NYC Restaurants Caught Sneaking A Tip On To Your Bill
Sneaky! The New York Post caught several restaurants in NYC sneaking a gratuity on to the bills of unsuspecting customers. Tsk, tsk. That's not allowed.
The NYP says that consumer laws prevent tables of less than 8 people from being automatically charged a tip — and no one can be charged a tip without a warning on the menu. That's not stopping some restaurants, however.
From the NYP:
Rebecca Christian, a resourcing manager from Manchester, England, who visited the swanky River Café in Brooklyn over the holidays with her boyfriend, said she was hit with an unannounced 15 percent gratuity on a $400 check.
In fact, the menu said, "Gratuity and sales tax not included."
Despite being "absolutely shocked," she said, she paid the bill because she thought it was an American custom.
The eatery denies adding on secret gratuities.
The paper offers several more anecdotes and says that the city Department of Consumer Affairs can issue a violation if a restaurant is caught sneaking a tip on to your bill. The fine is between $50-$500 per instance.
SNEAKY FOUL TIPS [NYP via Gothamist]
(Photo:The GirlsNY)
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Comments:
Could somebody please explain why restaurants add a tip for parties over 8? Is it because they think the the servers will be short-changed by a bunch of cheapos dining in large groups?
I haven't seen it when my family of 3 (plus baby) have dined out, but when my husband's family was in town, I saw it for our group of 7. I recalled that most restaurants would add the gratuity on parties of 8 or more. I'm now seeing it listed for parties of 6 or more.
I want to know what asinine headline the Post made up for this one..
"Skipped Tips Cause Restaurant Quips"?
I'm too lazy to think of one that makes sense.
I almost always tip higher than that anyway. But once someone has decided how much I should tip, they start losing money from me.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Americans are automatically tipping their way across European restaurants, depsite lax and mediocre service.
seriously--i feel for the server in that scenario. even though europeans KNOW they're supposed to tip, they just don't.
Well, just to make a point...the next time I'm in NYC...I'll starve myself.
I had dinner at the Olive Garden in Chelsea last week and was charged an automatic 15% gratuity (printed on the receipt as such) for two of us. The menu stated only that parties of 8 or more would be charged.
Or, perhaps that was just the penalty for thinking it was a good idea to have dinner at the Olive Garden.
Disclaimer: I'm not agreeing with restaurants that automatically charge for tips. BUT...
If you can afford to pay $400 for one meal, then is 15 percent on top of that for the service really going to bankrupt you? It's impossible for me to feel bad for the person in the example.
I don't think the article is meant to say you shouldn't tip.. I think it's trying to point out that people are double-tipping (once printed on the bill, and once leaving cash on the table because they don't read their bill)
I don't have a problem with them doing it for large parties (because my coworkers are mean and cheap..) but it needs to be announced..
@Ben Miner: It's because a server getting shorted on a party of 8 gets REALLY screwed tax wise due to the necessary size of the bill.
I am a bit torn on this. On the one hand adding 60 dollars to a bill that is at worst illegal and at best a bit sleazy is worng, but then the poor wait person that serves that table gets taxed on the 400 dollar sale regardless of if the customers tipped or not.
Frankly I am inclined to come down on the side of the severs here but I understand that it is not legal to do.
@winstonthorne: It's pretty sad that restaurants are required to do this because of dishonest cheapskates who dine and dash.
@lincolnplacelovesyou: Agreed. The restaurant should put a notice on the menu, but what did the customer expect? To not leave a tip on a $400 meal? It's only $60 and if you're spending $400 on a meal, $60 shouldn't be a big deal.
@Ben Miner: I think there could be quite a few reasons for doing this and I'm not sure there's a generally accepted answer that all restaurants would agree on. I've heard that it's a guaranteed way to ensure a tip (and a tip of a certain amount) is left, that it's a way to simplify things, etc. I once spoke to a waiter friend who said that people in large groups tend to tip lower because they don't feel as personally responsible and feel more anonymous, especially when the people in the group aren't related.
I personally have wondered why places will charge for delivery, especially when the driver usually gets none of that money and still relies on tips.
@dragonfire81: That's not what he meant, he means that waiters have to claim taxes on all credit card tables. The restaurant is given a minimum to withhold, from what little the waiter is already being paid, to be taxed automatically. If you don't tip on a credit card, that waiter just lost money waiting on you.
Perhaps I'm just cheap, or more likely I have a habit of getting worked up on principle, but if I went out for dinner with another person and upon receiving the bill found that they had automatically added the tip despite the legal prohibition on doing so I would probably first call over the manager and ask that it be removed and if denied just leave half of what was suggested (or less) simply because.
@Ben Miner: yes. But also because in many cases people dining in large groups will go "dutch" -- either everybody pitching in cash (which may not actually cover their consumption plus a decent tip), or the server has to process four or five different credit cards (where people leave their own idea of a tip, which can vary considerably).
Getting stiffed on a table of 10 is a lot more exposure for a waiter than getting stiffed on a two-top.
What if they tipped cash? Duh. What if they paid their share of a $400 meal, which could've been $60, and then got hit with $60 for a tip? That's 100%!
Too many variables to act like we know what is "right". What isn't right is credit card fraud.
Also, this person is from a country where tipping is not customary.
@Ben Miner: If you read my post above, you can understand the automatic gratuity, because a thousand dollar table on a card, would be a significant loss for the waiter if they choose not to tip.
On top of that, a party of eight is usually in for the long haul, and is often more demanding of a waiter's attention. It can sometimes be the only table a staffer will get all night, if they sit for 4 hours or so.
