News
Debate over whether restaurants should implement ‘noisy kid’ surcharge
BY Joanna Sarah-Freedman
02 Nov 2022
05m
YouGov asked the public what they’d think of a ‘noisy kid surcharge’ when visiting restaurants, and the results are pretty interesting.
Yup, after we told you about a restaurant in Singapore that was charging families extra for bringing “screaming children” onto the premises, the British market research website has done some digging into what people think of the move.
Crying children could land parents with a charge in one restaurant (Credit: Alamy)
Angie’s Oyster Bar & Grill got people talking after one mother received a warning text ahead of her booking, informing her of the ‘surcharge’ they had just put in place.
The restaurant informed the recipient there would be a S$10 (£8.70) surcharge if their children made any noise.
They wrote: “All children are welcome to dine at Angie’s. However, screaming/ uncontrolled children disturbing other guests will NOT be tolerated.”
YouGov investigated the surcharge – and people were divided (Credit: YouGov)
The text message was submitted to online publication, Mothership, by the recipient, who wished to highlight the unfriendly conditions of the restaurant.
But it turns out that as many as 47 percent of the British public agree with the restaurant’s decision to charge parents for this.
In fact, 21 percent strongly supported the move, whilst 26 percent said they tended to support the idea.
Interestingly, it was predominantly men that supported the charge, and over 65s were the strongest supporters over any other age group. You can read more about those stats here.
The restaurant has no time for noisy kids (Credit: Alamy)
There are no plans to bring the surcharge to other restaurants, currently, but several eating establishments may find it interesting to see that the response to the move isn’t clear cut.
In a statement to Mothership, the restaurant explained: “It pains us to impose the policy but it was never our intention to diminish any of our guests’ experience.
“We seek parents, caretakers’ kind understanding to tend to their children as we aim to provide as many pleasant and memorable dining experiences for as many customers as possible.”
BY Joanna Sarah-Freedman
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