Discretionary service charge WTF!!!
Discussion
Went to a Restaurant recently (snort snort) £140 bill, £17 (12.5% Discretionary service charge) paid the bill, did not want to create a scene in front of my wife & kids, but surely this is not playing ball!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I WANTED to just pay the bill without the service charge, then tip the waitress herself.
But she started banging on about it goes into a pool for everyone, WTF, then split between all the staff, all of which came no where near my bloody table. So, i paid it, rather than having a scene with the manager.
Will not be going there again, first time i have had this, lovely meal and all that, but really, is this right.
What does everyone/others feel about this, i've had a lovely meal, but this charge takes the edge of it slightly.
Or am i being cynical/tight ass or sensible!
The fact is, i've had a lovely meal, will leave a tip to the girl that served me, go home, happy days.
But. oh no, thankyou for visiting us tonight, here is the bill, oh by the way, don't bother tipping, we will tell you how much to tip, not just your waitress, but every other bloody person who was serving also. Who, by the way, came no where near your table.
Regards.
Dave S.
I WANTED to just pay the bill without the service charge, then tip the waitress herself.
But she started banging on about it goes into a pool for everyone, WTF, then split between all the staff, all of which came no where near my bloody table. So, i paid it, rather than having a scene with the manager.
Will not be going there again, first time i have had this, lovely meal and all that, but really, is this right.
What does everyone/others feel about this, i've had a lovely meal, but this charge takes the edge of it slightly.
Or am i being cynical/tight ass or sensible!
The fact is, i've had a lovely meal, will leave a tip to the girl that served me, go home, happy days.
But. oh no, thankyou for visiting us tonight, here is the bill, oh by the way, don't bother tipping, we will tell you how much to tip, not just your waitress, but every other bloody person who was serving also. Who, by the way, came no where near your table.
Regards.
Dave S.
Edited by Dave3166 on Friday 25th March 22:34
Edited by Dave3166 on Friday 25th March 22:44
I agree with you to an extent and have never paid a service charge but paid an individual tip.
The part about pooling it and you saying the others never came anywhere near your table.......well, how do you think your food got cooked and your drinks got poured, why does a glorified plate carrier deserve extra money whilst the people working 10x harder behind the scenes just get the same rubbish pay.
Otherwise I agree.
The part about pooling it and you saying the others never came anywhere near your table.......well, how do you think your food got cooked and your drinks got poured, why does a glorified plate carrier deserve extra money whilst the people working 10x harder behind the scenes just get the same rubbish pay.
Otherwise I agree.
NordicCrankShaft said:
I agree with you to an extent and have never paid a service charge but paid an individual tip.
The part about pooling it and you saying the others never came anywhere near your table.......well, how do you think your food got cooked and your drinks got poured, why does a glorified plate carrier deserve extra money whilst the people working 10x harder behind the scenes just get the same rubbish pay.
Otherwise I agree.
Also agree, but, the waiting staff are the front of house, dealing with the punters, who, can sometimes be very difficult to deal with & awkward.The part about pooling it and you saying the others never came anywhere near your table.......well, how do you think your food got cooked and your drinks got poured, why does a glorified plate carrier deserve extra money whilst the people working 10x harder behind the scenes just get the same rubbish pay.
Otherwise I agree.
The waiting staff settle you in & set the tone for the evening.
Edited by Dave3166 on Friday 25th March 22:46
Edited by Dave3166 on Friday 25th March 22:49
I totally know where you are coming from, my experience is a little long but it taught me to always ask the waiter what happens with the tip / charge to make sure if I am leaving one he gets at least the most of it .
The first time this happened to me was at quite a high end place. Our bill was over £700 so the 'discretionary service charge' obviously added a lot to the bill. As a group we had already arranged how much we were planning to tip the guy. It was more than what was on the bill as he was excellent. We never had to ask twice, not a single item came incorrect or with issues. He was prompt and just a really nice guy.
I asked him if he would be getting this tip - if he would prefer it in cash so it wasn't taxable and he explained how it was pooled on a 10 point system based on rank of staff. Manager got 3 points, chef 2, then the rest was split between the on duty front of house.
I asked the waiter to remove the charge from the bill and he looked shocked! The manager came over and asked what was wrong, as if we were complaining. I had to take the manager to one said and explain that if I wanted to reward my waiter with a tip, it would be one that I felt he deserved and not one that was decided by his manager - who wasn't unbiased towards his performance as he had something to gain.
