Things that annoy you while dining in restaurants

People, people - I wrote a column on the auto-gratuity and the reasons and justifications for it last winter. Do try to keep up.

Gratuitous Gratuity?

I disagree with many of the reasons given in your column and don't at all find them to be justifications for this policy. Your column isn't necessarily the be-all, end-all on the topic. I think the risk of not getting tipped adequately, large party or otherwise, is simply a risk one has to take to work in the industry. The opposite extreme is no different...ala, getting that occasional large tip. The concept of feast or famine (no pun intended) is not exclusive to waiting tables.

Besides, many good servers elect not to add it on, knowing that guests often won't add anything more if an 18 percent tip appears in the total when the bill is presented. They take their chances that good service will yield a better tip than the one required.

This part is especially interesting. By definition, a tip that is required is not a tip. Also, I didn't know that this is an option of the server in (I assume) at least some places. It makes it worse if this is the option of the server and suggests that a server that opts for the mandatory charge is not confident in the quality of their service. Nevertheless, it makes my point for me.

Again, an "auto-gratuity" is a self-contradiction. The following online dictionaries are consistent in their definitions of "gratuity". All are in relative agreement that a gratuity is voluntary or is considered to be money in addition to what is paid for service, etc. Instead of trying to sugarcoat it, it would be far more truthful of restaurateurs if they would just call this "auto-gratuity" a service charge. If it is so much of a risk that restaurant management feels the need to create a euphemism for a service charge, perhaps the traditional US restaurant business model needs to be reexamined. Making up for any shortfalls of bad restaurant management is certainly not incumbent on the customer. The gratuity is entirely at the discretion of the customer, or else it is not a gratuity.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gratuity

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gratuity

http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1252002#m_en_us1252002

Ray, I will just give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you have never chosen to work for $2.13 an hour plus the good will of your clients.

Thanks for the three definitions of "gratuity". That was really helpful.

Ray, I will just give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you have never chosen to work for $2.13 an hour plus the good will of your clients.

Marsha, Your assumption is partially correct. Except my very first job was for 0.00 an hour and for tips only. So, I indeed had to rely on the good will of my clients. However, whether or not I had that experience is irrelevant in that it doesn't make my opinion any more or any less valid. i.e. An airline passenger doesn't need to have experience working in the airline industry to have valid opinions about some of the business practices of airlines.

Ray, I will just give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you have never chosen to work for $2.13 an hour plus the good will of your clients.

Marsha, Your assumption is partially correct. Except my very first job was for 0.00 an hour and for tips only. So, I indeed had to rely on the good will of my clients. However, whether or not I had that experience is irrelevant in that it doesn't make my opinion any more or any less valid. i.e. An airline passenger doesn't need to have experience working in the airline industry to have valid opinions about some of the business practices of airlines.

So what shall we pay servers? ;
If everyone actually had to pay for dinner at a restaurant if servers were actually paid "minimum wage" instead of the $2.35+tips! I highly doubt we would have the great restaurants we have in this town; or for that fact anywhere.
Margins are already tight in "The Bizz". I don't think any owner would be able to make the payroll with what they are charging for items on the menu currently. That $14.95 entree would cost $25.95 . Establishments would have to charge that much to just break even.

So what shall we pay servers? ;

I don't have an answer. What warranted that question?

If everyone actually had to pay for dinner at a restaurant if servers were actually paid "minimum wage" instead of the $2.35+tips! I highly doubt we would have the great restaurants we have in this town; or for that fact anywhere.
Margins are already tight in "The Bizz". I don't think any owner would be able to make the payroll with what they are charging for items on the menu currently. That $14.95 entree would cost $25.95 . Establishments would have to charge that much to just break even.

In my travels, I have encountered many "great restaurants" that don't use the traditional business model that is used in the USA. I don't have an answer on an exact wage as I realize that there are many different economies involved. Nevertheless, I think that there are plenty of examples from which we can learn.

