Additional restaurant charges accepted during festive season

During the first three to four days of Chinese New Year, many restaurants in Macau have chosen to close their doors. And it is common for those who have opened for business to charge patrons an extra amount for service fees, which can be as much as 30 percent of the original price.
Some residents told TDM that they understood the decision to increase prices. “Having a 30-percent extra charge is alright. But it would be unacceptable if they charged more [than that],” one of the interviewees said. Another claimed that the additional charge is reasonable because of the extra wages that employers must pay during the period. “Where does the money come from? Of course, it comes from the customers,” he said. One resident believes that people should not dine at restaurants if they cannot accept additional fees.
However, some also said that they do not dine out during CNY because it is too crowded, and because people have to queue too long before being served.
One restaurant manager said that they had applied a 30-percent extra charge on their customers during the first three days of CNY (February 19 and 21), which is higher than the usual rate, which lies between 5 and 20 percent. However, she thought that customers were glad that there were places open during the period, and pointed out that their charges were still cheaper compared to eating out at other places.
As of February 13, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau had received notices from 155 restaurants and food vending businesses about price changes on their menus.
The bureau fined 62 restaurants and food-vending businesses last year for their failure to notify the authority.
The Macau Government Tourist Office also said that 168 out of more than 300 restaurants have notified the office of their decision to increase prices this year by between 5 and 20 percent. The office’s director, Helena de Senna Fernandes, reminded restaurants that they must give notice to the office if they choose to impose extra charges and fees during holidays, or else they will face a fine of up to MOP2,500. JPL

42 cases of taxi irregularities

The Public Security Police (PSP) caught 42 taxis violating taxi regulations between February 17 and 20. The authorities have urged taxi drivers not to break the law. In those 42 prosecutions, 19 of them involved charging excessive fares and 14 involved refusing fares. The PSP said that they have a zero-tolerance policy regarding taxi irregularities, and that the operation against rule-breaching taxi drivers in the CNY period has so far been successful. It also revealed that, between January 1 and February 21, PSP has prosecuted 1,131 cases of taxi irregularities, with 309 of them related to the charging of excessive fares and 211 involving the refusal of fares.