[hockey-gods-show-wrath]

Okay, maybe extortion is too harsh of a word. Extortion usually involves blackmail, duress, undue influence and the like. Let's call it "soft extortion" or "extortion lite".

I don't know what kind of fantasy land some people are living in but $200 for basic service for an hour, and especially if it was for a half hour is completely
unreasonable and "extortion lite" through and through. Maybe some of us are wiping their a**es with hundred dollar bills. I know I can't afford to do that.

I know all the facts aren't known, and that there could be more to all of these incidents, but I'm going to take things at their typed word for now.
Even if an attendant tries to pre-negotiate it before it gets to the next step, $200 can at best be called a "wildly and stupidly excessive ask" for basic service. $130 on top of the $50 standard tip is at best an "excessive ask" for certain plus service(s) especially if it was made to sound like that "plus" service was supposed to be $130 all-in and not $130 plus an additional $50.

An attendant better be smart enough to bring up something like that first so I can respectfully and outright refuse it and go on about my day. I'm sorry but if an attendant tried to rope me at the end for a $200 tip for something that should only cost a $90-$100 tip, they crossed the line of decency first and their behaviour and how they'd handle my outright refusal to give anything other than $90-$100 would dictate how I'd act next.

Free market and capitalism works in that I'm an informed
consumer. I'm informed about a price beforehand(like I should always be) and if I don't like, I leave quietly and go on to the next. Or in this case I just get a really really basic plain body rub, give the minimum tip for the time so as to not be any trouble and go on about my day. Never see that attendant ever again.

If they act respectfully and keep calm, I then act respectfully and keep calm. I would only act in kind about the informing of "extortion lite" if an attendant got argumentative and didn't like my stance and/or wouldn't let let me leave. Is it juvenile and childish, sure. Sometimes you have to act like a child with those that act childish toward you first because that's all they understand. Eye for an eye. DGAF.

Although it may not seem like it from this rant I do prefer the calm,
reasonable and respectful route to resolution. I just don't lie down and give in to the B.S.