The bloody service charge!

[Ilovemychocolate]

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?

I dont if the service is rubbish. I never used to tip if it was just "ok" either tbf.

I don’t mind it, saves working out the tip

@santapaws24 I waitressed a lot in the early 90s. Definitely got tips then.

And a £5 tip on a £200 bill is so tight!

I dont think its tight if service was just fine/ok/good. Why would I tip at all if it was just "ok"?

I agree they should increase the prices and state this on the menus, but that would deter a lot of potential customers so it’s ‘better’ for the restaurant owners to make extra money from the service charge which they know full well most people will pay, regardless of the quality of service.

Yes a tip for good service is fine, if seen as an extra bonus not as an expected add on to menu prices.
An added service charge is ambiguous and doesn’t automatically mean it will all go to the wait staff.

You are incredibly unreasonable. Most menus will state what percentage they add for service charge. If you don't want to pay a service charge, eat at a restaurant that does not charge for it.

I know! It makes me realise how few people used to tip when they'd rather a blanket 12% rather than taking what I once would have given!

What’s the difference between ‘ok’ and ‘good’ service and what would you tip for the latter?

If every table a person served gave them a £5 tip it would add up to thousands of pounds over the year.

How many jobs get that much untaxed extra money over their normal income for meeting the basic requirement of the job, often to a minimal standard.

Lots of jobs pay the same and are at least has hard, often more so, but are never tipped.

I do think service is part of the experience and should not be a separate charge. We don’t tip shop assistants who find something for us or theatre attendants who show us to our seats etc etc. We are expected to see this as an addition in a restaurant which I find bizarre. Unfortunately they all do it. Usually 12.5%. They should have an all inclusive price as other services do. It’s an import from the USA in many ways and it’s in place of a tip for all our friends. We add 10% if no charge but I’m not doing 20% in the uk. It’s their job to serve well!

It is confusing though- I always used to round up as a tip. But that doesn’t count now. I have to remember else I pay a tip twice.

I like that's it's on there. Saves me calculating it. As long as it's not more than 15%. Then I can add a cash tip on top if the staff were especially good.

I'd never ever not tip in a sit down restaurant with table service. Unless the waiter literally swore at me or spilled my dinner down my back.

Even if the food sucks it's not the waiting staffs fault. If I don't like something I send it back straight away so I rarely feel ripped off.

No difference really for me. Good/ok/fine is the minimum id expect so on a £200 bill, good/fine etc its £5

I can’t remember a time when I’ve tipped a shop assistant/library worker/GP/ bus driver yet they’ve all given me great service.
£5 is £5 more than any of them get!

I'm not a fan of American style tipping but even in Britain this is bloody tight arse behaviour!

It’s put me off eating out tbf. We (4 friends) were charged £50 on top of a very expensive overpriced meal and just paid it thinking it was the expensive cocktails that had bumped up the bill - it’s only afterwards we realised we’d been effectively been mugged. It’s an insult.

I think this is incredibly unreasonable, if you don't want to pay a service charge, don't go out, or eat at a restaurant that doesn't charge.

😱 That’s tight AF

Unless service was bad I tip between 10-15% normally , have sometimes done 20% for really great meal and very lovely event.

Where I got annoyed last year was when a pub automatically added 15% onto my "bill " for 2 drinks as they had delivered them to my table !

So not to drip feed went into a pub (also has accommodation) , went to bar and bought 1 wine and 1 beer. Sat about 10-15 feet away by log fire, after about 45mins-1 hour of chatting we decided to have another drink, I got up to buy it and staff member came past taking sone glasses back to bar and said "did you want the sane again - I'll get it for you" and she then bought the 2 drinks over with card machine - as she quoted cost I queried it as it was more expensive than first round but same drinks , she replied "oh that will be the 15% service charge for the drinks" , I asked her to remove it , she had to get the manager, I explained situation and said if I had known 15% extra to deliver a few feet I would have declined her original offer , they in my mind grudgingly deducted it and we have never been back there .

At a restaurant last week with a service charge. The service was non-existent, wrong orders came out, raw chicken for 1 person so we asked for it to be removed. The menu did say 'discretionary' service charge. Then the manager came over and said we HAD to pay or couldn't leave!

I can't stand it- I'll add a tip if the service is outstanding.

I’d say £200 in a chain restaurant is likely to be a biggish table of at least 4 people and possibly more. I’d definitely tip at least 20%.

£200 for 2 people is likely to be good food and great service - I’d be leaving 25% as a tip.

This is completely standard where I live (south east) and it's normally 12.5%. For the rare places that don't add it, we normally add at least 10% anyway, as long as the service & food has been decent.

It does seem to vary a bit place to place though. Went to the Cotswolds recently and was surprised to find that places were only adding 10% or one place had a 5% service charge which is unheard of where I live.

I don't pay the service charge and always ask for it to be removed. But I don't get angry about it, it's just one of those things.

If the service is exceptionally good I might leave a small tip but mostly I don't. Yes, the staff work hard but they're on minimum wage (as am I in my little part-time job) and we all work hard....

£5 on a £200 bill is absolutely miserly. Bare minimum is 10%, so £20 at least, as long as the food and service was good. I know there's going to be a pushback...'We're not bloody America! etc', and yes it is out of hand there, but I do think £5 is v mean.