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.

On a £230 bill and spilt four ways?

I don't understand the begrudging of tips by similarly lower paid people. You might work in a job where is uncommon or not allowed but that's on you. Hospitality (and access to seemingly endless free money) is crying for staff right now.

Go and get involved

Yanbu I hate this it is MY choice to tip IF I think it is warranted.

You were stingy after paying £230! Just dont go to the USA.....

Cute that you think the waitress will get the £23

When I was a waitress the tips were all placed in a big pot and at the end of every month were divided between all the kitchen staff and waitresses on a pro-rata basis. So the person who serves you isn't always getting the whole tip.

I think yanbu to ask for the service charge to be removed. I usually do because it doesn't go directly to the waiting staff. I do give them the cash instead though. However I decide how much, really good service gets at least 20%, average service around 10%, shit service just gets rounded up to the nearest £10.

I have worked as waiting staff, it is a hard job but no harder than others I've had.

We saw her at the bar, doing that stupid fancy shaking thing, messing about with the bartender, so definitely her fault. It was only 4 espresso martinis, waited about 15 minutes for them.

The place was full but mostly couples and only has 12 tables anyway. No reason we should have had to wait. Maybe she should have chatted less or focused on us more to earn that 10%.

The more I think about it, I know I'm not being unreasonable. I'm annoyed and I've just received an email from the booking site to review the restaurant so definitely going to mention it.

10% is a standard tip. I’d never leave anything less. That’s just plain mean. I’m happy to have the 10% added, makes it easier when out with tight friends!

I usually add 10% anyway.

We always add 15% tip to the bill. Once we were at a family owned Mexican restaurant that we often go to, with a young lady who thought we weren't leaving a tip - as we always put the 15% tip on the card. She started looking very nervous as we were leaving and suddenly rushed back to our table and put a few coins on the table, which I thought this was rather insulting the staff.

I think it should be optional and not forced tbh… presumably you would have left £10 but so would some of the others present so the tip for a £230 meal would’ve been more than just the op’s £10!

I understand the point of tipping and I would/do tip good service, but I’d rather we had a decent minimum living wage and allowed a good standard of living for all workers. On a side note - i always worry that when these gratuity 10% are added to the bill, does it actually get given to the staff? Can anyone in the trade elaborate on how it works? I don’t know why but I always feel it likely doesn’t get given to staff and leaving a cash tip is more likely to get shared out! X

See I never minded tipping in the USA as I knew (a) wages were shit (b) service was generally exemplary and (c) kitchen staff and servers would go out of their way to accommodate any changes to the menu ie swapping out one similiar item for another.

I rarely go out to eat but hate paying top whack for a mediocre meal with the expectation that I will tip 10%, especially when service has been mediocre and simple request of 'no goats cheese' causes a problem.

My stinginess has also been coloured by the fact I know just how much my niece earned in tips at a busy bistro when she was a student, many of which were cash and not declared in any shape or form.

Ughhhh every time I think you cannot sound any more of a Silas Marner...there you go again. People like you give me hives. I hope they bar your stingy ass.

So she made the cocktails properly the way she was probably taught to. Yet she didn't focus enough on you and now you are going to leave a bad review to add insult to injury?

Wow. You really are a thoroughly unpleasant person.

Oh and according to the vote and many of the comments, most people do actually think you are unreasonable but you do you and convince yourself otherwise. Just nasty

This is why waiters and waitresses in the US hide in the back room when British tourists come in.

A restaurant adding a tip to the bill is not standard in the north east, it’s pretty unusual. I see it all the time in the south east but up here I’m surprised to see it occasionally appear on a bill.

That said, if you can’t afford just over £5 each as a tip, perhaps you should have gone to Greggs instead?

I’d be mortified if I ate out with friends and one of them did this.

I'm sorry OP but I feel sorry for that waitress. They make rubbish wages and a lot of their money to get by comes from tips.
You said you had good food and good service so how could your table not have clubbed together to give £23?

A group of 10 of us went out for a curry, our bill came to £120, we all chipped in £10 each couple, that waiter was grinning from ear to ear, and when we went back in a smaller group he was lovely, and gave us extras.

Be kind to servers!

Don't you see how are you contradicting yourself?

If everyone knew and accepted there was a standard to leave a tip of 10%, why would you have to add it to the bill to prevent people tipping 2% or 3%? Maybe it isn't any standard after all, just some would like to blame others to pay more.

There are more minimal wage jobs than waiting. Restaurant owners can set any price they want and people just come in and accept them or not, but hiding part of the price in semi-optional fee is dishonest.

If 4 of you can afford a £230 meal between you then you can afford that tip. It’s not her fault it was added to the bill automatically, she doesn’t make the policy. You said initially you were going to tip her. Then yo7 seem to be clutching at straws for excuses not to. God forbid she used a shaky thing when making cocktails!

YABU this is completely standard.

That's a load of BS I always tipped 20 percent and eating out is more expensive in the states. Servers rely on tips as min wage is so low but you are expected to literally tip everyone it's so confusing. I ended up getting fast food some days to avoid it.

In the UK I would probably pay max 5- 10 percent tip for very good service split 4 ways would be fine on 230. I don't like being told too though. The only people I tip is certain restaurants and my hairdresser never had any complaints. We have a living wage here.

I think in countries like America where your food is much cheaper as service staff are paid separately it is absolutely fine for a service charge to be added.

In uk where minimum wage for a 40 hour week is c20k and food is charged at a much more expensive rate as it includes all overheads of the business they are being bloody cheeky and why do only wait staff get the tip, what about the cleaners, pot washers, trainee chefs who all work bloody hard for lower wages than management.
If low wages is what people are bothered about why do you then not tip the shelf staker in asda when you do your weekly shop who gets minimum wage and has to work unsociable hours when the supermarket is quieter. What is it about restaurant staff that you think tipping is obligatory and expected? 🤔

This.

To those PPs saying this should be added to prices and staff paid more, in order for your net £10 tip to get to the serving staff the restaurant would have to add on NI, PAYE and corporation tax, making it considerably more cost to you. Then the staff receiving it may be liable for income tax on it too. Where’s the sense in that?

I bet when you went to bed that night your 2 ears just dropped clean off your head onto the pillow because they would have been burning all night after you left with the waiting staff discussing the absolute El Cheapo stingy moneygrubbers who were in at table 11.