accepting credit cards but not credit card tips

[joi h.]

went to leone's in montclair for a quick bite and enjoyed both of our pasta dishes. what struck me funny is when we paid for our bill with a credit card, the server said nothing, brought the bill back for us to sign and then informed us that she had xx out where the tip would be written in and said that it is policy there to accept cash tip only if at all possible. (btw, we wrote in the tip anyway). to my husband and i, this was not only strange, but in poor taste to 1) not post a sign somewhere that states this "rule" or 2)have the server tell us this "rule" when she took our card as payment.

-is this a known policy that i just have not come into contact elsewhere?

[glenn]

I'd say that ranks in the "that takes balls category". There was a discussion about Rebecca's who has a similar policy over here.

[Rail Paul]

There was a thread a while back on this exact topic. It started with a similar request by Rebecca's in Edgewater.

One conclusion: perhaps they've simplified the tip reporting system imposed on restaurant by the revenooers....

[RockADS21]

This is quite simply extreme laziness on the part of the restaurant as the only amount that gets reported to the credit card company is the total. They are simply trying to avoid having to close out their servers by tracking their tips. I for one am generally not a pain in the ass on most things but matters such as this are more about principal - I would have said something - not to the server because I am certain that they have nothing to do with it but to a manager. Restaurants need to understand that the customers ARE their business and that they should be the least inconvienienced of everyone involved!

[hollywood]

Never thought about this before but this caused me to. Since the credit card company charges a percentage, does the restaurant deduct this from tips to servers? Who pays, the restaurant, the server (of course, ultimately the consumer)?

[glenn]

Re: charging the server for the credit card fees -- it's up to the restaurant. We don't because the amount of work involved to determine the charges is not worth it, especially to me since I would have to do the calculations :)). The calculation is not so straightforward since the credit card companies have different fees, though some restaurants I know of simply take an approximation. It's also not so straightforward if it's not a pooled house cuz then you'd have to figure each server's share of the fees separately. However, I suppose the savings could be quite substantial to the larger restaurants, especially chains.

[RockADS21]

Generally I dont believe that restaurants charge-back servers for the credit card service charges - but who knows maybe there are some out there who do. I handle two large restaurants in NYC and they do not. The fee is normally between 2 & 4 percent of the total charge amount and unless I am mistaken this is generally absorbed by the restaurant and you said - indirectly always by the patron.

[rhubarbd]

This is too funny - when i saw the headline for this thread, i thought, hmmm ... the only restaurant where i've ever experienced this is Leone's!

I agree that it's an annoying and lazy policy, but i know it comes from the top at Leone's, which is a very popular but extremely quirky place run by the friendly but extremely quirky owner, Rose (also used to own Mexicali Rose in Montclair). We eat at Leone's at least once a week and have come to accept this wacky policy as just one of the things that makes Leone's .... Leone's.

I don't know that i'd be so tolerant anywhere else.

[Rosie]

"We eat at Leone's at least once a week "

Is the food that good or is this place just convenient with the right prices?

[rhubarbd]

The food is fine at Leone's - not brilliant, but hearty & flavorful, and the prices are good. And yes, it's nearby, and that counts. But what seals the deal for us is the hospitality. We're there often enough that we've become regulars - the waitstaff hugs us; they remember which of us only drinks bottled water and who always orders the mozzarella salad ... that sort of thing.

But the place is quirky, as i said before. The entire restaurant looks like it was decorated from a dollar store or garage sale, and sometimes when they're busy they have you wrap your own leftovers (!). That said, we still like it a lot.