Gratuity added with the final bill

[heckp]

I want to ask fellow tuggers about this.

I have been involved in long discussion about the gratuity added in the bill. Some argued that you still need to give tip regardless and I am in the group who says I think it is the tip. Of course I said if I want to, I can still give some more.

What are your thoughts?

 

[GadgetRick]

I want to ask fellow tuggers about this.

I have been involved in long discussion about the gratuity added in the bill. Some argued that you still need to give tip regardless and I am in the group who says I think it is the tip. Of course I said if I want to, I can still give some more.

What are your thoughts?

If it is already added, it is customary to NOT pay more UNLESS you feel the service deserved more. They, typically, add 18% to a bill when they add it for you. I, typically, give 20% unless they're horrible but I don't usually add more to a bill which already has it added unless they've done something outstanding.

 

[Icarus]

If the gratuity is added to the bill, that is the tip. But it depends on how much they added, and that varies from country to country, just as tipping customs vary from country to country.

Since you didn't say what the circumstances were and what percentage was added, we can only speculate, right?

If you are in the US, and it was a large party at a full service restaurant, and they added 18%, I would say that's a decent tip. Now, if they added only 15% and you felt you got great service, you might want to add a little more.

I see you are from Ontario, and frankly I haven't been to Canada in decades. I don't recall what the customary gratuity is there for restaurant service.

-David

 

[Zac495]

When they add a gratuity, that's it. sometimes I think- they would have gotten more had they not (frome me) cause I tip 20% rounded up most of the time.

 

[hvacrsteve]

When a gratutity is added on my bill without my consent, that is all they get.
We normally always tip from 20-50% of the bill depending on the amount and how long we have sat there.
I have tipped as much as 100% depending again on the level of service and what the bill was.
The reason why, you may ask, when I come back the next time I want to be remembered and I want even better service.
You would be surprised how quickly you can get a table and great service when you are known as a great tipper.
We frequent a few terrific places and they fight over who gets to wait on us.
That my friends is true service!

 

[Chrisky]

As others have said, if they add the gratuity, that's all they get. Some restaurants indicate on their menu what percentage they will add. If we get excellent service, and the percentage added is not much, we usually will give our waiter/waitress an added cash tip.

 

[Talent312]

IMHO, its somewhat unfair for waitstaff at a lower-priced places to get lower tips than waitstaff a high-priced joints, for exactly the same work and level of service, simply due to the prices on the menu.

From what I've observed, at lower-priced places, waitstaff often works harder than their bretheren at higher priced places, since their workplace is often not as well staffed.

I understand that this is "just the way it is," but I tend to add more to small tips for this reason, often bumping it up to 25-30%, and stick strictly to to 15-18% rule otherwise. Its a small thing, but I think it shows more respect for the actual work performed.

 

[mo1950]

My daughter is a waitress at a rather nice restaurant in our home town. Her restaurant adds an automatic gratuity for tables of 8 or more; can't remember what the percentage is. But she says if a table is not satisfied with service for some reason, the gratuity is removed and the customer can leave the percentage they want, or none.

She says most of her customers are very nice and leave reasonable gratuities, but there are some who do not, even when they are happy with the service and food. For instance, she recently waited on a table of 6, who had a rather large order and required many extra trips for her because they kept remembering extra things they forgot to order originally, and she was happy to do that; that is her job. They were very nice people and told her she might have been the best waitress they had ever had and that they will be sure to ask for her agian when they return. The bill came to approximately $120.00, and when they left, only $1.00 was left on the table as the tip. This is the reason an automatic gratuity is included for large parties.

We do live in an area of a smaller population, and some people here do not even believe in tipping. So it can be rather hard on a person trying to make a living in the restaurant business. My daughter does fairly well, but she has worked up to the level of corporate trainer and does some traveling to help open up new restaurants throughout the southern part of the U.S.

 

[ScoopKona]

The server often doesn't have any say in when the "auto-grat" is turned on by the PosiTouch system. (Which most restaurants use these days.)

Managers often turn it on for any party of eight or more, or when the check goes above a set amount.

In the US, servers generally don't make squat per hour (usually it's less than $2.50), and the IRS deducts money from their paycheck as if they are tipped 15% by every table.

I find this grossly unfair, because there are far too many people who think "10% was good enough in the 1950s, so it's good enough today." And then there are the blowhards who use any excuse to leave nothing.

So I don't begrudge them when I get auto-gratted. I generally tip 25% -- even if the service is bad. We don't know what's going on in the kitchen, or if management put enough people on the floor. If service was very bad, I'll still tip, but I'll leave a note explaining what I thought was deficient.

EDIT -- And I almost never get bad service. Good service is just as much the responsibility of the customer as the server. The golden rule works in restaurants, too. I've found a cheerful disposition is infectious.

 

[Patri]

The bill came to approximately $120.00, and when they left, only $1.00 was left on the table as the tip. This is the reason an automatic gratuity is included for large parties.

