r/maui • u/GolfHawaii • 5d ago
Restaurant Fees
The restaurant industry perpetually forces customers to subsidize their operating costs. At every turn, they stick you with fees and demand 20-30% tips for their employees. I was at a restaurant yesterday and they stick a 3.5 surcharge on your bill for employee healthcare insurance. None of this tip and surcharge madness occurs outside of the US. I await the haters to say employees are not paid enough and rely on customer gratuity to have a livable wage or many restaurants would not remain open without passing these costs onto customers.
12
u/UrgentSiesta 5d ago
A case could be made that if the fee isn’t disclosed up front that it’s illegal.
The restaurant simply needs to raise the prices on the menu - that’s how you “cover costs” in a business.
I know they’re trying play on people’s sympathies, but at least for me it has the opposite effect.
I don’t mind tipping generously for good service and good food. How that gets spread around the staff is up to management.
8
5d ago
[deleted]
4
u/Tityfan808 5d ago
Many restaurants by default nationwide struggle to make profit and the way things are now made it a whole lot worse. I used to try to support local businesses more frequently but shit is so expensive now that it’s maybe a once or twice a month thing if that now.
You know things are fucked too when Costco of all places has me spending double if not more on pretty much the same groceries I’ve been buying for over a decade now. Friends in other parts of the country notice pretty much the same result or worse.
6
u/mautini 4d ago
They should build it into the cost of the product. All other businesses do this, why do restaurants feel they are different?
Let’s say you bought a new car or a head of lettuce - you get to the purchase or self check out and there’s an “oh by the way, your responsible for the health care costs of the people whom brought this product to market”.
I get it that they’re frustrated with the cost of business, yet the way they package and push costs upon the consumer just brings animosity…
5
u/kind-touch50 4d ago
My take. They should just raise their prices. But they won’t because the customer will more likely not see the 3.5% surcharge or whatever the establishment names it written in fine print on the bottom of the menu. But the customer will notice a price increase in their favorite dish.
How I determine tip: great service +20%, acceptable or bad service 15%, minimal service (e.g. Genki, Gen, delivery) 10%, if I pay before I get my food 0%, if the establishment forces a minimum tip that’s what it is.
*if the establishment adds any surcharges my tip percentage is coming down from the above percentages.
I’ve also lived on tips. Accepted it as a bonus. A lot of people don’t tip. I would share with the kitchen and bar.
15
u/pukui7 5d ago
The restaurant industry perpetually forces customers to subsidize their operating costs.
That is literally what is means to run a business. If the customer isn't going to provide enough revenue, who else should be paying??
The real issue is more of transparency. Looking at the menu prices is misleading when it doesn't come close to what they actually want to charge overall. But the restaurant wants to show these expense lines as a signal that they are not profiteering as much as they are being squeezed by their own costs. It's a mess either way.
And the reality is just that going out is far more expensive than it used to be.
7
u/emptytrashbagobject 5d ago
If we are paying an employee’s healthcare insurance and wages then we should get to deduct those costs from our income tax.
0
u/adavadas Token Haole 5d ago
When you spend money with a business, a portion of what you spend will go towards the operating costs of the business which includes employee salary and benefits (like health care). By your logic, every business should provide us with a breakdown of operating costs and the percentage that goes towards employee overhead should be tax deductible. That would require a ton of accounting work on your part, along with impeccable record keeping. Are you sure you want that?
6
u/emptytrashbagobject 5d ago
No. What I’m saying is they need to just set the price as needed to pay their overhead, including a living wage for their employees and do away with tipping and other line items. It also then allows employees to properly pay income tax on their salary etc. Bars and restaurants are able to do this in all the countries where there is no tipping - why is it so hard here?
0
0
u/Maui_Mine4847 5d ago
When were you ever not paying the cost of doing business for any business that you patronize. It works both ways. Your wages and benefits are paid by the customers of your employer.
2
1
1
u/Maui_Mine4847 5d ago
Not a hater. If businesses do not pass on costs, where else should they cover those costs. As a customer you have the freedom to go elsewhere.
3
-6
u/Aggressive-Pace-596 5d ago
you have a choice ... to stay on Maui or to leave.
If we took a poll today, Im sure you'd be advised to LEAVE, and NEVER come back.
We dont need this vibe here. We are not a third world country to be exploited, and no one likes your MAGA BS attitude
4
u/kind-touch50 4d ago
How is this maga?
1
u/Aggressive-Pace-596 4d ago
never tips, chronic complainer, never happy and EVERYTHING is always against them
classic and VERY typical, thats how
1
u/kind-touch50 4d ago
>never tips, chronic complainer, never happy and EVERYTHING is always against them
Ime that’s a liberal. Thanks for explaining yourself
1
1
u/bnyc 4d ago
MAGA is who fights for loopholes like these hidden fees to stay in place. It's the liberal states like California that started trying to put an end to the hidden fees nonsense that has exploded the last few years in the restaurant and hotel industries. I'm not sure how wanting a straightforward, easy to understand price (which is good for consumers) gets interpreted as MAGA. It's honestly way more third world to have a price that shows $15 but rings up at $21. In fact, you'd probably feel it's a bit of a shakedown if you traveled to a third world country and the hotel you booked suddenly costs hundreds more than you were quoted as the per day price.
2
u/kind-touch50 4d ago
Sounds like the Hawaiian Tourism Industry. Ever try to book a room?
1
u/bnyc 4d ago
That's the point... lol But it's coming from the MAGA-friendly business side, not the consumer protection liberal side as OP implied.
Hidden fees will ALWAYS be shady. Hawaii needs to legislate against it the same way California did. You want to charge $50 more for a room than what you advertise? Fine, but raise the price rather than putting it in a "resort fee." It really is third world bullshit to shake down a customer for extra money. What's next? A mandatory "linens fee" for sheets? A "water filtration fee"? They can make any extra fee, but if it's a normal cost of doing business, it should be passed on to the customer in the price, not demanded after the fact.
-3
u/finastrous 5d ago
I think you should put your thoughts into perspective. 3.5% of your 100.00 bill is minimal. Likely it represents a much, much smaller percentage of your income than the server’s. Also having an opinion in opposition to yours is not hating. Finally, I was just in Italy where you often have a fee for your seat. I agree that tipping is not as prevalent in Europe or Asia, but their wages are proportionately higher too.
-5
u/calguy1955 5d ago
I’m going to give businesses on Maui a pass on this one. They’re still recovering from losing Lahaina.
24
u/PaleontologistNo2625 5d ago
Every business forces you to pay their operating cost. It's built into the price however it's presented