Restaurant Service Charge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How large was your party?

3 people.

Are you people of color? This seems racist to me unless it’s a clearly stated policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a little more clarity we got the bill and the total was $84. My DH hands over the card and they bring the bill back and it is now $102. The total changed and on the second receipt it said 20% service charge included then the gratuity line then the new total line.

He was mad about the bait and switch on cost when the original receipt never mentioned the 20% and I looked at their online menu and don’t see it mentioned there either. We did not tip more but then I started to feel like we did something wrong after we left.

I would not have tipped more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a little more clarity we got the bill and the total was $84. My DH hands over the card and they bring the bill back and it is now $102. The total changed and on the second receipt it said 20% service charge included then the gratuity line then the new total line.

He was mad about the bait and switch on cost when the original receipt never mentioned the 20% and I looked at their online menu and don’t see it mentioned there either. We did not tip more but then I started to feel like we did something wrong after we left.

That’s a 21.5% tip. More than enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a little more clarity we got the bill and the total was $84. My DH hands over the card and they bring the bill back and it is now $102. The total changed and on the second receipt it said 20% service charge included then the gratuity line then the new total line.

He was mad about the bait and switch on cost when the original receipt never mentioned the 20% and I looked at their online menu and don’t see it mentioned there either. We did not tip more but then I started to feel like we did something wrong after we left.

That was the tip. No need to leave more and no need to feel guilty. You did fine.

[Anonymous]

I wish every food service establishment in the country did this. No more thinking about how much to tip and no more servers getting stiffed by cheapskates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish every food service establishment in the country did this. No more thinking about how much to tip and no more servers getting stiffed by cheapskates.

I wouldn’t mind either as long as it’s clearly stated. Which in this case it wasn’t.

[Anonymous]

Name the restaurant, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends. If you have a party of 8 or more than I would expect that on top of tip. If it's one of their "recovery fees" I'd never go there, again.

No, if 20% is added to the total for a larger party, that is the tip. They just want to ensure the server is not getting stiffed, as often happens in large groups.

NP. I get that, but if this is the intent, why did the OP encounter and additional line for gratuity?

We got our bill and it included an 20% service charge (which was not included in the total under food, but after they ran our card) and then it had another line for gratuity. At the bottom of the receipt it had the “cheat sheet” of 18% tip is $20, 20% tip is…

Because it automatically prints out on every receipt.

I suppose I can respect that if the fact that a tip has already been applied is clearly highlighted to prevent error, not just tucked into the rest of the writing which might be missed by someone.

Yes, these receipts are templated, not customized to each establishment. If you’ve paid the 20% service charge, you’re good to go. And it’s on you to look at the bill. Do you really just look at the final line, multiply by 1.2, and pay? I think you should scrutinize your checks with a bit more care.

So, if people often miss this -- and they do -- then why not address it clearly in a way they are more likely not to miss?

The consistent part in this recurrent error is you.

Not sure how I’m the problem, as I am neither a restaurateur nor a person who doesn’t read their bill closely. If you find this repeatedly happening to you, you are the common denominator. I’m genuinely shocked that people would not notice their bill is 20% higher than they expected it to be.

Work on your reading skills.

[Anonymous]

No more going out to eat without cash

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish every food service establishment in the country did this. No more thinking about how much to tip and no more servers getting stiffed by cheapskates.

No, what every restaurant should do is make their prices sufficient to pay their employees fairly. Not randomly slap an unexpected percentage onto the customer's bill at the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish every food service establishment in the country did this. No more thinking about how much to tip and no more servers getting stiffed by cheapskates.

No, what every restaurant should do is make their prices sufficient to pay their employees fairly. Not randomly slap an unexpected percentage onto the customer's bill at the end.

Most people would have quite the sticker shock if this were to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish every food service establishment in the country did this. No more thinking about how much to tip and no more servers getting stiffed by cheapskates.

No, what every restaurant should do is make their prices sufficient to pay their employees fairly. Not randomly slap an unexpected percentage onto the customer's bill at the end.

Most people would have quite the sticker shock if this were to happen.

So the solution is to hide prices? Do people spend more when they do not know it?

[Anonymous]

The service charge is a tip. Service charges can also be for providing requested services for a birthday dinner, private party, or corkage fee for wine. A restaurant should have a stated policy on the receipt when it applies an automatic tip. For example, for any parties over 6, an automatic tip of 20% will be applied or "an automatic tip of 20% will be applied to all diners". The total, with service charge, needs to be presented as the bill (not after the charge).

The server may have neglected to add the automatic tip, but he should have communicated the late addition before returning the card. Hard to know without knowing the restaurant's policy on automatic tips. It should be on their website or printed on their menus/receipt.

The receipt is a template from software the restaurant has limited ability to customize. Automatic tips can't be called a "tip" because the restaurant is billing you. The server should let you know when the bill is provided that the tip has already been applied b/c of "stated policy". But not all servers share this information. Sometimes, diners are deep in conversation and won't hear what is said. In other cases, a server hopes you won't notice.

If you added a tip on top of the 20%, you should communicate with the restaurant. They should refund you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a little more clarity we got the bill and the total was $84. My DH hands over the card and they bring the bill back and it is now $102. The total changed and on the second receipt it said 20% service charge included then the gratuity line then the new total line.

He was mad about the bait and switch on cost when the original receipt never mentioned the 20% and I looked at their online menu and don’t see it mentioned there either. We did not tip more but then I started to feel like we did something wrong after we left.

You definitely did nothing wrong. They did something wrong by not telling everyone that they would be forcing a 20% tip whether your service was good or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish every food service establishment in the country did this. No more thinking about how much to tip and no more servers getting stiffed by cheapskates.

No, what every restaurant should do is make their prices sufficient to pay their employees fairly. Not randomly slap an unexpected percentage onto the customer's bill at the end.

Most people would have quite the sticker shock if this were to happen.

Then it’s not a viable business model.