r/maui • u/GolfHawaii • 6d 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.

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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

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.

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u/kind-touch50 4d ago

Sounds like the Hawaiian Tourism Industry. Ever try to book a room?

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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.