Thanks for the explanation. I hope at her restaurant it is automatic for six. I don't like the practice and never add more, but if it protects the waiter I accept that. I don't know why people in a group should think they don't need to leave a tip. Maybe they believe everyone else's would cover their share.

 

[irish]

imo it all depends upon the service you have received..if the service was excellent then i add more.if the service was average i don't add anything else. if the service was below average i ask to speak with the manager and ask the automatic tip be removed before paying the bill.

 

[heckp]

Thanks for all your answers

 

[Phill12]

This probably wouldn't even be happening if so many cheap people didn't stiff the waiters before!:annoyed:

I have few friends that worked as waiters in high priced restaurants years ago and would bust their humps on these people and with a bill of $150.. or more and they would get up and walk out or leave such a small amount the waiters felt like giving it back.

My wife and I went to dinner one night at a great restaurant by the ocean with her parents and the lady ran her butt off for us because this sob (father-in-law) was so demanding. We had a great dinner and service was very good and this sob left a tip of $5.00 for a meal that was more than $200.00 after deserts and drinks.

I had gone out to get the car and when they came out my wife told me what happened. I left them standing there and went back inside and found the manager and explained what happened. He took me into a break room where this young college student waitress was crying over the treatment.

I apologized to her for this idiot and told her she did a great job and should not have been treated like this by anyone! I gave her $60.00 tip and left and had the biggest fight with my father-in-law and dropped them off at home and never returned to do anything with this guy again!

These are the kind of people that have caused these restaurants to add the tip to the bill. Also this makes the amount of money (tips) better for IRS to keep track of instead of all waiters/waitress not showing all of this as taxable income!

PHIL

 

[stevedmatt]

I have given the exact amount of a gratuity included bill only once. And I mean to the penny. The service was horrible and I was out of town. No reason to speak to a manager as I wouldn't be returning under any circumstance.

I tend to tip a minimum of 20%, usually 25-30%, occasionally higher. If I have any problems with service, usually I tell the server. If they seem interested in what I have to say, they still get a good tip. If they shrug me off, here's 15%.

I think I've posted this before, but on a $20 breakfast order, I just can't bring myself to leave $4. My minimum is about $7.

 

[esk444]

This probably wouldn't even be happening if so many cheap people didn't stiff the waiters before!:annoyed:

I have few friends that worked as waiters in high priced restaurants years ago and would bust their humps on these people and with a bill of $150.. or more and they would get up and walk out or leave such a small amount the waiters felt like giving it back.

My wife and I went to dinner one night at a great restaurant by the ocean with her parents and the lady ran her butt off for us because this sob (father-in-law) was so demanding. We had a great dinner and service was very good and this sob left a tip of $5.00 for a meal that was more than $200.00 after deserts and drinks.

I had gone out to get the car and when they came out my wife told me what happened. I left them standing there and went back inside and found the manager and explained what happened. He took me into a break room where this young college student waitress was crying over the treatment.

I apologized to her for this idiot and told her she did a great job and should not have been treated like this by anyone! I gave her $60.00 tip and left and had the biggest fight with my father-in-law and dropped them off at home and never returned to do anything with this guy again!

These are the kind of people that have caused these restaurants to add the tip to the bill. Also this makes the amount of money (tips) better for IRS to keep track of instead of all waiters/waitress not showing all of this as taxable income!

PHIL

Sounds like my dad. He grew up poor and believes if you have exceptional service you deserve a 15% tip. If average service, he would leave 10% or less. Plus, he would only tip $1 per bottle or glass of wine because that is what you tip bartenders.

As an adult, I mostly pay for meals with him, but on occasion he insists on paying. Which of course means I have to come up with the difference and pay the waitstaff the proper tip on the sly. Very annoying.

Anyways, I used to be a waiter in college at an upscale restaurant. My roommate at a bar and grill usually got paid more than I did because they had more table turnover (3 to 4 parties per dinner service compared to 1 to 2 parties) and we had about 4 waitstaff serving each table (1 main table and backup to 3 others) so more people to share the tips.

On top of that, we had way more training (etiquette, knowledge of different kinds of food and cooking methods because we got asked questions all the time (sous-vide?), wine selections and pairings, etc.) and the experienced waitstaff were extremely skilled. They could just look at the meals and know if something was wrong and send it back before the diners ever caught wind (i.e. pasta not al dente, too much egg used in certain sauces). They definitely weren't just plopping things on your table and disappearing. So if they got paid more than the waiters at IHOP, it was well deserved in my opinion.

 

[ScoopKona]

On top of that, we had way more training (etiquette, knowledge of different kinds of food and cooking methods because we got asked questions all the time (sous-vide?), wine selections and pairings, etc.) and the experienced waitstaff were extremely skilled.

We once took a friend to dinner at an fine dining establishment here in Vegas that is very, very "old-school."

The server prepared a three course meal, table side -- Caesar salad, Chateaubriand and Bananas Foster.

