Service charges in restaurants

Donkey Oaty

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I find because I have tipped the wait staff well in the past, the level of service I receive is well above what your average penny pinching punter receives.

Sounds like a ghastly place.

I wish you and them well with your arrangement, but that sort of establishment is not for me.

Crooked Jack

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

This is something that has always confused me. Why do we tip at all, or why is their an expectation of tipping?

You dont tip a dentist for servicing your teeth, you dont tip the postman for delivering your mail, you dont tip the person that makes a roll/sandwich at the deli counter.

The principle is a good one, a little reward for doing that bit extra. Its just that the principle seems to only apply to service in a restaurant.

Bingo! Im busting my ass doing between 12 and 14 hour shifts in Canada laying pipes in an 18 foot hole in the ground. Every time somebody gets a glass of water or flushes the bog are they gonna send me a few quid?
I dont mind the tip thing so much over here as it's such an established (albeit stupid) custom but no way should we encourage it in Ireland unless it's going to be across the board. Waiters do not work harder than anyone else. I despair every time i see someone on boards talking about waiters "bending over backwards" for a customer. Away and shite

A Dub in Glasgo

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

This is something that has always confused me. Why do we tip at all, or why is their an expectation of tipping?

You dont tip a dentist for servicing your teeth, you dont tip the postman for delivering your mail, you dont tip the person that makes a roll/sandwich at the deli counter.

The principle is a good one, a little reward for doing that bit extra. Its just that the principle seems to only apply to service in a restaurant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-qV9wVGb38

suicide_circus

It's a funny one alright, why restaurant servers are singled out for tipping and at that, fast food workers are excluded from this arrangement.

Aongus Von Bismarck

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Now, that said, its what I expect for the gratuity I pay. I have on more than one occasion sent food that I feel enough effort wasn't put into the preparation. I also expect the waiter to have an excellent knowledge of the wine menu and be able to give good recommendations on food and wine pairings.

I'm picturing you wearing a monocle

suicide_circus

I have yet to hear a logical justification of why waiting staff should be tipped and other low paid workers shouldn't.

Pwindedd

Omackeral wrote: »

I'm picturing you wearing a monocle

I'm picturing him wearing his soup....

A good friend of my daughter's works at a restaurant I like to go to. I was chatting to her at my house one day and she told me the owner, who is also the chef, takes a cut of the tips each night.

I wasn't impressed.

D1stant

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

A good friend of my daughter's works at a restaurant I like to go to. I was chatting to her at my house one day and she told me the owner, who is also the chef, takes a cut of the tips each night.

I wasn't impressed.

This is pretty common. Especially if you put the tip on a card. I usually ask the staff. If they are good I tip in cash

If the service charge goes to the owner I ask them to take it off. Chancers - these are normally the same people moaning about the VAT rate killing the industry

Greenmachine

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

A good friend of my daughter's works at a restaurant I like to go to. I was chatting to her at my house one day and she told me the owner, who is also the chef, takes a cut of the tips each night.

I wasn't impressed.

Even with a service charge there is no guarantee, it is going to the staff. Would not be tipping on top of the service charge.

Aongus Von Bismarck

mikemac1 wrote: »

I don't understand it

Any other business would give you a discount when you spend a lot of money.

In a restaurant they gouge you for more

The way I understand it, a waiter can normally wait on 3-4 tables at a time. Now out of those 4 tables there's a good chance you'll get one tight b*stard who refuses to tip. Probably annoying, but not the end of the world, as the other 3 tables will probably understand the need to tip.

Now if they get a party of 12 people. They have all their eggs in this one basket. Its more difficult to serve as they need to take all the orders at the same time, bring all the food at the same time, and possibly split the bill up at the end. A lot more work, then at the end of it all, you might have a stag part or something that think its acceptable to leave a small tip, or worse still not at all. Putting a service charge on that table makes sense. It also makes bill splitting easier for the group.

Aongus Von Bismarck

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

Sounds like a ghastly place.

I wish you and them well with your arrangement, but that sort of establishment is not for me.

It's consistently rated as one of the best restaurants in Germany... but yes I suspect it may not be for you.

No Pants

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

the need to tip.

The what now?

shopaholic01

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

It's consistently rated as one of the best restaurants in Germany... but yes I suspect it may not be for you.

Snooty!

Aongus Von Bismarck

mikemac1 wrote: »

Having worked in hotels for years the worker with the dirtiest and most difficult job is the kitchen porter.

Managing tables & service is a handy number compared to washing floors and scrubbing pots.

Zero tips for that job so my sympathy for the waiter with 4 tables and only tipped for 3 tables isn't much

The KP doesn't need to know the menu, be able to pair wines and foods, understand the how the food is cooked, where its sourced from, etc.

Its unfortunate, but anyone can push a mop around, but it takes a bit of knowledge to work in a top class establishment as a waiter.

The KP doesn't enhance my dining experience. The waiter does.

miss no stars

shopaholic01 wrote: »

Snooty!

Irish.

