Quiet Time Surcharges and Other Hospitality Industry Absurdities

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Ever been blindsided by a strange charge on your restaurant bill? Imagine finishing a peaceful meal only to discover a 20% "quiet time surcharge" tacked on simply because you dined during off-peak hours. According to one customer's account, a restaurant justified this fee by comparing it to "flying private instead of commercial" – as if enjoying a less crowded dining room somehow warranted an extra cost!

The hospitality industry seems to be finding increasingly creative ways to test customer boundaries. Beyond questionable restaurant charges, disturbing research from Germany suggests our favorite sodas might be doing more than expanding our waistlines – they could be contributing to depression. Scientists have discovered a link between soft drink consumption and increased levels of gut bacteria associated with depressive disorders, with women apparently facing higher risks than men. This adds another concerning dimension to the already well-documented health issues related to sugary beverages.

Perhaps most troubling is the story of a family with a three-year-old child who were allegedly denied their Marriott hotel reservation in Las Vegas because the father didn't have his physical credit card present – despite the chain's heavily marketed digital check-in service. The family claims they were forced to spend the night in their car in the scorching Vegas heat, raising serious questions about corporate policies versus compassionate customer service. When confronted, the hotel management apparently doubled down on their position, prioritizing procedure over a family's wellbeing. What would you do if faced with these situations? Would you pay that unexpected surcharge, or would you stand your ground? These stories highlight the often frustrating disconnect between what businesses advertise and what customers actually experience. Share your thoughts or similar experiences – we'd love to hear how you navigate these hospitality industry challenges!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello and good morning.
It's Thursday, welcome one andall.
I have three stories for you,and they're all from the
hospitality industry.
Believe it or not, I am notbringing you major headlines
that the regular news is goingto talk about, like the shooting
yesterday in Texas at the ICEfacility the shooting yesterday

(00:26):
in Texas at the ICE facility.
I was watching or listening toPat Gray yesterday morning when
it happened and I just neverreally got a full story all day
long, although because I stoppedlistening to the news, I just
went on and watched my othershows and did my work at work.
Believe it or not, I also wrotea little bit, but yeah, I

(00:47):
wasn't paying attention to thenews, so I've been trying to
ease off of that for a littlewhile.
We are going to talk about,let's see, we've got some drinks
that make you depressed,non-alcoholic drinks that make
you depressed.
We've got some tips that arecharges put on your bill at a

(01:09):
restaurant that were uncalledfor, and then we have a Marriott
hotel refusing to accommodatepeople.
All right, and I think some ofthem are fake.
But you know, with the New YorkPost, I want to ask you
something.
This is not the question of theday.
But do you think the New YorkPost excluding the Dear Abby

(01:31):
because I do believe the DearAbbeys are fake but do you think
that the New York Post wouldtotally make up a story and
write something and put it outthere?
I mean, I mean total fakery.
A story and write something andput it out there?
I mean I mean total fakery, notembellishment of a story, but
just total.
Make stuff up and put it outthere.
Do you think that?

(01:51):
Do you think they would do that?
All right, that is not thequestion of the day, although it
probably should be.
Maybe it will be All right,let's see.
Let's see the first one up.
Is this uh, let's see the firstone up is this uh, greedy
restaurant sneaks.
Added charge onto bill forthose.
Why, for this wild reason, areyou kidding me?
A customer had somereservations about his bill at a

(02:14):
restaurant.
One frustrated customer claimedthat they were charged a quiet
time surcharge on their bill.
What does that mean?
That means they went to therestaurant when it was not busy,
not during peak hours.
So in other words, since theygot the restaurant to their
selves pretty much.
I mean, you're open, you'reopen anyway.
I can't help it that yourrestaurant is not filled at

(02:37):
three or four o'clock in theafternoon.
You're not going to charge meextra for that.
No, sir, you are not.
I will not pay it.
I will pay what I ordered.
I will tip my server.
I'm not paying that extra, sircharge.
One frustrated customer claimedthat they were.
I already read that.
Sorry, the user shared onReddit.

(02:58):
Of course it's Reddit, so it'sprobably fake that they decided
to check.
Do these reporters, reportersand I put reporters and
journalists in quote in airquotes at the New York Post do
they?
Do they troll Reddit and lookfor stupid shit to write about?
Apparently so, because a lot oftheir stories come from Reddit,

(03:19):
which I think I never haveunderstood.
Reddit.
I've created so many differentaccounts over there, tried to
follow it and do stuff.
I don't understand Reddit atall, but that's probably because
I'm old, all right.
Shared on Reddit that theydecided to check out a local
restaurant for the first timewhich seemed to be a quiet place

(03:40):
to dine.
What seemed like a good thingquickly went south At the end of
the meal.
I checked my bill and there'san extra 20% pre-tip charge
labeled quiet time surcharge.
Oh, you could name it somethingelse.
Name it something else.
That way you might get awaywith it.

(04:01):
The diner assumed it was anerror and asked the server what
it meant.
The server apparently lookedsheepish before explaining.
According to the Reddit post,the server said something along
the lines of Management sayswhen it's not busy, you are
basically getting the place toyourself.
It's kind of like flyingprivate instead of commercial.

