X (formerly Twitter) account @LauraCunei has shared a ticket from a restaurant in Ibiza which included twelve euros cost for using a bag hanger. The user details in the comment attached to the image: “The waitress kindly offers us to place our bags on a hook on the table. We declined her offer, but at her insistence, we accepted“. Then, in the same post you ask if this charge is normal or legal.
The author of the post explains in the comments that, when she and her companions complained about the charge, the establishment offered to take the hook. “We are used to these prices in Ibiza […] but the hooked stuff is mind-boggling,” he regrets.
The restaurant has assured this newspaper that “the bag hook is a merchandising item and is not part of any mandatory charge”.
“It is offered like many of the other services we offer as a optional service so that the customer can keep his or her bag safe and visible. The amount shown on the ticket is always deducted at checkout if the customer does not wish to keep it,” explains the store representative. “In no case does it constitute a “business strategy” or a cover charge,” they state while regretting that this misunderstanding has put their reputation at stake.
“When we saw the ticket we were amazed and we told them [al restaurante] that if we had to pay for it we would, but that it didn’t seem normal to us, because we hadn’t asked for it. They replied that we could keep the hook if we wanted. Faced with our refusal and our incredulous faces, they immediately gave us a new ticket without the concept ‘hook bag’,” explained the customer who uploaded the bill to social networks after being consulted by this newspaper.
“In the tweet I do not say that we paid that, I just ask if it is normal or if it is legal because we were very surprised. At no time did they offer us the object as ‘merchandising’ nor did they talk to us about its price, they included it in the total price of the ticket without telling us”, said the client of the establishment.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.