Tips disguised as "service charges" in fine restaurants!
 

I'm engaged in a rather heated discussion on another travel forum about the custom of some fine (and not so fine) restaurants adding a "service charge" to their tabs and not identifying them as a tip, which in fact they are. I really feel this is a shady practice for restaurants whose patrons don't have enough sense to add a tip. Others say this is very cosmopolitan and normal in fine restaurants in New York and Europe. I'd love to get some input from folks who're more familiar with "fine" restaurants in other places. Although I travel a lot and love fine dining in many places, I haven't been to Europe nor have I been to New York in decades. Thanks!!!

Some retaurants automatically add a gratuity to your check--whether it's called service charge, gratuity or whatever. Are you objecting to the fact that they are adding a gratuity or that they call it a "service charge"? I think it's just a matter of semantics. I wouldn't like it any better if they called it a "tip"!

I actually prefer the service charge to a tip. It's more honest, really, than making you think your meal cost one thing when they also expect you to pay the server's salary as well. I especially like the way they do it in Europe, where you either have a "cover charge" or service is included. The US way of paying servers substandard wages and expecting the patrons to make up the difference is cheesy, in my opinion.

I certainly have no objection to tipping, in fact my husband and I seldom tip less than 20%. Perhaps my problem is that this old dog is having a hard time learning a new trick! Normally the last line of the check is the cost of the meal (tax included), to which we add a tip and total. I've seen lots of menus that state a policy of adding gratuities to parties of 6 or more, but I've never seen a menu saying that the gratuity is included in the price of the meal. Maybe I'm the only person who is bothered by this development...I'll have to be more diligent in checking to see what IS included. Thanks for your input.

Read the Miami Herald online today (www.herald.com). Outrageous story about how a restaurant on South Beach, Thai Tony's, automatically added 15% to a black couple's bill. The man questioned white patrons around him and none of them had the tip automatically included. When the gentleman asked the owner about the addition to his bill, the owner told him it was "because your people don't tip well." OUTrageous. I hope nobody headed to South Florida plans on patronizing that establishment. Anyway... <BR> <BR> I guess more and more of these restaurants think lots of people "don't tip well" and add a service charge that could slip right by you if you're not paying attention. I still believe it is the customer's discretion. If the service is standard or better, by all means, tip standard or better. But nobody should be stereotyped about tipping practices and nobody should be forced to tip for bad service.

What a disgusting story!!! This is an establishment I wouldn't mind seeing out of business. Years ago my son was discriminated against in much the same way when he took his date to a fine restaurant before their senior prom. Apparently this hotel restaurant didn't think "his kind", which I assume was his youth, paid well either because a gratuity was added without his knowledge. Therefore when given his bill he added a tip, just as he'd been raised to do.

I worked as a server for over 10 years and can tell you the people should check their bill closely. Of course, I believe that servers should be tipped well--certainly they could not survive on the wages they make. <BR>But...I have been out a few times with a group of people and the tip was added to the bill despite horrendous service. I would suggest that if this happens to you--talk to the manager about having the gratuity taken off our bill. Most places will do it. <BR>If there is a servie charge added to your bill, I am under the impression that that serves as the tip and no further gratuity is required. Am I wrong?

