Last week, for instance, I walked into a new cake shop to order some treats for some workers at a phone store in the same complex that had given some exceptional service. Upon receiving my order of four small bundt cakes in individual containers, I asked if I could get a couple of forks.

“No,” was the response. The clerk continued to explain, “I can’t give you a fork because it would imply that we are a sit-down restaurant and then we would be required to provide tables and bathrooms for our guests.”

Seriously? How then, pray tell, are we intended to eat these sweet and sticky iced confections, which are the size of a small bowling ball? If I dive face first into it, I would likely need something more than a cocktail napkin for cleanup. We should at least get a couple of diaper wipes if that is the case.

This bothered me. While I solved the immediate problem with a jaunt down the parking lot to the nearest service station where I was able to grab four forks free of charge, I remained flummoxed at the entire ordeal. This whole idea of “works great … in theory” pervades many of our industries, societies and lives. The food industry, for example, is fraught with such practices. Most of the regulations are put into place by the Food and Drug Administration, a federal government agency. I can nearly assure you that most of the people who make up these committees have not set foot behind the counter of a fast-food restaurant. Perhaps they should.

We are fortunate in the real estate industry. While our contracts are written by attorneys, it does not get a final stamp of approval without first going through the Utah Division of Real Estate. Through my own experiences with both our attorneys and staff at the division, I would give all of them a 5-star Yelp review. They have been open to feedback on contracts, processes and regulations from those of us who are out in the field working it all day long, every day. They are available and responsive. As an industry, we are fortunate.

Nevertheless, as I was still nonplussed with the fork situation, I did further research. As it turns out, there is a tax benefit for not providing forks. There is a Utah tax rate flow chart that can be used as a test for whether a food provider can qualify for the lower tax rate. It goes something like this: if the item can be ingested for taste or nutritional value and it is not alcohol, it is not heated, it is not mixed/combined with another food ingredient for sale as a single item and utensils are not provided, then it can be taxed at a lower rate.

Once you give someone a fork, you’re a restaurant. Real estate contracts are far easier to understand for me than bundt cakes.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or jen@jen-fischer.com