Should I contact restaurant (overtipping with automatic gratuity)?

[dez1978]

By coffee shop, I'm referring to what other areas of the country might call a diner or a greasy spoon, not a Starbucks. Nor do I tip over the counter workers regardless of how Starbucks chooses to describe them to try and convince me they're something they are not. But I also don't order drinks with 20 hidden menu items and make their lives miserable on the very few times I go into a Starbucks either. If I did, yeah, I'd give em a tip.
Yes, the expensive restaurant has bus boys, food runners, and the like. So in fact the waiter himself is actually doing less work than the girl at the coffee shop who in many cases is doing all of those things herself. But the work done for me, is about the same whether it is done by one person or by three in total. There may be drinks or an extra course at the expensive place. But again it isn't 10 times the work. And regardless of how it is split, the waiter himself is going to end up with more total out of that than the waitress at the greasy spoon. And a little extra goes a longer way with her. So yeah. I'll go to much higher percentages above 20 much more readily at the cheap end.

I will agree that a little extra goes much further with the server at the local diner. But thats also bc that server is more likely to have a regular customer base than the one at an expensive place. Unless you are a regular customer, the server has no idea if you are a good tipper or a lousy one.
But it is an entirely different category of service between the local diner and someplace that runs 100/pp. Servers don't interact with there customers the same, they don't deliver food the same. There is a much higher expectation of service at a fine dining place than at Denny's. And Denny's has bus ppl, hostesses, food runners too. Denny's server's probably run more because of the table turnover they'd have, but per table the high end place has far more that they do for a table than Denny's does.

 

[spiders]

You had a large bill and failed to pay attention before signing the check. That's on you, not the restaurant or the server. Also if service was excellent and you spent that much pre tip you should tip more than 20% anyway.

Well then it’s time to apply that across the board. I’ve had times where I’ve pointed out billing inaccuracies that were in my favor. If the serve fails to add $20 of drinks but realizes it after, do I get to say “Too bad. You have already presented me the check so I guess the balance is on you.” Of course not.

So if the server wants to try to sneak in an automatic tip then prepare to get caught. A tip, by definition is to insure prompt service, so these automatic tips because the server simply exists is absurd. The addition of an automatic tip without telling you is poor service to begin with.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I will agree that a little extra goes much further with the server at the local diner. But thats also bc that server is more likely to have a regular customer base than the one at an expensive place. Unless you are a regular customer, the server has no idea if you are a good tipper or a lousy one.
But it is an entirely different category of service between the local diner and someplace that runs 100/pp. Servers don't interact with there customers the same, they don't deliver food the same. There is a much higher expectation of service at a fine dining place than at Denny's. And Denny's has bus ppl, hostesses, food runners too. Denny's server's probably run more because of the table turnover they'd have, but per table the high end place has far more that they do for a table than Denny's does.

Not all Denny's, nor all other coffee shops have such on all shifts. And please do not be so arrogant as to presume to tell me what I observe when I go to a restaurant thank you very much. I can tell for myself when there are runners and bus boys on shift and when there are not. And the vast majority of Americans know that tips are often pooled. Just because I don't agree that someone should just let the waiter have what amounts to a mistaken extra 80 bucks on a 400 dollar tab doesn't mean I need a lecture on the subject either. If a restaurant made an $80 mistake in my favor, I sure wouldn't keep it. I'd go back, point it out, and settle up. So I see nothing wrong with seeing if they'll work with me to correct one on my part assuming of course it's done in a timely manner rather than say a week later or something. Moreover, if I were a waiter and caught it in time, I'd immediately question it if the customer were still there. It's not an unheard of thing to do but it's not the norm either. We certainly don't know why the extra wasn't caught by the waiter or the restaurant. Perhaps the waiter and other staff was equally not really paying attention just as the customer was.

But in any case I would consider blowing it off with a well it's on the customer's if they didn't notice it and they should pay more than 20% for excellent service anyway as not the way to go. And I would also consider walking out with an entree missing from one's check and blowing it off with a well I guess that is on them now, HAHA, equally not the way to go.

 

[SeanWM48]

sneaking in an automatic 20 points on a party of FOUR is outrageous. i would want my extra 20% back. let them think what they think about it, i don't care. that is sneaky to me. doing so with six guests is standard, i have never heard of 4 people getting clipped automatically for 20. server always lets everyone know as well.

also it is not a pain to ask to split the check evenly when in a group. asking the server to break the check down per person is absolutely a pain and a huge ask.

disclaimer - i am in CT, if a party of 4 being automatically hit with 20% is a normal occurrence elsewhere, i apologize but i would still want the extra money back.

The addition of an automatic tip without telling you is poor service to begin with.

that's where I land with this as well

 

[wvjules]

The addition of an automatic tip without telling you is poor service to begin with.

They did tell them. It was on the bill. I

 

[dez1978]

Well then it’s time to apply that across the board. I’ve had times where I’ve pointed out billing inaccuracies that were in my favor. If the serve fails to add $20 of drinks but realizes it after, do I get to say “Too bad. You have already presented me the check so I guess the balance is on you.” Of course not.

So if the server wants to try to sneak in an automatic tip then prepare to get caught. A tip, by definition is to insure prompt service, so these automatic tips because the server simply exists is absurd. The addition of an automatic tip without telling you is poor service to begin with.

I doubt the server "snuck in" in automatic tip. The server didn't do it all willy nilly trying to be sly without anyone knowing about it. I'd almost guarantee it is on the menu or stated somewhere that if you order xxx or do this then this applies.

And yeah, if the server fails to put something on the bill that should be there then either they or the restaurant eats that cost.

