is there anyway around this service fee for snacks

[Dznypal]

we like to go to the local casino usually to pay bingo
they have a place where you can buy snacks like chips soda things like that

we usually like to get a cookie there
recently I noticed there was a service charge on the receipt
its just added in--so its not like tip where in some places you can decline any tip
its just there
I did write to the casino and the reply I got back was that theyll forward my email to the proper manger Im not holding my breath on that
Id like to know if theres anyway to get that off the bill

it seems that management thinks everyone that works there should get tip
like with bingo you buy your computer for the games when you first walk in
then at another area you can buy the games on paper if you like to mark
so now theres a tip jar for the person handing you these papers there sure not overworked
they just sit there collect the money and hand you sheets
this seemed to start out as a service charge and ended up going into tips
any idess how to get the service charge off abill

 

[Marrila]

How much is one cookie? What is the service fee for a single cookie?

 

[Dznypal]

the service is 0.42 for a very big cookie
the SF would go up the more your bill is
it seems like now everyone thinks they should be tipped the people that work behind counter and just hand you your food its not like they bring you what you ask for like server
or even tipping the bingo caller when you win he has nothing to do with you winning
he just calls the number as they come out
700I happened to win yesterday game would have been 700$ but there were 3 winners so we had to split I did notice one of the 3 of us did tip
sorry this went to a vent

oh the cookie itself is 2.54
the 0.42 isnt going to break us its the principle of the thing its just how much extra can we charge

 

[fla4fun]

The only way around a restaurant that adds a service fee is to not buy anything from that restaurant. I feel they should have a sign that they are charging a service fee so people know before they buy, but I am guessing they didn’t, right? It’s within their rights to add a service fee, and it’s within your rights not to buy anything from them.

I would rather places would just be honest about increased costs and raise their prices instead of tacking on the nickle and dime fees. At least you would know about the price increase up front.

 

[Dznypal]

thats what well be doing from now in is not buying anything there
its funny cause no one says anything if you bring your own snacks in
so well be doing that from now on
I just wonder who gets the service fee from the snack bar plus theres a tip jar
and yes ijt would have been nice if theyd let people know before hand

 

[gottalovepluto]

thats what well be doing from now in is not buying anything there
its funny cause no one says anything if you bring your own snacks in
so well be doing that from now on
I just wonder who gets the service fee from the snack bar plus theres a tip jar
and yes ijt would have been nice if theyd let people know before hand

The fee could be split between the house and staff or kept by the house. I highly doubt the whole thing goes to the staff- but I’m cynical like that. The house won’t tell you seeing as you already tried that, so you’d have to ask an employee and hope they tell the truth.

If you really want to pursue removing it- at the time of purchase when you see the auto-tip ask to speak to a manager immediately. Request they remove it. If they don’t then you know it’s not a tip, it’s a price increase. (Personally I hate confrontation and would just go the BYOC route, but to each their own)

 

[_19disnA]

If your local casino chooses to charge some added 'fee' there isn't any way to get around that. It would be bit like trying to negotiate the prices on their restaurant menu. You could just choose to not eat/snack there or bring your own things when playing bingo.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The only way around a restaurant that adds a service fee is to not buy anything from that restaurant. I feel they should have a sign that they are charging a service fee so people know before they buy, but I am guessing they didn’t, right? It’s within their rights to add a service fee, and it’s within your rights not to buy anything from them.

I would rather places would just be honest about increased costs and raise their prices instead of tacking on the nickle and dime fees. At least you would know about the price increase up front.

This reminds me of shopping/comparing hotel nightly rates. Then when you click on book it, it lists a "resort fee" and they list some petty "amenities" such as free wifi or cable TV, that you can't opt out of anyway, so I'd rather they just raise their price. It's a sales gimmick but it's on the buyer to be aware of it and either avoid places that charge them, or write to the company and let them know how we feel about it as consumers.

