Holiday levy goes as cafes fight for patrons

Many cafes that opened for Labour Day business yesterday had scrapped the 15 per cent public holiday surcharge. Photo / Natalie Slade

More cafes, bars and restaurants are forgoing surcharges on public holidays.

Alasdair Thompson, head of the Employers and Manufacturers Association Northern, says the extra charges are becoming less common.

A public backlash and increased competition for patrons were responsible for the decline.

"It's less common than it was in the beginning when the cost of paying staff on public holidays increased ... Now it's quite normal not to charge it."

He said surcharges were most common in the hospitality industry.

An unscientific Herald survey yesterday of 10 restaurants, cafes and bars in Takapuna and Ponsonby supported Mr Thompson's opinion.

An entire strip of five bars and restaurants in Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna, had no surcharge, with most of them promoting this on blackboards outside.

The Belgian Beer Cafe did not have a surcharge, but this was its first public holiday without the extra charge.

Manager Andrew Dawson said a surcharge might have meant fewer customers because of the competition.

Customer Stephanie Kokus was delighted when she learned there was no additional charge. She would not have dined there if there had been one.

"It's a good idea to get people to come here because there's quite a lot of competition in this area."

Ariana Davis, manager of The Goode Brothers restaurant in Hurstmere Rd, agreed that the competition had a lot to do with the lack of a surcharge.

"I think it encourages more people to come in if they see the sign."

However, not all businesses in Hurstmere Rd were surcharge-free.

Cafe Melba had a 15 per cent charge on the total bill because, said owner Bobby Zhus, it had always had one.

The surcharge did turn some people off coming in, he conceded.

"Some people mind and leave and some people don't mind and stay."

One of Mr Zhus' customers, Mark Botting, said if he had realised there was an extra charge he would not have chosen the Melba. "It bothers me. I don't see the justification for it any more. They have already put their prices up to cover the extra costs ... They should have sorted it out by now."

Only two out of the five randomly selected bars and restaurants in Ponsonby had a surcharge.

Francois Rabier, manager of SPQR restaurant in Ponsonby Rd, said the 15 per cent surcharge was to cover the cost of staff. He said customers did not seem to mind. "We're not really very busy, so I think people choose to stay home and not really go out, to avoid the surcharge."

Customer Gemma Rose didn't mind the charge. "It's convenient that they're open because a lot of places are closed."