(04:27):
No, no, no, I had to laugh.
But also, are you kidding me?
They wrote in their post I'mnot chartering a restaurant, I
just wanted a dinner.
If anything, it's less servicework when the place is empty.
Many people in the commentsagreed that this greedy

(04:48):
situation was ridiculous.
It is ridiculous.
You are already open forbusiness.
It's not like I asked you toopen at special time, just for
me.
No, so let's see, all chargesnot advertised are illegal and
others can be removed.
One person wrote I would refuseto pay the bill until it was

(05:12):
removed and get a receipt andcheck the charge online.
Oh yeah, oh, wow.
So what do y'all think aboutthat little story?
All right, moving on to the nextone.
All right, non-alcoholic softdrinks.
This is kind of a no-brainerright here for me.
If you ask me but nobody'sasking me I'm just telling you

(05:32):
Okay, so does popular.
Oh sorry, so much for a sugarhigh.
Soda's popularity has fizzledover the years as study after
study has revealed that itssugar and calories fuel the risk
of obesity, type 2 diabetes anddental issues, among other

(05:52):
health problems.
Well, yes, we did know thatalready and you know, with all
of this cdc and the rfkj thingand the new information on
vaccines and autism and tylenol,the dye is being removed, the
chemicals being removed andeverybody getting on glp.
Is anybody even exercising?
We are getting all kinds of newhealth information, but is

(06:13):
anybody exercising?
Because exercising I think I'mnot a doctor.
I will.
I'm not a doctor, but I thinkexercising helps with mental
health issues too.
I trust me, I speak fromexperience.
Okay, now new research out ofgermany suggests that consuming
so keep that in mind, it's agermany study suggests that

(06:34):
consuming soft drinks can alsoincrease the odds of developing
depression.
Researchers say that poppingpop raises levels of eager
thalia, a type of gut bacteriafound to be more abundant in
people with depression.
Women are at higher risk thanmen.
These findings underscore therole of diet in depression and

(06:56):
highlight the gut microbiome asa key mediator.
I know, I, I tend I wouldprobably believe this.
Participants self-reported theirokay, they, I guess they did a
study.
250, 527 people, wait, wait.
This team studied 405 peoplewith major depressive orders and

(07:16):
527 people without it.
Participants self-reportedtheir mental health symptoms and
soda intake.
Stool samples were used toanalyze their gut bacteria.
The study authors hypothesizedthat soda consumption is linked
to depression symptoms and thebacteria.
Okay, well, okay, that's great,you can go finish reading that.

(07:37):
It is on the New York Post siteand I think it's under the the
lifestyle.
So if you really want to goread about that it's more
involved you can go check thatout under lifestyle.
All right, last up, this one, Ithink, has got to be fake.
I mean, who does this?

(07:58):
Marriott?
Apparently vegas hotel oustedfamily to sleep in their car in
scorching heat for a wild reason, they claim.
I repeatedly sought help.
A marriott left a young familyhigh and dry in sin city,
literally.
A dad has claimed that he, hiswife and their three-year-old

(08:18):
were forced to spend the nightsweating in their car after the
brand new element and ac hotel,hotel Symphony Park, refused to
honor their reservation.
All because he didn't have aplastic credit card in hand, the
only reason I had misplaced myphysical plastic credit card,
the only reason I had misplacedmy physical plastic credit card.

(08:39):
The furious guest revealed toone mile at a time, slamming the
chain for standing them up inthe Vegas heat.
Veiled to one mile at a timeslamming the chain for standing
them up in the vegas heat.
I have many, many, manyquestions.
Um, why are you taking yourthree-year-old and wife to vegas
?
Maybe they were just passingthrough and they needed a place
to stay for the night?
That could be.
That could also be.
I mean sure he's got all hisrights and to go, but I just

(09:07):
they don't take cash.
I guess nobody takes cashanymore.
Maybe he didn't have cash, Idon't know, but could he have
not gone somewhere else?
Maybe, I don't know, I wouldassume he would have cash, but
maybe not know.

(09:29):
I would assume he would havecash, but maybe not the only
reason.
Okay, the?
Instead of a cool Marriottsuite, his toddler curled up in
the back seat while mom tried tosleep in the passenger seat.
My young child and wife sleptin our vehicle on a.
Well, you did too, didn't you?
I repeatedly sought helpthrough every official channel.
The Marriott, okay.
So the kicker the Marriottactually promotes digital
check-in as a way to skip thefront desk, but when this

(09:51):
desperate dad tried it, healleged the so-called perk
turned into a parking lotpunishment, according to One
Mile at a Time, the generalmanager eventually sent a
message that read more like ascript than an apology I do
apologize for not being able tocheck you in without a physical
credit card being present at thetime of check-in At our

(10:11):
property.
We do require a matching ID andcredit card be run through the
chip and pin machine.
I do sincerely apologize forany inconvenience.
All right.
So then he escalated thecomplaint and corporate
allegedly doubled down on thestatement to him, with Marriott
Brass saying that Vegas Hotelwas within its rights to demand

(10:34):
a physical credit card and ID,even while admitting they're
much hyped digital.
I mean, what would you do as amanager at this point?
I think I'd give him a room.
I'd say come on in, just stayfor the night, and then you have
to figure something out,especially for that
three-year-old.
I mean, maybe I'm a softie, Idon't know.
The story goes on.
If you want to finish that,it's over at the New York Post

(10:55):
in the lifestyle section.
I get most of my strangestories over there from the
lifestyle section.
All right, we need to move on tothe question of the day.
Okay, I think I'm going tostick with that original
question.
If you had some kind of weirdextra charge you remember during
covid they did this crap tooextra charge on your bill.

(11:18):
That's not food related.
And you're in a restaurant.
I'm not talking about tip.
I'm not talking about tip.
I'm not talking about apre-designated tip.
Some restaurants do that toofor big parties.
But if they gave that excuse ofquiet time surcharge, would you
pay it?
I would not.
I'd pay my regular bill.

(11:38):
Here's what you get.
Here's the tip for the servercash.
Bye, call the cops.
All right, I gotta go.
Thanks for listening.
Bye.