 

[tvguy]

This reminds me of shopping/comparing hotel nightly rates. Then when you click on book it, it lists a "resort fee" and they list some petty "amenities" such as free wifi or cable TV, that you can't opt out of anyway, so I'd rather they just raise their price. It's a sales gimmick but it's on the buyer to be aware of it and either avoid places that charge them, or write to the company and let them know how we feel about it as consumers.

While resort fees are annoying, at least there is a chance......maybe a small chance....that if enough customers have an issue with them that the hotel will drop them. The fees that really bother me are ones the hotel can't control, the "occupancy taxes" some greedy communities collect from people staying in the hotel. Those fees get me nothing extra.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

While resort fees are annoying, at least there is a chance......maybe a small chance....that if enough customers have an issue with them that the hotel will drop them. The fees that really bother me are ones the hotel can't control, the "occupancy taxes" some greedy communities collect from people staying in the hotel. Those fees get me nothing extra.

I somewhat disagree.
The government taxes pay for infrastructure upgrades that keep tourist destinations growing and keep them attractive to tourists.

MCO and the area surrounding it are a perfect example. You live so much closer to Disneyland so I doubt you’d go to WDW very often but MCO is very clean, bright and well maintained.
If you rent a car onsite and drive off in any direction, you’ll see manicured landscaping and palm trees, exactly what tourists going to FL expect to see.

OTOH, corrupt government in NJ/Atlantic City turned a lovely family-oriented shore town into a -hole ghetto by adding multiple casinos which attracted a lot of people at first but so much of that tax revenue that was generated was squandered and not re-invested into the area. So now you have a boardwalk loaded with casinos but I wouldn’t be walking around at night even 2 blocks away.
There has to be some balance. Las Vegas also offers gambling and adult oriented entertainment but they haven’t let it all fall apart.

 

[tvguy]

I somewhat disagree.
The government taxes pay for infrastructure upgrades that keep tourist destinations growing and keep them attractive to tourists.

MCO and the area surrounding it are a perfect example. You live so much closer to Disneyland so I doubt you’d go to WDW very often but MCO is very clean, bright and well maintained.
If you rent a car onsite and drive off in any direction, you’ll see manicured landscaping and palm trees, exactly what tourists going to FL expect to see.

OTOH, corrupt government in NJ/Atlantic City turned a lovely family-oriented shore town into a -hole ghetto by adding multiple casinos which attracted a lot of people at first but so much of that tax revenue that was generated was squandered and not re-invested into the area. So now you have a boardwalk loaded with casinos but I wouldn’t be walking around at night even 2 blocks away.
There has to be some balance. Las Vegas also offers gambling and adult oriented entertainment but they haven’t let it all fall apart.

I would be more accepting of those taxes in a resort area like MCO. I am talking hotels that are not what I consider close to resorts. We are trying a new hotel next weekend that just opened. They promote themselves are the ideal hotel for people visiting Universal Studios Hollywood even though they are 25 miles away.
We are trying it because it is 3 miles from my son's house and because it just opened. The hotel we have been staying at for nearly 3 years is 4 miles away.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If everyone spoke with their wallet, they wouldn't stay in business.

 

[tasha99]

The fee could be split between the house and staff or kept by the house. I highly doubt the whole thing goes to the staff- but I’m cynical like that. The house won’t tell you seeing as you already tried that, so you’d have to ask an employee and hope they tell the truth.

If you really want to pursue removing it- at the time of purchase when you see the auto-tip ask to speak to a manager immediately. Request they remove it. If they don’t then you know it’s not a tip, it’s a price increase. (Personally I hate confrontation and would just go the BYOC route, but to each their own)

I agree and that's what I'd do, but somehow BYOC struck me as hilarious.

 

[Marrila]

If everyone spoke with their wallet, they wouldn't stay in business.

People are delighted to walk into a casino with their wallets. At least when you buy a cookie there you get something.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

People are delighted to walk into a casino with their wallets. At least when you buy a cookie there you get something.

True but I was referring to the hotels that TV Guy was complaining about.

