Petty! Econ! Grievances!

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Indicator from Planet Money

Episode: Petty! Econ! Grievances!
Date: July 27, 2026
Hosts: Waylon Wong, Darian Woods, Stephen Bisaha
Theme: Dive into the small economic annoyances of everyday life—especially those around paying for food at restaurants—and uncover the real economic logic behind these common grievances.

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Episode Overview

In this lighthearted yet insightful episode, the hosts of The Indicator from Planet Money swap stories about their “petty economic grievances,” focusing on everyday irritations when paying for restaurant food. Each gripe is explored from a personal perspective and then laid bare with expert input, offering a peek into the economic and operational forces behind these common annoyances.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Endless Wait to Pay at Restaurants

Speaker: Stephen Bisaha

• Description: Stephen describes the frustratingly slow, multi-step process of paying at many U.S. restaurants:
  • Flag down the server
  • Wait for the bill/check
  • Wait for payment to be processed
  • Wait for the return of your card
• Quote:
  • “This is so much waiting.” — Stephen Bisaha (02:57)
• Technology has improved this process in some places, with handheld card scanners increasingly common at tables.
• Guest Input:
  • Server Miguel Aguilar (Jersey City restaurant) explains how handheld payment devices allow him to serve more tables and cut down on time spent running back and forth.
  • Quote:
    • “The minute we got these, we could take four, five, six tables outside, not worry about having to run in for every single order. And they nearly half the time that we needed to serve.” — Miguel Aguilar (03:30)
• Industry Adoption:
  • Devices (e.g., Toast) are spreading, with over 170,000 U.S. locations using handheld payment tech as of March, but cost and inertia mean the shift is gradual.
• Memorable moment:
  • Waylon notes another perk: “What I like about them is that they allow you to split the check really easily.” — Waylon Wong (03:44)

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2. Menu Prices Don’t Include Tax

Speaker: Darian Woods

• Description: Darian laments that restaurant menus (and most U.S. prices) do not include sales tax, resulting in a “surprise” at the register, which is uncommon internationally.
• Quote:
  • “I want to know the price of what I'm paying for.” — Darian Woods (04:50)
• Expert Input:
  • Sherry Kimes (Cornell emeritus professor, restaurant pricing researcher) unpacks why menus exclude tax:
    • Tradition: “They've never done it, right?”
    • Competitive pricing: Including tax would make a restaurant look more expensive.
    • Complexity: Varying city, county, and state taxes—inconvenient for restaurants using printed menus.
  • Quote:
    • “If one restaurant decides, okay, I'm going to include the tax and none of my competitors do it, then I'm going to look more expensive, and customers aren't going to want to come to me.” — Sherry Kimes (05:17)
    • “The tax rates are also different. You get state tax, and then you have city tax, and then you have county tax.” — Sherry Kimes (05:52)
• Conclusion:
  • After the explanation, Darian concedes: “Now I'm more sympathetic. You know, my grievance has been cured.” — Darian Woods (06:35)

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3. Airport Fast Food and the Elusive Loyalty Points

Speaker: Waylon Wong

• Description: Waylon is irritated that her Dunkin' Donuts loyalty program didn't work at an airport location; despite being a loyal customer, she’s denied rewards.
• Quote:
  • “In return, I simply want credit for my $4 purchase at the airport. But no, I can't have it.” — Waylon Wong (07:12)
• Host Banter:
  • Stephen teases the “pettiness” of the grievance: “This feels like a heavy emphasis on the petty side of things.” — Stephen Bisaha (07:06)
• Investigative Efforts:
  • Waylon contacts Dunkin’ Donuts, but despite a PR promise to explain “nuances with airport locations,” she never gets a real answer.
  • “Then I never heard from them again, despite many follow up emails.” — Waylon Wong (07:29)
• Possible Explanations:
  • Fast food chains like McDonald’s confirm that participation in loyalty programs is at the discretion of franchisee “owner operators.”
  • Robert Byrne (Technomic senior director) explains that airport restaurants are often operated by larger concession companies with their own incompatible point-of-sale systems, complicating chain-wide loyalty programs.
• Quote:
  • “These airport concession companies often have their own point of sale systems. And then these systems aren't always compatible with whatever tech the individual chain uses to run their loyalty programs.” — Waylon Wong (08:18)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• “This is so much waiting.” — Stephen Bisaha (02:57)
• “The minute we got these, we could take four, five, six tables outside, not worry about having to run in for every single order. And they nearly half the time that we needed to serve.” — Miguel Aguilar (03:30)
• “If one restaurant decides, okay, I'm going to include the tax and none of my competitors do it, then I'm going to look more expensive, and customers aren't going to want to come to me.” — Sherry Kimes (05:17)
• “Now I'm more sympathetic. You know, my grievance has been cured.” — Darian Woods (06:35)
• “In return, I simply want credit for my $4 purchase at the airport. But no, I can't have it.” — Waylon Wong (07:12)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:16 – Stephen’s restaurant payment grievance & technology solutions
• 03:30 – Server perspective (Miguel Aguilar) on handheld devices
• 04:27 – Darian’s irritation over untaxed menu prices
• 05:17 – Sherry Kimes discusses menu pricing and tax challenges
• 06:47 – Waylon’s airport loyalty program dilemma
• 08:18 – Robert Byrne explains technical reasons for reward exclusion at airports

