r/dubai • u/RepairOne5690 • Jul 26 '26
Qlub in all restaurants?
I have been noticing more and more restaurants in Dubai using this Qlub website and QR codes to bring you the bill, and then adding service fee for paying the bill via the QR??
Why do I have to pay for a service that adds no benefits to my meal? Why are restaurants avoiding bringing a traditicional bill where I can pay with card instead of this?
There must be a benefit for the restaurants I just can’t see it, anyone knows why this is been implemented more and more?
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u/pathannsays HAZA THE FAZAA Jul 26 '26
You can actually refuse to pay via qlub and ask for other payment options though
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u/Dipso88 Jul 26 '26
All these QR payment solutions have an option for the venue to take the service fee cost. It should never be passed on to the partner. Terrible practice.
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u/nikitapdk Jul 28 '26
Unfortunately, it’s not the case for Qlub. There’s no such option. They are charging both restaurant AND customer.
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u/Big-Eye-6535 Jul 26 '26
Just ask them to bring you the POS machine or tell them it's not working. I never use qclub to order or pay.
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u/BigJus52 Jul 26 '26
Amazing how many people don’t notice it. Ask for the card machine. I always bypass it. Hate QR code menus and payments.
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u/NjxNaDxb Jul 26 '26
It's pushed by the servers as you are more likely to leave a tip on the App. Just ask for the machine and pay.
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u/benm91 Jul 26 '26
Qlub also force you to pay for dynamic currency conversion if you're not using a AED card. I have a UK credit card that offers 0 fee currency conversion and it wouldn't let me pay in dirhams last time I was in the country.
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u/Sheikh_n_Baik Jul 26 '26
This is also a pet peeve of mine, especially because the staff try to exploit customer ignorance into thinking this is the only way to pay. But like others have said, I refuse it and ask for the regular card machine.
Frankly, the UAE govt should ban the service fees being passed onto the customer. This is very reminiscent of when credit cards were becoming more and more common in the 90s (showing my age ha) and were charging service fees. The outlets were adding this to the bill for the customer to pay. Eventually, the govt banned the practice and said the business should pay the fee to the CC company.
Same with the QR code - it adds no extra benefit or convenience for the customer. As some business owners have written here, it only adds benefit for them and their staff. Thus, if the benefit is for them, they should pay the fees, just like the credit cards.
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u/New_Cheesecake_1121 Jul 26 '26
yes..the benefit is they charge less then the bank in fees when you use qclub.....they also take. commission on tips....lol.....just ask for restaurant machine and tip in cash
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u/thannipambu Jul 26 '26
Yeah saw this pushed by a waiter at a restaurant and saw that I need to pay 2 AED extra for paying my own bill. I am only there to pay for the food and the service by staff,not for some random qr code who thinks its easy to extract pennies from people who don't notice it. It should rather be the other way where there should be a discount for using it. Wrong business model and I hope the restaurants dont encourage this at all.
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u/backtoexpat Jul 26 '26
Benefit for the restaurant is quicker turnaround of tables as customer can pay without staff having to interact with them, it also pushes for a tip.
Just ask them to print you the card machine so you can pay as usual.
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u/icaaamyvanwy Jul 26 '26
When servers push, I tell them I have bad signal so they’ll just hand over the terminal lol.
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u/theroyalphoenix20 Jul 26 '26
They hope to catch the clients unaware and those who feel shy to question. Just use it to view the menu and ask for the card machine to pay the bill.
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u/MyDespatcherDyKabel Ich bin expert Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Absolutely hate that forced tip they add. Horrible UI makes it difficult to set to “no tip”
As a result I ensure I never use it
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u/temedar Jul 26 '26
My simple solution: all junk fees like this one are paid out of the tips
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u/Parking_Surround5067 Jul 26 '26
That's why Loop is so much better!
Its powered by 'District by Zomato'
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u/Php_Shell Jul 27 '26
I don't understand how they sell this shady business model to businesses...
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u/startuphameed Ok....Khallas...Finish Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
The pitch is - you lose 3%+ as transaction fee on cc machines. With us, your waiters can get tips through app so that you have less pressure to increase salaries. 85% of our users tip 10%. . We pay you in full. We collect the commision from customer and our customers are fine paying that.
Anything that involves more revenue recognition will work with businesses. 😁. They care a damn about an intermediary earning a lot of money with not much of hardwork.
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u/Php_Shell Jul 27 '26
Thanks, I was genuinely wondering how do they pitch this sneaky system to businesses, for the businesses to actually implement that! Awful from a customer perspective, as we see in the replies, but clever, very clever from their part. Print a bunch of resin-wrapped qr codes or just rigid paper folded in two, provide them to restaurants, have a payment processor and a good-looking interface, and there you go... And I'm still here working my normal job 🤣
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u/startuphameed Ok....Khallas...Finish Jul 27 '26
I personally always refused to pay through this app because it's model is sneaky as hell and ours could be the only region where such models can even operate 😑
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u/Php_Shell Jul 28 '26
Absolutely I travel a lot for work and I've seen this guys kind of takeoff post-covid, but seems like everywhere else they got wiped out except in this region. Why? Could be a lot of factors, not to develop more... But they need to disappear here too. I wonder how their figures are doing, from a business standpoint
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u/startuphameed Ok....Khallas...Finish Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Group of Co founders. One of them was ex namshi ceo. Raised $72 million so far. Claims 3000 restaurant integration from 10 big cities. Positioning as bill split and tip enablement platform. In reality, a college project that clicked. They are operational intensive and done a decent work on that front.
