I went out to eat yesterday. We had 4 adults and 2 kids. The bill included an automatic 18% gratuity. What the heck? Why did American restaurants decide that bigger parties should automatically have tips added to the check. If they force the amount on you it is no longer a tip but a surcharge!
Tips should be optional. The better your service the better your tips. I understand that tips are included in waiters/waitresses pay so they only get paid a few bucks an hour. Unless service is really really bad I always tip.
The funny thing is I normally tip 20% or more. By putting the tip automatically on the bill they pissed me off and got less.
Another thing that ticks me off is when take out or fast food places have tip jars out. I refuse to tip for fast food. I know there are some people who tip the Sonic employees who bring your food to the car but I say forget it! It is fast food. I would be perfectly happy to go through a drive through or walk inside. If their restaurant concept includes kids on roller skates bringing food to your car like a 50’s drive up diner- that’s their choice.
As far as take out places- the whole point of not eating in the restaurant is to not tip and save that money. If I was going to tip I might as well eat there and get the actual service I am tipping you for!
Speaking of tips and food, I saw this article on MSN. 14 tons of Oreo cookies spilled on the highway when the driver fell asleep and the truck tipped over. man, sign me up for that cleanup! Much better than cleaning up oil spills from little birds and such. Forget the diet- I am doing it for the environment!
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May 24, 2008 at 3:32 am
susan0308
Mmmm…Oreos. Food of the Gods. As for the tipping, I tip some carry out places. like my favorite Chinese restaurant. But that’s more for the woman who owns it than the actual service. She’s there all the time. I don’t think she takes a day off. That kind of dedication deserves a little something extra. The automatic gratuity on a bill? Yeah, that pisses me off too. Don’t tell me how much tip you think you deserve…earn it.
July 13, 2008 at 3:08 pm
akeorlando
I couldn’t agree with you more! Especially about the tip jars at fast food restaurants. Sorry, but if you expect a tip from me, you’d better be working for it!
November 26, 2008 at 4:17 am
waiternotes
I agree about the tip jars. I pretty much ignore them. Even more irritating about it is that when you do toss in some money, the staff ignores it completely. It’s just common courtesy to say thank you.
About the automatic gratuity for big parties, I can shed some light. I am a waiter. Look up my blog on WordPress: Waiternotes. Anyway, the real reason it’s so common is that most restaurants divvy up the amount of business a waiter gets based on ‘covers’ – i.e., people. Four tables of two each for one waiter, one table of eight people for another waiter. It’s the same in management’s eyes.
When a large part, even a majority, of a waiter’s income will come from a single party, the tip is added automatically to protect the waiter.
Protect from what? Well, we’ve all dined with cheapskate friends. We’ve all dined with people who at the end of the dinner suddenly realize they don’t have any money. We’ve all dined with the idiot who glances at the check and says, ‘Mine’s about nineteen dollars,’ and throws a $20 onto the table and bolts. We later find out he didn’t count his drinks, tax, nor tip.
What it adds up to is . . . well, not enough. Any or all of these things happen and the difference usually comes out of the waiter’s tip – regardless of the quality of the service.
That’s the main reason.
Also, most people don’t know, that ‘automatic’ gratuity is not legally binding. You can leave as little or as much as you please, and you’re completely within your rights to do so. If you’re paying cash it’s easy – pay what you want and leave. If by credit card, tell the server to leave the tip blank because you’d like to fill it in yourself. Then tip whatever you’d like. If it’s poor, maybe leave your phone number with management if they’d like to discuss your reasoning with you.