Service charge in restaurants - yes or no?

MannyS94

missile said:

I dislike service charge. I don't go back to restaurants who do this.

I wonder how much actually goes to the staff?

Totally agree. I would rather just slide the waiter a £10 note then paying for the service charge as at least I know it will go directly to them.

paul2louise

I went to a restaurant we never been to before for OH birthday at weekend. I checked after I got home and meal out we had was just the 3 of us. 3 main courses and drinks. 10% service charge added even tho the menu said added if 6 or more dining. Feel a bit cheated now.
So I completed their feedback email and asked why the 10% had been added. 

I got this reply . I checked the website and this is the evening menu .

"Thank you for your feedback about your visit on 22 September at 19:00 .

The 10% discretionary service charge is added to all tables in the evening  and is clearly written  in our menu. 

We hope you visit us again and on your next visit you can ask for the service charge to be lifted of your bill.

We assure you all the service charges are shared equally between our hard working staff. "

thediscountcodes

I share your frustration with service charges. It often feels like an extra expense that should be included in the prices. While I understand the argument for tipping, I think transparency in pricing is important, and service charges can sometimes create awkward situations. It would be more customer-friendly if it were presented as an option rather than automatically added to the bill.

DullGreyGuy

matt1976 said:

Good service should be a given.

A restaurant should pay their staff a fair wage, I am not here to top that wage up for the employer so that they can continue to underpay.

Another way of looking at it, there are plenty of minimum wage jobs in this country that do not have an opportunity to receive tips, why is hospitality staff any different. I worked in hospitality myself in the past and never expected any tips, I signed up for the job based on the contracted wage.

In reality @[Deleted User] you are there to pay all of their wage, not just a top up on it. Customers are the sole income for a restaurant and therefore for their staff. I'm not sure why you say its ok to pay £4.95 for a pint of coke but not £4.50+10%

I find it disingenuous that it's added on the price in the menu, I personally think it should have to be included in the price displayed but that only works if it ceases to be optional. I think the fact you know it's going to the staff however is a good thing and even if it were compulsory it then effectively forms part of their ESG commitments. 

By its very definition average service is what you will get, on average. Good service really should be something above average I'd say.

It's a complex debate as to why one person gets NMW and yet someone else's life is valued at £1,500 per hour and goes well beyond what should happen with service charging in restaurants. 

Phossy

I generally will tip at a restaurant, however, it does grate on me. I certainly do not like automatic service charges. I go to a restaurant to have a meal served to me and I expect to pay a certain price for that. If I go to the chippy, or Maccy D's, then I expect to pay a certain price for that. The level of service is different in each place, but it should be reflected in the price not as a tip be it to the establishment or one individual. If I took a job as a waiter then I would do my job to the best of my ability, If I'm good I expect  keep my job. If I'm not good then I'd expect some more training or the boot. Tipping jars in Costa and the like - what's that for! And don't get me going on Corporate begging for charities at till points!!

[Deleted User]

DullGreyGuy said:

matt1976 said:

Good service should be a given.

A restaurant should pay their staff a fair wage, I am not here to top that wage up for the employer so that they can continue to underpay.

Another way of looking at it, there are plenty of minimum wage jobs in this country that do not have an opportunity to receive tips, why is hospitality staff any different. I worked in hospitality myself in the past and never expected any tips, I signed up for the job based on the contracted wage.

In reality @[Deleted User] you are there to pay all of their wage, not just a top up on it. Customers are the sole income for a restaurant and therefore for their staff. I'm not sure why you say its ok to pay £4.95 for a pint of coke but not £4.50+10%

I find it disingenuous that it's added on the price in the menu, I personally think it should have to be included in the price displayed but that only works if it ceases to be optional. I think the fact you know it's going to the staff however is a good thing and even if it were compulsory it then effectively forms part of their ESG commitments. 

By its very definition average service is what you will get, on average. Good service really should be something above average I'd say.

It's a complex debate as to why one person gets NMW and yet someone else's life is valued at £1,500 per hour and goes well beyond what should happen with service charging in restaurants. 

I don't know why you expect just average service, we all should expect good service every time as a standard. 

I pay all if their wage every time but that's between the employer and the employee to arrange, not for the customer to be concerned about.

DullGreyGuy

[Deleted User] said:

DullGreyGuy said:

matt1976 said:

Good service should be a given.