Anyway. The manager eventually took the charge off the bill and all was sorted. I paid the bill and left a small tip for the staff. As I was walking out I called the waiter over, thanked him for his help and said there was zero problems with our service I just wanted you to have what we wanted to give you in cash. I shook the waiters hand and gave him his tip. All £200 of it. I could tell he was shocked by the size of the roll of cash in his hand but he definitely deserved it more than his money grabbing manager who would have taken a third of it.
I also NEVER tip unless the service is really excellent. Average service doesn't deserve anything more than paying my bill and saying thank you as I leave.
The first time this happened to me was at quite a high end place. Our bill was over £700 so the 'discretionary service charge' obviously added a lot to the bill. As a group we had already arranged how much we were planning to tip the guy. It was more than what was on the bill as he was excellent. We never had to ask twice, not a single item came incorrect or with issues. He was prompt and just a really nice guy.
I asked him if he would be getting this tip - if he would prefer it in cash so it wasn't taxable and he explained how it was pooled on a 10 point system based on rank of staff. Manager got 3 points, chef 2, then the rest was split between the on duty front of house.
I asked the waiter to remove the charge from the bill and he looked shocked! The manager came over and asked what was wrong, as if we were complaining. I had to take the manager to one said and explain that if I wanted to reward my waiter with a tip, it would be one that I felt he deserved and not one that was decided by his manager - who wasn't unbiased towards his performance as he had something to gain.
Anyway. The manager eventually took the charge off the bill and all was sorted. I paid the bill and left a small tip for the staff. As I was walking out I called the waiter over, thanked him for his help and said there was zero problems with our service I just wanted you to have what we wanted to give you in cash. I shook the waiters hand and gave him his tip. All £200 of it. I could tell he was shocked by the size of the roll of cash in his hand but he definitely deserved it more than his money grabbing manager who would have taken a third of it.
I also NEVER tip unless the service is really excellent. Average service doesn't deserve anything more than paying my bill and saying thank you as I leave.
Edited by ashleyman on Friday 25th March 22:58
desolate said:
Surely it's been on most restaurant bills for the last 20 years?
Something may have tipped you over the edge and this had finished you off!
I Know its not a new thing, you're right, but, i was not prepared for it tonightSomething may have tipped you over the edge and this had finished you off!
People work hard for their money, to me, this is just taking the piss slightly
ashleyman said:
I totally know where you are coming from, my experience is a little long but it taught me to always ask the waiter what happens with the tip / charge to make sure if I am leaving one he gets at least the most of it .
The first time this happened to me was at quite a high end place. Our bill was over £700 so the 'discretionary service charge' obviously added a lot to the bill. As a group we had already arranged how much we were planning to tip the guy. It was more than what was on the bill as he was excellent. We never had to ask twice, not a single item came incorrect or with issues. He was prompt and just a really nice guy.
I asked him if he would be getting this tip - if he would prefer it in cash so it wasn't taxable and he explained how it was pooled on a 10 point system based on rank of staff. Manager got 3 points, chef 2, then the rest was split between the on duty front of house.
I asked the waiter to remove the charge from the bill and he looked shocked! The manager came over and asked what was wrong, as if we were complaining. I had to take the manager to one said and explain that if I wanted to reward my waiter with a tip, it would be one that I felt he deserved and not one that was decided by his manager - who wasn't unbiased towards his performance as he had something to gain.
Anyway. The manager eventually took the charge off the bill and all was sorted. I paid the bill and left a small tip for the staff. As I was walking out I called the waiter over, thanked him for his help and said there was zero problems with our service I just wanted you to have what we wanted to give you in cash. I shook the waiters hand and gave him his tip. All £200 of it. I could tell he was shocked by the size of the roll of cash in his hand but he definitely deserved it more than his money grabbing manager who would have taken a third of it.
Bloody good for youThe first time this happened to me was at quite a high end place. Our bill was over £700 so the 'discretionary service charge' obviously added a lot to the bill. As a group we had already arranged how much we were planning to tip the guy. It was more than what was on the bill as he was excellent. We never had to ask twice, not a single item came incorrect or with issues. He was prompt and just a really nice guy.
I asked him if he would be getting this tip - if he would prefer it in cash so it wasn't taxable and he explained how it was pooled on a 10 point system based on rank of staff. Manager got 3 points, chef 2, then the rest was split between the on duty front of house.
