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.

Definitely earned £23? Yes she earned her wage. Why does she need more?

See I’m a bit on the fence about this

in my mind looking at the bills for restaurants these days where a jacket potato today for me and a coke x2 was £25 I wasn’t leaving a tip as they should be paying the staff correctly.

Otherwise why tip in a restaurant but not a petrol station - service should be included in the price on the menu etc it shouldn’t be separate?

tipping used to be before the minimum
wage etc

Really? You’d want someone to lose their job? You sound utterly appalling.

I personally don't see why customers are expected to top up someone's wages, why don't they just pay them better?

Why should other people (who may also be on minimum wage) have to work hard to get a treat then pay extra to subsidise someone doing their job?

We don't tip checkout staff or even more importantly - carers, but expected to do it for waiting staff?

YANBU.

We all know waiting staff earn minimum wage. We all know that leaving a tip is standard and the standard rate is 10%.

I think this attitude is really silly. Waitresses aren’t the only ones paid minimum wage. Who else do you tip? Why don’t the employers just pay a decent wage? So what if it’s ‘standard’? If people don’t agree why the hell should they? I think we should push for the minimum wage to be increased instead of asking the public to subsidise employers expenses. Pay a decent living, work it out and price your food accordingly. It’s bizarre and as a former waitress, kind of degrading. I had one American leave a tip on my table and was completely embarrassed.

100% agree with this. We have a living wage in this country so there should be no need to subsidise the salary of waiting staff. I too resent being ‘told’ what I have to tip. It’s for me to decide whether to do so and if so, how much.

I never tip anyone, can't afford to! I earn a low wage, never get tips.
It shouldn't be added automatically, it should be a choice.

I think people like OP and the people who agree with her are appalling.

HTH.

Totally agree it wasn’t good service then and she didn’t deserve £23!

If they wanted to leave a tip then they could have left cash on the table. I paid the whole bill and I didn't want to leave a £23 tip.

This. It’s a bloody exhausting job, emotionally and physically.

Blame your employer for not paying you enough then.

I agree.

If service and food were good, I would leave a 10% tip - and on a bill of £230, to begrudge this makes you look a right tight arse!

When people say "It's not the money, it's the principle - I can tell you now - it's the money.

The only loser is the poor wait staff.

I couldn’t be friends with anyone who asks for the tip to be removed from a bill unless the service was dire

‘She was busy chatting to another table’ oh no! God forbid she didn’t give you her undivided attention. You sound tight and miserable. Adding the gratuity to the bill is common practice in many countries, the U.K. is just catching up.

It wasn’t ridiculous to ask you if you wanted it removed. Having enjoyed an evening of good service it is perfectly acceptable to add the gratuity. Why not? You sound like a control freak who needs to be responsible or very involved in all decisions that affect you.

£23 between 4 of you is less than £6 each for the service. You are incredibly tight to withhold this under the circumstances. did you explain to the server why you felt she didn’t deserve this?

It really sounds like you don’t eat out often or know how restaurants work. Maybe accept that you can’t afford to do it because tipping is an integral part of the experience of group dining (assuming decent service).

This!

Id be interested to hear what the OPs friends thought. I’d have paid the full tip before leaving, apologised to the staff and wouldn’t dine with the OP again.

I don't get compulsory tipping culture in Europe. Employees have guaranteed wage. We don't tip warehouse and retail staff on the same wage and they also work hard, why should I feel obliged to tip waiter for bringing me burger and fries? No way.

The restaurant did as stated, food etc was good and the waitress was happy to remove the gratuity without question. I think deep down you know you were out of order hence the post to get opinions.

Reminds me of a time we had a super meal out with friends once. Food and service was really excellent. The waitress made a £1.50 mistake on the bill and rectified it immediately. Friend was pretty uppity and didn't tip at all because of it 🙄We were so troubled by it we went back the following day, found the waitress and paid it.

I agree. Very miserly behaviour.

You sounds like you couldn’t afford the restaurant. 10% is low, most restaurants are 12.5%.

At worst I’d have rounded to £250 so it was easy to split

I’m not currently a waitress, I’m a hotel housekeeper, because I can’t deal with customers. We don’t get tips generally.

You’re not going to change restaurant payment practices over night by asking to remove service charge. What actually happens is you make a waiter a bit sad and leave them wondering what they’ve done wrong.

What a mean spirited person you are. I really cant stand people like you. I would be ashamed to have anything to do with you.
You really did show yourself up.

I worked at a restaurant for years, and the worst I had was a party of 11 who really enjoyed themselves, said the meals were delicious, and tipped 11p. They found it hilarious.

Anyway, I always check to see who gets the money. Where I used to work most of it went to the owners. I get the service charge removed and if it goes to the waitress/staff, then I tip 10%. If it goes to the owner then nothing.

I think people like OP and the people who agree with her are appalling.

Totally agree and to everyone saying well it's up to the employer to pay more, just remember that WILL be reflected in your bills and then you will moan even more. You're like my mil moaning how much the "little grocers" costs and at the same time moaning about how Tesco's has destroyed her high street. You can't have it both ways and in any case this isn't about some political principle, it's about the fact many of you are tightwads