'Discretionary' service charge in restaurants

[1stepatatime]

i totally agree with you, tipping is up to the individual person but i have noticed again and again people who have a right to complain about terrible service leave 20 euros to the waiting staff

 

[Mumha]

Do you not think that if tipping wasnt standard practice then the restaurant would have to pay a decent wage to keep their staff.

Very very good point. I tend to give the 10% and I get killed by an American friend of mine (which is funny really as they can give 15-20% in the US).

 

[Sherman]

Very very good point. I tend to give the 10% and I get killed by an American friend of mine (which is funny really as they can give 15-20% in the US).

No, it's not. Restaurant workers in Ireland are protected by the exact same minimum wage legislation as every other kind of worker.

Why should they be treated any differently than anyone else in the workforce?

 

[Carol1963]

oh please trust me on this one! I am a Waitress part time and on New Year our restaurant did a big meal for £45 per head PLUS 10% service charge. Did us waitresses and waiters see a penny of it??? No ....straight in the restaurant owner's pockets so anybody out there going to eat out for a meal DONT add the 10% on ....deduct it and leave it IN CASH on the table ....then it will go to the waiting staff otherwise it goes nowhere. So we worked 9 hours New Years Eve on MINIMUM WAGE running around after drunken people for not much!

 

[CCOVICH]

I am a Waitress part time and on New Year our restaurant did a big meal for £45 per head PLUS 10% service charge. Did us waitresses and waiters see a penny of it??? No ....straight in the restaurant owner's pockets

Hi Carol

Did the staff raise this with management? Is there any chance that there is a Xmas bonus forthcoming? Just curious.

 

[tiger]

A couple of points;At least some states in the US have 2 different minimum wages, for "service" and "non-service" jobs, hence the "need" for 15% tips. We have a single minimum wage.I find people's attitude to tipping often depends on whether they themselves have ever worked in a service job in the past.

 

[HotdogsFolks]

i think its important to remember that the waiting staff rely on their tips as they are only paid minnimum wage

So we worked 9 hours New Years Eve on MINIMUM WAGE running around after drunken people for not much!

I know people believe what they see on TV (example: man gets arrested and asks for the phone call he's entitled to) so Waiters feel they are entitled to tips, and oh-my-god-we-earn-terrible-money, but hey, time to join the real world: lots of people earn terrible money, you are choosing to work in your terrible money job, and no one owes you anything nor are you entitled to get tips.

Waiters who feel they deserve tips are living in Hollywood fantasy land.

 

[Carol1963]

No we have no Xmas bonus but I am going to take it up with the manager this evening when I go into work and as for the "dont expect tips" quote from that kind sensitive soul.............obviously never worked in service....of course we expect tips....we bend over backwards to look after and smile at annoying, picky, customers! Yeah its a rubbish job! But I do it and smile through adversity and it gets you nowhere! Yet the person behind the bar gets all the tips for just serving drinks....so how is that fair?

 

[ClubMan]

we bend over backwards to look after and smile at annoying, picky, customers! Yeah its a rubbish job! But I do it and smile through adversity and it gets you nowhere!

Well, if that's your attitude to your work and customers then you probably should be in a different job. I disagree fundamentally with the earlier poster who asserted that some people don't have choices. In an economy where demand for labour largely outstrips supply this is patently not true.

 

[Bob_tg]

The best rip-off is the Mongolian BBQ where they add on 10% service charge BUT you actually go up and do all the food prep and serving yourself!!

 

[santiago]

There's an article in today's Indo "Tip my staff more and I'll cut drink prices, says publican" (free registration required) where Louis Fitzgerald (Stag's Head, Kehoe's, Grand Central, Quays) says he'll reduce his prices by 20% if there was a switch to a tip-based system in bars.

Louis Fitzgerald, who owns a string of high-profile pubs in Dublin and elsewhere, said he believed it was only a matter of time before tips, coupled with a small wage, became an accepted way of paying bar staff. He admitted his group would reduce its wage bill under a tipping-based payment system but said this would be matched by a reduction drink prices. The customer might pay "a bit more" overall.
"If there was a serious tipping culture, and bar staff were to accept the tips and the wages, I would gladly take 20pc off the price of a pint."

Mandate weren't in favour...

 

[fobs]

Woudn't be in favour of this myself as hate the way the tipping culture is in America where you have to tip for everything. Prefer to pay the price of the drink as advertised and let the bar owner pay his/her own staff.

 

[jem]

Woudn't be in favour of this myself as hate the way the tipping culture is in America where you have to tip for everything. Prefer to pay the price of the drink as advertised and let the bar owner pay his/her own staff.

I agree.
J

 

[lynncornwall]

I have been reading this thread with interest as I have worked in catering for many years and now own a restaurant. I googled this topic because nearly all my competitors are now making this charge. When I have worked at places with this policy, the staff were told the charge formed part of the wages. I know a place where the staff are paid £2 per hour above minimum wage no extra is paid regardless of how many people come in and pay the charge.
At our place we have never added a service charge, or used a credit card machine that leaves space for tips. We believe that if you are not happy with the service you should not leave a tip, but if you are happy then a tip is greatly appreciated, it really does mean a lot to the staff, it's not just the money, it is a sign of appreciation. I worked for the government for 9 years on much better money, now I earn less than £2 per hour plus tips, but find running a restaurant far more rewarding, because of the instant feedback.
A couple of points, money left on a credit card as a tip should go through the payroll and be taxed.
I think restaurants are adding service charges, to keep meal prices down, by charging for vegetables/ chips and service separately, the headline price looks cheaper and after all , that is what most of us want, a good deal and not pay much for it.

 

[fobs]

I wonder have people's attitudes changed from when this thread was first written in the "tiger era". I have found both the service levels and the available value to have improved in the recession and there are great deals to be had in eating out now.

If the pub business lowered their prices to the same degree as the restaurant sector has I believe they would see greater numbers coming back. My local eaterie in a small town is always booked out even in jan/feb as it offers good value,good food and great service.

 

[tick tock]

Tips should be earned not expected..

 

[bond-007]

Agreed.

I would not tip unless I got exceptional service and I mean exceptional service.

 

[runner]

There is an increasing trend generally now to offer special good priced - say 3 course dinner menus, but with the caveat that they are adding on a 10 -12.5% service charge to claw back the reduction in prices. Have experienced this recently in a couple of places.

 

[Joey99]

If a charge was described as "discretionary" in that way I'd nearly feel duty-bound to exercise my discretion and not pay it! (though I'm almost always happy to tip 5-15% of the bill and, like many others above, prefer to do so in cash wherever possible).

If it is the restaurateur on the make, it seems only right to try and redirect the money into the pockets of the frontline staff who have helped you to have an enjoyable meal.

 

[ludo]

discretionary service charge in restaurant

I have been in catering for 15 years in London, out of 10% of service charge 40% goes to the head office, 45% goes to the manager and head chef and whatever is left is shared among the staff. Service charge should be banned because most of the smallest restaurant do not share the service charge at all but rather keep it for themselves. Dated back years ago most of the large companies were paying their staff with the tips left on the credit cards meaning they were having the staff for free...Please remember that you have the choice to ask for a bill with or without the service charge....my opinion don't pay the service charge.