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.

What is their to consider? They are paid a full time wage!

This is fairly standard in a lot of restaurants now. It's up to you to check the bill like you would any for any purchase.

In America, tipping is expected because waiting staff get paid such awfully low wages. I'm worried that if we keep increasing this tipping culture here, it will just end up being an excuse for employers not to pay waiting staff any more, relying on the customer to pay the difference.

Thank goodness for minimum wage...

The service charge added to bills ensure that tips are shared fairly with FOH and BoH like chefs and KPs who work incredibly hard yet get zero recognition if you only tip the server.

Service charge also ensures that hospitality staff are paid adequately so that they can live. Now, there’s the argument that restaurants should pay staff properly which is true but that would mean charging more for food and drinks. If food is more expensive people will sulk and ask why,
because; “well the ingredients are cheap”. People aren’t aware of the costs that come into running a restaurant. Service charge atleast makes it clear why the charge is there and where that money is going.

Further more,

You were made aware the charge would be automatically added but you
could ask for this not to happen. You could have requested it not to be added when asking for the bill.

£10 on a £230 bill isn’t even 5%. Between waiting staff, bar staff and kitchen staff, that’s maybe £2 each if that. How stingy. Unless ofcourse there were issues with the service or food but you said there wasn’t. If you spent 2 £230 in a restaurant, let’s say there were 5 of you. That’s £46 each for the food and drink you each had. You guys have £46 each to spend on food and drink but can’t round that to £50 each to cover service you yourself said was good. 🙊. Now let’s say there were ten of you. So you each spent £23 on food. Pay your £2.30 each to ensure your server can pay rent.

This is fairly standard in a lot of restaurants now. It's up to you to check the bill like you would any for any purchase.

It doesn't particularly instil confidence, though, does it - if they stick it on and leave you to find it before deciding whether or not to object?

Yes, it's always wise to check receipts, but that's normally to pick up accidental mistakes or system glitches, not deliberate hush-hush charges.

It's each individual's discretion to leave a tip or not based on service and their own finances.

I have previously worked in hospitality in restaurants, wedding venues and bars. I would never expect a tip, it was good bonus on top of my wage and I always counted it separate and did not depend on that for bills etc.

My current job I don't get tips. Occasionally customers might pop in with a bag of sweets for us.

It seems to be a culture for tips in hospitality in general but not all industries are entitled or able to even accept tips or anything else. You don't tip the shop assistant at Tesco... Or the one who mot your car... Etc etc.

So yeah... If a server works hard, and I can't afford it on top of what I've had then yes I'll leave a tip.

In the economic crisis we are facing just now everyone is cutting costs or being more worried with money.

When a server, or any other staff are already being paid a wage no one should ever feel obligated to leave a tip.

it is disgrace to spend £230 on a meal & either not tip or leave a pathetic tip. It’s good manners to tip if your happy with service. Waiters etc are typically on crap wage, part time unsociable long shifts. They have to deal with the “joy” of the general public who can after a few drinks etc can be rude A-holes. The tips help make up for that in my opinion. And before you say they can get another job. It’s isn’t always that simple. Some restaurants oat huge wages, yeah “some” do most don’t & they staff are expendable. So tip your waiters guys don’t be a cheapskate

@IndysMamaRex

If you think that waiting staff are the only ones who have to put up with rude A-holes for minimum wage then you've clearly never worked in a call centre. I did when I was a student, and I also did waitressing.

The latter is a far easier, and more pleasant job. Most minimum wage staff don't get tips so I don't see why waiting staff should necessarily expect them.

I do usually tip when I go to restaurants, but not necessarily 10%

I hope this is a windup because anyone who behaves like this in a restaurant should be embarrassed and definitely not return.

These people handle your food you know 🫣

A 10% tip is the minimum that's expected unless service was terrible. Usually it's 12.5%. Not leaving a tip on a £230 bill makes you look like an absolute dick.

So you punished the waitress because the restaurant did what they stated they would do on the menu?
You sound nice.

The OP very clearly states that the waitress pointed this charge out and advised she could remove it if the OP wished.

Nothing hush hush in this case.

Apologies if I have missed anything (I may well have!) but I don't think I can see an argument against others on miminum wage, who work just as, or harder than waiting staff.
For example, care staff work extremely hard and often subjected to abuse, and are unable to accept tips, and types of cleaning jobs where the conditions are awful. Shop assistant serve many people compared to waiting staff, but may work just as hard. I do leave a tip, due to the attitudes as seen on this thread, but I don't agree with the principal as the minimum wage is in place.

Yes, it's always wise to check receipts, but that's normally to pick up accidental mistakes or system glitches, not deliberate hush-hush charges.

It states on the menu if charges will be added. That is not hush hush and pretty standard practice in many restaurants.

I reckon OP doesn't even and begrudgez tipping her delivery drivers

@lillila

This hasn't been responded to maybe because it is quite irrelevant.

If you want to tip your mechanic have at it!

There are social conventions which mean that most reasonable people expect to tip in restaurants. Some people also tip in cabs or hairdressers. Most people tip delivery drivers too.

Saying but "what about...? Why don't they get any tips?" is literally whataboutery. Like saying why don't we take our shoes off and fart loudly in nice restaurants or pick apart a steak with our bare hands in nice restaurants? Why don't we bring out our ipad and stick the footie on while we're eating our Michelin star dinner? You just don't.

