I guess the answer is to take a look at the fine print. Anything under about 8 point type for me requires a magnifying glass. Covered in a previous discussion.
The pizza shop I frequent has a “cheese” surcharge! It changes week to week. Seriously. I guess it has to do with varying cheese prices. But I’m not one to complain about it 'cause their pizza slices are so good.
Most shops have an additional fee although it may be referred to by different names. Most of the shops I’ve worked in called it “Shop Supplies” and tabbed it at 2.5% of the total.
Just about everyone on the planet does something like this now. UPS and FedEx has a fuel surcharge, almost anything you order online or from a TV commercial has a “Handling” fee attached to it, etc, etc, etc.
The Pizza Hut of all places charges a 15% “service charge” if there are 6 people in the party.
It is just a way to quote a lower price to suck you in.
From a shop point of view it could be done 2 different ways.
Charge X dollars per flat rate hour with say a 3% shop supplies charge.
Charge a higher X dollars per flat rate hour with no shop supplies charge at all.
Walk into Wal Mart and buy anything off the shelf. The consumer is going to be paying a “shop supplies charge” on every item they leave with. The only difference is that it’s factored into the price on the tag or into the barcode.