Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Banc restaurant
I'm a great fan of The Banc, a terrific local resource & used by people from right across the community. But I was horrified the other day to hear that the 12.5% service charge they add to the bill doesn't all go to the staff. It seems staff get a proportion based only on the hours they work, and the rest goes towards running costs. Sorry, Banc, but that's not honest, & I'm not sure it's legal.
Tags for Forum Posts: service charge, tips
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Keats Pereira on
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Minimum wage" living wage for all. London £10 an hour. It wouldn't be a problem for employers if business rates wernt so high. My mate b has a shop in crouch end (of special interest) 30 years shes been there but now the business rates have finally forced her to down size the shop.
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Permalink Reply by Carol Tennant on
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I found this article with helpful info, including this:
‘The BHA (British Hospitality Association) is all about disclosure. It says: “Restaurants should disclose to customers how they deal with discretionary service charge and non-cash tips, at least by a written note available for inspection at each restaurant.” It says this disclosure should cover how much the employer takes for handling costs (if any), and their broad process for distribution.’
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I don't trust restaurants to give the whole service charge to their staff. I always ask service charge to be taken off the bill and explain to the staff that I'll give the tip separately in cash. The general response to this request is a big smile!
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This is not uncommon in the restaurant game.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Well, as it my money they’re taking, I think I’ll keep my nose in thanks.
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As the government had a consultation in 2008 which overwhelming supported making tipping and service change practices fairer and still hasn’t introduced changes it seems it’s down to us to make a fuss
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Why do you tip? I do it to reward the quality of the food I receive and the service. I don’t do it because I think the owner is marvellous. I suspect most people do the same. I’d like my money to go to the people I want it to go to. That’s fairness.
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I know the staff didn’t like it when this service charge was introduced, it’s not cost effective for them by way of receiving the tips, There is no consistency - for some ‘special’ customers the service charge is removed.
I know the large majority of the staff are paid cash in hand to avoid being officially on the books, which also means they do not receive employee benefits, like you would expect, like sick pay, holiday entitlement, maternity leave, etc. Not all of the cash profits are declared and hence staff get paid in cash.
What I have stated is widely discussed amongst the staff and is more than enough to accuse this restaurant of being dishonest and breaking the law. Unfortunately what I have stated is also common practise with many other restaurants in London.
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Permalink Reply by The Banc Restaurant on
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Dear Ruth and fellow residents.
Firstly apologies for the late reply, I have just been made aware of this discussion and could not reset my logins for a few days. Thank you very much for your kind words as I am aware you are a local and a big supporter.
Service charge does indeed get shared to all areas of the business. This includes chefs, kitchen porters, house keeper (washing and ironing of clothes and chefs uniforms) and all waiting staff.
Service charge is indeed discretional and at the customers wish. Cash tips do off course go to waiting staff, but I'd like to shed some light on this very peculiar topic, as there seems to always be a grey area. If there were no service charge, or all service charge was removed to accommodate waiting staff, what would then be of the chefs who prepared your meal, the bartenders who made your drink and the kitchen porters that have cleaned the kitchen, washed and polished the plates and prepped the food you (the consumer) to eat?
We are extremely ethical and considerate of our staff, hence why we have kept many of our staff for 3 + years and they are extremely happy, as we are very competitive with the expectations of living in London.
Many times service charge is removed as we serve at times a clientele that does not believe in service charge thus have it removed. Our system guarantees our staff always obtain service charge whether or not the business has physically made that amount. We have introduced Security and a Car Park Facility (which is free) and that is part of SERVICE, a service that all customers benefit from hence why it is evenly distributed to all teams across the business and not to owners.
Myself (Fabio) and Jan, are ethical and conscious that high levels of service must be rewarded and have a duty to our staff, which we are obliged and happy to uphold.
I hope I have shed some light and hopefully answered any questions that were somewhat of a concern to you all and I am more that happy to speak in more depth. My email is Fabio@thebanc.co.uk
Best Wishes
Fabio
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