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AIBU?

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Original poster

The bloody service charge!

434 replies

Ilovemychocolate · 23/12/2025 08:55

Went out to eat twice yesterday…we are in Bath for a festive visit.
Both times our bill came with service charge added.
Both times I sent it back and requested they remove the service charge.
Now I know it’s Christmas, but adding the service charge, without informing the customer it’s completely their choice to pay it, is a year round practise.
I am not against tipping, but it infuriates me when it’s automatically added to my bill with the expectation I will pay it!
An I unreasonable to ask the restaurant to remove it every time?

OP posts:
Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 18:25

Crushed23 · 23/12/2025 17:00

You’re being utterly ridiculous and haven’t actually explained why wait staff deserve to be paid more than these other jobs. And it’s only certain wait staff. A barista who is on their feet for 10 hours a day, making coffees, toasting sandwiches, clearing tables and cleaning the customer toilets is not getting 12.5% of orders on top of their NMW wages, are they? But somehow the waiter who takes your order at Zizzi and carries plates back and forth is getting paid extra? It makes zero sense. Your point on labour shortage is valid, but this means restaurants need to increase prices full stop. Not introduce a sneaky ‘cover charge’ or increase the service charge % (we went from 10% to 12.5% and now 15-20% is increasingly common). Just have an all-in price on the menu like at Starbucks.

Show quote history

Takes plates back and forth.

You outed yourself 😀

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 18:27

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 23/12/2025 18:21

With apologies if you don't live in the UK or haven't done so for a few decades - but here here in the UK we work for a wage. And for a number of years now we have had a minimum wage and it's illegal for employers to make up wages to the minimum wage by way of using tips to do so

Show quote history

So it’s not to top up the minimum wage but to increase it.

OhDear111 · 23/12/2025 18:28

It’s expensive because of food prices, fuel, council tax, NI on staff etc. Tipping the person who serves you and not the whole team is ludicrous in the uk. All inclusive pricing is so much better. Tipping some workers isn’t necessary and prices must reflect costs. We go out less but when we do we go for top quality Michelin star or recommended. I like it to be special and not an everyday pizza. We cook the best steaks here, at home. What I want is something I cannot do at home or readily source. I want skill and servers who know the food and wine pairings.

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 23/12/2025 18:29

Wrenjay · 23/12/2025 17:56

Waiting staff are highly skilled: especially at functions. If you have a surly waiter that means they are not trained properly. How to deal with accidental spillages is another aspect, how to lay a table with cutlery, napkins, glasses, cruets, service of coffee, wine etc. It took me 5 years and I still didn't know everything. It is nothing like a caring job, but sometimes clearing vomit does occur as well.

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How patronising and incorrect as regards the backbreaking and emotionally draining work undertaken by carers. I bet you're one of those people who think all carers do is make cups of coffee for old dears and watch them do the crossword. Bet you've never dealt with a violent dementia patient

Crikeyalmighty · 23/12/2025 18:32

I can honestly say when we lived in Copenhagen I don’t think we ever had service charge added automatically - not in Sweden and Netherlands - is it just here and US it’s become ‘the norm’ -?

OhDear111 · 23/12/2025 18:38

@MyrtlethePurpleTurtle You aren’t comparing like with like so it’s a bit pointless. Service industry employees don’t all get tips. It’s very much imported from USA. When I was young we used to tip if service was excellent but now it’s 12.5.% added in. Not sleays but frequently. We have minimum wage and top quality restaurants should pay staff fairly. Plus you cannot run a restaurant without a chef so why tip waiting staff? They are not the main workers producing the food. It’s a very odd system and outdated.

blunderbuss12 · 23/12/2025 18:41

Wonder if any of the posters saying waiting staff are paid a decent wage and don't deserve tips could explain the chronic staff shortage in the service industry

PloddingAlong21 · 23/12/2025 19:10

The US can keep their tipping culture!

