Pizza Express charged me hidden "optional service charge"...

jb66

Maybe if no-one tipped Pizza Express would pay their staff better?

You think tipping is helping the staff but really it helps Pizza Express justify minimum wage

Jeff_Bridges_hair

jb66 wrote: »

Maybe if no-one tipped Pizza Express would pay their staff better?

You think tipping is helping the staff but really it helps Pizza Express justify minimum wage

Pizza Express can justify the minimum wage without the use of a tip incentive - they will still get students in there who want a job through college or the summer and there are lots of people who want a job so thats not a valid point

Lokolo

Makeandsave wrote: »

Can a place make you pay the 10% charge? I like to tip a min of 10% if like the rest i have had good service but was out one night with a group and had bad service but still paid the 10% has we were in a group and i did not want to look bad.

It's an optional 10% charge. It's just an opt-out one.

jb66

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

Pizza Express can justify the minimum wage without the use of a tip incentive - they will still get students in there who want a job through college or the summer and there are lots of people who want a job so thats not a valid point

I disagree. Remove the tip and pay minimum wage they would get poor staff. Increase the wage and they will offer a desirable job and get decent applicants. But what is happenig here is they are paying rock bottom then using the tip as an incentive to attract decent staff.

marleyboy

The only realistic way of ensuring good members of staff in this line of work, is for them to get the idea that a happy customer may well just tip those who truly deserve it.

hardpressed

Jakg wrote: »

The menu does say for parties over 10 people (I think) you get an optional 10% charge on the bill.

You can ask for it to be removed if you want...

I've never understood this business of a extra service charge if there are more than a certain number of people, lots of places do it. Why does it cost more to serve say 10 people at one table than 2 people at 5 separate tables?

cheapskate101

Friends of my daughter gave her a surprise party at Pizza Express. They divided up the bill, ready to pay.
When the bill came a £20 service charge had been added. They asked what it was for and they were told it is compulsory.

Tina20

I never tip unless I receive exceptional service. They get PAID to do the job, why on earth would I give more? The money I already paid goes towards their wages, I've already paid them!

Idiophreak

jb66 wrote: »

I disagree. Remove the tip and pay minimum wage they would get poor staff. Increase the wage and they will offer a desirable job and get decent applicants. But what is happenig here is they are paying rock bottom then using the tip as an incentive to attract decent staff.

Couldn't disagree more...I really think (as earlier in the thread) the American model is what we need to adopt here...Just have people live on tips alone, but encourage people to tip more for good service. If you pay people more as a base wage, there's no incentive for them to offer good service.

American service is *phenomenal* compared to what we suffer here. (almost too good for British sensibilities...)

I'd like to see restaurants in this country matching people's tips to make up their base wage (and beyond)...and if they have to "make up" someone's wage to minimum more than a couple of times, they can fire them and find someone who "gets it" a little more. So sick of the "service" in this country.

hardpressed wrote: »

I've never understood this business of a extra service charge if there are more than a certain number of people, lots of places do it. Why does it cost more to serve say 10 people at one table than 2 people at 5 separate tables?

Have you never been in a group of 8 or 10 at a restaurant and thought "jesus, this is hard work for the poor waitress"?

The more people there are, the more likely that people have been chattering and not bothered to look at the menu, the more likely that people will umm and arr and change their minds over and over again, the more likely that people will be up and down to the toilets, to smoke, to take phone calls.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy eating out in groups, but I do often feel for the poor people that have to try and wait on them. A bunch of couples would be *much* easier to deal with.

brettcta

old thread is old.