If you feel that strongly about giving tips to other workers, you go for it. But don't use "well I don't tip the lady in tesco so I won't be tipping you either harrumph" as an excuse not to tip as it would make you sound awful. Not saying you would do this btw, but just in case!

These people handle your food you know

So what has that to do with any thing, please explain? If restaurants don't want custom from people who don't want tip or pay an extra fee for service then they should just put a sign outside and say soo. But they don't, because they rely on the gullible and pearl clutchers pay up.

Its not up to me to make up wages and shitty conditions for others, that is their employer so take it up with them not me and if the restaurant owner no longer wants my business on that basis there more than welcome to inform me, but no never happened. 😂

@nogginatemycat * These people handle your food you know

So what has that to do with any thing, please explain?*

I wouldn't advise to mess with people who handle your food 🤢if you intend to eat there again

Well if that's the case they should be shut down/reported and don't deserve to work in the industry and especially not be tipped.

May be I should not go back into hospital as I didn't tip for my meals there and did not tip the surgeon 😯

Staff should be paid properly by the restaurant. If they're putting a 10% gratuity on the bill then it's likely that it's being shown through the business records as income so credit card charges, VAT and income tax is being paid on it. Tronc, service charge, gratuities should be stopped.

If I leave a tip it's in cash for the hairdresser or restaurant.

Wouldn't be putting my job and possibly liberty at risk by doing this over anything, never mind a tip, and anyone I caught would be getting sent home straight away and reported to my manager straight away and they'd be sacked for gross misconduct and it's pretty hard to do something like that without someone noticing because of the nature of a kitchen having people in and around all the time, waiting staff in and out etc.

Most chefs I've worked with would have you in the oven should you mess with their food instead of just serving it as it's plated, there's a lot of professional pride involved in most kitchens, especially ones like the OP describes (that aren't ping it meals from the freezer for example)
I'm not saying it doesn't happen because there's some strange people out there, but it's not the common practice (at least in places I've worked) people seem to assume it is. Although I realise working in a restaurant in just about any capacity isn't rated or respected (and not just by reading this thread) so people don't tend to understand why you'd have a bit of pride in a job like that, while demanding outstanding service at the same time.

It doesn't particularly instil confidence, though, does it - if they stick it on and leave you to find it before deciding whether or not to object?

Doesn't OP say it was on the menu and the waitress also pointed it out and asked OP if she wanted it removed? Doesn't sound so sneaky to me tbh, sounds more like the waitress has had these issues before and was trying to head any issues off at the pass with OP, but is still being slated, and publicly too with OP's review, as well as on here.

There is a growing attitude towards people who provide a service towards others that there is some kind of conspiracy against customers by 'the staff' who's main aim in life is to mislead and piss off customers rather than just do the job they're employed to do and as they're told by their employer (you know, the ones who call the shots and decide to give you the job, what you need to do to keep it and what you get paid). It makes it really hard to actually give good service when someone has already decided that you're not going to.

These people handle your food you know

So does the bakery shop, and the butcher's, and the fruit and veg shop - and I don't tip them. That's all loose food that they handle and serve me with too; but as I'm paying the price they've requested in exchange for the food, they're actually grateful for my business and not liable to gob in it first, if that's what you're driving at.

I was saying about adding hush hush charges to your bill in response to the comment about it being a normal thing to check your receipt - which seemed to me to be suggesting that might be the first you hear of such charges.

I suppose it's slightly less dishonest of the restaurant if they tell waiting staff to verbally advise you of it, but again, most people will assume that 'service charge = tip' - I think it's a terrible position to put your serving staff in if you're effectively making them tell people what tip they're going to take, unless the customer objects; so humiliating.

Also, yes it may well be written on the menu, but usually in tiny little print on the bottom of the page. If they're so proud of the service they offer and thus assume that people will consider it a pleasure to pay the charge, why don't they routinely mention it in normal-sized print at the top of the page and (at all) on the big blackboards outside?

It’s about time tipping was done away with and restaurants paid their staff a reasonable wage instead. When pricing up a menu service should be factored in for everyone. Whether ordering a £10 burger or a £25 steak, the staff that look after you still have to do the same amount of work so a percentage of the bill doesn’t always seem fair either.

Yeah let's make hospitality sector work even less appealing. The end result will truly be a benefit to us all. Apps for ordering, apps for paying, "runners" for the food. Card only. We'll be able to streamline the process for any type of food, it'll be like spoons for one and all

These 'hush hush' charges reminded me of something that happened this summer. We went to London for the day. My dd and I stopped at Happy for lunch. We got 3 starters/small plates (hummus, mozzarella sticks, fries) and two drinks. So very little interaction with staff. Took our order, brought our drinks, brought food.

My DD and I were having a competition on how much we thought the bill was, she said £32 and I said £33. It came and was about £37. I looked to make sure only the 5 items we ordered was on it and paid by contactless. It was only as the payment was going through that I saw there was a service charge on! I hadn't seen this on the menu at all - and we read it a couple of times while we decided what we wanted.

I really don't think this service warranted a £3/4 tip which is what they charged us. The waiter did nothing more than he was paid for as part of his job. If I had spotted it before we paid I would have asked for it to be removed.