The Square Food Hall drops service charge after a string of negative reviews
Since opening last month, The Square has mostly received positive reviews online. As of the time of writing, the food hall has a rating of 2.7/5 stars on Yelp. This certainly isn’t a bad score and shows just how good some of the food there is. However, if you read closely you will see that a number of 1-star reviews were left in protest against the food hall’s enforced service charge. It is not known whether these reviews led to the square dropping the service charge, however, it has since been removed.
Upon its opening, customers were shocked to find a 12% fair wage charge that was enforced to cover the Initiative 82 scheme. Now, just weeks later this surcharge has suddenly disappeared to the joy of many. As mentioned, it is not known if the two actions are linked.
This was spotted by a Washington diner named Amanda Gomez who shared her receipt on Twitter. Here she wrote: “Did The Square vendors get rid of serve charge after outcry? I recall the first week the food hall opened, reviewers complained about the fee and gave it one star. Now I just get the option to tip. Paid $25.30 for a satisfying sobrasa honey sandwich and gazpacho plus a soda.”
This news was shared on the Washington D.C. Reddit, where one user wrote: “Place was absolutely packed today. I was surprised.” Irrespective of the reasons why or how it seems as though this represents a rare win for customers who can now eat out for less.