 

[dez1978]

Not all Denny's, nor all other coffee shops have such on all shifts. And please do not be so arrogant as to presume to tell me what I observe when I go to a restaurant thank you very much. I can tell for myself when there are runners and bus boys on shift and when there are not. And the vast majority of Americans know that tips are often pooled. Just because I don't agree that someone should just let the waiter have what amounts to a mistaken extra 80 bucks on a 400 dollar tab doesn't mean I need a lecture on the subject either. If a restaurant made an $80 mistake in my favor, I sure wouldn't keep it. I'd go back, point it out, and settle up. So I see nothing wrong with seeing if they'll work with me to correct one on my part assuming of course it's done in a timely manner rather than say a week later or something. Moreover, if I were a waiter and caught it in time, I'd immediately question it if the customer were still there. It's not an unheard of thing to do but it's not the norm either. An any case, I would consider walking out with an entree missing from my check and blowing it off with a well it's on them HAHA ethically questionable. I would also consider as equally ethically questionable blowing off what amounts to a big mistake on a tip with a well that's on them, not me. Mine now. HAHA.

There was nothing arrogant about anything I said. You don't have to agree with anything I said, I don't really care that much. But what you may observe at the restaurants you frequent doesn't make your statements any more valid than mine, nor is what the customer observes always accurate.

 

[Mysterian]

Curious, but since it was a birthday dinner, did the staff do anything special for the occasion?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Tipping more when service has been excellent has always been a thing. I've always thought of 20% as the standard for normal service. But if your server was on point and did all the things and was excellent, you should tip more. 40% is prob a bit much. But I stand by my statement that it is the customers responsibility to look at their bill prior to paying it and know what they are paying for. If you don't and you add an additional tip on top thats on you.

As far as tipping more when you spend more. It is absolutely harder to provide fine dining service than it is coffee shop service. I've worked at both levels and it is a lot more work. Also your barista doesn't in turn have to tip out 5 other employees. Lots of places your server does not keep all of their tips. They often tip out the bus person, the hostess, the food runners (if they have them) etc based on a percentage of their sales. so when you tip 20% they likely keep 12-15% of that.

And I was saying the OP situation doesn't need to be an example of your viewpoint. Even if the OP omitted how much they tipped or were planning on tipping the discussion was about the charge they didn't know was for. This thread does haven't to devolve into the "I'm a better tipper" no disrespect meant.

 

[SteveMouse]

You don’t say how many people dined. Often, 6 or more guests trigger an automatic service/gratuity charge of 20%. I probably would have looked for it automatically if I were part of a group, regardless of any splitting of the bill.

if you were indeed part of a group, please mark this up as a learning experience and be cognizant of such charges when you go out in groups in the futurE.

If it’s an up charge for the chefs table not otherwise noted on the menu or signage,

I understand that some establishments are adding what some are referring to as a “covid fee” as a surcharge they’re associating with increased costs. Seehttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wfla.com/news/restaurant-adding-20-fair-wage-service-fee-to-every-bill/amp/.

 

[jo-jo]

You don’t say how many people dined. Often, 6 or more guests trigger an automatic service/gratuity charge of 20%. I probably would have looked for it automatically if I were part of a group, regardless of any splitting of the bill.

if you were indeed part of a group, please mark this up as a learning experience and be cognizant of such charges when you go out in groups in the futurE.

If it’s an up charge for the chefs table not otherwise noted on the menu or signage,

I understand that some establishments are adding what some are referring to as a “covid fee” as a surcharge they’re associating with increased costs. Seehttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wfla.com/news/restaurant-adding-20-fair-wage-service-fee-to-every-bill/amp/.

OP says dinner was for four people in the first post.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

They did tell them. It was on the bill. I

If it was only on the bill without an explanation kinda seems a iffy business practice especially with that high of a charge. You'll often find signs or fine print and that's all well and good but if there's a specific charge this specific restaurant is now specifically charging it's one that should be disclosed somewhere other than seeing on the bill "20% charge". If it's city, state or some other charge that's okay like a VAT or something like that, but if it's the restaurant specifically doing it best to give an explanation. Who knows if the OP calls they may say "oh we listed it..." and the OP could say "I didn't see that" and it could be an opportunity for the restaurant to think if they need to make it more prominent. Or it could be an opportunity for them to display it to begin with if they didn't even think to do so. And the other reason is if you're a restaurant owner you might want to make sure you're not potentially scaring off customers or opening yourself up to a bad review simply because you didn't explain a charge you have (especially one that high). It doesn't have to be seen as such a negative here to question the charge or if it was adequately explained.

 

[disykat]

The word "add'l" next next to gratuity was your notification so I don't think you were duped. I think posting it on a board like this so we could all know to watch for it is a great idea, but you don't have a leg to stand on for getting money back.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Is it a service charge or a gratuity? Those are 2 different things thanks to COVID.

 

[Allison]

Why do people continue to make comments about getting their money back? The OP made it clear in their first post that they aren't looking to get their money back.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Well to be fair it stated "additional" gratuity. This automatically lets me know service is already included.

I'd let it go. You likely made a hardworking server very happy.

 

[brockash]

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?

I think contacting saying that you think it'd be appropriate for them to say something in advance would be good...without accepting or asking for refund on your particular situation. I agree...one it's odd they'd do it to begin with, and two they definitely should say something.

 

[RedAngie]

They did tell them. It was on the bill. I

Customers must be informed of such charges before ordering, not when the bill arrives.

 

[disney4us2002]

I would not contact them directly but we do often write reviews on tripadvisor or yelp and we would include a note about auto tipping so future diners would be advised. I'd rather be an overtipper than an undertipper. Happy Birthday, btw.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

Maybe it was an accident. She may have been prepping checks for several tables and one was a party of 6+ and she accidentally added the automatic gratuity to yours by mistake.