I live in Hawaii.....I love it here. But last night my friends had the most horrid of experiences at what is considered one of Honolulu's finest restaurants, John Dominis in Kakaaka, Honolulu. She gave her charge card to her waiter to pay for her portion of a large party. 20 minutes later he returned to tell her the card was declined. She was forced to come to where we work to get cash. In the meantime she called her bank and her card had not only been charged TWICE for her portion but also for $943!!!! AND the host of the party had already paid for the entire amount so her portion was double pay....funny the waiter didn't notice that, huh?

When she confronted the manager on duty he was most flippant and uncooperative and said he would straigthen it out in a few days. What??? When she threatened to file a police report he responded with 'go right ahead'.

I am posting this as a warning that no matter where you go, fraud happens. The attitude of the evening management is appalling and unforgivable.

Things like this give anywhere a black eye. DON'T LET YOUR CHARGE CARDS OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!!!

DON'T LET YOUR CHARGE CARDS OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!!!

So your advice is not to use a charge card in any restaurant ever? Sorry, I don't intend to get up and walk to the back and stand over a waiter's shoulder to keep my card in sight. It would be nice if we had those hand held devices they bring to the tables in Europe, but we don't.

Sorry there was this horrible problem and I'm not trying to excuse it, but to suggest because one person out of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of nightly charges had a problem you should never trust anyone is a bit extreme -- don't you think?

I'm not sure I totally understand what happened, but it really doesn't sound like fraud to me. It sounds like careless error or even incompetence as well as bad attitude on the part of management -- but fraud? Not really.

CC fraud is rampant now, but its shocking to hear it happened at J Dominis. Another scam is they make a 'copy' of your card in the backroom and use it a Walmart to buy something to resell(like a computer).
In Hawaii last month I used cash at every restaurant that I couldnt charge to my Ritz Bill(Ritz lets you charge local restaurants on your room bill)

"CC fraud is rampant now, but its shocking to hear it happened at J Dominis."

Again -- FRAUD? Do you honestly think the restaurant did this on purpose? Do you honestly think that anyone at the restaurant would deliberately do these double charges without knowing that the charges would immediately be removed? This story has no relation to the many stories of a waiter "stealing" the number and making other charges elsewhere -- no relation at all.

Again what happened is terrible, but sure sounds like incompetence and not FRAUD.

It sounds more like a a criminal making a mistake, rather than an honest waiter. Certainly I dont think the restaurant is aware of this, just some dope pocketing the cash and quiting the next day.

I'm with Patrick all the way on this one. Stupidity? Yes. Carelessness? Yes. Poor attitude? Yes. Bad management? Yes. Poor internal communications? A definite yes. But, intentional fraud? Very doubtful.

Is there a specific association to questionable credit card practices in Hawaii? I would think this could happen anywhere but if something is going on due to a drop in tourism or the economy in general it would be good to know. Thanks.

"just some dope pocketing the cash and quiting the next day."

Now I'm confused. Can anyone explain how that waiter could "pocket the cash" from this type of transaction? What cash?

The other table whose bill was incorrectly charged to the card may have paid with cash. Waiter could have charged it to the card and pocketed the cash. Not saying that is what happened but it is possible.

I assume Maili Lady's friend DID file a police report AND called the credit card company immediately.

"Things like this give anywhere a black eye. DON'T LET YOUR CHARGE CARDS OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!!!"

I am sorry for your friend's experience, but this is a ridiculous statement that offers impractical advice, and in my opinion reduces the credibility of this post. I just returned from Hawaii and used my credit card and had no problems.

I was in Boulder, CO recently for a skating competition. 60+ people went to a restaurant for dinner, some used cash, some used CC. Upon checking my statement online, I noticed a double charge from the restaurant. Before I could even contact the company, a credit had been given for the extra charge. You should be checking statements for any problems, big or little.

looking for a restaurant on windward side...owned by son of Harry Owens.......anyone there have any idea?

itsmlf, your question is worth its own thread. Maybe titled "Harry Owens son's restaurant in Hawaii". It would really be an odd coincidence if anyone who knows the answer would happen to visit this old thread that is entirely unrelated.

I know his name is Tim Owens, but haven't a clue if he owns a restaurant.

The poster is jumping to the conclusion that this was fraud, with no justification for doing so.