I do it in a fancy restaurant if the service is amazing. However most often the service here is pretty average, at best. In the US they are actually good at service more often than not. Here you’re an inconvenience, one of which then has to pay 10% when they’re probably on same wage as many of the patrons? No we should not encourage tipping here.

tokennamechange · 23/12/2025 19:17

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 16:14

Restaurants do not charge for the service within the price of the meal.

The service is the labour part of the bill.

If you could understand how little money is made on a meal once you have bought the raw ingredients, paid someone to cook, clean up, manage the restaurant and paid for rent rates and even refuse collection, napkins, stolen items etc.

The service is the labour element for the server and sometimes split to the back of house staff too.

Show quote history

This makes absolutely no sense.

How do all the thousands of pubs and restaurants where you order at the bar or via an app on your phone and then all the server does is deliver the meal to you manage to exist/profit without adding an extra service charge, then?

And why do staff working there rather than those working in pubs and restaurants where you get a bill at the end not deserve extra compensation when the only thing they do differently is detail what you want to eat via the till at the start rather than coming to your table?

"the service is the labour element for the server" doesn't make sense either as a sentence or an idea. It's insane to say that walking a meal over from the kitchen to a table is the sole element that isn't included in the price of a meal, but everything else you've quoted as being part of a business's running costs, from the chef, barstaff and cleaner's wages, to toilet paper, dishwashing, insurance, music license etc. somehow is.

The server's set wage is their "labour element". The restaurant pays them for working each shift (i.e. their "labour") regardless of whether it is busy, quiet or empty. Anything else would be illegal.

tokennamechange · 23/12/2025 19:20

blunderbuss12 · 23/12/2025 18:41

Wonder if any of the posters saying waiting staff are paid a decent wage and don't deserve tips could explain the chronic staff shortage in the service industry

Brexit?
We didn't have a 'chronic staff shortage' pre 2019 despite the minimum wage being a third less than it is now.

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 23/12/2025 19:28

tokennamechange · 23/12/2025 19:20

Brexit?
We didn't have a 'chronic staff shortage' pre 2019 despite the minimum wage being a third less than it is now.

Show quote history

Yep, this.

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 19:35

tokennamechange · 23/12/2025 19:17

This makes absolutely no sense.

How do all the thousands of pubs and restaurants where you order at the bar or via an app on your phone and then all the server does is deliver the meal to you manage to exist/profit without adding an extra service charge, then?

And why do staff working there rather than those working in pubs and restaurants where you get a bill at the end not deserve extra compensation when the only thing they do differently is detail what you want to eat via the till at the start rather than coming to your table?

"the service is the labour element for the server" doesn't make sense either as a sentence or an idea. It's insane to say that walking a meal over from the kitchen to a table is the sole element that isn't included in the price of a meal, but everything else you've quoted as being part of a business's running costs, from the chef, barstaff and cleaner's wages, to toilet paper, dishwashing, insurance, music license etc. somehow is.

The server's set wage is their "labour element". The restaurant pays them for working each shift (i.e. their "labour") regardless of whether it is busy, quiet or empty. Anything else would be illegal.

Edited
Show quote history

just pay the service and stop whining

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 19:35

blunderbuss12 · 23/12/2025 18:41

Wonder if any of the posters saying waiting staff are paid a decent wage and don't deserve tips could explain the chronic staff shortage in the service industry

this

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 19:36

PloddingAlong21 · 23/12/2025 19:10

The US can keep their tipping culture!

I do it in a fancy restaurant if the service is amazing. However most often the service here is pretty average, at best. In the US they are actually good at service more often than not. Here you’re an inconvenience, one of which then has to pay 10% when they’re probably on same wage as many of the patrons? No we should not encourage tipping here.

don’t go out then

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 19:37

tokennamechange · 23/12/2025 19:20

Brexit?
We didn't have a 'chronic staff shortage' pre 2019 despite the minimum wage being a third less than it is now.

Show quote history

we have always had a chronic shortage of waiting and kitchen staff.

Crushed23 · 23/12/2025 19:54

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Starsea · 23/12/2025 20:04

I just hate tipping in general and would rather it be added as service charge to be honest. I don't understand why the bill at a resteraunt has to be overcomplicated by paying the bill, then deciding how much to pay in tip.

