Tip snuck into bill

This has happened to me twice in the last month and I'm starting to wonder if it is a new trend:

Once with a party of eight, and again with a party of six, a tip has been automatically added to the bill, with no mention of it. Not a word said. One place had it in small print at the bottom of one page of the menu, but the other didn't even have it on the menu. I'm starting to wonder if they are intentionally hoping we will add a second tip on top of the mandatory tip they put onto the bill.

I'm not complaining about a restaurant adding a tip to the bill for larger parties (although I'm not sure a party of six needs to have a tip added automatically), but I'm very concerned when they make no effort whatsoever to bring it to your attention when they present the bill. I can be responsible to review the bill, but should I have to dig out an added charge that I was not told/reminded about? Especially after they've sold me enough liquor and wine to make the small print, in the dimly lighted setting, squiggley to my old eyes? I don't think so.

The irony is the added tip is always less than I would tip, but I'm so pissed off when/if I discover it that I just leave it rather than the larger amount they would have received had they not tried to sneak a fast one.

Or, as with most everything else, am I just being too crotchety?

It's the old server dilemma of whether or not to add the "gratuity of a party of X or more."

You want to add it to cover for the cheapskates of the world. You don't want to add it in case the 15% or 18% is less than what they would have tipped you anyway. And, the whole time you are hoping you get the desired double tip.

When I was serving tables, I convinced myself over time to never add that automatic gratuity. The customer should tip me what they want to top me, and I should be confident that my service deserves a strong tip. I worked with many servers, though, who strategized ways to get the double tip - including circling the total amount in a real heavy inkstroke such that the ink pretty much obscured the automatic gratuity line on the check.

in my experience, gratuity is gratuity. even though i'm a server, i'm siding with the public on this one. where i work at least, 18% is applied to bills for parties of 8 or more. it is clearly indicated on the bill in the same bold print that the total is in. the bill states, "18% suggested gratuity has been added to your total." there was one time when i had a man refuse to pay this gratuity. his bill was such that the "suggested gratuity" was $36. when he saw this, he immediately asked me to send my manager over. i was surprised because the party had seemed very satisfied with their dinner and had been a pleasure to wait on. what had been a happy group of customers until that point began rattling off to my manager a dozen reasons why i did not deserve such an "outrageous tip," and the man declared that he would not pay the gratuity, only the amount of the bill. yes, i was stiffed. 36 bucks stiffed! even though the guy was a jerk about it and i feel that i had earned that 36 bucks, it was his choice. my manager explained to me that she cannot require the customer to pay the gratuity, only their bill. i'm not sure if this is different when the customer is informed of the added gratuity ahead of time (such as on the menu or upon making a reservation or at the host stand), but i feel that in any circumstance, it is the choice of the customer to leave a tip or not and what amount it will be. as a customer, i would be livid if i recieved crummy service and then was required to tip my server more i felt they had earned.

When I was a server, I rarely added the gratuity. Rarely. There were a few times that you could tell from the group's behavior/attitude that you SHOULD or you may end up with a dollar or two. In those cases I did add it.

As a customer, I HATE being told what I MUST tip. I"m sorry, but I tend to tip very well. I tip even better for good service. If you TELL me what I have to tip, that's all you're getting....not one penny over it.

Traditionally, automatic gratuities have been added to larger parties, but recently I've seen it appear when I'm dining w/just one other person...as with anything else, read carefully before you pay...arguably a guest receipt is a contract -- i.e., you're receiving goods and services in exchange for payment, and all terms should be spelled out -- including an added gratuity.

However, at the risk of eliciting controversy, I'm opposed to automatic gratuities, regardless of the party size....I realize that the overwhelming majority of servers work hard and earn their money, and I consider myself a fair tipper (15%-20%, depending on the quality of service), but I don't appreciate having it decided for me in advance...if I'm not satisfied with the service at a restaurant to the extent that it would affect how much I leave as a tip (which IS rare) I'm not going pay an amount that some third party has decided for me in advance....

Once with a party of eight, and again with a party of six, a tip has been automatically added to the bill, with no mention of it. Not a word said. One place had it in small print at the bottom of one page of the menu, but the other didn't even have it on the menu.

I see the larger point, but these sentences seem contradictory to me. If it was in the menu, then you were notified. Since I take larger parties out to dinner with some regularity, I have a tip added automatically with some regularity. There's usually no verbal mention, just the note in the menu.

I don't have a problem with the automatic tip added to a bill, even for a party of one. I do have a problem when these policies are not mentioned prominently (don't bury it in the fine print where even a Philadelphia lawyer would have trouble finding it) or even mentioned at all. Only if full disclosure takes place can I make an informed decision about whether I chose to do business with you or not.
'Winger

I'm opposed to automatic gratuities, regardless of the party size....I realize that the overwhelming majority of servers work hard and earn their money, and I consider myself a fair tipper (15%-20%, depending on the quality of service), but I don't appreciate having it decided for me in advance....

