
“Concession stands at Bank of America Stadium are operated by a mix of nonprofit community groups as a fundraising opportunity as well as by stadium hospitality team members. When fans order from these locations, they are provided a menu of gratuity options, with 20% highlighted, and all gratuities go to these groups and team members. Fans are ultimately in control and are able to adjust the tip amount or not provide a contribution, if they wish. In this instance, as soon as we heard the guest’s concern about the contribution, we worked with them to process a refund on-site at the event.”
Furr complained.
“It’s the principle of it,” he said. “People shouldn’t charge tips to your card without your knowledge, or they should be upfront that they’re charging a 20% gratuity.”
Furr says it took some effort, but that he got it resolved. He says the vendor refunded everything, even the beer.
Advice from Action 9:
- Remember there’s an automatic gratuity.
- Keep that in mind no matter where you go to an event. According to Levy, many venues across the country do the same thing.
- Make sure you keep your receipt as Furr did in case you have a question or concern.
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