We all know that any product is worth whatever somebody is prepared to pay for it. But sometimes, especially as a traveller in a strange place, the customer doesn’t have a choice.
Social media and the web are full of stories about people who believe they have been ripped off when it comes to paying for food and beverages..
Recent examples include a man who was charged €43 (US$50 or nearly A$70) for two coffees and two bottles of water at a cafe in St Mark’s Square, Venice.
The restaurant owner said customers paid a premium to enjoy the “experience” of sitting in the square, a famous and popular tourist destination. If the customer had stayed indoors and stood to drink the coffee, it would have cost just €1.25, rather than €11.50.
“If they want to sit outside and enjoy the music of the orchestra, look at the bell tower and the Basilica of St Mark’s, then they are paying for an entirely different experience,” a cafe spokesperson said.
Really? I’ve heard the orchestra and looked at the bell tower and basilica on several occasions and paid absolutely nothing. And even if you accept the restaurateur’s logic, does that justify charging about eight times the price per cup of coffee?
Another story that caught my eye concerned Houston Astros baseball pitcher Justin Verlander, who tweeted in good humour about staff at the Beverly Hills Hotel charging him $1 million extra because of his devastating form against their team, the Dodgers.
What caught my eye was not the joke addition, but the legitimate price of the other items on the bill. You’d have to be a wealthy sports star — or a little crazy — to pay $9 for a latte, $42 for a salad and $30 for pancakes.
As it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to the US, so I checked the prices for pancakes at a popular franchise. And, to be sure, Verlander was paying a rather large premium for the experience of being at a posh LA hotel.
One suspects that in the case of the rich and famous, it’s all about being somewhere exclusive, away from the prying eyes of those who can’t afford to be there.
For the rest of us, though, it’s a major issue that can burn a hole in our holiday budget. Certainly nobody can begrudge a restaurateur factoring in costs and allowing for a reasonable profit. But when does it become ridiculous?
This is an issue that caught the attention of travel, wine and food blogger Winsor Dobbin, who notes that some restaurants are now charging for bread, and fears a future where everything — including the cutlery — is regarded as an extra. (If you think that’s far-fetched, remember that many airlines now charge for things that were once included, such as meals, stowed luggage and seat selection.)
“As far as I am concerned, a restaurateur should provide guests with a table and chairs, cutlery and crockery, salt and pepper, bread and tap water,” Dobbin writes.
“Anything else, fine, go ahead and charge like a wounded bull – just make sure the charges are clearly marked on the menu. Better still, just build the basic costs into your menu prices, as you do rent, staff payments, food costs, insurance and breakages.”
The question remains: At what point are they just having a laugh at our expense?
This isn’t common in Thailand but it sometimes happens. After our meal at a riverside restaurant in Bangkok, the waitress put a bowl of disgusting looking lollies on the table. They looked like they’d been pre-sucked. We didn’t touch them. But when the bill came, among the other items, it had “Dessert 80 baht”. They didn’t get their 80 baht, and they certainly didn’t get a tip…
From Facebook: Prague is the worst – we were charged for having salt and pepper on the table – regardless of whether you used them.
Good column, my friend.
But I refuse to feel sorry for Justin Verlander (who used to pitch for my favourite team, the Detroit Tigers). His lifetime income, according to the definitive BaseballReference.com, is US $198.5 million, and counting. Did I mention that he’s married to Kate Upton.