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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Are Pizza Hut being unreasonable?

58 replies

ToothGah · 09/10/2012 20:27

Went there for lunch today - very nice, no complaints about food or service (in fact, service was excellent).

Bill came - they are adding 20p to every bill to pay for a bowl of rice for a child for some sort of famine/hunger campaign (have tried to find it online and can't).

I don't begrudge the 20p, but thought it was kind of odd that they stick it on your bill automatically.

Are they being unreasonable adding it automatically to the bill? The couple at the table next to us seemed peeved about it - "charity by stealth" was mentioned.

OP posts:
NovackNGood · 09/10/2012 21:05

Pizza Hat stealth tax your pizza to then boost their own company image in the press about a donation they have made.

lannyshrops · 09/10/2012 21:09

Totally agree, it's the matter of principle not the actual amount. This kind of imposition (?SP) really annoys me.

LFCisTarkaDahl · 09/10/2012 21:09

I think I would totally loathe myself being a privileged westerner eating out at a restaurant and having thoughts about 20p.

I'm not saying I wouldn't whinge a bit (I hate charity being forced in my face) Grin

But I'd feel right Cunty if I thought about it.

Sparklingbrook · 09/10/2012 21:11

I noticed this last year. I didn't see until I got the receipt out the next day. Thought it was a bit odd TBH.

StarlightMcKenzie · 09/10/2012 21:27

exactly novak. You are NOT giving to a deserving charity. PH are taxing you to pay for their own marketing.

lurkedtoolong · 09/10/2012 21:32

I would really object to this. I don't care about 20p here and there but if Pizza Hut want to give money to charity then they should give money to charity. No-one should decide where my money goes to without my permission. I was really offended last weekend in a Hungry Horse when it was decided that all staff tips were going to Macmillan. First - if I want to tip staff for their service then I want the money going to the staff and second I don't like Macmillan and don't want to give them any money and don't want someone else deciding where my money goes.

And don't have a go about it only being 20p or whatever, I give plenty to charity of my own accord. I don't need a company to decide to improve their PR at my expense.

NovackNGood · 09/10/2012 21:34

Well it dos go to the WFP so that is not too bad but the irony of KFC, Pizza HUt and Taco Bell actually loading the bill in that stealth way when they could easily afford to just give anyway is a bit rich.

UndeadPixie · 09/10/2012 21:41

YANBU. They were doing something similar the last time I went to Pizza Hut (a year ago on Thursday actually for DPs birthday!) and we got quite annoyed about it and asked for it to be removed because there was no indication that this would happen, we knew nothing about the charity and when we asked about the charity not one staff member could tell us anything about it, referring us to a little card on the table Hmm

I took down the details of the charity and tried to find out about them when I got home and couldn't find much information apart from a main site with a couple of pages and a big banner noting it's association to PH.

I'd much rather donate to a charity when I know that the money goes to the cause, and not those advertising the cause.

Shakey1500 · 09/10/2012 21:48

YANBU. I would have asked for it to be removed. It's the principle. I decide where I donate my money, not someone else, and certainly not in this manner. Different kettle of fish if the staff asked for donations in a bucket and at least knew something of the charity.

monkeysbignuts · 09/10/2012 21:48

it may only be 20p but you should be asked first so i think yanbu.

GoldShip · 09/10/2012 21:49

I thought this when it happened to me. I DONT mind donating it at all, but don't just automatically plonk it on.

WorraLiberty · 09/10/2012 21:55

YANBU

There was a restaurant here called the Outback Steak House (it's closed down now) but they used to automatically 'suggest' a charity donation based on a percentage of your bill...so they ended up adding £3.75 to ours and then asked us if we wanted to 'opt out' of paying it Hmm

Pseudonym99 · 09/10/2012 21:59

Its called theft. If a beggar came up to you in the street and took 20p off you because you didn't opt out, would that be considered optional?

veryconfusedatthemoment · 09/10/2012 22:01

Greensmoothiegoddess - well said. PH are bvu. It is the principle not the amount.

fluffypillow · 09/10/2012 22:10

We got a take away from Pizza Hut tonight, and they charged us an extra 20p for the charity! I didn't mind, as it was only 20p, but why don't THEY donate 20p from every pizza they sell?

It's a win win situation for them. Good press, no layout.

FourthTimeAround · 09/10/2012 22:14

"If the company think it is such a good cause then they should be donating 20p from actual bill so that they are donating their money. Instead they are saying yes it's a worthy cause but we don't want to loose even 20p from our profits so we are going to add it to your bill"

Bang on.

Except you spelt "lose" wrong.

Wink
FourthTimeAround · 09/10/2012 22:15

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13153516

Leftwingharpie · 10/10/2012 07:12

YANBU this happened to us and we made them take it off. We give plenty to charity. Pizza Hut are free to give as much of their own money to charity as they like to boost their corporate image.

MackerelOfFact · 10/10/2012 07:20

Novak said exactly what I was going to say. I hate giving to charity via a corporate organisation because the company will invariably boast about how much 'they' have raised/given to charity - when in fact all they've done is scam all their customers out of 20p.

Really unnecessary, and as others have said, if they believe in the cause that much then they should donate from their profits. The exception IMO would be if the company agreed to match any donations from the public - but even then, it should still be optional.

Fakebook · 10/10/2012 07:26

YABU. I went there last night with a friend and didn't give it a second thought. Considering they have an offer on at the moment £5 for any regular pizza or pasta and unlimited salad and free drink top ups, I seriously wouldn't complain.

halcyondays · 10/10/2012 07:50

I don't know. The prize PH charge for their pizzas, they could well afford to donate the 20p per meal themselves, without asking the customer for anything extra.

Leftwingharpie · 10/10/2012 07:55

When it happened to us and we made them take it off it was only a penny btw.

halcyondays · 10/10/2012 08:03

Ikea donate to charities, but they take it out of their profits, they don't add it on to the cost of your shopping. And they have fund raising events where you can choose to donate.

MrsKeithRichards · 10/10/2012 08:15

Littleduck what charities do you support? Most employ someone somewhere! And what's so wrong with a charity employing staff to do the job it's raising money to do?

ontheedgeofwhatever · 10/10/2012 08:19

Agree with everything that's been said.

I went to buy birthday presents at The Entertainer recently and when I paid by debit card there was a question on the card machine asking if I would like to round up to the nearest pound to be donated to the local children's hospital. I didn't mind this at all as I was given the option of pressing a yes or no button. Since I've got 2 children and we may need to use the local hospital I was more than happy to press yes. If they'd just added it on without asking I would have made a point of getting them to take it off as I believe charitable donations should be a choice not an imposition