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Episode Tone & Language

• Friendly, self-deprecating, quick-paced banter
• Mix of personal stories and expert explanations
• Petty grievances presented in a playful, relatable way, with underlying serious economic insights

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Final Thoughts

The Indicator uses seemingly small annoyances to shed light on broader economic systems and consumer experiences. Whether it’s slower-than-necessary restaurant payments, hidden tax surprises on menus, or loyalty programs that leave out the airport traveler, these “petty” issues reveal deeper operational challenges and economic reasoning—not just gripes but gateways to understanding the business logic behind everyday annoyances.

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If you have your own petty economic grievance, the hosts invite you to email [e-mail]. And, if Waylon ever gets a definitive answer from Dunkin’ Donuts, loyal listeners will be the first to know!

Transcript

[Darian Woods]

Npr.

[Waylon Wong]

A little while ago I was at the airport getting coffee from Dunkin Donuts. I tried to get credit for Dunkin's rewards program, but the Dunkin powers that be said no, not at this airport location. And it got me thinking. Well, first, why? But also, does anyone else have a petty economic grievance to air?

[Darian Woods]

This is Petty Grievances of the week.

[Waylon Wong]

Oh, you bet it is. Do you have one to share?

[Darian Woods]

I am full of petty grievances.

[Waylon Wong]

I. I think we just need one more person over here.

[NPR Announcer]

Over.

[Stephen Bisaha]

I have got a grievance. Waylon.

[Darian Woods]

Steven Besarha, a guest appearance from none other than NPR's personal finance reporter.

[Stephen Bisaha]

Yeah, that's right, Darian. You know, instead, maybe Today, call me NPR's personal grievance reporter.

[Waylon Wong]

It is a very important beat and I think we have a quorum now. So let's start the show. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong.

[Darian Woods]

I'm Darian Woods.

[Stephen Bisaha]

And I'm Stephen Bisaha. On today's show, we're three economic gripes, all involving paying for your food at restaurants. We'll tell you what they are and the economic logic behind why they exist.

[NPR Announcer]

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[Miguel Aguilar]

This message comes from Insperity, providing HR services and technology from payroll benefits and HR compliance to talent development. Learn [e-mail] hrmatters support for this NPR podcast and the following message come from Carvana. Selling your car. Carvana has offers so good they're almost inexplicable. Sell your car 100% online in minutes. Visit Carvana.com today.

[Waylon Wong]

All right, Petty Restaurant grievances. Stephen Messaga, you're up first.

[Stephen Bisaha]

All right, so picture this. You have just finished a perfect meal at a restaurant. Filet mignon, caviar and champagne, quarter pounder and fries. Whatever it is, you are satisfied and ready to leave. But you can't. You need to pay your bill. Which means one, flagging down the server. Probably busy with a dozen other tables. Two wait for them to bring back the Check. Three, wait again for them to come back to get your card. And four, wait for them to once again return with your card. This is so much waiting.

[Waylon Wong]

It's true. Sometimes this part can take longer than the meal.

[Darian Woods]

Yeah. And you also need to have a lot of trust that nothing nefarious is happening with your. Your card when it's taken away out of sight.

[Stephen Bisaha]

And this checkout system is not just a problem for customers. It's also a problem for servers.

[Miguel Aguilar]

It was a hassle having to take multiple cables, come in and out, and everything took forever.

[Stephen Bisaha]

This is Miguel Aguilar. He was my server at a restaurant in Jersey City. Are you all set to close out? Perfect. Like me, Miguel also hated how long that old pen and paper system took. Then his restaurant brought in the solution. You have probably already seen these out in the wild. There are these handheld devices that let servers scan your card and let you pay right at your table in one step.

[Miguel Aguilar]

The minute we got these, we could take four, five, six tables outside, not worry about having to run in for every single order. And they nearly have the time that we needed to serve.

[Darian Woods]

Of course, everybody listening internationally or anybody who's traveled probably has seen these for a while.

[Waylon Wong]

I do see these devices more now in Chicago when I go out. What I like about them is that they allow you to split the check really easily.

[Darian Woods]

Yes.

[Stephen Bisaha]

Oh, that's a big bonus, too.

[Waylon Wong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Bisaha]

Now, Miguel's device came from a company called Toast, and one of the company's executives told me that it can be hard to get restaurants past the inertia of using the traditional checkout method. Also, these devices can be expensive. One of them can be hundreds of dollars.

[Waylon Wong]

Right. So depending on how big your wait staff is, could be a lot of money.