Hi, I read the story in the MIami Herald today and let me tell you, in Aventura ( that is the great Miami area) <BR>a waiter added to our bill with his own hand writing 15% service on top of everything tax,food, ...etc. and we are not African Americans. He though we were tourists which we are not.Very annoying because we ate there before and knew it was not the restaurant's policy.When confronted he came with an explanation... not good enough. <BR> <BR>In South Beach in a very well known Italian restaurant in Ocean Drive, where 15% is added as a matter of policy, we noticed that very often the waiter used <BR>a dry pen to circle the total amount in such a way that the circle would come on top of the line "Service" so this way they hope to have the 15% plus another tip for a total of 30%.. <BR> <BR>I think that the story in today 's Herald goes beyond racial discrimination, in my opinion racial discrimation is not the core of the tipping issue.( Of course I am strongly against racial discrimation). The core is that <BR>many restaurants expect us to pay the waiters' salaries ( WHY may I ask?, don' t they make enough money to pay their employees?, why doesn 't a shop or even a hotel, or any other bussiness expects the customer to pay the salary of their employees with tips? <BR> <BR> Sometimes some waiters can be dishonest, like those with the dry pen,sometimes <BR> waiters or owners might target a certain person to impose a mandatory tip, but I feel that they act not necessarily based on the race of the client , I feel that they discriminate against tourists more often. Which is terribly wrong too. <BR>All kinds of discrimination are unacceptable. <BR> <BR>In South Beach most every cafe, bar, restaurant ....would charge an extra 15% or more , and I think they charge in on top of the tax too, which is wrong... <BR>But the real game it seems is to make clients to tip twice. <BR>I recall years back when South Beach was at its early years , we had lunch with a friend from Ny, at Ocean Drive, <BR>and I told her, tip is included here you do not really have to tip,...being a Ny my friend ask the waiter is tip included?, ....yes he went, but then he performed such an act of how little he was paid etc that my friend ended up tipping twice...isn' t that a little too much!!!! In Europe in cafes for instances I do not tip at all because tip is included, nor do my European friends..... however in better restaurants when service is superbe then I tip what I feel on top ... <BR>Let me stress however that it is not easy to find superbe service anywhere... often it seems waiters think good service is to ask" Is everything OK?" and rush out so no complain or request can be made.. Anyway it is a shame that the press has to emphasis the racial problem versus other aspects of the same problem.. I am not saying that there are not great , honest, hard working waiters,,,,,.Happy dining...

We travel extensively to major cities. I do considerable research (on the web and in tour guides) when selecting restaurants for fine dining. Curiously, I have never experienced receiving a check with a "service charge" added on. Once in a while, a menu will note that a gratuity will be added for a larger (five, seven, or more) party. Should this ever happen to us, my concern would be whether or not our particular server for the evening received a share of same. Or, whether, an additional gratuity is necessary to your server. I did some waitressing in my younger days and noted that, often, no gratuity was left from very nice folks who received excellent service. I, too, however, would be horrified to have a "service charge" automatically added to our bill without prior notice. It would seem to me that this would be completely unnecessary in a fine dining establishment, where one would assume that if the patrons can afford to dine there they would also have the initiative to leave the appropriate gratuity. On the other hand, we took a Gray Line day trip to the Laurentians during a recent visit to Montreal. I was astonished that the bus driver/tour guide "explained" the practice of tipping several times over. We were among the few non-oriental folks on the bus. Part of the tour included a boat ride on a lake. Not only did this fellow explain that "tips are appreciated" on the bus, he sought out "fluent in English" Oriental folks on the boat and requested that they explain same to everyone else that the "captain" of the boat should be tipped. I was appalled. Particularly since the bus driver/tour guide was not all that informative or appealing and the day trip in question included the boat ride. I'm all for tossing a few bucks to the drivers/guides/captains when the experience is something extra. But having paid a premium fee for the "tour" versus going on one's own for less than extraordinary service, and being prompted over and over again for a "tip" is, to me, ridiculous. Then, there are the B&B's (and we've given up patronizing same) that add not only sales tax, but a 15% or more "gratuity" to the entire bill (and, one would assume breakfast, often quite skimpy and at hours one doesn't wish to attend, to be a nominal portion of the room rate). But, returning to the restaurant issue, unless a policy to add a "service charge" to one's bill is clearly indicated on a posted menu, or at the very least on the one provided once you are seated so that you are so advised and can choose to leave, I would simply deduct it from the total whether paying by credit card or cash. Unless you feel so inclined to have added it anyway, I would vehemently protest such an unwelcome and unexpected charge. I would surely inquire to the server whether or not they received benefit of same. Especially if the service received was less than not only acceptable but most accomodating. I'm wondering if places most popular with out-of-town/tourist visitors tack this on in the event that that certain patrons, having spent an unusually uncommon (for them) inordinate amount on the meal might wish to "economize" by neglecting the gratuity.

Donna, I'm curious: Where did you encounter B&Bs that added a gratuity to the bill? That's a new one on me! Happily, we've never had that experience.

Susan- <BR> <BR>It is standard in Europe (at least in France and Italy) to have a service charge added to the restaurant bill. This is in all restaurants, not just the nicer ones. You are then just expected to leave some change next to your plate as a tip. However, I have never seen this done in the US, unless it is specified on the menu, usually for larger parties only.

