10% gratuity added to bill

[Byz]

AIBU to be annoyed by a 10% gratuity charge being automatically added to my bill at a restaurant?

Seafood restaurant in the North East, a little town, not a city.

For four of us our bill came to about £230 and a £23 tip was automatically added to the bill. It did state at the bottom of the menu an optional charge would be added but they didn't ask me before actually adding it.
When the waitress brought the bill over she reminded us about the gratuity and said she would remove it if we prefer but I think I should have been asked if I wanted it adding in the first place. It was quite embarrassing to ask for it to be removed. She was polite about it but did seem a bit surprised.

Food was good, service was good and I would have left £10 but it soured the evening a bit so I left nothing. I don't think tips should be expected in this country.

[lovemelongtime]

Its fairly standard nowadays - but yes I agree it always annoys me and I have sometimes asked for it to be removed. I want to decide what to tip not have it automatically added on

[Gloryofthe80s]

So you left less than a 5% tip for good service?

[Worthyornot]

It's pretty normal and standard and has been for a long time. I prefer this, instead of sitting and calculating especially if the bill is being split. 10 after spending 230 is measly op, unless you received poor service.

[orchi]

I think it's perfectly reasonable to want to decide if and how much to tip. I think a £23 tip is enormous and would never tip that amount!

[Mistystar99]

You soured the waitress' day too. You should have just paid it!

[RetreatRetreatRetreat]

Service charge is 12.5% here almost everywhere. It annoys me, just put your prices on the menu including the service charge!!

[BigChesterDraws]

They’ve done exactly what they told you they would do. A charge was added to your bill and you were given the option to remove it. The menu didn’t say “at the end of the meal we will ask if you want a gratuity to be added”, it said “an optional charge will be added”. They did just that and you have an issue with it.

[tenbob]

Is this the first time you have been to a restaurant?

It has been standard practice to add a service charge to bills for at least a decade

hell, when I was a waitress 20 years ago, it was standard for tables of 6 or more

you would have to be living under a rock to be surprised at this

[Brefugee]

it's pretty standard. I ask if they get the tips, or if they share them, or if they go to the restaurant and they only get some of it.
I was at a place in London the other day, food was great, service was appalling so we requested the 12% gratuity was taken off, and it was.

[ShirleyPhallus]

It literally said it was optional, what are you bitching for?

[Newusernameaug]

You left nothing so you took your anger out on the poor staff who have no say over whether it’s added automatically or not. Nice one.

[Valid8me]

@Gloryofthe80s

So you left less than a 5% tip for good service?

It's their job to give good service. If they go above and beyond then fair enough but just for doing their job?

[Cigarettesaftersex1]

£10 is a bit tight on a £230 bill, especially as you say food and service was good. 23% would have been 10% and much fairer

[Cigarettesaftersex1]

Sorry £23 would have been 10%

[mast0650]

£10 would have been very mean! I think 10% is expected and I would always leave 10% unless the service was really bad (very rare). The people I go out with are the same. It's becoming very common these days to include the service in the bill, though you do have the option to remove it. Because otherwise some people don't pay when they should, especially in large cities where there is less customer loyalty and repeat business. Plus it's easier now everyone uses cards and may not have cash to hand. It's pretty much the norm in London now. On the whole I prefer service to just be included rather than needing to add it separately as a tip. Perhaps we should move to a system where it is just included in the prices from the start.

[Cigarettesaftersex1]

I've just noticed that you didn't leave the £10 either. Not good

[BigChesterDraws]

@orchi

I think it's perfectly reasonable to want to decide if and how much to tip. I think a £23 tip is enormous and would never tip that amount!

10% is not “enormous”. It’s on the lower end of standard. They ordered 230 quid of food and drinks. Sounds like that would have been several courses/rounds of drinks. The waitress would have been kept on her toes and definitely earned £23.

[ChickpeaPie]

She didn’t leave £10, she left nothing

[Lilithslove]

I find it appalling that people who are happy to spend £230 on a meal begrudge someone on minimum wage a tip for good service. It's pretty disgusting that you decided not to tip on the basis of something that the waitress had no control over when she had given you good service.

I am guessing that you are in the fortunate position of never having had to work for minimum wage in the hospitality industry.

[Precipice]

I'm impressed she actually brought it up and gave the option of removal. Usually they're just presented to you.

I agree, OP. If restaurants want to increase their prices by 10%, they should increase the actual price, not hide it as a later add-on. I really resent when gratuity charges are added. The worst I've seen is when (it didn't even say optional! so presumably wasn't? I don't know if they can make them actually binding as a charge) it was a fee applied to a buffet. 'Service charge' when there's no serving!

I think it's ridiculous to call it 'tight' for people to pay just the prices charged and object to extra charges being levied. Are you being 'tight' when you go to a shop and pay what is charged instead of adding on a %? Are you being 'tight' when you go to a shop, see something has a price tag of X and query it when it's being charged at the till for a higher price? There's no justifiable reason for certain business sectors to expect to be paid more than they charge.

[Discovereads]

It did state at the bottom of the menu an optional charge would be added but they didn't ask me before actually adding it. When the waitress brought the bill over she reminded us about the gratuity and said she would remove it if we prefer but I think I should have been asked if I wanted it adding in the first place. It was quite embarrassing to ask for it to be removed. She was polite about it but did seem a bit surprised.

The etiquette in this situation is to discreetly let the server know not to add the optional charge after placing your order or when you ask for the bill. You don’t wait for the bill to come and then kick up a fuss.

[pjparty]

I love it when it's automatically added, much less of faff and tipping at least 10% is pretty standard in this country, particularly for good service.

[ClocksGoingBackwards]

A £23 tip is a ridiculous expectation for a couple of hours standard service.

[mast0650]

You should have at least paid the £10 you said you were happy to pay, rather than take your unhappiness with the system out on the waitress. And given the menu informed you that 10% would be added, you really have nothing to complain about. Sometimes it is more than 10%.

[Whadda]

So you were happy enough with the service provided by the waitress that you would have left a tip, but didn’t because you didn’t care for the management rules?

Poor waitress- she’s the loser here. And next time you get bad service somewhere you’ll be scratching your head wondering why.