[Stephen Bisaha]

But, hey, these devices are getting more popular. Toast says as of March, more than 170,000 locations in the US were using them. And with other competitors out there, it is possible this checkout grievance could soon become a common convenience.

[Darian Woods]

Talking about paying your restaurant bill. My petty grievance at the restaurant is at the beginning, when you're looking at the price of the menu, and it doesn't include tax.

[Waylon Wong]

But this is true of, like, everything you buy in America.

[Stephen Bisaha]

It is a very international take.

[Darian Woods]

I understand this does not bother a lot of Americans, but I want to know the price of what I'm paying for.

[Waylon Wong]

You want to know, like, the price all in. Right. Not getting surprised when you actually go to pay.

[Darian Woods]

But I guess this grievance does apply to the entire American economy. But you know what? Even Sherry Kimes didn't share my grievance. She's an emeritus professor at Cornell University who's done a lot of research on restaurant prices.

[Sherry Kimes]

As an American. It never even really. I've never even noticed it, but there are reasons for it.

[Darian Woods]

Yeah. Sherry listed three reasons.

[Sherry Kimes]

One of them is just sort of traditional. They've never done it. Right. And then if one restaurant decides, okay, I'm going to include the tax and none of my competitors do it, then I'm going to look more expensive, and customers aren't going to want to come to me.

[Waylon Wong]

Right. So it becomes this, like, a collective action problem where you need all of the restaurants to agree all at once that they're going to show the full price, because if any one restaurant sticks its neck out and it could have lower sales.

[Darian Woods]

Exactly. And the difficulties with getting all the restaurants to calculate their taxes brings us to reason number three.

[Sherry Kimes]

The tax rates are also different. Right. And so you get state tax, and then you have city tax, and then you have county tax. And from a restaurant's perspective, it's like, okay, I mean, especially if it's a printed menu. How am I going to take care of that?

[Darian Woods]

Yeah. So in New Zealand, where I grew up, my reference point, the sales tax is a lot simpler. There's just one sales tax nationwide, but in the US you have counties, cities, states, federal government, and that is kind of overlapping and confusing. And, you know, you start to understand the plight of the people who are writing the menus.

[Stephen Bisaha]

Oh, Darian, sounds like the US Is rubbing off on you. A little sympathy to not include full prices.

[Darian Woods]

Now I'm more sympathetic. You know, my grievance has been cured

[Waylon Wong]

with, well, I'm not here to show any personal growth because I'm not sure there's a cure for my grievance.

[Darian Woods]

All right, hit us.

[Waylon Wong]

So remember I was at an airport. I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts. I am a member of Dunkin Rewards. This is the company's loyalty program. There's a mobile app. You can earn points and redeem them for rewards like free donuts or whatever. And I noticed that this airport location did not participate in Dunkin Rewards, so I could not get credit for my purchase or get any rewards.

[Stephen Bisaha]

Yeah, I know this is the petty grievances episode, but this feels like a heavy emphasis on the petty side of things.

[Waylon Wong]

Listen, I know that these loyalty programs exist so that corporations can collect my data. I have made my peace with this. In return, I simply want credit for my $4 purchase at the airport. But no, I can't have it.

[Darian Woods]

So what was the answer? How come the loyalty program doesn't work with airport locations?

[Waylon Wong]

Okay, this brings me to another grievance. I emailed Dunkin Donuts. Their director of public relations wrote me back saying there are nuances with airport locations and I'll send details over asap. Then I never heard from them again, despite many follow up emails.

[Darian Woods]

Waylon, the IS and ASAP meant as slow as possible.

[Stephen Bisaha]

Do we have any clue about what these like nuances actually are?

[Waylon Wong]

Well, I looked around at some other fast food chains loyalty programs and they seem to offer some clues as to what may be happening. So for example, McDonald's. They told me that participation in the rewards program is at the discretion of owner operators, which is what they call their franchisees.

[Darian Woods]

Fair enough. This owner operator didn't want to be part of the whole scheme. Is there anything else?

[Waylon Wong]

I also talked to Robert Byrne. He's a senior director at Technomic, which is a food industry research firm. And he told me that often at airports, the franchisee for a fast food chain is a big company that runs a bunch of restaurants at the airport. These airport concession companies often have their own point of sale systems. And then these systems aren't always compatible with whatever tech the individual chain uses to run their loyalty programs.

[Darian Woods]

All right, that's it for our petty economic grievances. I'm sure we can come up with a few more. Or maybe you, dear listener, have one. You can email [e-mail] this episode was produced by Vito Emanuel with engineering by Jimmy Keeley. It was fact checked by Cierra Juarez. Cake and Cannon edits the show and the indicator is a production of npr.

[Waylon Wong]

If I ever hear back from Duncan, I will alert our listenership immediately.

[Stephen Bisaha]

I'll be loyally listening.

[NPR Announcer]

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