We’ve now gotten word that servers have been instructed to stop this practice. See the update below.
This article has generated a lot of responses. Some customers confirm this happening to them. Some didn’t experience it. We’ve updated the article to reflect that not every customer is a target of this scam.
Update 5/14 9:10pm:
A WAF member whose daughter is employed at Fogo de Chao has confirmed that servers have been told to STOP pouring water without first explaining to customers that there’s an upcharge.
This also confirms that staff was told to pour pricey water without telling the guests about the upcharge, as was told to us by multiple WAF members. Part of the conversation is here.
Unless we hear further reports of this scam continuing we’ll chalk this up as a victory.
Kudos to Fogo de Chao for doing the right thing.
(We’ve blurred the member’s identity to protect their privacy.)
Original Story follows
We’ve become aware of a scam that is run by Fogo de Chao’s management on numerous customers. We were informed of this by a concerned reader, and it’s been confirmed by other guests.
When the customer is seated, the server promptly brings a bottle of water, and opens it. Normally, serving water is a good thing, but in this case you’re going to be charged for something you didn’t order or ask for. (We’ve had the tap water at Fogo. It’s fine.) You’re not told you’re being charged for the water until the bill arrives; many customers either won’t notice or won’t want to complain.
One reader informed us that they were on the receiving end of this scam fifteen years ago at the Westheimer Fogo de Chao; apparently this scam has been part of their business practices for over a decade.
According to one server, they’re written up by management if they don’t participate in the scam. Yes, servers are forced to do this. And they don’t like it; it no doubt reduces their tips.
We abhor this kind of underhanded management tactic, and we hope that Fogo de Chao will choose to change their management practices to something more ethical. We’re removing them immediately from the list of restaurants we recommend; dishonest tactics to pad the check are something we do not support.
