Gratuity Included

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Human

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Nov 24, 2009
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I just got back from a nice date with my girlfriend of two and a half years. We ate at a rather fancy restaurant, and our bill ended up coming close to $120.

When we got the check, we saw that there was an included "gratutity" (tip) of 10%. They added the tip on there for us. I've heard from other people that some places do that when the customers seem young (I'm 19, she's 18), yet I had never heard of that happening there.

I wrote a nice little note and put it on top of my plate when we left that said "I typically tip 25% for good service. We had good service. Whoever included the gratuity just lost you $18."

People. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
 


It's normal in the UK, I leave it on, but you can ask for it to be taken off. It varies from 10-20% ususally here.
 
you handled it exactly right. if they auto-charge me for gratuity i never tip extra.

what REALLY pisses me off is when they auto-charge like 18% gratuity and then put a GRATUITY line on the receipt so if you don't catch it you wind up tipping like 35% of your total bill.

happens a lot in hotels.
 
I disagree. Restaurants add gratuity included because so many people stiff waitresses/waiters its ridiculous, you should have put in the extra 10-15% that you normally tip, its not the waitresses fault they added it. My girlfriend was waiting tables for a while and would get 4 bucks on an 80 dollar meal constantly from cheap old people. If you can't afford to tip, don't go the fuck out to eat IMO. Adding 10% is the wrong move, it should be 15 at least. Read your damn receipt (cough:::continuity sheep::::cough) and you won't end up tipping 35%. A good waiter or waitress deserves 15% MINIMUM, if the server sucks then give them a crap tip.
 
PurePursuit said:
I disagree. Restaurants add gratuity included because so many people stiff waitresses/waiters its ridiculous, you should have put in the extra 10-15% that you normally tip, its not the waitresses fault they added it. My girlfriend was waiting tables for a while and would get 4 bucks on an 80 dollar meal constantly from cheap old people. If you can't afford to tip, don't go the fuck out to eat IMO. Adding 10% is the wrong move, it should be 15 at least. Read your damn receipt (cough:::continuity sheep::::cough) and you won't end up tipping 35%. A good waiter or waitress deserves 15% MINIMUM, if the server sucks then give them a crap tip.
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That wasn't what the problem was in my eyes. Several other people that I know have gone to that restaurant, and I asked them about it. None of them have ever had gratuity added to their meal, and they were all either older or older-looking than I was.

I find it insulting that they stereotypically lump "young" with "not planning on leaving a tip". If the restaurant had done this all the time, it wouldn't be a problem, and I would understand, but unless it was a system that they incorporated that very week, we were biased against.

Also, the restaurant itself, since we went around 3:30 in the afternoon, was almost completely empty, if that helps.

It wans't an issue of reading the receipt properly to avoid paying way too much. I always read the receipt, as there are errors in a small percentage of them, and I also want to know where my money goes, and how much of it goes where. I would have caught on regardless.

Also, the waitress did nothing but take our orders and refill our glasses on occasion, she spent most of the time we were there discussing clothing with a fellow employee. In my mind, she did a good job, but not a good enough job to have a tip forced upon us, and expect to even pay extra.
 
Last I was in the US an 8% tip was considered reasonable, 10% for good service. 25% seems ridiculous to me... on a 120 dollar meal you are going to fork out 30 extra bucks! What the hell!

What could the server have done that you were happy to slip them 30 dollars, that sure as hell kicks them above minimum wage, which is the usual justification I hear for the tipping culture

I like to leave a tip here in Australia. It's not expected as the minimum wage is high enough to actually live on, so it's a nice way to say thanks when a server has been good.

But damn, 25%!
 
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Human said:
I just got back from a nice date with my girlfriend of two and a half years. We ate at a rather fancy restaurant, and our bill ended up coming close to $120.

When we got the check, we saw that there was an included "gratutity" (tip) of 10%. They added the tip on there for us. I've heard from other people that some places do that when the customers seem young (I'm 19, she's 18), yet I had never heard of that happening there.

I wrote a nice little note and put it on top of my plate when we left that said "I typically tip 25% for good service. We had good service. Whoever included the gratuity just lost you $18."

People. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
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If you want results, speak to the owner. Let them know you feel insulted and wont be going back or recommending the place.
 
abrokenshingle said:
If you want results, speak to the owner. Let them know you feel insulted and wont be going back or recommending the place.
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^This.

Speaking to the owner of a nice restaurant about something like this serves two purposes:

1) It alerts him/her to the issue that they may not even know about. People do rely on feedback from their customers. You'll want to come off as polite, sincere, and assertive here. Not like a rude "19 year old", pompous ass, or - possibly worse - a meek teenager.

2) After a certain level of rapport has been established between you during the conversation and its a restaurant that you otherwise liked and is known for being hard to get reservations for, be sure to repeat your name and let him/her know that you love the restaurant and frequent it but sometimes getting seated on weekends/Holidays can be a hassle. Is there some way that he or she could give you a hand in alleviating the typical process of making a reservation?

I love meeting owners of nice restaurants and you'd be surprised what a little polite chatter with them will do for you when you call for last minute reservations on a weekend/holiday - I swear some of these restaurants keep lists of "priority" patrons, though I can't verify that.
 
PurePursuit said:
I disagree. Restaurants add gratuity included because so many people stiff waitresses/waiters its ridiculous, you should have put in the extra 10-15% that you normally tip, its not the waitresses fault they added it. My girlfriend was waiting tables for a while and would get 4 bucks on an 80 dollar meal constantly from cheap old people. If you can't afford to tip, don't go the fuck out to eat IMO. Adding 10% is the wrong move, it should be 15 at least. Read your damn receipt (cough:::continuity sheep::::cough) and you won't end up tipping 35%. A good waiter or waitress deserves 15% MINIMUM, if the server sucks then give them a crap tip.
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Fucking crazy.. first off, if you don't like your pay where you work.. get the mindset to get the fuck out, work a 2nd job, or better yourself and learn how to get more tips. This is no diff if you were in any other career and didn't like something about it.

If the restaurant is so damn worried about waiters getting stiffed so much, they need to pay their waiters more then below min wage and/or raise their prices on their meals to compensate. If you can't make ends meet on your $3 an hour job and depend on basically handouts from other people then don't go to fucking work for below min. wage IMO.

Just cause your ass got $4 on an $80 meal doesn't mean the people tipping were cheap, it means instead of relying on fucking handouts, get a job that has more fucking stable pay and get a life. Any clown can wait tables, just like any clown can try out affiliate marketing. I have had my fair share of horrible wait staff and extremely good wait staff, but I have to say a lot of them these days are getting worse and worse and I do make sure the good ones get tipped well. However, if you dont like it some other people dont tip you well, then you need to get the fuck out of that career.

The difference is the initial effort and push you put into it. Im not giving you a handout ( 15% min tip ) just because you decided all you could do was refill drinks and bring out my food. You do your fucking job right and do more then the average clown, then I might give you 25%, but you aint getting shit for just doing something average and saying hi to me and taking my order/refilling drinks. I can do that shit at McDonalds and they don't tip me when I refill my drink on my own.

If you don't like not getting your free handouts, then get a fucking real job. And YES, I have worked in the restaurant business before.
 
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When im out with the entire family like 8+ people and they add gratuity on a large pricey meal it ticks me off.
 
I never understand the whole tipping thing - in the UK we don't really do it. Or we do it in some places but get it horribly wrong, and embarass ourselves.

10% is pretty standard, but they usually add it to the bill.

Which is a shame, because then the waiter has to pay tax on it.
 
eliquid said:
Fucking crazy.. first off, if you don't like your pay where you work.. get the mindset to get the fuck out, work a 2nd job, or better yourself and learn how to get more tips. This is no diff if you were in any other career and didn't like something about it.

If the restaurant is so damn worried about waiters getting stiffed so much, they need to pay their waiters more then below min wage and/or raise their prices on their meals to compensate. If you can't make ends meet on your $3 an hour job and depend on basically handouts from other people then don't go to fucking work for below min. wage IMO.

