NAME AND SHAME. Restaurant service charges

lousue0906_2

Sorry to drag up an old thread. I just wanted somebody elses opinion on this, a well know tea and coffee merchant on Piccadilly, London makes the following statement at the bottom of their menu;

******* & ***** add a discretionary 12.5% service charge to restaurant bills.

A proportion of this is used to cover charges such as bank administration. A proportion is allocated for distribution to staff via their representative. A proportion is

retained by ******* & ***** to support the salary and benefits package for all hospitality staff.

I'm going for a meal there soon and I think it's terrible that they do this. What do others think?

chris024

I found out after a meal at Planet Hollywood in London that they add a 12.5% service charge to your bill.

We paid it, although looking back I would have rather tipped the waitress that amount instead

gunsandbanjos

lousue0906 wrote: »

Sorry to drag up an old thread. I just wanted somebody elses opinion on this, a well know tea and coffee merchant on Piccadilly, London makes the following statement at the bottom of their menu;

******* & ***** add a discretionary 12.5% service charge to restaurant bills.
A proportion of this is used to cover charges such as bank administration. A proportion is allocated for distribution to staff via their representative. A proportion is

retained by ******* & ***** to support the salary and benefits package for all hospitality staff.

I'm going for a meal there soon and I think it's terrible that they do this. What do others think?

It would seem like they are using it to bump up the staff wages to minimum wage which is not allowed anymore i don't think If you are not happy to pay it you can ask them to remove it and tip your waitress in cash instead.

trumpton

Lousue - totally out of order to charge such a large service charge. I would think you could refuse to pay it

ac5354

Is very well to say the service charge to be share between the staffs, but how many does actually shared the tips equally between full time staffs and part time staffs.
As far as I know not many, particularly in Oriental Restaurant, all part time staffs just get their standard minimum wages and no more.
So next time if you get bad service from your friendly Oriental Restaurant
you know WHY.

patricia.r

Add Petersham Nurseries michelin star restaurant in Richmond to the shame and name list! 12.5 % service charge that is added to the bills does not go to the waiters !!!

umarh

Add these guys to the list. 1WB Lounge & Patisserie and Primo Bar which is located within the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster, London.

These guys don't even tell you who the discretionary charge goes to! Waitresses have an attitude and demand that you pay the discretionary charge. I payed it on the first nights stay as she was so demanding and said I couldn't leave without paying it, but on the 2nd night i'm glad I came across this article!!

Told the waitress to give me the bill without the discretionary charge on 2nd night. After a weird look, she came back and gave me another bill which was still higher than the price of the drinks! I told her once AGAIN. She said that they have to charge a bit extra as a discretionary charge. I demanded to see the manager, who of course wasn't in. In the end, she didn't make me pay as she knew she was wrong. I told her she was breaking the law in demanding a discretionary charge and quite rudely she replied 'Yes, the customer is always right' LOL! I told her this wasn't a case of anyone being right, this is the LAW - she didn't seem too bothered. You would think these people have been told the law on tips before they work there.

Lesson to be learnt, don't be fooled by bars/restaurants or any place for that matter, by them demanding a discretionary charge. You DO NOT have to pay it. Simple.

paddyrg

New trying-to-be-all-continental place in Bath wanted 15%. Not a chance, that's robbery!

chris-w_4

the pearl of the orient,
these stories seem quite tame to the reality our restaurant charges a 10% service charge and the staff don't get a penny!!!!!
and even when a cash tip is left........ 30% is taken by the company 20% is taken by the management and the 50% that's left is split between all the staff including chef's.
and when staff do finally receive the couple of pence that's left, they have to declare it and pay tax on it!!!!
i would never ever pay a service charge on my bill and when i pay a cash tip i put it in there pocket myself and tell them that it is for them and them only!!
but even then it is not guaranteed that they will get to keep it. believe me most restaurants operate a similar policy and are ruthless in the pursuit to squeeze every last penny they can from you which includes outright stealing tips from the staff.

M_K_London

Before starting my short gig with them I've researched the net and found a statement from the company saying that they operate on clear tips policy and all service charge goes to staff.
After starting working there I was informed that all service goes to Tronc and that you get an extra £2 per each hour you've worked.
How is that relevant to all service being shared with staff when the bills are incredibly high there? Most of the time the service charge on 1 table's bill only covered my weekly Tronc income.
On top of that on one of the trainings we were informed that some money from the Tronc is put away to cover all staff salaries for 1 month in case the place goes bankrupt. How thoughtful !!
Shame Mr. Oliver, becomming millionaire by robbing people who work for you.