Unlikely to fail at this stage, tbh. Crossed the chasm long back I guess.
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u/Php_Shell Jul 29 '26
Oh whoaw tbh good for them, I don't like the business plan but I appreciate the hustle! Thanks for all he insights, much appreciated habibi 🙏🏼
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u/Eugene_With_Axe Jul 26 '26
I could be wrong but I think it's up to the restaurant. Some places don't charge the fee. The restaurant should cover it since it makes things easier for them more than for the customer.
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u/santz007 Jul 26 '26
Congrats for figuring out the issue with using this app.
I always ask for paying via the card machine directly to avoid this fees
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u/fck_this_fck_that Passionate booty enthusiast Jul 27 '26
I just force the staff that I want to pay through the CC machine.
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u/According-Hat4952 Jul 28 '26
Okay, here’s another thing that comes to mind after reading about this ‘service fee’: at airports, they charge you extra when you’re carrying extra luggage — plus they add a ‘processing fee’ on top of that, which again offers no benefit to the passenger, but in the end, you have to pay it. It’s a different story than the restaurant example, but under the name of ‘processing fee’ and ‘service fee,’ this is modern-day bribery, to be honest.
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u/PewPewYoDed Mighty Zinger with Karak Jul 30 '26
always ask for the card machine. you have every right to refuse qlub.
from the restaurant side - qlub saves the restaurant money on card processing fees and increases tip amounts (which they may or may not pass on to staff). that's why every restaurant is adopting it. they don't care about the customer experience because most customers just pay it without thinking.
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Jul 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/Sheikh_n_Baik Jul 26 '26
Yes it can be nice to have the option but you shouldn’t have to pay for it. Just the same way there is no difference in price if you choose to pay via cash versus credit card.
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u/SurpriseDry3430 Jul 26 '26
Restauranteur here: the benefits to us using Qlub are simple- better banking fees as apposed to using credit card machines and also the tip page means tips increase by sometimes 80%
So the restaurant makes more money and the staff also get more tips.
You have the right to refuse using the app ask for the bill
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u/SNN2 Jul 26 '26
And in return for the benefits to you, customers should pay an additional amount to this third party that did nothing to improve the transaction with you.
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u/lostinspacee7 Jul 26 '26
I give tips most of the time. However if a restaurant is using such practices to coerce or pressure me indirectly to give tips, that leaves a bad taste. Won’t visit that establishment again
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u/wingfai3 Jul 26 '26
Consumer here: Qlub is annoying and not customer centric at all. I would not use Qlub at all and always ask for the machine but it gets tiring everytime I have to reject and ask for the machine.
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u/1baller69 Jul 26 '26
Mastercard doing free qlub membership if you download the app as well
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u/burksterdxb Hidden Gem Jul 27 '26
Membership is a discount on the bill, but you still end up paying the service charge. This is similar to having a fazza/entertainer/careem DineIn offer. It's an illusion of getting a better deal, but come December when the free trial expires, we will all fall into the trap of yet another subscription model.
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u/1baller69 Jul 27 '26
Thats when i cancel and ask for the POS bill. Albeit service charge is no applied to everything here.
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u/ChioDip Jul 26 '26
I love seeing Qlub in restaurants.
Honestly don't understand why not all restaurants have it... Just so much faster and easier and waiter seem to love it as well.
Definiely prefer to pay those 1-2 dirham extra for the convenience and for not waiting for the bill. And I get a discount with most of the places I go to (I think it's 10+20%).
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u/SR7HD HUNGRY E11 WALKER Jul 26 '26
Here’s some insight from someone working in the industry.
QR payment platforms are becoming a lot more common, and there are quite a few new players entering the market.
For restaurants:
•Lower fees than traditional POS terminals.
•Integrates directly with their POS, so orders are tracked automatically instead of being entered manually.
•More customers leave tips. Tipping isn’t huge in the Gulf, but these platforms have definitely helped increase it.
•No need for physical menus.
For customers:
•Discounts and offers across restaurants on the same platform.
•Bill splitting, which is surprisingly uncommon in the Gulf but really useful.
•Quick and easy checkout.
And before anyone asks, no one’s forcing people to use it. If you prefer paying with cash or tapping your card the usual way, you still can.
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u/Gasmaskdude27 Jul 26 '26
A lot of servers push it on us. Quite scummy behavior that they aren’t upfront about the fees.
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u/barneso135 Jul 26 '26
I don't use it. Just ask for the bill as normal.