Food the service industry, "if you dont like it then..."

I completely see where you're going. As I stated in my first post in this thread I would have just paid the tab and left so I'm certain the incident would not have escalated had I been the customer. If however by some fluke there were a misunderstanding (let's say a bottle of Dom Perignon magically appeared on my bill and I refused to pay for it since I didn't order nor drink it) and the restaurant decided they were going to detain me to wait for the police I can assure you I would be one unhappy person. I'm not sure I'd pursue legal action but I might. I can also assure you I'd remain calm and not make any threatening remarks. In my experience freaking out and getting worked up never helps your case. Not to mention any more there's almost always a camera watching you.

As for poor service at the above mentioned restaurants I look at it like going to McDonalds... you pretty much know exactly what you're going to get when you step in the door. Though I have to admit there's an Olive Garden north of SF that has surprised me with their customer service. Anyway I'm not surprised those restaurants, especially in that location, automatically add a gratuity. I would be surprised if they physically detained a customer over a disputed charge on any check. I'd be stunned if the NYPD had time to respond to a "this customer won't pay the tip" call.

 

You know you've lived in third world countries too long, when you see the term "theater rush" and go: What the fuck is a theater rush?

Bloody intellectual, arty farty class of the developed world.

 

Hi Cyn,

Just about every bill, with very few exceptions adds the service to the bill in Singapore. The result is that you do not tip at all.

 

If a place includes the tip I normally have no issue with it. If I eat some where and the tip isn't included I almost always tip. Very rare occasion where the food and service just didn't warrant it in my option. The few places that have rubbed me wrong recently are ones where the menu say X% tip auto added yet when the check comes theres a blank space for you to add the tip. On a recent trip north I ate at a place where it was noted on the menu yet when the check arrived there were two taxes and a blank space for the tip. I asked about it and the server told me "gee I have no idea we've just always had two taxes on the bill. I checked one tax was exactly the 15% noted on the menu. I asked to speak to a manager and after a rather long wait one appeared. She first told me some BS about city and state sales tax but after many questions and several stupid answers she said "oh, yes one of those charge is mislabeled and is in fact the tip. The blank space is if you want add to the tip. To me that's just fraud, mislabeled my ass. I paid it without adding to the tip and will never return.

 

I don't know about other places, but at my restaurant, we can't control what the credit card slip says...so even after we add a 15% grat to a party, there's still a blank space for the tip on the credit card receipt.

 

There are many things in reality I know little about, but credit card machines ain't one of one of them. Whether the manager of a restaurant doesn't know how, or your supervisor card doesnt give you access is one thing, but there is no way that any till or eft device has a line for gratuity that cannot be removed from the receipt. If you don't have access to change it you should call the bank you rent the machine from.

 

I'm sure it can be, but frankly, that would probably be considered too big of a pain in the ass. The check clearly states that grat has been added, and how much. If the person or persons paying thinks that's enough, they leave the tip line blank. If they think we kicked ass and deserve a little more, they add a little more. It's not really a big deal.

 

I am not saying that the individual waiter can help it being there, but I'm willing to bet it's configurable within the supervisor menu, so the restaurant itself has made a choice for it to be there. If not, the person who polls the terminal will be able to make the change if someone asks them to through whatever terminal management system they have.

If a restauarant wants to basically split its pricing in to to mislead customers (which lets be honest - thats what this is. A "headline" price for the meal but then an extra "hidden" charge for the service) there should be another option.

Lets say my meal costs £30 each with two drinkies, and Ive brought a date.

If they are saying to me "that's just for the product, we're going to charge you another £10 for someone to walk from the kitchen which is 10 yards away and bring you this plate"... for £10 I will write down what I want and hand it the cook and come and get it when its ready. For £10 I will go and pick up a bottle of wine from a shelf and open it myself.

It is ridiculous to argue that the very small amount of work a waiter does for me individually could possibly be worth more than a few pence. So if a table service is a part of the ambience and a part of the product, then that's fine.

If you as a restaurant owner want to split it out and charge separately for the table service, they should give you the option not to pay this extra charge and simply get your meal for yourself from the cook.

The more I write, the more certain I am that I am absolutely right (legally speaking) and I am half tempted to go to a restaurant that has this mandatory extra charge for service and sue the man for not letting me serve myself. I may do a search for restaurants in Birmingham who treat their customers in this way.

I actually feel I've really hit the nail on the head here. A lot of people just argue against common sense because they enjoy the banter and that's fair enough, but I defy anyone to argue against this.

 

No no, lets be clear what the argument is.

IF the restaurant splits their pricing:

£30 for food
£5 for service

I believe that they are legally obliged to offer one for sale without the other.

I have a legal right to purchase the £30 food, but decline the £5 service, and serve myself.

If they are saying that the two services MUST be bought together, then they are obliged to show them as one price, which is clearly stated, not hidden in the small print on the back of the menu.

I used to date a girl who is now a solicitor (she specialises in personal injuries involving bad backs, but she still is qualified) and I am going to txt her and ask her to confirm I am right. I dont really need to do this, as I am sure that I am. If anyone member of TFP has legal training they can check this out and confirm it also.

 

Give me an example of something where the LIST price is separated out for two items and you only have the legal right to buy the two items together then.

(and the example cannot be a restaurant)

 

Well, this must be an American thing

Ive never paid a "utitilities" surcharge for a hotel room. And if they tried to levy one on me I'd demand they pulled the fuse out for my room!

Ive never bought a new car, or paid someone to change my oil, or bought a gun from a gun shop.

 

As Borla said, there is absolutely no obligation by any business to sell package components individually.

If they offer specific products and services in bundles, you can either negotiate them into omitting specifics parts, or decide whether you want to be a customer of the business.