Woman calls out Chick-fil-A over an unexpected fee added to her bill: 'It should be illegal'

As Americans grapple with an affordability crisis, food prices are a major concern for many, and having to pay more than expected for eating out only adds to the frustration. A mother shopping at Chick-fil-A was left surprised after she noticed an unexplained charge added to her bill without any prior notice. The customer, who visited one of Chick-fil-A’s stores in Colorado, checked her receipt only to find a $2 Improvement fee added to her total. Confused, she turned to users on social media, asking if anyone had ever spotted such a surcharge before.

The woman, who goes by barberb_wifey on TikTok, uploaded a clip of her bill with the caption saying, “Is this new or have I just never noticed? Not complaining, just genuinely curious.” The bill, which totaled to $58, showed a list of popular Chick-fil-A items along with a $2 ‘Public improvement fee’ added to the bottom. Other users, who had never noticed that charge, were quick to jump on the video, with some even claiming that it “should be illegal.”

Considering Chick-fil-A’s popularity, it did not take long for the TikTok to go viral, with people blaming the fast food chain for not disclosing the surcharge. One user commented that they would go back to the counter and return the food if the charge wasn’t removed, while another asked, “So why is the customer paying the business's bills?” Unfortunately, the comments became so negative that the creator had to clarify she made the post for awareness, not for attention or controversy.

Although the undisclosed surcharge is hard to spot, with it being added to the end of a receipt, it is nothing new. A report by The Sun referred to a 2022 Reddit post by another Chick-fil-A customer who was charged 28 cents under the same fee. It also mentioned that the public improvement fee is a charge that is implemented throughout the state of Colorado, with different cities adopting differing explanations and guidelines for it.

If we go by the city of Aurora’s website, the public improvement fee is explained as a “private fee that is collected by businesses on sales transactions.” It states that the money is “used to pay for the public improvements related for a development of their site, such as curbs and sidewalks, storm management systems, sanitary sewer systems, public street lighting, and road and bridge development.” Furthermore, the site confirms that the charge is not a tax but a fee, which explains it being tacked on to the end of a receipt as part of the sale.

This explanation was made even clearer in a now-deleted Facebook post by a Chick-fil-A store, where they claimed it is used to “fund and maintain infrastructure within the development.” This generally means that the money is used for general upkeep of the establishment, like parking lot maintenance and landscaping. On top of it, The Sun report mentions that it is not collected by the city but instead by a third party who is hired by the owner of the establishment. 

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