A restaurant should pay their staff a fair wage, I am not here to top that wage up for the employer so that they can continue to underpay.

Another way of looking at it, there are plenty of minimum wage jobs in this country that do not have an opportunity to receive tips, why is hospitality staff any different. I worked in hospitality myself in the past and never expected any tips, I signed up for the job based on the contracted wage.

In reality @[Deleted User] you are there to pay all of their wage, not just a top up on it. Customers are the sole income for a restaurant and therefore for their staff. I'm not sure why you say its ok to pay £4.95 for a pint of coke but not £4.50+10%

I find it disingenuous that it's added on the price in the menu, I personally think it should have to be included in the price displayed but that only works if it ceases to be optional. I think the fact you know it's going to the staff however is a good thing and even if it were compulsory it then effectively forms part of their ESG commitments. 

By its very definition average service is what you will get, on average. Good service really should be something above average I'd say.

It's a complex debate as to why one person gets NMW and yet someone else's life is valued at £1,500 per hour and goes well beyond what should happen with service charging in restaurants. 

I don't know why you expect just average service, we all should expect good service every time as a standard. 

I pay all if their wage every time but that's between the employer and the employee to arrange, not for the customer to be concerned about.

I think you need to consider what the word "average" means... by definition the majority of the service you will receive is average. If service was normally better than this then what is average is readjusted upwards. 

Why isnt it for the customer to be concerned if the business they are supporting are a fair employer or abusing their staff? Are you equally happy buying from companies that are destroying the environment or workplace safety violations or bribing officials to turn blind eyes to practices? Guess you're really confused as to why an increasing number of businesses are marketing on the basis of them being a certified b-corp. 

[Deleted User]

DullGreyGuy said:

[Deleted User] said:

DullGreyGuy said:

matt1976 said:

Good service should be a given.

A restaurant should pay their staff a fair wage, I am not here to top that wage up for the employer so that they can continue to underpay.

Another way of looking at it, there are plenty of minimum wage jobs in this country that do not have an opportunity to receive tips, why is hospitality staff any different. I worked in hospitality myself in the past and never expected any tips, I signed up for the job based on the contracted wage.

In reality @[Deleted User] you are there to pay all of their wage, not just a top up on it. Customers are the sole income for a restaurant and therefore for their staff. I'm not sure why you say its ok to pay £4.95 for a pint of coke but not £4.50+10%

I find it disingenuous that it's added on the price in the menu, I personally think it should have to be included in the price displayed but that only works if it ceases to be optional. I think the fact you know it's going to the staff however is a good thing and even if it were compulsory it then effectively forms part of their ESG commitments. 

By its very definition average service is what you will get, on average. Good service really should be something above average I'd say.

It's a complex debate as to why one person gets NMW and yet someone else's life is valued at £1,500 per hour and goes well beyond what should happen with service charging in restaurants. 

I don't know why you expect just average service, we all should expect good service every time as a standard. 

I pay all if their wage every time but that's between the employer and the employee to arrange, not for the customer to be concerned about.

I think you need to consider what the word "average" means... by definition the majority of the service you will receive is average. If service was normally better than this then what is average is readjusted upwards. 

Why isnt it for the customer to be concerned if the business they are supporting are a fair employer or abusing their staff? Are you equally happy buying from companies that are destroying the environment or workplace safety violations or bribing officials to turn blind eyes to practices? Guess you're really confused as to why an increasing number of businesses are marketing on the basis of them being a certified b-corp. 

I'm well aware what the difference between average and good is, thank you very much.

You're going off on a tangent on the rest of your comments, so I'll leave it at that.

DigSunPap

I much prefer to leave a cash tip. Having a service or 'discretionary' charge at the bottom of the bill always feels a bit awkward and taboo. Almost as if you are being forced into paying it unless saying otherwise, when you are well within your right to tip however you please.

paul2louise

@DigSunPap exactly my thinking. Our £60 meal of 2 adult meals, 1 bottle of wine and kids meal deal was £70 with service charge added on. I don't mind leaving a few quid tip but it felt forced. When I queried it, it felt unreasonable to ask not to pay it. It was nice but nothing special. It puts me off going out to eat now tbh. Everything is so expensive. I only work part time on min wage with no tips or bonus.