Restaurants. Automatically adding a percentge to the bill

WTFH · 29 October 2013 at 5:03PM

That sidestepped the question.

We do not live in a society where everyone is paid fairly, so how would you respond if there were two restaurants today in the UK, one where they sold their food at twice the price of the other, but they stated that their staff were paid well, and the other where no such statement was made.

Which would you choose?

halibut2209 · 29 October 2013 at 5:15PM

Tipping is a weird thing. It's basically commission. Would you not go somewhere where the staff get a commission?

markfj · 29 October 2013 at 5:26PM

in catering I dont think there is many places that offer a fair wage

I worked anywhere from 60-80hrs a week regularly, I was salaried and not paid by the hour. As I mentioned earlier the service charge is what kept us chefs there

earthstorm · 29 October 2013 at 6:09PM

markfj wrote: »

in catering I dont think there is many places that offer a fair wage

I think this is why most hotels/restaurants employ polish/eastern European workers as they will work for the dismal wage

markfj · 29 October 2013 at 8:03PM

earthstorm wrote: »

I think this is why most hotels/restaurants employ polish/eastern European workers as they will work for the dismal wage

Shame to say but yeah, you're right

Nearly every kitchen porter I meet is Polish, good workers and nice people to work with considering they dont have the best job/money in the world

earthstorm · 29 October 2013 at 9:43PM

markfj wrote: »

Shame to say but yeah, you're right

Nearly every kitchen porter I meet is Polish, good workers and nice people to work with considering they dont have the best job/money in the world

yes, and most of them send their wages to their families in Poland. But the difference is that if they are told to do something, they get on and do it without question, but us Brits will always have a moan

PaulPonting · 3 November 2013 at 7:07PM

The cost of the food and drink is the price displayed on the restaurants menu. So why should there be a service charge in addition especially when it comes to adding it to the already expensive price of drinks. Any tipping should be left at the discretion of the customer depending on the service they received from the waiter/waitress.That way those that give good service will get more and those staff that do not come up to standard get nothing. The staff pay should come from the restaurant doing their sums correctly and charging on the menu accordingly. i think restaurants arethe only place where you tip you certainly do not tip when you go to a normal shop and buy any goods or when you order a drink at a bar

bod1467 · 3 November 2013 at 9:09PM

PaulPonting wrote: »

you certainly do not tip ... when you order a drink at a bar

Depends. My daughter is a part-time barmaid (at a sports bar, whilst at uni) and she can make good money in tips - sometimes as much as her pay for the shift, so effectively doubling her hourly rate (which is more than minimum wage, but not by too much).

System · 3 November 2013 at 9:47PM

Lots of people tip when they buy a drink in a bar. They say "and yours" which usually means the bar person will take about 20-30p and add it to the tip jar.

pmduk · 3 November 2013 at 11:14PM

The staff at the hotel bar I regularly use, get tipped a lot, however the bar manager insists on taking a share of their tips. It irks me as the manager never gets tipped because of her poor attitude to customers. Why should she benefit from others' good service.