There's two parties in this matter. While it's frustrating that the camping party didn't hold up their end of the agreement, it's ultimately the restaurants responsibility to build in a little lee-way to allow for surprises.

It's like that game I played growing up when waiting for food at PoFolks. The one with the wooden triangle and the golf tees, where you leave one of the spots open and try to eliminate the rest of the pegs. A good restaurant will leave that little opening around which they can maneuver. If you feel up all the pegs, to refer back to the game, you can't even start with moves. Same goes for a restaurant.

Have to be willing to have a few fewer covers to make sure everything goes smoothly.

I was simply pointing out a reason that a reservation could be running late, not trying to excuse anything. The restaurant I am referring to is unquestionably good, but sometimes there were unforeseen happenings, table campers and the like. At an upscale restaurant like this one, having a word with the table campers was a very touchy subject, and not done very frequently... although I really wanted to sometimes, Deb! One of those no-win situations.

When I worked in the biz, we often ended up having reservations wait because the owner would want to kiss up to one of the local celebs and promise them a table for 10 at 7:30 on a Friday night when they called at 6:45 and we were already on a 2 hour wait. It's not always the customer killing the seating plans.

That sounds annoying, because the hostess and wait staff end up getting the flak.

.

Besides, many good servers elect not to add it on, knowing that guests often won't add anything more if an 18 percent tip appears in the total when the bill is presented. They take their chances that good service will yield a better tip than the one required.

This part is especially interesting. By definition, a tip that is required is not a tip. Also, I didn't know that this is an option of the server in (I assume) at least some places. It makes it worse if this is the option of the server and suggests that a server that opts for the mandatory charge is not confident in the quality of their service. Nevertheless, it makes my point for me.

Personally, I think it should be more bothersome if a server chooses not to add an auto-grat in an establishment where that is the policy. Restaurants have these policies for the protection of the server and if the server picks how and when that auto-grat is added, it can lead to liability issues for the business.

Europeans are used to tipping 10%. Teenagers can be even worse. Certain ethnicities and religious groups have their own stigmas. If a server auto-grats these parties and not the party of white males on a business dinner it can have serious repercussions for the restaurant.

You may not agree with the concept of automatic gratuity but it exists for a reason. As long as it is enforced uniformly, there shouldn't be cause for complaint. Your argument that it should be left up to chance is ridiculous. For every bad tip there is a good one to make up for it? I don't think so. There are a lot more 10% tippers out there than those tipping 30%. Especially on large parties.

It has also been my experience that those who complain about the auto-grat just reinforce it's need. You may not like the way the restaurant industry runs in order to turn a profit, but as pointed out earlier... you wouldn't have nearly the dining choices if certain things were done differently.

Europeans are used to tipping 10%.

They're basically used to not tipping at all because most places in Europe everything is included in the menu price. You do not normally tip in addition.

You may not agree with the concept of automatic gratuity but it exists for a reason. As long as it is enforced uniformly, there shouldn't be cause for complaint. Your argument that it should be left up to chance is ridiculous. For every bad tip there is a good one to make up for it? I don't think so. There are a lot more 10% tippers out there than those tipping 30%. Especially on large parties.

If it's going to be automatically added it is not a tip! In addition it becomes taxable. If it's going to be mandatory included in the price of the meal like what is done in Europe. Don't call it something that it's not.
Here's a definition of the word: "A tip (also called a gratuity) is a voluntary extra payment made to certain service sector workers in addition to the advertised price of the transaction. Such payments and their size are a matter of social custom. Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry. Though by definition a tip is never legally required, and its amount is at the discretion of the patron being served, in some circumstances failing to give an adequate tip when one is expected is a serious faux pas, and may be considered very miserly, a violation of etiquette, or unethical."

It has also been my experience that those who complain about the auto-grat just reinforce it's need. You may not like the way the restaurant industry runs in order to turn a profit, but as pointed out earlier... you wouldn't have nearly the dining choices if certain things were done differently.

I certainly disagree with the first part of your statement. As for available dining choices.....this is only an assumption on your part. Many other places that have higher prices and no tipping still have thriving restaurant industries! Was leery haven't

[Robin Garr]

Europeans are used to tipping 10%.

