Service charge on a drinks bill

Sebastian Dangerfield

I recently organised a corporate night out for my employer. The bill arrived today and Im not happy with it, so was hoping to get some advise.

I used an event manager who organised the entertainment, booked the venue, arranged the food etc. I told them we were putting a few thousand euro behind the bar, so he got agreement from the venue to waive the venue hiring fee. I think its best not to name the event manager or venue for now, but it is a well known Dublin city centre bar and restaurant.

The event manager insisted on payment for his direct costs the day before the event (DJ, entertainment on the night etc), saying the venue would bill me directly for the food and bar tab.

The bill arrived today and a 12.5% "service charge" has been added to everything. There was no service charge listed in the quote I got from the event manager (not the venue directly) - the food I could probably live with, but they have added the same charge to the bar bill as well, which to me is absolutely ridiculous! They have also broken the bill out into gross and net prices and applied the service charge prior to the gross amount, so are charging VAT on the service charge as well.

The service they are charging for was so poor I was expecting a discount, not a charge! (E.g. they ran out of everything at some point in the night or another, meaning people had to buy expensive wines and spirits as there wasnt a beer in the house... waiting 20 mins for a drink cos they had no glasses etc). Thats a secondary argument however, I dont mind paying for what we used, but think a service charge on a bar where customers have to queue like any other is absurd! The tab stopped with an hour to go, and we were not charged a service charge on subsequent drinks paid for in cash.

Does this sound normal to anyone in the industry / in the know? I organise these nights out on a regular basis and have never come across this. I will have it out with them tomorrow, but was hoping to get some perspective before I do.

RATM

I would defintely be querying the drinks service charge and to be honest the food too- especially as neither was made clear to you in advance.

The venue may well have something on their menus saying 12.5% service charge for groups of 6 or more, it is quite common in restaurants these days. But if you had some sort of quote pricing a set menu or finger food then chances are you were never shown a menu with 12.5% written on it, either on the night or in advance.

I'd refuse to pay it. Lay it out simple to the events manager- if they want your future business then it is not getting paid. From a legal standpoint I don't think the venue or the event manager have a leg to stand on here- the quote forms part of your contract with them and as the quote never mentioned anything about a 12.5% charge then that is tough luck for them. The events manager may give you some waffle about 'it being standard in the industry' but I would challenge that, especially as you say the service left a lot to be desired. Also if it was standard then it should have said so on the quote.

Venues should be really glad of corporate gigs like the one you've just held, especially as these have been slashed left right and centre during the recession. They are taking advantage IMO. I say all this having worked in the pub/hotel game for 10 years, but not since 2006 but I don't think much has changed since then.

For what it is worth in Australia venues that hold corporate gigs typically give an all in package for food & drinks, i.e. 200 people x 3 hours open bar = X amount. It is usually restricted to a choice of 3 beers and 3 wines and soft drinks. If people want spirits then they pay. It is premised on the idea that people can only drink so much in a certain amount of time and while some people will try to get rat-arsed they are balanced out by those who only have one or two because they're schmoozing the boss, or because they intend to drive. It typically works out cheaper than if you were to pay for every drink individually, i.e. corporates get a discount for buying in bulk. Shame the practice has never caught on here as it might encourage more companies to treat their staff if they knew there was good value for money out there.

Greenmachine

Strange of you to say you organised the night when you say you used an event manager. Surely you simply hired the event manager, or else what was the point of him. Nonetheless if you were not happy with the overall level of service I would certainly be querying any spurious charges added to the costs of the event.