How to ask for optional service charge 12.5% to be taken off?

Idiophreak

Jew wrote: »

Also, I do not see how a group order takes longer than 3 regular orders. Where are you getting your stats from?

I don't have stats, just life experience, to support my conjecture.

I've been out with comparatively small groups, 6 or 8 people and thought to myself "Jesus, I feel sorry for the poor girl serving us..." there's so much backing and forthing.

Shall we do this? Shall we do that? Oh you want to take our orders? I'm not ready...come back to me...hahaha! Oh, I'm ready now. I want this. Oh wait, is everyone having starters? Oh, well that changes everything. Sorry, I'll have this...

And then the food turns up. Oh is that mine? I've forgotten what I ordered! How delightfully tipsy I am!

And then it comes to paying the bill..

Yes, we'd like £12.59 on this card please, £20 on that one and the rest is in cash. Oh hang on, what?, we're just splitting it evenly..Oh, OK...can I put another £1.75 on that card, please...and an extra 49p on that one...Oh, now we're £3 short in cash...come on, everyone chip in! It just goes on and on...and, tbh, not having to ask the question "so, are we tipping" in this situation is a Godsend.

I agree that serving groups well is important...but it's also important to maintain a quality of service for the rest of the people in the restaurant.

greenface

Idiophreak wrote: »

On a table for two, or four (which is most people), why should I pay more just to subsidise the group of 12 in the corner that are making a racket, slowing down our food order and taking up all of the waitresses' time? Seems entirely fair that large groups, who take up proportionally more of the staff's time, should pay more. The only thing I'm not sure about is why it's optional...

Absolute rubbish reason for charging a manditory service charge. Not forgetting its a % of the bill so your tipping 20% for every pint and bottle of wine your overcharged for anyway.+ your not paying more if you just pay the bill . A table of 12 instead of 6 tables of 2 means the waitress is serving the same amount of meals to 12 people.

consultant31

Idiophreak wrote: »

I don't have stats, just life experience, to support my conjecture.

I've been out with comparatively small groups, 6 or 8 people and thought to myself "Jesus, I feel sorry for the poor girl serving us..." there's so much backing and forthing.

Shall we do this? Shall we do that? Oh you want to take our orders? I'm not ready...come back to me...hahaha! Oh, I'm ready now. I want this. Oh wait, is everyone having starters? Oh, well that changes everything. Sorry, I'll have this...

And then the food turns up. Oh is that mine? I've forgotten what I ordered! How delightfully tipsy I am!

And then it comes to paying the bill..

Yes, we'd like £12.59 on this card please, £20 on that one and the rest is in cash. Oh hang on, what?, we're just splitting it evenly..Oh, OK...can I put another £1.75 on that card, please...and an extra 49p on that one...Oh, now we're £3 short in cash...come on, everyone chip in! It just goes on and on...and, tbh, not having to ask the question "so, are we tipping" in this situation is a Godsend.

I agree that serving groups well is important...but it's also important to maintain a quality of service for the rest of the people in the restaurant.

Blimey, if it's really like that, I'm glad I'm not a waitress :rotfl::rotfl:

Jew

consultant31 wrote: »

Blimey, if it's really like that, I'm glad I'm not a waitress :rotfl::rotfl:

LOL, yeah. I mean, it's hard. But then why are you a water? Why do you own a restaurant? Every busy has its pitfalls.

I agree with Greenface.

And maybe you just go out with strange people?

In any case, as a business, sometimes you lose some, sometimes you win some. That's how it works.

Groups bring you more money, period. And you only have to read them the specials once, instead of 3 times for separate 3 tables.

northernsoul85

At least we don't live in the US where as standard its around 20%

spadoosh

I dont like tipping, i dont get it. I work in a customer service environment and deliver the best service i can to each and every customer. I can spend 1hr talking to an unsure elderly lady about something that will generate litlle money or i could speak to one of my tradesmen and sell 5 2k kitchens in 10 minutes. I wouldnt expect any of them to tip me. sometimes we carry products to the cars and (normally elderly gents) sometimes they try and give you a quid or two. Refuse it all the time, im here to do a job, i get paid by my employer to do my job. I dont get paid by the customer to do my job or paid by the customer because im doing a better job than there used to, it just doesnt work like that.

If a restaurant feels their staff are the best and deliver an invaluable customer experience then they should pay them accordingly, not me. If the person is friendly and nice and all that, i will strike up a conversation with them and work on a personal relationship, i dont want them to do it because they think ill give them a few extra quid.


1 time i did nearly accept a tip, the situation was brilliant though. About half past 8 saturday morning after a particularly heavy night (tried to get day off work and they wouldnt let me!) was carrying some compost to a gents car, he was dead appreciatie and thankful. he then dips his hand in his trench coat and whacks out a can of carling "here have a beer on me mate" part of me wanted to crack it open and down it the other part was keeled over trying not to be sick!

Jew

If a restaurant feels their staff are the best and deliver an invaluable customer experience then they should pay them accordingly, not me. If the person is friendly and nice and all that, i will strike up a conversation with them and work on a personal relationship, i dont want them to do it because they think ill give them a few extra quid.

I agree.

It's not like we tip our friends every time they're nice!

Or when we have an interesting conversation with a stranger on the bus, plane, etc.

Idiophreak

spadoosh wrote: »

If a restaurant feels their staff are the best and deliver an invaluable customer experience then they should pay them accordingly, not me.

I understand where you're coming from, fully...but that's just not the culture we live in. Rightly or wrongly, we live in a culture where people in restaurants have a part of their wages made up through tipping. You may not think that's the way it should be, but it's the way it is. So really, if you're not tipping, you have to ask yourself "has this person done anything to warrant me docking their pay?"

Jew

Idiophreak wrote: »

I understand where you're coming from, fully...but that's just not the culture we live in. Rightly or wrongly, we live in a culture where people in restaurants have a part of their wages made up through tipping. You may not think that's the way it should be, but it's the way it is. So really, if you're not tipping, you have to ask yourself "has this person done anything to warrant me docking their pay?"

That's exactly the kind of guilt that they try to make you feel.

Most of the service charge, especially if automatically added on the bill, goes to the owners, the rest is divided up.

This "culture" that you are referring to is new to the UK. Thus, it is not exactly culture, but a marketing trick to get more money out of people — advertise your prices as one thing, but charge 12.5% above that.

Should I feel guilty that a nice air-host on RyanAir will have their salary reduced if I had the choice not to pay the "debit card administration fee"?

Idiophreak

Jew wrote: »

That's exactly the kind of guilt that they try to make you feel.

Most of the service charge, especially if automatically added on the bill, goes to the owners, the rest is divided up.

This "culture" that you are referring to is new to the UK. Thus, it is not exactly culture, but a marketing trick to get more money out of people — advertise your prices as one thing, but charge 12.5% above that.

Should I feel guilty that a nice air-host on RyanAir will have their salary reduced if I had the choice not to pay the "debit card administration fee"?

Don't pay it then...and while you're at it, don't pay for your food in the supermarket either...that's all a con, they're just trying to get make money out of you, so I'm sure your principles dictate that you can just take the food and leave.