They're basically used to not tipping at all because most places in Europe everything is included in the menu price. You do not normally tip in addition.

In my experience they'll leave the pocket change, which can be a few Euros given that the smallest paper money is a 5€ bill. I've never run into a 10 percent custom, though, in fairly frequent travels in Italy and France as well as more occasional stops in other parts of the Continent and the UK.

When we had our restaurant in Crete we got to notice general traits in different nationalities. The French, do not tip. In fact, they go as far as to leave the exact change down to the one drachma (this is before euros came in). I remember a party of three French girls in their early twenties, who actually sat and waited for 3 drachmas. I honestly didn't think they would want it. Less than 3 cents.'

The Americans all want seperate bills but tip well. The English split the bill between the number of couples or families and don't tip very well. The Germans come by two hours before they want to eat and put their towels on the seat!. (I wonder how many of you will understand that comment) No, just joking about the Germans and the towels.

As I said these are generalizations and not the norm for every person.

Europeans are used to tipping 10%.

They're basically used to not tipping at all because most places in Europe everything is included in the menu price. You do not normally tip in addition.

You may not agree with the concept of automatic gratuity but it exists for a reason. As long as it is enforced uniformly, there shouldn't be cause for complaint. Your argument that it should be left up to chance is ridiculous. For every bad tip there is a good one to make up for it? I don't think so. There are a lot more 10% tippers out there than those tipping 30%. Especially on large parties.

If it's going to be automatically added it is not a tip! In addition it becomes taxable. If it's going to be mandatory included in the price of the meal like what is done in Europe. Don't call it something that it's not.
Here's a definition of the word: "A tip (also called a gratuity) is a voluntary extra payment made to certain service sector workers in addition to the advertised price of the transaction. Such payments and their size are a matter of social custom. Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry. Though by definition a tip is never legally required, and its amount is at the discretion of the patron being served, in some circumstances failing to give an adequate tip when one is expected is a serious faux pas, and may be considered very miserly, a violation of etiquette, or unethical."

It has also been my experience that those who complain about the auto-grat just reinforce it's need. You may not like the way the restaurant industry runs in order to turn a profit, but as pointed out earlier... you wouldn't have nearly the dining choices if certain things were done differently.

I certainly disagree with the first part of your statement. As for available dining choices.....this is only an assumption on your part. Many other places that have higher prices and no tipping still have thriving restaurant industries! Was leery haven't

There's some nitpicking here.

1) I lived in Europe for 5 years. I know how it's done. Yes, the gratuity is included not actually tipped. But the charge still works out to 10%.

2) You can call it a tip or a service charge or whatever. It's sematics. It's a fee for service. The fact that one is given voluntarily is a moot point unless you're planning on leaving less than is automatically added. Assuming you're not cheap and that bad service would be your motivation for doing so, any restaurant worth it's salt will remove the auto-grat in these situations.

3) Do you really think Louisville would have such a thriving independent dining scene if employers had to pay servers $8 an hour? The only way to compensate would be for them to jack up the menu pricing. That is not an assumption, it's fact.

This is turning into another thread about tipping <sigh>.

When we had our restaurant in Crete we got to notice general traits in different nationalities. The French, do not tip. In fact, they go as far as to leave the exact change down to the one drachma (this is before euros came in). I remember a party of three French girls in their early twenties, who actually sat and waited for 3 drachmas. I honestly didn't think they would want it. Less than 3 cents.'

The Americans all want seperate bills but tip well. The English split the bill between the number of couples or families and don't tip very well. The Germans come by two hours before they want to eat and put their towels on the seat!. (I wonder how many of you will understand that comment) No, just joking about the Germans and the towels.

As I said these are generalizations and not the norm for every person.

What was the norm in Crete? Was a tip expected or was it service complete? The reason that the French didn't tip is because in their country you don't. Of course Americans are used to tipping and I actually forget the tipping customs in England.