Donkey Oaty

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

It's consistently rated as one of the best restaurants in Germany... but yes I suspect it may not be for you.

I'm getting curious now, and thinking of going there for entertainment value.

I think that around nine German restaurants have three Michelin stars - is it one of them?

I'll be booking in your name, by the way.

shruikan2553

No Pants wrote: »

The what now?

Didnt you hear? Anyone working as a waiter/waitress is a poverty stricken common person and needs our charity. I tend to tip but only if they do a good dance for me.

When I worked as a waiter all tips went into one pot and was split out anyway. I prefer the method in where I work now, if you do good work you get a bonus/pay rise/promotion and keep your job..

Butterface

Do people tip in cafes? There always seems to be a tip jar beside the tills. If I have change I'll often throw it in. But to be honest, the person steaming the milk is doing exactly what he's being paid to do. Whether he/she charms the pants off me in the 30 second interaction between the ordering and payment doesn't really come into it. If I go next door to the newsagent to buy the paper, the person at the till could be equally as helpful and charming, but I'm not expected to tip that person.

Cienciano

bluewolf wrote: »

I think if you argue it in tgi they'll take it off, or so I've heard

Nice one, I'm meeting a girl there for a first date, must remember that :pac:

Aongus Von Bismarck

Cienciano wrote: »

Nice one, I'm meeting a girl there for a first date, must remember that :pac:

Nothing spells catch like a first date in TGIs, haggling over the service charge is sure to seal the deal.

desultory

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

It's consistently rated as one of the best restaurants in Germany... but yes I suspect it may not be for you.

You shouldn't have to pay someone off to be treated as well as others. It's a shame on your upbringing that you believe that's acceptable.

Mind that monocle doesn't fall into your perfectly paired glass of wine when you read that.

Collie D

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Nothing spells catch like a first date in TGIs, haggling over the service charge is sure to seal the deal.

You really do sound like a poor specimen of a human in that post

Greenmachine

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Nothing spells catch like a first date in TGIs, haggling over the service charge is sure to seal the deal.

Hilarious. Don't forget to ask her to pay her share of the bill and remind her that her main costed an extra €2.50

Imagaine the shame.

Aongus Von Bismarck

desultory wrote: »

You shouldn't have to pay someone off to be treated as well as others. It's a shame on your upbringing that you believe that's acceptable.

Mind that monocle doesn't fall into your perfectly paired glass of wine when you read that.

I don't wear a monocle, my eyesight is eagle-eyed.

I'm also not paying to be treated as well as others. I'm rewarding the staff for their high standards, and for treating me better than others.

Collie D wrote: »

You really do sound like a poor specimen of a human in that post

I'm a poor specimen of a human because I think haggling over the service charge at a glorified fast food joint is not making a good impression on a first date? Yes. Makes sense :rolleyes:

whomitconcerns

it does just get crazy though in some places...I remember a very well known chinese restaurant in city centre, when we were paying (9/10 people) there was a service charge of 40/50 euro or something. I was talking to the waitress when pushed she told us that that money all went to the owner, who was not even there.

So I said we were not happy to pay it, service was good but we felt it was unessesary, etc and to take it off the bill. She had to call the owner to get it waived...he was annoyed and spoke to me on the phone and was not happy to do this said it was a mandatory charge (it wasnt, it was a discretionary service charge)...blah blah blah...but eventually he agreed. We gave her the 40 quid and left....

murphyebass

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I don't wear a monocle, my eyesight is eagle-eyed.

I'm also not paying to be treated as well as others. I'm rewarding the staff for their high standards, and for treating me better than others.



I'm a poor specimen of a human because I think haggling over the service charge at a glorified fast food joint is not making a good impression on a first date? Yes. Makes sense :rolleyes:

First off thank you for your amusing posts. You wound people up quite well sir. I tip my brandy to you.

Second of all I do think your right about the service albeit in a tone in which i found funny and others found disturbing by their reaction.

anncoates

I usually ask the manager who gets the service charge before deciding on tipping because I've heard of the restaurant pocketing the service charge before.

miss no stars

anncoates wrote: »

I usually ask the manager who gets the service charge before deciding on tipping because I've heard of the restaurant pocketing the service charge before.

One place I worked in paid below the minimum wage. The service charged was divvied out among management, waiting staff, chefs and kitchen porters according to the hours we worked. Pretty much made up the wage to minimum wage.

Getting tips was very rare because of it, and again they were divvied up between everyone according to hours worked so usually got about 20c.

Which is why I ask 2 questions (of a waiter, not management). 1 - do the staff get the service charge and 2 - is the base pay at or above minimum wage?

It was really sneaky the way they did that. Just nasty of them, but reflected in their entire staff turning over every month.

Collie D

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm a poor specimen of a human because I think haggling over the service charge at a glorified fast food joint is not making a good impression on a first date? Yes. Makes sense :rolleyes:

No because you looked down on another poster for going to a restaurant you find unworthy. And his remark about service charge was obviously tongue in cheek.