A bit cheeky?

runawaybishop

Chewabacca wrote: »

I find, whether they say it on the menu or not, places don't mind if you ask not to pay the service charge and pay the tip separately. My fear with service charges is that it won't go to the server. It's often a way for the owners to steal the servers tip.

In this case however it was very cheeky of them to charge that. They decided to do the vouchers, hence they deal with a lower tip.

I always ask to leave the tip seperately, I hate the idea of the server not getting the tip. It's the only thing that motivates them to do a good job.

Service charges often don't go just to the server, but that isn't a bad thing as long as they are shared with the rest of the staff. In many places even tips you leave for the server will be added to the pool and shared out.

Chewabacca

runawaybishop wrote: »

Service charges often don't go just to the server, but that isn't a bad thing as long as they are shared with the rest of the staff. In many places even tips you leave for the server will be added to the pool and shared out.

I know this, my girlfriends a waitress. I'm not the biggest fan of it, if someone comes in hungover and does a terrible job everyone else suffers.

My fear with the service charge is that the waiting staff dont get all the tips, that the establishment takes them.

runawaybishop

Chewabacca wrote: »

I know this, my girlfriends a waitress. I'm not the biggest fan of it, if someone comes in hungover and does a terrible job everyone else suffers.

My fear with the service charge is that the waiting staff dont get all the tips, that the establishment takes them.

I guess that puts pressure on that staff member to do a good job so the whole team don't suffer.

Its totally your decision to give the tip directly to the server if that is what you want but just bear in mind they may not be allowed to keep tips to themselves.

OldNotWIse

dudara wrote: »

A Caesar salad is just that, a salad. It means leaves with Caesar salad dressing. Chicken Caesar salad is more.

Back to the original topic - I also ate at l'Ecrivain on the voucher deal. For the sake of comparison, I should say that I've also eaten there as a "regular" customer as well. Food was good, but the service felt a little rushed and not *quite* at the standard I'd expect.

Dont forget the parmesan and croutons A caesar salad with "just leaves and dressing" would be sent back fast.

the beer revolu

Chewabacca wrote: »

I always ask to leave the tip seperately, I hate the idea of the server not getting the tip. It's the only thing that motivates them to do a good job.

I would have thought that their wages and sense of respect for themselves and their employer might motivate servers to do a good job - just like positions that don't generally incur tips.

Chewabacca

the beer revolu wrote: »

I would have thought that their wages and sense of respect for themselves and their employer might motivate servers to do a good job - just like positions that don't generally incur tips.

I phrased that badly. The "'only" thing was the wrong choice of words. What I meant is that it's what keeps it in there best interests to do a really good job, rather than just doing enough. The reality is most service staff only make in or around minimum wage so they're often not too motivated about their jobs.