NAME AND SHAME. Restaurant service charges

reen_3

don't be silly. i don't work for £2/hr. fortunately for me, many of our customers are generous and appreciative of good service. a competent waiter in a good restaurant in london can clear £300-500 per week. but that money doesn't come in the form of salary.

a £10 bottle of wine is a waste of money. restaurants make much of their profit off of 'house' things (wine, spirits, etc.). the markup on a house bottle of wine is around 400%. so you get a £2 bottle of 'wine' for your £10, which will be, at best, drinkable. on the other hand, the markup on mid-price wine is around 100-200%. so your £25 bottle of wine is worth around £10. it's a much better value. thus, i would never order a £10-bottle of wine. if i can't afford the £25 bottle, i'll drink beer, or, heaven forbid, a soft drink.

trevored

Hi Room
I have taken Martin's Advice re Restaurant Service Charges. However, I've just read the BBC's Watchdog site http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/asktheexperts/food/food02.shtml which states that where service charge is stipulated then it is a "legal requirement" to pay it. Who is right Martin or Watchdog?

Horasio

ADC wrote: »

I tip when I get service above and beyond... However after years of steak and chips and caesar salads I can confidently say that most restaurants in the UK are pretty dire. Consequently I don't tip much. I have argued in restaurants about a 10% compulsory service charge and had it taken off the bill; I have even been shouted out of a restaurant in London because I insisted on not tipping because the service hadn't been that good, "How do you think we make a living" was the call as I walked out the door. When you consider the charge of £10 for a wine that cost £1 this is risible.

I have some experience of this. My son works in a pub kitchen and with 3 seconds training he was cooking every item on the menu. His advice after a few days work was

"never eat chicken nuggets or any similar product. They are cooked at the beginning of the day and kept warm for several hours to feed to children and gullible adults"

"the way we decide if a steak is rare or well cooked is down to guess work on behalf of the cook"

Most Restaurants in the UK deliver very poor food and get away with poor service. Where I get good service I tip 10%. Any waiter who expects 20% should get a new job.

I tip according to merit and won't be blackmailed in the tipping more than I wish to. I am being charged an arm and a leg for the food itself and wish to have a meal without any hassle.

Horasio

mike_the_bike wrote: »

Went there last Saturday...Nice Menu on board outside..No mention of 12 1/2 % Service charge mentioned....

When Presented with Bill 12 1/2 % added on and waitress asks me if I want to add tip onto credit card slip....I said no...was I being unreasonable..??? (No way - what a blooming cheek):mad:

Chaps...All I want to see when I'm thinking of going into a restaurant is what they want me to pay for their grub..I also want the people that work in these places to be paid a fair wage..Oh yes I don't expect my food to be thrown at me or for them to grovel to me either, just to be pleasant...

This tipping thing is a nonsense, and exploits the customers and the folk that work in these places.

They are banking on you feeling too embarrassed to challenge the bill and possibly upsetting them - I agree, I want a relaxing meal not be involved with their politics.

I feel quite embarrassed about tipping anyway - I prefer to pay the amount they state and leave. If I like the staff, I feel I am being patronising and if I don't they don't deserve it anyway.

Bamber19

What have you been searching for that has resulted in you bringing back old threads? You normally get new posters doing this but you've been a member for quite a while.

helloecho

When I used to work as a waitress, the thing that really made all the staff really smile was when large parties came back to say thankyou with a big box of biscuits or chocolates. They were tax-free, were shared amongst all staff, and just generally put us ALL in a happy, productive, sugar-filled mood and made the shift much more bearable!

kr15snw

Looking at the other side of this I felt terrible embarassed on Saturday when going out for a meal for a friends birthday (there were 3 of us who knew each other, the rest were here friends from work who we hadnt met before).

It was an all you can eat place. You pay £18.95 each then go the buffet pick your meat, pick your veg and theyll cook it in whatever sauce you want. Its gooood.

Its also free corkage so we brought our own wine so we didnt need to pay for drinks.

The bill came and obviously it was just under £200 (there were 10 of us). Last few times Ive been there we tend to pay £20 and the left over money (£20 - 18.95) goes as the tip. So me and my 3 mates chuck in £20 and the one collecting it counts and says 'well theres only so much left to pay, great lets put ours in'. When we explained about we had included a tip, they told us we were silly and refused to tip as they never do.

So they paid their exact amount to the penny and 4 of us gave an extra £1.05.

I honestly felt embarassed that they were so tight...

hollydays

I am unsure about the service charge.
Awhile ago i went to a burger-type restaurant (Tootsies).The service was bad.We didn't even get our drinks for 45 minutes.All the staff were about 17 and larking about.When i went to pay the bill,they had added a service charge and asked you if you wanted to pay the tip by credit card.Grr.I paid the service charge because i thought i had no option.Did I have an option? They got no tip btw

Horasio

pinkfluffybabe wrote: »

I think the worst thing about adding a service charge is that you are not being given the choice of whether you want to tip good service or a particularly nice meal.

I can understand it where there is a party of say ten people and they add it as they will be kept busy all night but where two people are out for a meal requiring very little attention it really gets on my wick.

In Glasgow it seems to be happening almost everywhere now and sometimes the service isnt very good but yet you feel compelled to pay this charge that has been added to your bill.

In addition, I think there would be holy hell if all hairdressers started adding tips into the charge for a haircut and so on. A restaurant is there to serve you a meal, why should you pay extra to be served??

I agree, they are trying to shame you into paying the charge so you don't make a fuss. After all you don't want to cause a scene do you?:rolleyes:

Just another money making tactic using emotional blackmail. Don't fall for it - I won't eat at these places or bite the bullet and refuse to pay if the service is bad but it can spoil the meal having to do this, so I refuse to eat at places that do this.

I wouldn't pay the service if it isn't good - it is your hard earned money after all!

Horasio

hollydays wrote: »

I am unsure about the service charge.
Awhile ago i went to a burger-type restaurant (Tootsies).The service was bad.We didn't even get our drinks for 45 minutes.All the staff were about 17 and larking about.When i went to pay the bill,they had added a service charge and asked you if you wanted to pay the tip by credit card.Grr.I paid the service charge because i thought i had no option.Did I have an option?

You didn't have to pay it

You didn't get the service!!!