Originally Posted by andymo99

I assumed simply because I have never seen a shoeshine charge at hotels in the past. I've never been charged for lots of goods and services at hotels (toothbrushes, for example), and so not asking is actually an optimal long-term heuristic, even if it fails now and then.

Regardless, I probably wouldn't have protested had the service been adequate, but they dropped the ball at both pick-up and delivery, which makes $7 unreasonable, I think. (That is to say, even if the $7 fee had been disclosed, I likely would have objected to the level of service and suggested a refund, which was actually my tack in this instance.)