I asked the waiter to remove the charge from the bill and he looked shocked! The manager came over and asked what was wrong, as if we were complaining. I had to take the manager to one said and explain that if I wanted to reward my waiter with a tip, it would be one that I felt he deserved and not one that was decided by his manager - who wasn't unbiased towards his performance as he had something to gain.
Anyway. The manager eventually took the charge off the bill and all was sorted. I paid the bill and left a small tip for the staff. As I was walking out I called the waiter over, thanked him for his help and said there was zero problems with our service I just wanted you to have what we wanted to give you in cash. I shook the waiters hand and gave him his tip. All £200 of it. I could tell he was shocked by the size of the roll of cash in his hand but he definitely deserved it more than his money grabbing manager who would have taken a third of it.
Don't get me wrong, but, the food was lovely, service, could not complain, surroundings nice etc etc, i just wanted to tip the waitress herself, not the manager, chef etc, who probably get more anyway.
I Need to stop now, i feel i could go on for ever & ever
Probably making a big fuss over nothing really, but, really
Have they no shame
Edited by Dave3166 on Friday 25th March 23:09
Hospitality is very much a team. If you've had a good experience, it's likely as much down to the chef and kitchen porters, drinks staff, management, cleaners, whatever than whichever person was taking orders and delivering food. Who trained the person who delivered the food? If it's the supervisor they're probably only on £0.50 more per hour than the waiting staff in many places: hardly mega bucks.
simoid said:
Hospitality is very much a team. If you've had a good experience, it's likely as much down to the chef and kitchen porters, drinks staff, management, cleaners, whatever than whichever person was taking orders and delivering food. Who trained the person who delivered the food? If it's the supervisor they're probably only on £0.50 more per hour than the waiting staff in many places: hardly mega bucks.
Yeh, alright0000 said:
I avoid restaurants that put the onus on you to tell them to do one over the tip. Not cricket.
Don't normally go to this sort of restaurant, thank god, but, wifes birthday, has said she would like to go there, so booked as a surprise, friends have been to one of these restaurants, so thought a good idea.Would just rather leave my own tip, than be told what to leave by the restaurant, that is charging good money for me & my family to eat there.
Dave3166 said:
Yeh, alright
Lol! "Discretionary £X added to your bill" does annoy me though. We do have quite s
te service in this country, I think it would be improved if tipping was a compliment for good work as opposed to an expectation/obligation.Seriously though, if you have a good experience and a good meal it's likely that everyone in the team is pulling their weight. If the manager is s
t/disorganised/a bd then the waiting staff won't be bothering their arses, and you'll have a st meal. Been there on the supply and demand side of things 
PS I'm not saying don't tip an individual if they've been particularly impressive, that's totally up to you. The general concept of pooled tips is a fair one IMO.
simoid said:
Lol! "Discretionary £X added to your bill" does annoy me though. We do have quite ste service in this country, I think it would be improved if tipping was a compliment for good work as opposed to an expectation/obligation.
Seriously though, if you have a good experience and a good meal it's likely that everyone in the team is pulling their weight. If the manager is st/disorganised/a bd then the waiting staff won't be bothering their arses, and you'll have a st meal. Been there on the supply and demand side of things
PS I'm not saying don't tip an individual if they've been particularly impressive, that's totally up to you. The general concept of pooled tips is a fair one IMO.
👍😎te service in this country, I think it would be improved if tipping was a compliment for good work as opposed to an expectation/obligation.Seriously though, if you have a good experience and a good meal it's likely that everyone in the team is pulling their weight. If the manager is s
t/disorganised/a bd then the waiting staff won't be bothering their arses, and you'll have a st meal. Been there on the supply and demand side of things PS I'm not saying don't tip an individual if they've been particularly impressive, that's totally up to you. The general concept of pooled tips is a fair one IMO.
I agree with you, if I dig really deep into my soul, but, I don't agree with being told how much to tip, when, that person may not want to tip that much or, they may not really be able to tip because of a budget or cannot afford to tip that much.
We all have to budget each week👍
I'm not fussed about a service charge per se, but I do disagree about any wine being included in the total that makes up the service charge.
If you're buying say, a 50 quid bottle of wine which already has a very good mark up on it then I disagree with paying 15-20% service charge on top of it.
If you're buying say, a 50 quid bottle of wine which already has a very good mark up on it then I disagree with paying 15-20% service charge on top of it.
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