Should I contact restaurant (overtipping with automatic gratuity)?

[VictoriaT]

Good Morning all, I have a question on the proper etiquette to handle this, or if I should just let it go. Tuesday was my birthday, and myself, DH and friends had a fabulous meal at a very trendy restaurant in our area. We all had the chef's tasting menu, which the reaturant is known for, with beverage pairings and pre-dinner drinks. As we were finishing dinner, the restaurant got much busier, and our server was handling admirably, and quickly dropped off our tab. Since we were ready to go and she was very busy, we just gave her our cards to pay and split the bill, as we approximately knew how much it would be. Needless to say, it was rather large. I am signed and looked at the charge receipt, and added the tip under add'l gratuity, which I thought was strange, but did not think much of it. Looking closer the next morning, a 20% service charge had been automatically added, and we ended up tipping another 20%, making a total of 40% on a not insubstantial bill . I know, our fault for not looking closely at the bill, but I feel our server should have said something when she brought us the tab, stating gratuity was already included. Should I send an email to the restaurant requesting they notify diners in advance, or state something on the menu? There was nothing indicating automnatic service charge, except on the itemized bill. I know many places automatically add for six people or more, but this was four, and we are not in a touristy area. I am not looking for reimbursement, as we should have looked closer and made the mistake, but I think they should let others know, so they do not make the same mistake we did. Thoughts?

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Feedback is a gift?

 

[RedAngie]

You can always write a scathing review on yelp or another site.

Contacting the restaurant might result in a lame apology and transparent explanation on why this service charge is necessary.

 

[Everything's Fine]

I wouldn't. The charge was on the bill you were given, so you should have known it was there.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Seriously, if you like the business and care about how it's being run, sharing some honest feedback in person or over the phone is the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong with saying "hey manager, i like your business but you could do better. you should prominently post a sign about the service charge/tip being included and tell your servers to tell people about it"

 

[neverlandsky]

Split checks sometimes automatically get the service charge because it's the running of the extra paperwork and card fees associated for each split transactions vs. 1 complete transaction. It's a charge for your convenience of wanting to split the check and their inconvenience splitting the check for you. In the restaurant industry splitting the check is a huge PIA and time consuming. Lesson learned and let it go. Next time you go to any resturant wanting to split the check, go with cash and split the check among yourselves for 1 complete all cash transaction like the old school days.

 

[spiders]

I think it's pretty cruddy when they sneak in a tip without saying anything. I would request it back. I've said before and I'll say it again -- if the restaurant chooses to put an automatic tip in then that is all they are going to get from me. I don't care if they only added 15% -- I will clearly strike through the additional tip line.

 

[VictoriaT]

Split checks sometimes automatically get the service charge because it's the running of the extra paperwork and card fees associated for each split transactions vs. 1 complete transaction. It's a charge for your convenience of wanting to split the check and their inconvenience splitting the check for you. In the restaurant industry splitting the check is a huge PIA and time consuming. Lesson learned and let it go. Next time you go to any resturant wanting to split the check, go with cash and split the check among yourselves for 1 complete all cash transaction like the old school days.

The service charge was on the original tab, and the total before service charge was over $450. I don't know many people who carry that much cash on them. We had one bill, we paid half and friends paid half.

 

[VictoriaT]

Seriously, if you like the business and care about how it's being run, sharing some honest feedback in person or over the phone is the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong with saying "hey manager, i like your business but you could do better. you should prominently post a sign about the service charge/tip being included and tell your servers to tell people about it"

My sister agrees with you.

 

[neverlandsky]

The service charge was on the original tab, and the total before service charge was over $450. I don't know many people who carry that much cash on them. We had one bill, we paid half and friends paid half.

You're still running 2 cards in which businesses get a service charged for with each credit card swipe. The first credit swipe is normally on the house and they eat the charge. Once it's split, it's not.

 

[BrianL]

I saw a service charge on a recent bill and was surprised. We did have split checks. In my case, my tab was liek 10 bucks anyway, so I wasn't that worried about it, but it wasn't disclosed. I wonder if it was for splitting the check - I've never experienced that. 20% seems a bit high for that, especailly for my buddy who had a pricey cocktail so his bill was more than twice mine. It's not that big of a deal, but it should have been disclosed ahead of time.

 

[BrianL]

You're still running 2 cards in which businesses get a service charged for with each credit card swipe. The first credit swipe is normally on the house and they eat the charge. Once it's split, it's not.

To be fair though, running credit cards and paying the fees is just the cost of doing business. Usually the merchant agreement prevents sellers from charging extra to cover that - I know it's a sticky issue for many though.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Yikes.

