Angry Pepper — Restaurant in Madeira Beach

It is my hope that my review will help others to become educated regarding credit card (cc) surcharging. The Angry Pepper (AP) handled poorly a complaint regarding this. Please see my FULL review on Facebook and in attached pic. AP charges a 3.5% credit card surcharge. A Debit card can never be surcharged. A restaurant can choose to impose a “credit card surcharge” BUT rules/regulations MUST be followed. AP does not do this. VISA and MC require that there MUST be a sign at the point of entry, point of sale (that states they surcharge but NOT Debit cards), separate line item on the receipt, etc. A merchant may not charge more than 3% for any VISA cc surcharge. Under Federal regulations credit card issuers (eg VISA) only impose fees to merchant for Debit card transactions of up to 22 cent plus 0.05 % of the transaction (federal regulation). Credit card companies prohibit merchants from surcharging Debit card transactions. I asked a server to remove this charge. I had an employee come to my table, place his foot on a stool; put his hands on the table and stated “so I heard we’re having an issue.” I shared that a Debit card cannot be surcharged; this employee became belligerent stating “oh yes I can.” He refused to listen to anything when I shared my documentation. He yelled “why do you even come out to a restaurant if this is a problem for you if you are worried about charge.” I shared with him that there was no need to be abrasive about this, and he replied “no I am going to be a (insert expletive) about it this is my restaurant so if you want to get out you think a cop’s gonna care about being nice or not in my establishment?” Imagine how many Debit cards are charged with this fee and the amount of money an establishment receives from consumers by not following federal regulations/ and cc contractual agreements. I understand that the restaurant industry is a difficult industry; including fees that are imposed to run an establishment; no excuse not to follow rules. I shared that I will file a complaint with Mastercard and VISA directly. The employee replied “Mastercard is not the authority. How about y’all never go to an establishment again because people like you are not respected in places like this.” It looks like I have experienced the true “Angry Pepper.” I will also contact FLA AG. AP is sneaky regarding how they impose credit card surcharges. Be aware AP will bring a bill that has a pay with cash price on it and then if you use a credit/ Debit card a bill will come out higher. Credit card companies do not allow this either. Menu prices MUST BE credit card pricing. If the establishment wishes to offer a “compliant cash discount” then the establishment adjusts this off of the original menu pricing when the bill is paid with cash; can’t do both a surcharge and a cash discount. Establishments can avoid all of this by raising their menu prices by eg: 3.5 percent and offering a 3.5 percent CASH discount if the customer pays in cash. A customer is going to react much more negatively when they see a fee is added to a bill for using a credit card vs a nominal price increase. Many customers react and subtract the credit card fee from the server’s tip; which isn’t fair to the server. The server has no control over this. I encourage people to consider not shorting the amount of the tip; instead contact the credit card companies and/or use a Debit card. I am attaching photos; one is an email I received directly from my contact at Visa Rules and Regulations which states that they cannot surcharge Debit cards and they cannot surcharge more than 3 percent for VISA, etc. I am also attaching Mastercard’s rule, what is on the Florida Attorney General’s website, a picture of an establishment’s signage at their point of sale which shows appropriate signage, Water Oak menu , and my receipts from AP. I am fortunate that other establishments have been more receptive to this issue when brought to their attention; they just were not aware. Other places, such as the AP choose to put in place...

I’ve never not tipped, but I actually regret leaving these people any sort of compensation.

My friend and I just left the restaurant very frustrated. We got to the restaurant at 9:30 for a drink thinking an hour and a half was enough time to grab a round and a late night snack, but were abruptly greeted by a rigid and rude bartender who did not welcome us or ask our drink order, but gave us food menus and asked us if we knew what we wanted to eat because they were closing the kitchen. We said okay and ordered immediately.

We asked for a tennis game to be changed to a basketball game and the unkind woman behind the bar told me “I don’t touch tvs” and walked away in the middle of my request and asked someone else to do it for her. We thanked the nice man who changed it for us. At 10:20 they were doing last call, and told us we had five minutes left before they turned the tvs off. They said “we’re trying to go home”. We were not the only people in the restaurant. I’m also a bartender and thought there might have been an easier way to mention that they close based on business/volume and not the time posted online. Maybe apologize for nearly kicking us out..? Keep in mind I still left a 25% tip after tolerating their unwelcoming service because I enjoyed the restaurant in the past and just want to believe this woman can’t be this unpleasant by nature and was just maybe...

They were busy so we accept part of the slow service but even with that we were still there 2 hours just to eat. Refill of drinks had to be asked at least 3+ times before we actually got the refills. Burger was not cooked properly and for the replacement dish we were told it would be at least 25 minutes before it came out. We asked for the replacement to be cancelled within 5 minutes of requesting it for them to tell us it's already ready (granite it had still not been brought out) so they said they had to charge it anyways and said they would box it to go (without giving us a real option about it). The replacement came out boxed "fresh from the grill" within a minute of us being TOLD we'd be getting it to go. Of course it was barely hot and was not at all FRESH. Salsa tasted like it was from a jar and guacamole had too much heat. Fajitas tasted preseasoned and brisket was pretty greasy. "Grilled" vegetables had a weird sauce over the top of them and were NOT grilled more like boiled or steame. We had to ask 4+ times for the sweet potato fries that were ordered and were brought out after almost everyone finished their food. Not at all impressed with the food or the service. My family and I feel as if we just wasted our money on this meal. Definitely won't return. On a positive note the green tomatoes were REALLY good and from everything we ordered the highlight...