We made the mistake of agreeing to my friends suggestion, "Well if you're paying, at least let me tip." He wanted to tip 10 percent! Unacceptable. Suffice to say, I made sure the tip was 30%, and we don't invite him out with us anymore.

It gets worse, I once read a German travel guide to Florida that included a paragraph that basically said, "You can save a lot of money in America by not tipping. They won't like it, but they can't do anything about it."

And Europeans complain about the "ugly American." Sheesh!

 

[Kozman]

When they add a gratuity, that's it. sometimes I think- they would have gotten more had they not (frome me) cause I tip 20% rounded up most of the time.

Most of the time when they add the tip, they add it on the total amount INCLUDING the TAX. So, essentially an 18% tip will equate to a 20% tip.

I for one refuse to include tax when figuring the tip.

 

[Noni]

When I am in charge of the payment, I always check the tab to make sure it is correct. If they have added the gratuity, I usually go with that. When I have a couple of glasses of wine, I tend to overtip. We are in Grand Cayman now and the tip added is usually 15-18%. I usually tip about 20% (or more with the above mentioned beverage). If the tip has been calculated to included the tax amount, I don't quibble. I am just appreciative that they have added the gratuity for my convenience.

 

[Rose Pink]

One of my favorite restaurants prints tip amounts below the bill for convience. It has 15%, 18% and 20% amounts. They don't add it in the bill automatically, but it saves the math-impaired from a headache.

Count me in the group that has to sneak a tip to the waitperson after FIL picks up the tab. I don't get upset with him though. He is old and feeble. He has lived a frugal life and just doesn't "get it" when it comes to tipping--or what people deserve to be paid in general for their services. He is very tight with his money (had to be). I think it causes him physical pain (at the very least mental pain) to part with what took him so long to save. He is a sweet man, however, and not demanding or mean to the waitstaff.

 

[Texasbelle]

We are more inclined to tip a larger percentage at a cheaper restaurant. About wine, it requires no preparation and has a big mark-up. Seems as though the tip on that should be less, unless the wine steward spent a lot of time helping one select a wine. A great way to save money, if that is a problem, is NOT to stiff the waiter. Just don't order anything but water to drink. And no, you should not tip on the tax. If we double the amount of the tax, that is about the correct tip here. The bill should clearly show that the tip has been added also. The only time we left no tip was when our waiter was so hung over his service was terrible.

 

[PigsDad]

It gets worse, I once read a German travel guide to Florida that included a paragraph that basically said, "You can save a lot of money in America by not tipping. They won't like it, but they can't do anything about it."

Very interesting. When we were in South Beach last year, we noticed that most every restaurant would automatically add the tip to the bill, even though there were only three of us. We asked one of the waiters about this, and they responded that most restaurants did this because of the high number of Europeans that visit -- they were always getting stiffed by them.

Kurt

 

[dioxide45]

I basically tip anywhere from 15-18%. More if we hang out at the table for a while or do some type of endless soup and salad where they have to bring it to you (not buffet).

If the IRS taxes them based on 15% of gross sales, then I would consider that pretty much customary. I don't feel it is up to me to provide them with tax free income. I understand that they likely pay tax on the whole amount if it is on a credit card receipt. If tipping in cash however they can easily not claim the amount above 15% on their 1040. I am sure many claim all tip income on their 1040, but I am sure many do not.

If an auto grat is added, I don't usually add anything extra.

 

[ScoopKona]

Very interesting. When we were in South Beach last year, we noticed that most every restaurant would automatically add the tip to the bill, even though there were only three of us. We asked one of the waiters about this, and they responded that most restaurants did this because of the high number of Europeans that visit -- they were always getting stiffed by them.

Kurt

I think some of the problem is a lack of empathy (Not anyone specifically, just "us as a whole.") Has anyone checked out the rent in South Beach? Key West? Aspen? New York? Martha's Vineyard? San Francisco?

We tend to go on US vacations in pricey areas. Servers who live in such places need to pay $1,000 to $3,000 per month in rent -- even with a roommate or two.

On a $100 check, 10-15% isn't even going to cover rent. Even if they do 10 covers per day, that's not going to pay the bills. So the servers can't make it and move elsewhere. Without proper staff, good restaurants go down in flames. Now we're stuck eating at freakin' Applebee's because the decent restaurants can't turn a profit.

I think it's probably a good idea to factor cost of living into the tip percentage. Ten percent might fly in Des Moines, but isn't nearly enough in New York.

 

[happymum]

In the US, servers generally don't make squat per hour (usually it's less than $2.50), .

In Canada minimum wage is close to $10 per hour. Thus our tendency to tip 10-15%.

 

[Phill12]

Some of these post requires way to much thinking! After couple glasses of wine or few drinks I just want to leave decent tip for decent service and food!

Its simple for me if bill has tip added I do not give more because the house has listed the total.

If it is very good service I give 20-30% and less if bad service and I will let waiter know there is room for improvement.

I guess we have been lucky because I can only remember few times of really bad service and these were in smaller restaurants. But we also are very easy going with our waiter/waitress and I think this helps.

PHIL