 

[HopperFan]

At that price point I would likely contact the restaurant and ask for clarification on what it is. If you google restaurant service charges you can see lots of articles how this is a new thing many restaurants are doing. It doesn't necessarily go to the server - some are using to pay all employees more, cover benefit costs or rising costs in supplies instead of jacking the menu prices higher. It will be good to know in the future so you can decide if that is where you want to eat, or how you select items off the menu price wise. If this is the new normal, I agree restaurants should be transparent and then customers have nothing to complain about.

 

[2Lunds]

Seriously, if you like the business and care about how it's being run, sharing some honest feedback in person or over the phone is the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong with saying "hey manager, i like your business but you could do better. you should prominently post a sign about the service charge/tip being included and tell your servers to tell people about it"

My sister agrees with you.

This would be my suggestion as well. There's no harm in sharing your feelings with management on the issue - but it's entirely unfair to ask for reimbursement (as some have suggested) since that will unfairly punish the server, and any kitchen staff she had to share tips with. If it was stated on the bill, it was an oversight on the patron's part, and while frustrating, it's a good lesson for everyone to really read something before signing it.

 

[sam_gordon]

I guess you could call the restaurant, say you had a good time, but you're wondering what triggered the automatic service charge. Is it for every order? Because you had the chef's tasting menu? Or because you split the check?

 

[BrianL]

At that price point I would likely contact the restaurant and ask for clarification on what it is. If you google restaurant service charges you can see lots of articles how this is a new thing many restaurants are doing. It doesn't necessarily go to the server - some are using to pay all employees more, cover benefit costs or rising costs in supplies instead of jacking the menu prices higher. It will be good to know in the future so you can decide if that is where you want to eat, or how you select items off the menu price wise. If this is the new normal, I agree restaurants should be transparent and then customers have nothing to complain about.

I got curious and looked at the website for the place we were at a couple of weeks ago. There is no mention of a service charge, but at the bottom of the menu was a disclaimer to "read the menu carefully" as items cannot be removed from the bill once prepared. I can't say I like that kind of aggressive verbiage. I'm not the type to ever send something back unless it was literally dangerous (like that raw chicken sandwich I was once served ), but it is just part of being a restaurant. Sometimes things get sent back - you have to deal with it. They also have a note about an upcharge for take-out orders, I guess to cover the styrofoam package - is that normal? I feel like this place is really nickel & diming.

 

[SharonZ]

I suspect that the 20% automatic gratuity was added because the cost of the Chef's Tasting Menu probably makes for a fairly substantial bill (which you had said), and is fairly common in restaurants around me. Also, I've seen the automatic gratuity added for parties of 6 or more. For your own peace of mind, call the restaurant.

 

[spiders]

I got curious and looked at the website for the place we were at a couple of weeks ago. There is no mention of a service charge, but at the bottom of the menu was a disclaimer to "read the menu carefully" as items cannot be removed from the bill once prepared. I can't say I like that kind of aggressive verbiage. I'm not the type to ever send something back unless it was literally dangerous (like that raw chicken sandwich I was once served ), but it is jsut part of being a restaurant. Sometimes things get sent back - you have to deal with it. They also have a note about an upcharge for take-out orders, I guess to cover the styrofoam package - is that normal? I feel like this place is really nickel & diming.

I agree. I think it's one thing to try to send something back because you didn't realize that there were peppers in it but don't want peppers but it's another thing to just say nothing can be removed from the bill. I believe marketing calls me a dangerous customer because I'm the type of guy where when you ask me if everything was good, I'm just going to nod my head and say "yeah" pay my bill and leave. But then I'll probably tell 10 friends that the food was terrible.

 

[HopperFan]

I got curious and looked at the website for the place we were at a couple of weeks ago. There is no mention of a service charge, but at the bottom of the menu was a disclaimer to "read the menu carefully" as items cannot be removed from the bill once prepared. I can't say I like that kind of aggressive verbiage. I'm not the type to ever send something back unless it was literally dangerous (like that raw chicken sandwich I was once served ), but it is jsut part of being a restaurant. Sometimes things get sent back - you have to deal with it. They also have a note about an upcharge for take-out orders, I guess to cover the styrofoam package - is that normal? I feel like this place is really nickel & diming.

A lot of restaurants charged extra for the "to go" orders during covid because they had wait staff in there working, likely on low pay and not getting tips OR they paid them more and were trying to recoup. I absolutely can see that cost stay as will other things that changed in the last 1.5 years.

We seem to be at that place before regulations when we were checking out of a hotel and getting resort fees and parking fees added that weren't disclosed at booking. Buyer beware - everywhere. I think we all have to watch carefully all our bills from all kinds of businesses now.