Just cause your ass got $4 on an $80 meal doesn't mean the people tipping were cheap, it means instead of relying on fucking handouts, get a job that has more fucking stable pay and get a life. Any clown can wait tables, just like any clown can try out affiliate marketing. I have had my fair share of horrible wait staff and extremely good wait staff, but I have to say a lot of them these days are getting worse and worse and I do make sure the good ones get tipped well. However, if you dont like it some other people dont tip you well, then you need to get the fuck out of that career.

The difference is the initial effort and push you put into it. Im not giving you a handout ( 15% min tip ) just because you decided all you could do was refill drinks and bring out my food. You do your fucking job right and do more then the average clown, then I might give you 25%, but you aint getting shit for just doing something average and saying hi to me and taking my order/refilling drinks. I can do that shit at McDonalds and they don't tip me when I refill my drink on my own.

If you don't like not getting your free handouts, then get a fucking real job. And YES, I have worked in the restaurant business before.
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^This

PurePursuit said:
I disagree. Restaurants add gratuity included because so many people stiff waitresses/waiters its ridiculous, you should have put in the extra 10-15% that you normally tip, its not the waitresses fault they added it. My girlfriend was waiting tables for a while and would get 4 bucks on an 80 dollar meal constantly from cheap old people. If you can't afford to tip, don't go the fuck out to eat IMO. Adding 10% is the wrong move, it should be 15 at least. Read your damn receipt (cough:::continuity sheep::::cough) and you won't end up tipping 35%. A good waiter or waitress deserves 15% MINIMUM, if the server sucks then give them a crap tip.
Click to expand...

^Not this

And yes, I have worked in the restaurant business before,too.
 
PurePursuit said:
I disagree. Restaurants add gratuity included because so many people stiff waitresses/waiters its ridiculous, you should have put in the extra 10-15% that you normally tip, its not the waitresses fault they added it. My girlfriend was waiting tables for a while and would get 4 bucks on an 80 dollar meal constantly from cheap old people. If you can't afford to tip, don't go the fuck out to eat IMO. Adding 10% is the wrong move, it should be 15 at least. Read your damn receipt (cough:::continuity sheep::::cough) and you won't end up tipping 35%. A good waiter or waitress deserves 15% MINIMUM, if the server sucks then give them a crap tip.
Click to expand...

Wtf? They don't get a wage? A tip should be given for above average service IF you want to, not as standard.
 
Rich. said:
Last I was in the US an 8% tip was considered reasonable, 10% for good service. 25% seems ridiculous to me... on a 120 dollar meal you are going to fork out 30 extra bucks! What the hell!
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8% is reasonable if you like having someones balls dipped in your Iced tea..anything less than 15% is something must of gone terribly wrong..

While ill give the OP the benefit of the doubt that MAYBE that server got the manager to add the Grat but a lot of restaurants are doing the grat thing these days simply because of customers stiffing people.. Not to judge a book by its cover but after working as a server for 5 years i could tell you by the end of the drink order how well a person was going to tip and i was right prolly 90% of the time sometimes that 10% would be a good or bad surprise..

I dont understand why anybody gets pissed about a grat. if you were going to leave an acceptable tip and they clearly show it on the reciept then you should have no problems just tipping the difference... if they automatically put on say 20% or higher and your service was poor i can understand being a little upset but otherwise quit being a cheap fuck or dont go out to eat..
 
Rich. said:
Last I was in the US an 8% tip was considered reasonable, 10% for good service. 25% seems ridiculous to me... on a 120 dollar meal you are going to fork out 30 extra bucks! What the hell!
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8% in the US is insulting. 15% is pretty standard while 20-25% might be considered a good tip.

I don't like that sizable tips have become expected regardless of service level here but that is the way it is.
 
In this economy a lot of cheap cocksuckers don't tip, waiters and waitresses rely on tips to make a living. I can't blame them for doing this. I probably would have given the waitress more money if the service was good.

I can't believe eliquid would make a comment about people who go to work everyday and not leeching off the system.
I can understand cause you're from Kentucky but sheesh give some people a break.
 
unrealalex said:
I would just pay the bill and the 10% gratuity and be happy that this way I didn't leave a 20% tip like I usually do.
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^ This.

Whenever I see them add the tip on the receipt already, I just pay that and go. Otherwise I add 20% on top. So it's their loss, my gain. But at the end everyone walks out happy.
 
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