Hi Cheryl, Just go to South Beach, there a 15% tip is added to your bill almost everywhere. <BR>If you do not tip on top most likely you 'll get some " look" from the waiter.. and at least in one place I have experienced more than once the trick of the dry pen...

I am usually a generous tipper (20-25%, more on a small bill). I understand the service charge (in lieu of an additional tip) added for large parties. This is because often there is no tip from large parties, and this has become standard practice in the U.S. <BR>If ANYONE added a service charge that wasn't posted on the menu and I was in a group of 4 or less, the management would hear about it (and possibly other patrons of the restaurant). I would also refuse to pay anything over the base bill, as this is the epitome of bad service. Now if they say they add service charge to all bills, that's fine. Just tell me in advance, don't try to hoodwink me.

My son used to wait tables at an upscale restaurant in Newport, RI and always had trouble with Europeans, because servis compris was not added as it is in Europe - as a result the waiters often got stiffed by customers. Maybe that is why some of the tourist area restaurants are adding a charge.

I'm likely to agree with Kathy as to the origin of the "service charge". I have no problem with with 15% being added to my bill as I would have probably added at least that much anyway. I feel no obligation to tip above any service charge. If I feel that the 15% is excessive as I had particularly bad service, as I have had on occasion, I would mention it to the manager and refuse to pay. Unless it is made plain prior to your meal that a service charge will be added, I don't think you have a legal obligation to pay, but I would ask a lawyer about it. Unless the manager wants to lose business, word of mouth is everything to a restaurant, he will remove the service charge. Whether the food costs more, or I pay a service charge, I am paying the wait staffs' salaries anyway. How they structure it is irrelevant to me.

<BR>Just a refreshing comment here - we just came home from New Zealand, where we had to practically FORCE a tip on wait-staff at most restaurants. It's just not done there, in most cases, the server didn't even know what my husband was talking about when he tried to tip, or couldn't figure out how to do a credit card since their forms didn't have a tip or service charge line. So we usually left cash.

I think this is absolutely preposterous in US restaurants. Unless this practice is obviously apparent or advised in one way or another when you call to reserve, I would positively refuse to pay it. Especially if there is not an obvious sign specifying same or a huge note on the menu. This is NOT the norm (except in many places for large parties). I've read and heard that some or none of this "service charge" actually benefits or is given to your server. If this happened to me unexpectedly, I would simply line if off the bill and tip the waitperson in cash (and advise them to procure employment eslewhere). I sincerely doubt that any action would be taken by the prorprietor in charge for refusing to pay any charge not explicity noted on the menu. As for Newport, RI, too bad. I've been a waitperson. Whether or not folks tip, and how much, is up to them. When working in the business, you may get tipped or you may not. That's just the nature of the business and the patrons.

I'm glad that even some Americans think that they are cheated by the "gratuity/service charges" added to their bills. <BR>I come from Australia where I can enjoy a relaxing, great meal with good service without having to worry about getting stooged by some reputable establishment, nor do I have to worry about providing a decent wage to my server. A waiters wage should be paid by their employer NOT directly out of the pockets of their customers. If the wage is incorporated into the food bill (as it must be in Australia) all the better. What is advertised as the price of the meal should be the price of the meal, no hidden extras. I'm out to enjoy myself not worry about keeping someone else's employee above the poverty line. <BR>And as for cheating on the bill, well, they should be grateful if they get paid at all for being dishonest and ruining someone's night out. I work hard to be able to frequent the finer establishments and to think some places think it's ok to judge others/add what they think is appropriate/double charge for their tip for 'service' etc. is nothing short of rude and digusting. When you experience life without being forced to tip for bad service, you will know exactly how I feel. <BR>On the other hand, if European restaurants wish to charge a 'service charge' they make it very obvious before you order and do not expect any more but are always thankful if you reward good service with a small gratuity, the amount which is decided by you.If I feel that service received doesn't warrant a thankyou tip, then that is my right. <BR> <BR>Any comments?

Now I know why I don't feel any desire to visit Miami again!! How arrogant of the restaurant to determine who tips well and who doesn't.