I did mean "service charge," and what hole would that be? If you're going to force gratuity onto a large party, don't call it gratuity because like someone else mentioned, a "required gratuity" is an oxymoron. At that point, it's not a gratuity, but a service charge for the large party.
You can't play the ignorance or "screw it, we won't pay it" card if it's a clearly stated charge. If it's listed as a charge then there really isn't a choice in the matter like there is under most circumstances when dealing with a gratuity. Now, if we're arguing semantics or what it should be listed on the receipt as -- that's one thing. But if it's clearly expressed as a charge and you walk on out on it you are really quite indefensible in the matter. But I do understand what you are saying in general -- a gratuity is merely expected not required. So yeah, there's some principle involved in this issue. All i'm saying is I have little sympathy for some liquored up SOB's that ignored something that was likely clearly stated on their receipt.
Hey, I agree with you. If it's on the bill, you pay it. Shoot, I tip 100% of the time when it's just a party of 2, even if the service was god awful (the amount will vary from 12% to 25%, of course). The semantics of the bill are certainly in question, however. It's silly to raise a stink about it and go out of your way to subtract it from the total on the bill, but it does reveal potential confusion nonetheless. The word "gratuity" oozes optional, so if the bill has the gratuity on it, it is optional -- if you want it to be required, just change it to be a "charge" instead. That's all I'm saying.
Excuse me sir; we're lazy, but not arrogant. We refuse to pay something that's not on a bill, but we don't pull the customer service card or attempt to "restructure the contract." Any time I mention some bad customer service experience, my older white co-workers always chime in with "I wouldn't have paid." There are no clearly established legal standards for restaurant service, and the customers could have easily learned about the mandatory tip or the questionable service beforehand via customer reviews or just personal referrals. I think you gotta lock them up if you don't want to set some bizarro precedent and indirectly make it impossible for young people, blacks and other habitual low-tippers to get Saturday night service anywhere.
many restaurants add in the tip on parties of 6 or more. it usually says this on the menu or on the bill. i rarely added in tip when i waited - in my experience bigger parties will often tip 20% and up. it was part of the bill so i can see how it is technically 'theft', but calling the cops is stupid - if they were really going to comp the bill anyway they could have just comped enough to cover the tip.
i would say at least 50% of restaurants have the policy that gratuity is included in parties of 6 (or 8) or more. better check the menu next time you go out! again, i usually didnt add it in when i waited - most big parties end up tipping well providing you take care of them, so if you automatically add in the 15% you can be short-changing yourself.
I have lived overseas, but I was a teenager so I wasn't paying for meals or tipping. So I don't know what they pay waiters in other countries, but here it's below minimum wage. When I was a waiter, I made $2.15 an hour at Pappadeaux. Waiters need tips to make up for the lack of what the restaurant is paying them. I guess one solution would be to force restaurants to pay minimum wage. But restaurant owners wouldn't want to do that because that'd take money out of their pocket. And waiter wouldn't want that because they'd be making less than their $2.15/hour + tips. So it's not going to change.
But TIP stands for "To insure promptness". It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. A good waiter/waitress deserves to get paid more for better service.
That's why I don't and have never waited tables. It's part of the job so deal with it. I have very little sympathy for waiters that just expect a tip just because.
Dont they have to provide good service before they get a tip? Call me cheap, call me crazy...but if someone is being a bad waiter, I dont tip. Think about it...if you do bad at your job, would you still get paid?
It's reasonable for the restaurant to charge gratuity for parties w/ 6 or more. For bad service, you complain to the manager. Stiffing the wait staff without complaining is passive aggressive and it doesn't solve anything.
the management has clearly made a bad decision. they should have settled this without the police and press. now they're going to lose more than 16 dollars.
Now this is something I have never understood. Why in the world are businesses allowed to pay less than minimum wage just because a customer is kind enough to tip? I know it probably adjusts if they don't make decent tips but still rediculous IMO.
