Service Charge plus tip??

I remember buying $1 beers in a bar and being expected to tip $1 for each one every time. DH pointing out to the barman that they were then $2 beers was not well received.

A restaurant I sometimes went to when I had a birthday or as a treat now charges 15% service charge, plus a cover charge of £1.75 in the evenings. I would most certainly not tip on top of that.
Prices have gone up, quality has gone down and service in that restaurant group has rapidly declined combined with far fewer staff. The last time I went, the service was so bad, I mentioned it to the person who came to take my payment. He immediately removed the service charge.

On the other hand, there is a small-ish chain of steak restaurants I regularly went to, they also charge 12.5% SC, but they've got plenty of cheerful and actually helpful staff who seem to enjoy what they are doing. When the bill was an odd amount, I would often round up to the nearest £5 or £10.

If “Michelle the bar maid” on TikTok is representative, most people in America seem to start a tab for their evening of drinks, then pay for it all when they leave, at which point they’d leave a tip. So I suppose that would work. But here in the UK we pay at the time of ordering, and it would be a nightmare each time to pay for one drink, add a tip, then half an hour later pay for another drink, add a tip etc.

I always tip, but I find the whole thing rather strange. As someone said previously, historically it was a way of rich people giving some extra cash to someone who wasn’t being paid a decent amount. These days, especially with the increase in minimum wage, there could be a situation in which the customer actually earns less than the waiting staff, yet still tips them.

Difference is, in US waitresses are not paid decent minimum wage and there are huge discrepancies in people's salaries depending on their job title (much bigger then UK). Eating out is also generally cheaper then here.
I'm not against tipping by the way, I just think the pressure to automatically tip every time just doesn't makes sense in UK.
I used to work as a waitress years ago and while less people tipped, those who did were often very generous.

That looks and sounds like an American bill I saw online at the weekend where the practice of tipping is ridiculous.

In the UK, the service charge is the tip and is what the staff should now get legally....

I use a private dog field near me as I have dog which I can’t let off the lead so it is great for us. I book it on line and now they have started to include a tip option that you have to opt of which I think is really bloody cheeky. It is not like they are there to serve me, I park up, close the gate and then leave when we are done. It is getting silly, too many American customs here now!!!

The thing that annoys me is that it’s become much more common recently (maybe since the change in law about tips going to servers and not being allowed to be kept by the company) BUT it arrives without anyone mentioning that it’s going to be there either them telling you or written on the menu) so unless you scan the bill properly you don’t necessarily see it’s on there.
iv been caught out twice looking at a receipt later to see it having not noticed it at the time after having left a cash tip! I don’t even go out that often so it must be much more common.

I tell you I won’t get caught out again! and actually I find the greediness and underhanded nature of it off putting so I’m less likely to go back somewhere that does it.

Restaurant’s that have done it for a long time I have noticed normally have it written on the menu even if it’s small next to the key for dietary requirements (or it’s casually mentioned) but it’s been there, now it just magically appears on the bill as an easy to miss line next to the vat and total section.

I think the new law treats service charges the same way as tips, doesn't it?

Maybe if you feel that your waiter has gone above and beyond? Who knows.

But it should be completely voluntary if the service charge has already been applied.

It can be sneaky though when you go to pay and the service charge has been added and then give you the option to add a tip - I wonder if they think you haven’t noticed the service charge.

@RadioBamboo - this description is brilliant!

A service charge that is added to the bill is treated the same way as voluntary tips under the new law - it goes to the employees.

In America they tip bar staff too don’t they. Madness!

To be fair once you accept that tipping people providing a service is the right thing to do then it's difficult to see why you'd tip waiters but not bar staff, sales assistants, nurses, bus drivers ...

I always try and leave cash for tips if I can. I hate being told exactly how much to tip. I always leave at least 10%, but often more if the service was good.

It’s all very American isn’t it, this expectation of tips. When I was a waitress in the 80s a tip was a bonus, and was by no means given by everyone. We certainly wouldn’t have been indignant if we weren’t tipped. In America they tip bar staff too don’t they. Madness!

I usually ask for the service charge to be removed if it's over 10% unless it's exceptional circumstances (eg big group) I never add a tip if there's a service charge!

But but shout out for excellent service and not adding charges - my wedding venue didn't add anything and when I asked to add a tip they said not to worry as it was their pleasure (I dropped an envelope with a cash tip the following day) one of the waiters lives across the road and has since thanked me as she was able to afford a hair cut, such a sweet young lady.

And people wonder why we don't go out more.

It seems like the service charge is just a charge to get the food to you. The tip is to reward anything beyond it being slung on your doorstep from a moving moped, or dumped in your lap in a restaurant.

(Then there's a fee for it being a Sunday, or indeed a Monday, for them preparing the bill, for them accepting payment ... )

Had to pay a mandatory tip at a restaurant recently where the "service" was as minimal as they could get away with - it was extremely clear they would much rather you did everything via the (barely functional) QR code rather than trouble the waiters to actually interact with you. I think that might have been on top of a service charge too as we were a big group. I gave them 1p.

“Sunday” is a payment processing app.
It’s a fee for use of the app

sundayapp.com/en-gb/

Sunday is the payment platform some restaurant groups are using. It’s a fucking cheek they automatically slap on their own service charge to the customer. Very shady as they’re not open about it and you don’t get a choice if you pay online or via a linked app.

Another example of stealth increases - Cineworld now charge a booking fee 95pp on a ticket, in addition to advertised price

Are you booking a hotel/restaurant and they’re asking for a tip in advance? It annoys me that they do that on Deliveroo for the rider too - he hasn’t even arrived yet so how can I say the service was good? I agree that the “service” charge should be for the person who “serves” you and should therefore be the tip. If not, who gets it and why?

Service charge is now separate to tips because they just changed the law to waiters need to keep 100% of their tips.

So to avoid losing money restaurants are now separating them out and calling it a "service charge" that they keep for themselves.

I'm assuming you live in London since mandatory service charges for small parties and 12.5% instead of 10% tips haven't really made it up here (yet?).

I’ve seen lots of food delivery services where I’ve paid a service charge for the restaurant, a fee for the delivery and an optional tip for the driver. I don’t mind that, because I’d tip anyway, but I’d be put off using any company that has a service charge and requires an extra tip.

In fact, I always tip, but being told that a tip isn’t optional would probably make me cancel my order and take to their social media to ask why I’m expected to pay so many random charges on top of the actual price. It’s outrageously cheeky.