Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Service charge not passed on to staff
A young friend waits tables in a central London restaurant for a basic wage of £8 per hour. She receives only a tiny proportion of the 12.5% service charge that is automatically added to the bill - she has calculated it to be about a tenth of the total taken by the restaurant. Even if a customer presses cash into her hand personally, she is not allowed to keep it, but must hand it over to management.
Apparently this is completely widespread practice and not illegal - yesterday I asked a waiter in a small restaurant on Holloway road if he would get any of the added service charge and he said no, even if we left it in cash rather than add it on to the credit card bill.
While it is perhaps fair that some of the service charge is shared with kitchen and bar staff, who don't interact with customers and don't receive tips, this money is going straight into the pockets of the restaurant owners.
As a customer, I always assumed that the service charge was for the staff, to top up their poor wages and thank them for good service: I'm sure most people do. It seems a complete scandal that in fact it's just a way for the restaurant to charge more money, while continuing to pay terrible wages.
Tags for Forum Posts: service charge, tips
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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It’s a way to get away with paying people rubbish wages. I don’t tip my doctor, the nurse at the hospital or the checkout person at the supermarket but those I am expected to tip all share the same problem, they’re not paid for what they actually do.
Having said that we are where we are so I suppose the only way to make sure your tip is actually going to the people who have earned it is to ask.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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My dad used to take a case of champagne to his GP surgery at Christmas. He was in there at least once a month for about 40 years though - they managed to keep him healthy for that long after his first cancer.
Back to restaurant tipping though, in NZ you get really personal service. People are just nice to each other, I would say it's more a "hospitality" culture than a "service" culture. It's a guest and host relationship as if you are visiting someone's home.
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Permalink Reply by sally mustoe on
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I'm sure there are lots of restaurants where tips are unfairly kept from the staff but it is worth pointing out that there are also many where the waiting staff are allowed to keep them. I've eaten out frequently over the years and my third husband owned restaurants so I have considerable experience. The French,as you know, have the 'tronc' which is the shared pool of tips, most restaurants here charge 12 and 1/2% with some as little as 10 but I still prefer to make my own decision -choosing to offer between 10 and 15 according to helpful but not hovering service...................................hope all enjoy their food this holiday!
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Like the word ‘menu’, the word ‘tronc’ is French, but both things are widely used across the world. As I’ve pointed out above, however, the implementation of a tronc system is far from always being fair and transparent.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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What do people do about taxis ?
I have always tipped but I don't see why really.
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