Woman charged for listening to live music at a restaurant

We've all been there.

The bill arrives at the end of a meal and there's an unexpected charge, maybe a public holiday surcharge or overpriced tap water.

Now one group of women have been charged for something they didn't even order: live music.

AsperLDN97 posted a receipt on Reddit showing that his girlfriend and her three friends were each charged $8 for live music.

"GF and her friends were charged for live music at a restaurant," they explained in their Reddit post. "Is this a new thing? Never come across this before..."

A few people explained that they had come across this before.

"We did this at a restaurant I worked at. We had music every night and the menu stated there was an $8 cover charge per person when there was music playing. The money went right to the musician(s). Nobody ever complained, the key was having signs everywhere," one person said.

"Cover charge for listening to live music has been around for years but they normally collect fees at the door. However, people don’t really carry cash now so they add it to the bill instead," another added.

"It’s effectively a door cover charge. I wouldn’t sweat it as long as the band was good and the charge was announced upfront," said another.

While others said they would be annoyed if they found that charge on their own bill.

"I’d cross that out unless there was an obvious sign stating that there was a charge for music. They need to disclose this before ordering," one person said.

"Nope not paying that unless I knew about it up front and then would happily pay it," added another.

"What if you didn’t even go there for the live music and went for the food and there happened to be live music? Yea, I wouldn’t be happy with this," someone else commented.

Reddit

"Live music is a draw for your establishment. You don't charge your patrons for the music. You pay the musicians to potentially attract more customers and get more business," someone else explained.

"Unless I had a stellar experience at that restaurant, I'd question the charge and would not be returning."

While others were confused about some of the other charges on the receipt.

"I’d be more concerned about the penicillin fee, myself," one person commented.

"And a 12.5 per cent service charge. That’s outrageous," added another.