I also think employers should just pay their workers properly, it's not my responsibility to top up their wages.

I've also done bar work where people have handed me cash as a tip and I just find the whole thing weird. If they personally give you the money, you're then obliged to smile, be thankful etc and I'd just rather go to work, do my job and get paid. I wouldn't be so arrogant to put myself in the place of judge over the value of someone's work unless I was their boss and I don't like someone doing it me.

But I'm well aware that I'm probably unusual, and most people would just take the £20 note and feel happy about it.

PloddingAlong21 · 23/12/2025 20:08

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 19:36

don’t go out then

Show quote history

Because I don’t enjoy tipping for middle of the road service? What a daft comment.

RaraRachael · 23/12/2025 20:23

My OH and many others are on minimum wage. They don't get tipped for doing their job so I don't see how waiting staff are any different.

Oh, and @Newdaysameday I don't need correcting by anyone.
You have your view, I have mine.

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 20:26

tokennamechange · 23/12/2025 19:17

This makes absolutely no sense.

How do all the thousands of pubs and restaurants where you order at the bar or via an app on your phone and then all the server does is deliver the meal to you manage to exist/profit without adding an extra service charge, then?

And why do staff working there rather than those working in pubs and restaurants where you get a bill at the end not deserve extra compensation when the only thing they do differently is detail what you want to eat via the till at the start rather than coming to your table?

"the service is the labour element for the server" doesn't make sense either as a sentence or an idea. It's insane to say that walking a meal over from the kitchen to a table is the sole element that isn't included in the price of a meal, but everything else you've quoted as being part of a business's running costs, from the chef, barstaff and cleaner's wages, to toilet paper, dishwashing, insurance, music license etc. somehow is.

The server's set wage is their "labour element". The restaurant pays them for working each shift (i.e. their "labour") regardless of whether it is busy, quiet or empty. Anything else would be illegal.

Edited
Show quote history

Actually most of the time wait staff are on zero hours contracts so they don’t pay the wait staff if it’s not busy they send them home and they get no pay. This happens regardless of whether they have paid their bus fare into work or not.

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 20:32

RaraRachael · 23/12/2025 20:23

My OH and many others are on minimum wage. They don't get tipped for doing their job so I don't see how waiting staff are any different.

Oh, and @Newdaysameday I don't need correcting by anyone.
You have your view, I have mine.

Don’t drag others on low pay down further.
It’s very unkind

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 20:41

What I don’t understand about these sort of posts is that people are effectively getting annoyed about staff on very low pay getting a small wage lift through legitimate tips (which are not compulsory to pay).

Just don’t pay the tip if you can’t afford it but don’t get annoyed about it.

It might just mean that a single mum or someone on the bread line gets their rent paid that week. Why the venom?

Save your anger for something else.

Umbilicat · 23/12/2025 20:43

There are lots of mean and nasty people in this world – always lovely to be reminded just before Christmas.

And by the way tipping has been around in this country forever, I remember people tipping in restaurants when I was a kid in the 80s– what is new is adding the service charge, which people like me prefer because we don’t have to do the maths, if you pay that then don’t tip on top of it!

Also, whatever they may say about people in Europe not expecting a tip – increasingly they do and increasingly they hate you if you don’t leave one…

RaraRachael · 23/12/2025 20:47

@Newdaysameday I was not "being very unkind" - just stating facts and giving MY opinion.

Also which bit of "You have your view, I have mine" didn't you understand? This is a discussion forum. People are allowed to have different views.

Newdaysameday · 23/12/2025 20:48

RaraRachael · 23/12/2025 20:47

@Newdaysameday I was not "being very unkind" - just stating facts and giving MY opinion.

Also which bit of "You have your view, I have mine" didn't you understand? This is a discussion forum. People are allowed to have different views.

and I am allowed mine which i have given.

I don’t understand people are effectively getting annoyed about staff on very low pay getting a small wage lift through legitimate tips (which are not compulsory to pay).