AIBU about baby incurring a service charge at restaurant table?

[AliBingo]

We recently ate out at Bella Italia, 5 adults and a 3 and 2 year old who ate off the kids menu, and a 7 month old who slept through the starter and main course in her car seat on the floor and then used a restaurant highchair to eat some puree and yoghurt we'd taken with us.

Meal was lovely and service good but when we got home I was surprised to see that we were down as a table of eight and had been charged a 10% service charge as a result. Looks like this was discretionary not mandatory and we could have asked for it to be removed if we'd been more careful in checking the bill.

I think that it's unreasonable of them to count the baby as one of the party being served, do others agree or AIBU?

Several chains have been pulled up that service charge has not gone to employees, a few had pressure from online petitions so changed the policies but there are a number that still don't

I know it happens but I don't understand why restaurants do this for large bookings.

Two seperate tables of 4 people don't incur a service charge but a table of 8 people does. Surely the work for the waiting staff is the same?

Though I agree I pretty much always book 10% so personally it does t make a difference. I do prefer to pay the bill on my card and top cash though as I worry otherwise the staff might not get it.

"If a service charge is compulsory, the restaurant must make this clear before you eat. For example, by stating this on menus it has in the window or by telling you verbally"

I have never been told verbally about a service charge, I've always just found it on the bill. I haven't noticed it on menus either, but I suppose they can cover themselves by putting it in some small print.

I have never been told verbally about a service charge, I've always just found it on the bill. I haven't noticed it on menus either, but I suppose they can cover themselves by putting it in some small print.

I have always seen it on the menu.

I'm assuming they do it for larger parties both because it is a bit harder to deal with them and because they are less likely to tip adequately. It must be harder to make sure everyone gets served at the same time - coordinating 4 meals to come out of the oven simultaneously has to be easier than 8. And either everyone is paying into some communal pot, which leaves the risk of either people's maths skills being not up to the task (to be generous) or people trying to get away with paying a bit less, since there are so many... I tend to go out with people who keep overpaying and we end up with a very high tip, but I have to assume that the opposite is more the norm given the restuarants' behaviour (and once I went out with a very large group where we ended up some £240 short after everyone pitched in and the hosts had to make up the difference - I was one of the hosts !). Or one person is handling the payment, and quickly rounding up to 10-11-12-15% isn't much of a difference on a small bill, it can be quite significant on a large one, and the tendency may be to drop below 10% so they make it safe. Those are just my guesses, though.

Yes, I agree that large groups are probably harder to serve and more likely to not leave a tip due to the fact that there is sometimes at least one person who sees it as an opportunity to not pay their share so other peoples' "tip" gets used to cover up their lack of contribution.

I suspect the restaurant didn't even think about it that way - just thought of it as a table for 8. But, having said that, I think there is some justice in this - if they'd had a table of 8 adults, they'd have made a lot more money than they did from 5 adults, 2 toddlers and a baby, even with the 10% service charge. And the 10% charged on the baby's non-existent meal is £0 anyway

It was a table for 8 - eight spaces were used.

10% is the minimum tip you should leave in the UK. I don't understand why the OP is complaining if she was going to tip anyway.

I'm getting really confused about this service charge - do people treat it as a tip or not? Or, knowing that it doesn't/might not go to staff, do you then add an additional 10% to the bill?

I'm getting really confused about this service charge - do people treat it as a tip or not? Or, knowing that it doesn't/might not go to staff, do you then add an additional 10% to the bill?

I treat it as a tip as I think it does usually go to the staff. If I found out a particular restaurant didn't pass it on I wouldn't go there again.

The other thing you can do if the service charge is discretionary is ask them to take it off the bill and leave a cash tip as this is mostly likely to go to the staff.

We try to pay in cash for tip as much as poss because of this:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/21/how-much-of-your-tip-goes-to-staff-a-restaurant-by-restaurant-guide

And this doesn't cover the cote, las iguanas type stuff but I think most of those chains are now doing this or 100% tips after pressure

its rare i would tip in the uk

staff are actually paid a proper wage unlike in the usa where tipping is seen as mandatory

So, did you leave another tip if you didn't realise you'd already been charged?