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.

I took my grandchildren out for lunch today and the service was horrendous. Disinterested, slapdash and almost rude. They did not get a tip.

Another one here who'd rather be asked, but does realise that adding a % to the bill's pretty standard and will go with that if it's announced upfront

The places that do annoy me are those who leave a suggestive line for a tip as well, usually with some flannnel about the % being a service charge and the blank space an invitation to tip - but TBF OP hasn't said they did that here so it doesn't apply

I give the same tip I get for doing my job !.

YANBU.

I don't get a tip, my partner doesn't get a tip, all staff in the UK are at least on NMW, and those on NMW get further help from my taxes in benefits, childcare, rent, etc etc etc. If restaurants want to pay their staff more, add 10% to all the menu prices and pay it to them.

Get rid of this crap 'we'll add another xx to your bill' NO, Add it to YOUR menu before I get it! Tips are for service that goes above and beyond, or comp freebies, if you've done neither, you're literally doing your job.

You are not coming off great here OP.

Hell, you’re tightfisted.

I ask the staff if they get the service charge and if not, I just give the cash instead. But not to tip at all for good service - that is shabby.

Pizza express, 4 of you can eat and drink for £80, £8/10 tip, maybe that's more up your street

10% tip should always be left unless the service is absolutely terrible. Your evening was sour because youre cheap, not because of the waitress. £10 tip for a £230 meal 😱 thats just mean..

If they want to charge an automatic tip they should make it clear.
In England servers get minimum wage so the cost of service is already factored into price. I leave a bit extra for good service sometimes but wouldn’t tip a percentage in England.
In USA it’s totally different as minimum wage doesn’t apply to servers and they are taxed I believe on expected tips. But meal is cheaper to start with as restaurant has lower wage costs.

Have you ever had a serving job? I left mine this summer (due to the increasing amount of rude customers and decreasing amount of tips) I’m currently doing part time admin and part time supermarket job. Both of which are so easy compared to serving!

When serving you’re trying to keep your customers happy, you’ve got a stressy chef to deal with who may have just exploded at someone (or you!) in the kitchen but you have to go back out with a smile on your face. There’s 10 things that need doing right at that second, but you’re stuck with a customer who is dithering over what starter to order.

That’s why I wouldn’t dream of not tipping serving staff (unless they were rude or completely useless of course).

If service is good when eating out, then we always tip - usually 10%. If it's not, we don't.

But if I'm ordering in via a take away delivery service, we always tip 10% - I see it as the price of some other poor person having to get into their car in the dark and rain on a winter's night to bring me food I can't be bothered to go out and get myself! I don't understand why you wouldn't, especially when it's common knowledge delivery drivers who are self-employed/work for places like Dominos have to pay their own vehicle upkeep costs and petrol.

Whereas supermarket drivers have their vehicle provided, including petrol, before they come out to me. (Which is why that argument doesn't make sense to me on threads like these!)

My opinion is firstly, it is the job of the waiting staff to wait on the customers. So if a table 'kept them busy' that is literally their job. Whether a group of four spends £50 or £230 it's immaterial as in both cases, the waiting staff is still doing their job. So the question shouldn't be shall I tip a percentage of the bill, rather, do I feel I need to tip above and beyond what I've already spent, and if so, how much do they deserve? I personally hate a service charge being added, it's so grabby.

Nobody carries cash now so hospitality staff are missing out massively unless there is a reminder on the bill like this. So much easier than having to either work it out or find the cash.

Yes, we have minimum wage regulations but for restaurant and bar staff, this doesn't include the unsocial hours, anti social customers and everything else they have to tolerate. Most won't work in the same job long enough to earn employment protection rights.

I don't mind rewarding good service. I worked as a waitress and as bar staff for so many years I appreciate how difficult the job is.

(Good service and you didn't leave a tip? Shame on you, OP!)

This^

Tips in England don’t always make it to server. You could have left 10% as requested and owner pocket the lot especially if paying by card and server get nothing just minimum wage. There’s a much more set set system in USA they tip out a percentage to bus boy etc.

Do you live under a rock? It’s pretty standard practice.

This

I don’t care if anyone calls me measly (or you OP) If anyone tries to tell me what to tip, I’ll deliberately take it off and tip nothing 🤷‍♀️ I don’t get extra for doing my job so why should they? If they want to earn more then get a better paying job or just accept that the hourly pay for their job is what they accepted when they signed the contract. Restaurants (and serving staff) shouldn’t expect customers to make up their wages.

Goodness, I’d see 10% as low these days.

You seem incredibly tight. Perhaps go to cheaper places to eat if you will quibble over a 10% tip.

So, your feelings got hurt and you decided to lash out and not leave a tip at all? YABVU

My preference is the "do you want to add a tip?" Question on the card machine. I always say yes but don't always have cash for a cash tip now.

Do you not eat out much, OP?

Tipping is normal in the UK. A 10% service charge is actually on the low side, most places add on 12, 12.5 or even 15% these days.

People who think a £10 tip for a £230 meal is an acceptable amount for good service are the reason restaurants now add on a service charge rather than leaving it up to the customer's discretion.

I am kind of surprised at how many people on this thread are so upset about tips. I do appreciate that tipping might not always have been standard in this country but... prepare yourselves for a shock .... norms change. In 2022, it's perfectly normal and standard practice to top in restaurants, usually at least 10% and many restaurants offer this as a standard addition on the bill, albeit one that can be removed.

Other norms that have changed - people who work in your home don't have to curtsy (unless you're royalty I guess); women don't have to get permission from their husbands to have jobs/bank accounts/other things.... Welcome to the 21st Century. It's a blast.

I'm inclined to agree.

And people keep referring to the waitress being on NMW. But we have no idea how much the OP earns either. Maybe she and her party are on NMW and saved up for this meal for ages. Why should one low paid worker feel obliged to tip another?

It was absolutely normal in the UK 15-20 years ago when I worked as a waitress.