Mandatory fee inclusion

Definition

The rule that a posted number must already contain every fee a customer has to pay.

Why It Matters

Capture rate is the share of passing traffic that turns in, and the number doing the work is the one on the pole sign. California makes it unlawful to advertise or display a price that does not include every mandatory fee, and for a wash the only exceptions are government taxes and actual shipping. A wash's whole acquisition channel is a price read at speed, so a surcharge appearing at the pay station is a charge the sign did not commit to. Read the menu board against a real receipt for each package, and treat any fee added at the pay station as revenue the sign never promised.