Tourists fume as Italian bar charges them £1.72 for cutting a sandwich in half
A fancy bar in Italy’s stunning Lake Como area has been slammed after a receipt showed they charged to slice sandwiches in half. A fuming customer shared a snap of the bill online which added €2 (£1.72) for serving the sandwich between two people.
While we might be used to a service charge sometimes being added to a bill, rarely is such a specific task assigned a price. But, the printout clearly states what the price was for.
The receipt from June 18 shows that Bar Pace added the cost for slicing their sandwich – labelled as "dives da meta" which means "divided in half". The customer had also bought a "toast vegetariano e patatine" – a vegetarian toasted sandwich and crisps for £6.46.
READ MORE: Fuming tourists 'charged £32 for beer' at restaurant – and TripAdvisor issues warning
On top of that they added a Coca Cola, a 500ml bottle of water and an espresso. The bill’s total was €15.70 (£12.91) including the cost of chopping the sarnie.
The owner of the bar, who remains unnamed, hit out at the complaint online. They said: "If a customer asks me to make two portions of toast, I have to use two saucers, two napkins and go to the table using two hands.
"It is true that the customer is always right, but it is equally true that additional requests have a cost."
The customer who shared the image had apparently gone to the bar in Gera Lario with their partner. They were amazed at the extra charge and said to on TripAdvisor. They wrote: "This has never happened to me in any of the places I have visited in the world."
Charging for various services is not unheard of in Italy. The nation frequently adds a charge known as "coperto" in many restaurants.
This is a fee added to a bill for table service. The amount is usually set – at around €2-4 per person dining at the table.
Brits who want to avoid being charged coperto should head to cafe and ice cream counters to order and then leave without sitting down. If you do sit down at a table the staff may ask you to pay the extra sum even if you’ve already bought your drink or snack.
It is a normal part of Italian culture and to be expected especially in big cities. You might even be charged the sum if you simply stop for an Aperol Spritz.
It's not the first time a holidaymaker has been gobsmacked by the bill. Another couple Jessica Yarnall, 31, and Adam Hagaun, 30, claim they were hit with a staggering 800 euro bill ( approximately £710 ) for two drinks, four crab legs and a salad at a notorious Greek restaurant. And a third couple say they were charged £333 for a "quick snack" on their honeymoon.
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