We opened without an automatic gratuity. My staff at the time felt otherwise and I said we should wait until the proof was in before I would change to an automatic gratuity. Well, we now have one for parties of 7 or more; based on experience. The policy is on the menu, on the credit card slip right above the signature line and our staff is expected to remind the host when the check is presented. Anything less than this or any attempt to hide the automatic gratuity is more than unethical in my mind.

Why servers are protected on large groups is an unfortunate fact. If given the opportunity, most decide that an appropraite percentage is more than the server deserves for serving the table. It seems to me that guests who would leave more than the added percentage are taking the policy personally; at the servers expense. Policies that cover all are never fair to all.

By the way, we once had a guest that called and told me that even though our server had informed him the gratuity was added, that he had tipped anyway and now wanted his less than appropraite gratuity back.....which we refunded.

The policy is on the menu, on the credit card slip right above the signature line and our staff is expected to remind the host when the check is presented. Anything less than this or any attempt to hide the automatic gratuity is more than unethical in my mind.

Neal has it exactly right. I've got no problem with the policy if it is pointed out by the staff when the check is presented. Otherwise, it can turn into a game of "Gotcha."

If its forced, it is NOT a tip or gratuity - it is a forced service charge.

http://foobooz.com/2008/01/tip-log-the-legality-of-auto-gratuity/

I almost never comment on here but I wish those of you that are upset about tipping would just stay at home. You would think that a forum full of "foodies" would understand the sh*! money that restaurant people make in general but you are all so self centered and egotistical that your petty gripes give you permission to screw your servers. Seriously, your servers don't make these rules but you take it upon yourself to deprive them of income. You should be ashamed.

What I find interesting about automatic gratuities, as Neal hints at, is the way they broker peace between servers and management. Unless you are serving in a section with a large (physical) table present, serving a large group involves putting multiple tables together - which eats into your section, or, god forbid, the section of another server. In other words, a percentage (often a decent percentage) of your real estate (your source of income) is being consolidated under the power of one table (multiple checks) or, worse, one person (the host of the table).

Only the biggest risk-taking servers in the world would agree to such parameters without some protection of income. It seems to me, then, that the automatic gratuity is meant to motivate these servers to wait these tables, which, in turn, avoids a disaster for management. Yes, sure, in a perfect world the thought of income alone would motivate the server. In a perfect world, too, the customer would tip appropriately for services rendered. So what we have here is a multi-directional band-aid meant to appease tension between server, management, and customer.

I'll openly admit that a time or two I fell back on the automatic gratuity when I had major reservations about a large party, especially if I was having a slow night or had a bill that needed to be paid. I NEVER (ever) called on the automatic gratuity if I offered a table what I would call standard or sub-standard service. That is unethical. Where I worked, the gratuity had to be added through a "manager card," so the option to add or not add was left up to the server.

As a customer, if I receive great service and am charged an automatic gratuity, I'll add a dollar or two merely as a recognition of the well-above standard service offered. I don't know if the server even notices, but it makes me feel good.

I almost never comment on here but I wish those of you that are upset about tipping would just stay at home. You would think that a forum full of "foodies" would understand the sh*! money that restaurant people make in general but you are all so self centered and egotistical that your petty gripes give you permission to screw your servers. Seriously, your servers don't make these rules but you take it upon yourself to deprive them of income. You should be ashamed.

Hmm...

I believe you've completely misconstrued everything that everyone on here has said. Not a single person has complained about tipping. In fact, its my experience from following these forums that we all tip very well as a rule because we understand the "sh*! money that restaurant people make"

Annemarie and Kyle are exactly right, in that once you start forcing people to tip it no longer becomes a tip but instead a service charge. I've never been treated so poorly that I haven't wanted to tip, but if it ever happened I would like to have the option to do so. Tips aren't an entitlement, as Matthew D pointed out, but instead a reward for good service.

As for your charge that we're self-centered and egotistical, well I think the absurdity of that statement speaks for itself. You've simply misconstrued the fact that we have principles and stick to them as being self absorbed, and I'm willing to take that as a compliment.

One last thing. I can't pass up the irony that you just told a whole forum of foodies who love supporting independent businesses and tip very well to stay home. If we're the ones who aren't tipping you well, then perhaps you need to reevaluate the quality of service that you give.

As a customer, if I receive great service and am charged an automatic gratuity, I'll add a dollar or two merely as a recognition of the well-above standard service offered. I don't know if the server even notices, but it makes me feel good.

There is no doubt that servers notice and truly appreciate when guests leave more than the automatic gratuity; particularly when they believe they have done an fine job.

As a customer, if I receive great service and am charged an automatic gratuity, I'll add a dollar or two merely as a recognition of the well-above standard service offered. I don't know if the server even notices, but it makes me feel good.

There is no doubt that servers notice and truly appreciate when guests leave more than the automatic gratuity; particularly when they believe they have done an fine job.

I do the same, and I'm glad they notice. The restaurant.com certificates all have an automatic gratuity of 18%, but if the service is good then I go above that. (Especially considering the fact that the meal has been discounted.)