After viewing the ICA, we stopped at the Daily Catch and sat on the terrace facing the harbor. Only one other table was occupied. We ordered a bottle of wine and cherrystones. after a 45 minute wait and our wine almost gone , we sked where our food was and asked for the check. The bill came with a 15% tip added. No where was it posted that a tip is added. I thought it was a gratuity that w choose how much.

Where (city, state) did this happen? I believe that if the policy was not announced clearly, you should ask the manager to remove the charge. What did you do?

So you just asked to remove the tip, and it was done, right

Happened to me once, the service was awful, I softly asked to remove the service charge... 15 minutes and 2 "managers" later it was removed.

A San Francisco restaurant is out of business now.

Doesn't matter posted or not, bad service = no tip in my books.

sorry, it was Boston. We did ask and they wouldn't

As far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse for that. I'm guessing that you weren't in a large party (the only reason I can ever see to justify the restaurant's adding the tip)?

I would certainly write a letter to the owner/manager if I were you. Do you have a copy of the bill? If so, include a copy.

One thing I'm unclear on, did you ever get the food? Or did you tell them just to skip the food and bring the check?

It would be interesting to know whether, considering that they automatically add the gratuity, they pay their staff at a higher rate than most restaurants.

We ate our food and because the service was slow decided not to oder anything else and asked for the check. Too bad because the view is nice sitting there watching all the cruise boats pass by.

It sounds like perhaps the view rather than the service warrants the tip. A poor policy.

Better Business Bureau can help you in getting your tipping money back.

That happened to me and a friend at Bleu Martini in Philadelphia recently. We sat at the bar and had two martinis and an appetizer and they added a tip. They claimed it is their policy to add 18% but the amount was more than 18% - closer to 21% of the total AFTER TAXES. They didn't actually state that it was a tip, they just wrote the new total in pen and circled it, probably with the hope that we wouldn't notice and tip on top of that number. We were so pissed.

My friend was paying - I don't think we left the amount they put on the check.

How many were in your party? Some restaurants do have a written policy of charging a gratuity for a large party - but it should always be printed on the menu.

As a side note, how was the ICA? We were in Boston last Nov, but unfortunately the opening of the ICA was delayed until Dec...

Unbelievable that you asked for the tip to be removed and the manager said no ! I would definitely follow up with a letter - is there someone higher than the person you spoke with? owner? partners? anyone !!

Wiating 45 minutes for cherrystones is absurd. Even if the restaurant was full and from your post, it was almost empty - no excuse either way.

During your 45 minute wait - anything? apologies? sorry it is taking so long, can I get you something in the meantime? sorry, there was a problem in the kitchen - any of these would have gone a long way - but to ignore you is unforgivable!

Sorry you had that experience - hope the ICA was good ! We enjoyed it the few times we've been and my son was at a concert there the other night and thought it a great concert venue too.

I certainly would email/call the owner. This restaurant is not a large chain and you should be able to contact someone of authority. Did you order food other than the appetizers and then leave b/c it was so slow? Sorry, but that was not clear to me. If so, maybe they thought the tip was a sort of penalty, so to speak. No matter what their thinking, it is not right and there must be some recourse. Unfortunately, to be able to get some satisfaction, you are the one who has to do the work b/c they already have your money---not fair.

Frankly I am not surprised by this. The Daily Catch is a family run business and I believe the adult children of the original owners of the North End establishment have opened branches with inconsistent success. As I recall there was a Daily Catch on Rt 1 in Saugus for a nanosecond. It didn't last because of poor service and a lack of atmosphere according to reports that I have heard. Not likely that you will get any satisfaction. Too bad too because we used to like the one in the North End.

UPDATE
After calling again today, the person who answered said a manager would be in at 3Pm. I asked them to call Jerry as I would be at the dentist. When I returned home he said the head waiter phoned and said they could not send a check or credit his card he had to go there tomorrow and get his refund . Totally unacceptable! I phoned back and demanded to speak to a manager. This guy was unaware of what happened the staff took it upon themselves. He apologized and will credit the MC. I suggested to him that it would be nice if he instructed the help to inform the customer when there is a delay in bringing the order. And that one waiters response was not acceptable: that they get alot of tourists who only leave 5% or nothing. A very untrained staff!!

Thanks so much for sharing ciga! My husband was there last season for a lovely meal before a Pavilion event, and said the food was as great as the old waterfront place but service was slow. If we make it by that way later this season, I will be sure to ask for the manager and mention your experience and verify up front that they have taken control of their training program.

As a diner, you did the restaurant a great service. A couple of years ago I was at a Jean George restaurant in NYC. My girlfriend who was expensing the meal left a %10 tip with explaination of miserable service on the reciept. The staff either got better or moved on.

Thanks again.

ciga,
I just told your story to my husband and he said, people are leaving 5% because thats how bad the service was when he was there, not because there are cheap tourists!!!

Thanks for updating us. The tourist thing is interesting. We ate at Bouchee on Newbury St. shortly after it opened. In chatting briefly with the waiter, he mentioned another restaurant where he had worked, whose name escapes me right now. He said he was happy to leave it and come to Bouchee, b/c the other locale was mainly tourists whereas this one would have neighborhood customers as well as tourists. He said that one never gets the chance to have "regulars" if the place is all tourists, and that the atmosphere of a place is very different when all the clientele are just passing through. It does not excuse the behavior, in any way, but it gives a little window into the world of how servers might become jaded and uncaring when they face an ever-changing cast of customers. As I said, no excuse for it, but sometimes it can be interesting to imagine a totally different viewpoint.

On a totally separate note, I am so surprised to find out that tourists tip badly. It always seems to me that we go a little overboard when traveling, as we get caught up in the spirit of the moment!

Socialworker sez: "On a totally separate note, I am so surprised to find out that tourists tip badly. It always seems to me that we go a little overboard when traveling, as we get caught up in the spirit of the moment!"

It is often Europeans or Brits who tip badly, Europeans because they are not used to it at home and Brits because they don't tip anything like as much as we do at home. We have a lot of British friends who take us out to dinner when they visit. I try to see what they are tipping and sometimes leave cash under my plate to make up the difference.

On the other hand, the worst service I had while living in Boston was in restaurants on the Waterfront, where I once left a 1 cent tip with a note on the credit card slip to let the waitress know how badly she had treated me. I also went back next day to talk to the manager.