Automatic, Unannounced Tips on Your Bill

[tommy]

If you want my point,

no one asked.

the most boring part of this, besides the apparent refusal of the participants in the discussion to accept or even acknowledge various points that were presented, is the aggressiveness of some of the posts.

[Wilfrid]

no one asked.

F**k you!

[tommy]

again with the agressiveness.

[tommy]

As i'm in the process of planning a rehersal dinner, i will add that one restaurant we considered has a policy of adding a 21% gratuity to the bill.

I thought that was a little "double dipping."

why do you think that's "double"?  although, 21 is a funny number.  not funny "ha-ha", but funny strange.

did you get the place all picked and sorted yet?

[Ron Johnson]

Well, I still think veggie means vegetarian.

[SobaAddict70]

this entire thread, the "interesting" issues raised by Wilfrid et al. notwithstanding is about as interesting as my teeth getting scaled (which is an equivalent term for deep cleaning of the gumline) -- something scheduled for tomorrow morning...

joy

Malawry, pray for me...

[tommy]

this entire thread, the "interesting" issues raised by Wilfrid et al. notwithstanding is about as interesting as my teeth getting scaled (which is an equivalent term for deep cleaning of the gumline) -- something scheduled for tomorrow morning...

joy

Malawry, pray for me...

Who made you the reigning deity on what is an interesting thread and what is not?

[SobaAddict70]

Who made you the reigning deity on what is an interesting thread and what is not?

Your avatar did.

[Wilfrid]

I thought we might have a new thread on tipping.  Is there any way we can send this one back to Rosie?  

[tommy]

I thought we might have a new thread on tipping.  Is there any way we can send this one back to Rosie?  

i'm pretty sure she doesn't want it.  could we dump it on andy lynes?  i'm sure some of his boys (and girls) would have a field day with it.  

[SamanthaF]

FWIW - I love to tip for good service (I've been a waitress in my student days )  I'm not too keen on "service charges" that are added on in some restaurants in the UK. I prefer to get my bill as a total of the items that I have selected for that particular meal, and assess my own tip.

I love France - they include a service charge in the price of the individual items. That way you know where you stand, and you can leave a few euros for exceptional service.

My personal biggest gripe about eating and tipping in the US is that there seems to be an unwritten law that you must tip a minimum of 15% even if the service is crap!  

Now before people jump on the bandwagon of "Oh but they are only paid a minimum wage, they work for tips". Then let them work for tips! Smile occasionaly, be informative, be enthusiastic, let the food arrive on time. Basically, earn your tip!  

I had a recent experience in Old Ebbitts in DC where a group of us (me the only Brit) where we were drinking at the bar. First of all we had to wait a good 10 minutes for a drink when the bar was very quite, and when we ordered Raw Oysters and Clams they turned up steamed. To top it off, the replacement raw goods took over 30 minutes to turn up. However, when the bill was presented, the person who was paying the tab added a 18%tip. I was amazed and asked him why he thought the crap service we had received deserved a $40 tip. His answer? "That's the way it is here".

I'm sorry U.S. Egulleters, I think that you are often being taken for a ride just because "That's the way it is".

(Who made me the Deity on tipping   )

[Basildog]

Right on Sister Samantha ! Could not agree more.At my little restaurant we make no service charge , allowing people to leave what they see fit. This is occasionally nothing at all. ( thats ok, as long as they have  had a good time)What interests me is that some people do not tip because i own the joint, they feel you should not tip owners.Yes i take a cut of the tips....i do more hours than anyone!.But everyone gets a cut who works that night

[stellabella]

waitstaff is a reflection of the restaurants management.  

i am trying to read through all the responses, but i am going to have to finish them later.

here's the deal:

YOUR WAITER GOT "CADILLACED"

My veteran waitress sister and i recently found out thatathe servers in our favorite athens restaurant had been getting cadillaced by us for months--we were embarassed and pissed but, as two people who know the business, we mostly felt foolish.

i know this is frustrating, but the menu stated the restaurant's policy of adding the grautity--and so their asses are probably covered.  you should read your bills.  carefully.  this happens all the time--it happened ALL THE TIME back when i was a waitress.  waiters love it, trust me.  is it unscrupulous, dishonest?  yes.  is it the management's fault?  no.  NEVER assume that servers are a reflection of the management--they ARE NOT--they are working for tips, and managers are sometimes like slave drivers cracking whips--there's very high turn-over among waitstaff at all but the very best restaurants.--i firmly believe that if the manager finds out a server has gotten cadillaced and that the server had hoodwinked the customer, the manger would fire him/her on the spot--managers are NEVER in cahoots with servers over this sort of thing.

it sounds like it all worked out in the end--you got your money back.  be more careful in future--everyone.  READ YOUR BILLS.

[stellabella]

oh, and tommy, i have two words for you [after my very recent visit to NYC]:

Robin Byrd

oh, i'm sorry, i just TOTALLy changed the topic.

I meant to say:

Nigella Lawson

[Basildog]

Stella.can you explain "cadillaced" to a Brit? Ta ever so

[Wilfrid]

Basildog, you should ask her to explain Robin Byrd!  

[tommy]

Basildog, you should ask her to explain Robin Byrd!  

jeesh wilfrid, i found myself privately messengering basildog to ask what robin byrd was!   i still have no idea.   but i'm flattered.

[stellabella]

basildog:

being "cadillaced" is exactly what the boat man explains in his original post--it means being tipped again on top of an added- in service charge.  it's always unintended, it's always a hoodwink, and it's always an excuse for the lucky server to buy rounds of manhattans for the other servers at the bar across the street after the shift ends. it's the oldest trick in the waitering book--anyone who has waited tables should know about it.

i am with you, mamster--tho my waitering days are over, i always hated added service charges--there's some idea, i guess, among management and maybe even waitstaff that forcing a customer to tip is to the servers advantage.  IMO and experience, an automatic added 18% tip simply guarantees you won't get 20%.  why?  i can't tell you.  it just works that way--maybe because people are too drunk or full or stupid to think about throwing down a few more clams.  if i had to go back to slinging hash, i'd want to work under mamster's management--if i can't avergae 18-20% in tips a night on my own, then lawdy, i need to find me another job.

and now, a moment of truth.

i wasn't going to admit this, for fear it would damage my credibility, but i have since realized that i never had any anyway.

I AM ROBIN BYRD.

[stellabella]

i want to add, lest i offend anyone--i am generalizing about tipping patterns--i waited tables in several places for more than several years, and there are always exceptions to every rule, but in general servers don't get bonuses on added-in tips, and also let it be known that getting cadillaced is pretty rare.

[Wilfrid]

Tommy:  Maybe you don't get Channel 35 over the water?

Stella:  Aren't you getting tired of that song about a piano?

[stellabella]

Stella:  Aren't you getting tired of that song about a piano?

every feels like the first time

[CindyG111]

I would be this happens more often than you think.  We were in Hilton Head 3 weeks ago with my extended family and it happend to us.  We ate a seafood restaurant.  At the time there were only 6 of us dining and my husband paid the bill.  A 15% gratuity was added to the bill and he added an additional 20% on the tip line.  He didn't notice until later that evening that he had tipped twice.

I don't buy that it was just a mistake of the waitress.  We were the last ones at the restaurant and it was not busy at all.  Caveat emptor! (spelling?)

We just chalked it up to paying more attention and decided not to make a stink.   My entire family (19 of us) ate at the same restaurant later in the week and had a wonderful time - and carefully tipped once to the attentive waitstaff.