PopBurger (off of 5th Ave) added a $13 tip to my $7 order - Before disputing the charge I spoke with the manager who tried to tell me it was just their standard 20% pre-authorized charge and would not post. Well, it had posted and of course $13 is WAY more than 20% of $7. Obviously, amex reversed the disputed amount without a problem.
Or at the very least when required to leave a tip in contravention of the law regarding automatic tips use these:
[en.wikipedia.org]
Was that a "Seriously, The Olive Garden Does that?" Or a "Seriously, you ate at The Olive Garden?"
Its simple. Typically speaking, servers rely on their tips to off balance their shoddy hourly wages, these are generally far less than minimum wage. So, say a server spends the majority of their shift working on a large group of 8-15 people and they decide to be cheap and either leave a miserable or less than "standard" tip, then the poor server gets "screwed". In some instances, its warranted, but i think that its safe to say its not.
@ScottRose: It's at the bottom of the Consumerist post: SNEAKY FOUL TIPS. I assume that's a (bad) pun on a baseball term.
They stole an idea from Apple Computers, and now add on a "BIG Apple Tax"?
@semanticantics: To add to your last point:
Despite being "absolutely shocked," she said, she paid the bill because she thought it was an American custom.It is an American custom, you silly bird. Actually, in NYC, at least, a 20% tip is considered the baseline.
depending on the restaurant, the server has to tip out on the total cost of the meal as well, regardless of the size of the tip. adding 15% gratuity automatically guarantees that the server doesn't LOSE money on the table, which happens if the size of the tip (or the lack of a tip entirely) doesn't cover the size of the tax/tip out. is it illegal to add the gratuity in this situation? most likely. can you blame the server for doing it (especially if it's become clear that they're not going to be tipped for providing their service)? that's up to you.
@henwy:
Where are these restaurants? At any restaurant that I've worked at we've always been required, at a minimum, to put a big circle around any added grat. I usually verbally notify the host that I am required to add a minimum grat to any table over 7 people and that any extra is not necessary but appreciated. Our grat is 18%, should be 20% honestly. I can't imagine not notifying someone in SOME way. Making your customers feel like you're trying to pull something over on them is a good way to make sure they don't come back.
The restaurant industry is tremendously competitive right now, and very few places can afford to loose any customers.
@Ash78: Actually, i have noticed that European restaurants are a little more customer oriented. On top of that, at least in Germany, when you sit down you basically own that table for the night. They don't rush you out as quickly as Amerian restaurants. The only servers I was unimpressed with were the French, very snooty towards Amricans. Other than that, European dining was more relaxed, and the wait-staff was more pleasant.
@Argy: The point isn't they weren't able to pay, the point of the post is that it is illegal to add a gratuity to a bill unless noted beforehand. No where in the article does it say they couldn't afford the tip.
@oneswellfoop: "should be 20%", yeah, forget actually earning the tip or, god forbid, being paid by the restaurants. Tips, especially automatic gratuity, are the biggest scam ever levied against the eat-out public. And the fact that servers hold tips over your head makes you feel compelled to give money even when they do nothing to earn it.
@lincolnplacelovesyou: Ok, European tipping isn't as big huge deal or custom as it is here. Having traveled Europe some, and spent a few years there, tips aren't automatic or as expected. It's still a courtesy we often stuck with, but on a few occasions i was told by German friends not to leave as large tip as I was going to.
The information is usually posted somewhere, either as a small placard in the front of the house or on the menu. It's not uncommon to see it nowadays and it's no longer just something that pops up for groups of 7 or more.
My parents ran at least one restaurant ever since I was 10 (22 years total) and only just sold the last one this past year. We also had the whole 15% added gratuity for parties of (I think) 6 or more. There were plenty of times that despite the signs and the fact that it was itemized on the bill, people would double tip. We were never sure whether it was intentional or not but it always made wait staff happy.
@Ben Miner: Yeah, kinda of. Usually if a large table comes in then a waiter has to spend more time on that table and may get skipped in rotation. It doesn't matter to me because I have worked as a waiter before I usually leave a tip above 20%.
Although not necessarily related to NYC, some places can actually pay a waiter less than the min. wage based on the fact/idea they will be tipped. Although if a waiters tips come up short, then the store has to make up for it. However, demanding that someone pay for service without prior notification is sleazy, and this borders on extortion. Would she have gotten away without paying the gratuity? This is going to be a lasting impression of a foreign visitors view on America and Americans. Sad.
@Shaftoe:
Servers getting taxed on the sale is only a problem because people underreport tips. If people honestly reported tip income, this would not be a problem
@sebadoh128: TBH, it was a "Seriously, you ate at the Olive Garden?" But who am I to judge? They're like family, right?
I use a simple equasion here: Add any gratuity to my bill, then my gratuity will be ZERO.
@Shaftoe: Huh? Why should the server pay taxes on a meal? Am I reading this wrong? Everywhere I go, taxes are rolled into the bill...
If you mean taxed as in the amount of energy it takes to wait on a table with a 400 dollar check, well that's part of the job.
I myself can't imagine a 400 check, unless I'm feeding like 20 people.
@Argy: If you can afford to pay $400 for one meal, then is 15 percent on top of that for the service really going to bankrupt you? It's impossible for me to feel bad for the person in the example.
So, me at my barely minimum wage job save up for several months so that I take my mom somewhere real nice for her 70th birthday, can afford it?
Bullshit.
@ojzitro:
This begs to ask the question, What is the best way to tip. I try to always leave my tip in Cash, even if paying with credit card. Would it be better to put the entire tip on the card so that the restaurant will deduct the correct taxes?
I've seen a lot of restaurants that now just add 15-20% automatically for the tip. there's usually a sign somewhere that notes it's being done though.