Yahoo Finance Aussie reveals wild $77 breakfast bill after ‘tapping without looking’
The customer said it's 'a symptom of a much bigger problem'.
A cafe customer says they are kicking themselves for not looking at the bill before paying for a breakfast that came to an eye-watering total.
While the cost-of-living crisis is hitting small businesses hard, people have been truly blown away by the bill.
Lee went to a Darwin venue over the weekend and asked for two bacon and egg rolls and two iced lattes. With a few small add-ons - avocado for the rolls and ice cream for the coffees - the total came to a jaw-dropping $77.
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“I knew that I’d added some extras, but I still had to do a double take when I noticed the price,” Lee told Yahoo Finance. “It’s my own fault for not paying attention. I tapped my card without looking at the price or viewing the menu.”
The rolls were $19 each and the avocado cost $3. The coffees were $10 each to begin with and the ice cream added a total of $6 to the bill. There was also a $7 Sunday surcharge added to the tab.
Even though that seems fairly expensive for a simple cafe breakfast, Lee doesn’t blame the venue.
“It’s just a symptom of the much bigger problem, which is inflation driven by unregulated profiteering of huge Australian corporations,” they told Yahoo Finance.
“This drives up expenses for small businesses, who are forced to pass on higher costs to Aussie consumers. Australians are waking up to the fact that the cost-of-living crisis isn’t because of higher wages or individual greed - it’s because of big business being given too much power in this country.”
Lee worries cafes and other businesses are going to struggle to attract customers when prices are this high.
“I sympathise with small business owners because both they and Aussie consumers are victims of the cost-of-living crisis,” they said. “And nothing will change until the government steps-in with stronger regulation on large corporations who take advantage with disproportionate price gouging."
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How to get cheap iced lattes
Paying $10 for just an iced latte might make you reconsider your daily caffeine hit during summer, however, there are little-known hacks that can massively bring down the cost.
Cafe owner and experienced barista Gabby Mifsud, who runs The Snappy Grump with her sister Felicity in Melbourne, recently told Yahoo Finance you could simply ask for it in a smaller cup with a single shot.
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“It’s just a little bit of ice and a little bit of milk so I always opt to just charge what I usually do for a small regular coffee for $4.50,” Mifsud said. “So, say if someone wants a small iced almond latte, I'll put it through as an almond latte and just write ‘iced’ on the docket then away we go. No extra charge. No nothing.”
But if you were desperate for that double shot, the 27-year-old had a good tip that even she used as a barista.
“Before you leave home, get some milk and some ice into a little cup and order a double espresso, which usually costs less than $4,” she said.
“Pour that into your milk and ice and you have your iced latte and that is literally it. There is nothing else to an iced latte so save some money.”
