Park MGM charging a "venue fee" at their bars

It says "all transactions". So I read it literally. But considering where they placed it on the menu, I can see why you would conclude that. Its sneaky

 

all table service transactions.

 

Per NFC's posts with Park MGM on Instagram he was charged a "venue" fee for the bar. So it appears it is not just bottle service - I read it as any transaction at the table. @notfromconcentrate were you at the bar or a table?

 

I was at the bar... and you're correct, the message said all checks including the bar, whereas the menu says table.

I called them out on this on Twitter yesterday and told them they have 24 hours to apologize and promise to refund it or I'm doing a chargeback. Still haven't heard back, so I'll be proceeding with a chargeback tomorrow and possibly a Nevada AG complaint form for this deceptive practice.

 

Exactly. This isn't strictly a pricing thing, there's a psychology element to it as well. I can't speak for everyone but, while I can't say I'd be pleased about an increase from $18 to $19, I'd also rather just be charged $19 versus $18 plus a silly fee.

 

I am thinking I want to buy some t-shirts and wear them around the hotel pointing this out.

This is nuts.

 

Something tells me their twitter feed may have some updates very soon.

 

My initial tweet about it blew right up, and got retweeted 18 times, including by Vital Vegas and LVA. Hope that will get them to take it seriously.

 

Lol- there are some very funny people on twitter.

Quote from a twitter user — ROFLMAO


“One fee pays for the Wi, the other pays for the Fi. You're not even being charged for the hyphen, which the casino provides for free.

Very ungrateful.”

Sounds like something @RichardAlpert would say. [emoji1787][emoji1787]

 

I’m glad I saw this morning the Vital Vegas retweet/likes of your various tweets to @ParkMGM. For me, the photo you use on Twitter and the language you used with them paints your issue and frankly, credibility in a lesser manner than do your posts here on VMB. Just my opinion.

Giving their “sorry asses
24 hours” to comply with your demands isn’t how I would’ve handled it, but good luck to you.

 

https://fox6now.com/2019/09/06/a-man-ordered-a-beer-for-6-76-the-hotel-charged-him-67689/

Now who wants to complain about a venue fee.

 

Perfectly fair. I admit I was aggressive and perhaps a bit abrasive in what I said, but I stand by it even though it's not what most would have done. What they did was slimy, sneaky, and deliberate, and I don't think that warrants a "respectful disagreement" type response as though this was just an honest error when it was the exact opposite, and they doubled down on it when challenged.

 

I think the long term consequences of these sorts of actions (fees, reduction in staff, reduction in comps) is that it tears away at brand loyalty. If there is something or somethings that bothers you, one could go elsewhere. I transitioned to the Wynn and I'm not looking back. The repeat customer is the valued customer and if a company starts losing the repeat customers, it will eventually have a negative impact.

 

I'm staying there next week, so it is definitely making a difference as to the places I'll eat or drink. I was looking forward to trying Mama Rabbit, but not so much now. I'll also be paying closer attention to any receipt I receive elsewhere there this trip as well.

 

I personally like the idea of asking to see the receipt before paying, then saying no thanks and leave the drink to die if I see a fee charged.

 

IMO, this is the "logical" way of fighting this problem... as it effectively doubles their loss (since you won't give them their money, AND they had to waste a drink that nobody will pay for).

Sadly, there are too many moral issues with that approach since the bartender will get the brunt of the hassle...

- Possibly getting in trouble for wastage, especially if they've already made a few mistake drinks that went to waste and this might put them over some limit that prompts disciplinary action
- Getting a manager's help to void the sale
- Wasting time with that process when they could be spending their time serving customers and getting tips
- Probably not getting tipped at all since there was no sale

Plus, even if it DOES work and the nonsense fees suddenly disappear, a bartender is unlikely to forget the face of a person who caused them that much trouble. So then if you show your face at that bar again once they've gotten their act together, you may end up being at that bartender's mercy.

It just sucks that the faceless/anonymous "corporate" clowns who think up this foolishness basically use the front-line staff as a human shield, using the social stigma against being abusive to front-line staff over policies which they cannot control as a way of preventing customers from reacting how they really want to react. You're basically left with the three options of (i) Argue about it and be an asshole, (ii) Just pay the extra fee to not cause trouble, or (iii) Just don't go there, and become inconvenienced in having to find another place.

 

Jim Murren called. You're both hired.

 

So when I asked Park MGM on Facebook Messenger to clarify when/how I consented to paying that fee and how much it is (on Wednesday) they left me on read.

Yesterday, I followed up saying “Hi guys... need to hear back ASAP. Thanks.”. Left on read again.

Tried to follow up again today, and it appears that they BLOCKED me, just for asking a very simple question about this fee that they’re supposedly standing by with no trouble, and following up exactly once (so it’s not like I was harassing them or anything).

This has really crossed a line now...

 

Unbelievable but believable. I also saw another post on Vital Vegas that one of the Sahara bars charges a 20% venue fee. WTF?

Now most resort fees are $40+. Things are getting out of hand. I still think there are good deals out there but Resorts need to be transparent and need to be held accountable like they have made the airlines.

But next thing AC will have a surcharge, hot water, the elevator- or take the stairs to the 30th floor.