 

[princesscinderella]

True but I was referring to the hotels that TV Guy was complaining about.

Fl has no state tax for individuals because the extra taxes levied to tourists help to offset all the expenses. I agree that those taxes are good as long as they are spent appropriately. I wish the government though spent like they were running a corporation. The we have to spend every penny budgeted or we won’t get it budgeted next year has created such bloat.

 

[barkley]

the "occupancy taxes" some greedy communities collect from people staying in the hotel. Those fees get me nothing extra.

they may get you nothing extra as a guest of the hotel but they help just basic maintanance of the infrastructure in many places that attract tourists.

I somewhat disagree.
The government taxes pay for infrastructure upgrades that keep tourist destinations growing and keep them attractive to tourists.

where i grew up (napa) as tourism grew it took/has taken more and more of a toll on the infrastructure. water/sewer systems, power capacity, public safety, public transportation, public parking, roads...sure the tourists bring dollars they spend and there's local sales tax but it comes nowhere close to offsetting the financial impact of these services.

i am much more inclined to support an occupancy tax that i know is going to the local area to where i'm lodging vs. all the resort fees esp. for aspects of a stay i may wish to opt out of like gym or pool access (which they can code my room keycard for no access to). the hotels claim the costs are associated with providing and maintaining these and other resort amenities yet (as was publicly complained of in my current region) when after covid restrictions were removed many still shuttered gyms, pools, 'free breakfast/afternoon snack/coffee and cocktail' areas there was no elimination of these fees.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Fl has no state tax for individuals because the extra taxes levied to tourists help to offset all the expenses. I agree that those taxes are good as long as they are spent appropriately. I wish the government though spent like they were running a corporation. The we have to spend every penny budgeted or we won’t get it budgeted next year has created such bloat.

This is also true in New Hampshire. They famously have no income tax and no sales tax, which is wonderful...until you get your property tax bill. They tend to have high taxes on tourist stuff--restaurants, hotels, and so forth. The thought is, tax the tourists, leave the residents alone (until they go out to eat). Every political candidate has pledge not to change the NH tax structure--they wouldn't make it out of the primaries if they didn't.

Meanwhile, Vermont, next door, has sales and income tax. We lived close to the NH/VT border--on weekends, the Target parking lots would be thick with Vermont license plates. Of course, Vermont would never dream of lowering their sales tax--instead, they tried to force NH to add one, in the interest of "fairness". You can imagine how well THAT was received, after NH stopped laughing!

 

[tony67]

This reminds me of shopping/comparing hotel nightly rates. Then when you click on book it, it lists a "resort fee" and they list some petty "amenities" such as free wifi or cable TV, that you can't opt out of anyway, so I'd rather they just raise their price. It's a sales gimmick but it's on the buyer to be aware of it and either avoid places that charge them, or write to the company and let them know how we feel about it as consumers.

Yeah - no doubt its gotten out of hand ... places that are not resorts in any way shape or form now have resort fees.

While resort fees are annoying, at least there is a chance......maybe a small chance....that if enough customers have an issue with them that the hotel will drop them. The fees that really bother me are ones the hotel can't control, the "occupancy taxes" some greedy communities collect from people staying in the hotel. Those fees get me nothing extra.

I suspect almost every customer complains about resort fees.

Even worse .. that fee does not even include parking in most cases, so you have an elevated parking fee as well.

I was at one place, there resort fee was 45 or 50 a day. You got two free drinks...for your entire stay... not daily, but the fee was daily.

 

[tvguy]

they may get you nothing extra as a guest of the hotel but they help just basic maintanance of the infrastructure in many places that attract tourists.

But there is a fine line for government to walk. Like with the yacht sales tax in 1990, 10% of the amount of value of a yacht beyond $1 million dollars. Are yachts a luxury? No question. But working class people build yachts. The rich stopped buying, yacht sales plunged, layoffs ended up costing the government more in unemployment benefits than the tax brought in. DOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!