Annoying Add-ons

I travelled to the not so frigid north for Thanksgiving. I was happy to see that they still have stars in the sky out in the country.

When I got back to Atlanta I had to bail my car out of the off-airport parking lot. The bill came to $31.00 which seemed to be an odd amount since the lot doesn't have hourly charges - if you park over 24 hours you pay for the full next day.

When I got home and looked at the receipt, I found out that I had the privilege of paying a $1.00 "fuel surcharge." I guess it makes some sense given the fleet of shuttle buses eating gas; but, it's still annoying.

A year or so ago I got hit with a daily $1.15 "security fee" at a Myrtle Beach La Quinta. When I asked the clerk what that was for I was told it was for the safe that I didn't know was in my room.

This spring I went to Tucson for a weekend of golf at Loews Ventana Ranch Resort. Each day I was charged $12.00 for "resort services."

A number of years ago there was a steak place in Atlanta that gave the customer the task of grilling their own steak. If you wanted the steak delivered to your table ready to eat, they charged an extra $2.00.

I'm waiting for McDonalds to add a quarter to the price of a Big Mac for "wrapping services."