������Ƶ

It has become increasingly expensive to eat out, and more so with new fees such as kitchen charges and credit card swipe fees unsuspecting diners might not see until the end of a meal.

On top of that thereʻs tipflation — the tips you are expected to pay now for services you never tipped on before such as takeout coffee from a counter. And thereʻs tip shaming when credit card machines prompt diners to give hefty tips — sometimes as high as 25% to 30%.

Tips, at least, are voluntary. But and they are not always advertised ahead of time.

However, banning these hidden fees may not be a cost-saving panacea. More on that later.

California will ban hidden mandatory fees when goes into effect July 1. 

Hawaii is poised to follow suit if a bill advancing in the state Senate this session wins final legislative approval.

“Nobody likes the added fees. They are frustrating and can be confusing. I think it makes sense to be more transparent about them,” said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole.

He chairs the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, which on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to Senate Bill 2020 to prohibit “junk fees” as President Joe Biden calls them, as part of the total cost of a product or service.

The hope is to end deceptive practices such as the service fee tacked on the price of concert tickets but only after customers have committed to buying the ticket. 

Then there are hotels requiring a resort fee even from guests who donʻt use any resort amenities. It is just a sneaky way to increase the price of a hotel room.

And restaurants would have to warn diners in advance if they have kitchen charges.

You see added fees in many Honolulu restaurants and the Highway Inn, which charges a 5% kitchen service fee. Zippy’s and Highway Inn both let customers know about their service fees on their menus. However, Highway Inn’s warning is only in tiny print at the bottom of the menu that also mentions an automatic 18% tip charge for parties of six or more.

Businesses could continue to impose the fees, but they would have to give customers advance warning. No surprises.

The State Office of Consumer Protection strongly supports the measure it says will ensure transparency.

“Requiring mandatory disclosures of fees across all industries protects consumers from deceptive hidden fees and bait and switch pricing,”  at Wednesdayʻs hearing of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

The measure was referred with amendments to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The  to fine businesses that fail to warn customers about their mandatory extra fees. The rule also would require businesses to quickly provide refunds to customers who claim they have been deceived.

But Honolulu restaurants say this type of legislation is harmful when so many of them are struggling to stay in business. And it might raise rather than reduce the prices customers pay to eat out.

I hate being forced to pay extra if I use a credit card, but all kinds of small businesses say they need to impose the fee because credit card companies keep raising the price they have to pay to offer the service.

Restaurateur Tom Jones says the added charges are needed to help restaurants survive as their costs soar on everything from rents and insurance payments as well as the increasing costs of the food they prepare, cleaning supplies, electricity, health benefits and base salaries with the minimum wage hiked this year from $12 to $14 per hour.

With staffing shortages, many restaurants now have to pay higher salaries and offer more benefits to get employees to stay.

Restaurant profit margins are slim. Jones jokes they’re “zero to negative” and says any business making 5% to 8% profit is considered highly successful.

Jones, president and co-owner of three Gyotaku Japanese Restaurants, says right now he is just breaking even.

Gyotaku restaurants do not add extra fees. He says they tried imposing a 4% kitchen fee in 2016, but customers complained so loudly he stopped the fee after two months.

His regulars told him to raise prices instead of making them pay the extra fee. But he says the downside for consumers of raising menu prices is they will end up having to pay higher tips on their higher bills.

Victor Lim, the owner of five McDonaldʻs franchises on Oahu, says if a ban on extra fees becomes law in Hawaii he will raise the prices of all the food items on his menus rather than have to advertise upfront the exact amount of his restaurants only added charge: its fee for home delivery.

He says it is difficult to inform customers ahead of time the exact cost of food delivery because it varies depending on how much food is ordered, which delivery company is transporting the food and how far away the customer lives.

Lim says raising prices to meet the demands of a new law could mean $8 rather than $6 for a Big Mac and that would drive away many of his cash-strapped customers.

Lim is legislative lead for , which represents 4,000 restaurants and bars in the islands.

In his testimony to the Legislature opposing the bill he said restaurants are different than other businesses because they typically give customers a chance to opt out if they complain about an additional charge.

Jones of Gyotaku says although many details need to be worked out in the bill he supports its demand for transparency.

“We are in the hospitality business. We want to make our customers happy,” he says.