suggested tip printed on bill?

[SandEagle]

http://consumerist.com/2012/08/chilis-helpfully-suggests-18-tip-on-my-tab.html

Bryan went out for a lovely meal at Chili's, which is not an oxymoron, with his family. When the bill came, he noticed something he hadn't seen before: a "suggested gratuity" and suggested total line below the actual amount due. He and his family found this just a bit obnoxious, since the restaurant's suggested tip is 18% rather than the standard starting point of 15% in this country.

anybody get this yet on their bill? i'd be tempted to leave only 8%. 10% fee for the inconvenience. :\

 

[edro]

It's fine with me. I usually tip 20%, if service is good, so it would actually save me money.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

It's Suggested, and its clearly marked.

Why is this a news article.

 

[artvscommerce]

I don't know anyone that tips under 20%, assuming the service was good. I can't see why anyone would take an issue with some math assistance. Very silly thing to find offensive in my opinion.

 

[SandEagle]

I don't know anyone that tips under 20%, assuming the service was good. I can't see why anyone would take an issue with some math assistance. Very silly thing to find offensive in my opinion.

so if i recalculated at 15% the staff would think im cheap. they'd probably give me poorer service next time around.

 

[CRXican]

It's fine with me. I usually tip 20%, if service is good, so it would actually save me money.

werd

 

[TwiceOver]

It's fine with me. I usually tip 20%, if service is good, so it would actually save me money.

This. Start at 20% and then they earn/lose from that point. If a business has a mandatory gratuity, then that's all they get no matter how good the service is.

Last night ate at an applebees for the first time in years. Server repeatedly forgot items and didn't bring some items that were even asked for twice. He ended up with a 15% tip. Table of 6, poor guy. It's not like the place was busy though.

 

[edro]

Servers make like $2-4/hour before tips and ~$7-8 after tips.
If you can't afford 20%, don't go out to eat.

You aren't sticking it to the restaurant, you are sticking it to the server.

If the server sucks and is rude, give them 1%.

 

[kranky]

The loss due to people using the precalc tip of 18% when they might have tipped 20% is dwarfed by the people who leave an additional 20% because they aren't reading the check closely.

I've been in restaurants where the person footing the bill had to leave early for some reason and would tell the server "Run my card and just add 20% for yourself when you close out the check." If you were the server, would that mean 20% on top of the 18%?

 

[LTC8K6]

It's the TOTAL W/TIP line that bothers me.

The suggested 18% tip line is okay.

Don't automatically add the tip in there. I may want to tip according to the service level, not to the suggestion.

 

[rcpratt]

This. Start at 20% and then they earn/lose from that point. If a business has a mandatory gratuity, then that's all they get no matter how good the service is.

Last night ate at an applebees for the first time in years. Server repeatedly forgot items and didn't bring some items that were even asked for twice. He ended up with a 15% tip. Table of 6, poor guy. It's not like the place was busy though.

You're too nice. That'll earn a nice big 10% from me.

 

[Krazy4Real]

I don't see anything wrong with this. They are not forcing you to pay 18%.

 

[highland145]

Pics of waitress. The best way to tell.

 

[edro]

Pics of waitress. The best way to tell.

:thumbsup:

 

[darkxshade]

Some of the places I've been to gives you the final amount after 15/18/20% on the bill so you can choose for yourself. I tend to tip higher at those places.

 

[BoomerD]

The Chinese restaurant we go to has 15, 18, and 20% "suggestions" printed on the bill.

 

[manimal]

I think we should do what the french used to do. Tip FIRST!


to insure promptness as it were...

 

[SamQuint]

Something looks out of place, says total number of guests is 6 but the bill is 49.21. Most dishes at Chillis are 12-16 bucks and drinks are 2.50 or so for sodas and iced tea so I can't see how the bill is so low for that many people unless they all shared two or three entrees.

My guess is that they have the added gratuity for parties of 5 or more and that the suggested gratuity thing only prints out on checks that have a party greater than 5. So the waiters all put down 6 to force the suggested gratuity to print.

But then again that would backfire on them if they keep track of dollar per customer. I would suspect that they would want them to reach a certain dollar amount per customer.

 

[SamQuint]

Something looks out of place, says total number of guests is 6 but the bill is 49.21. Most dishes at Chillis are 12-16 bucks and drinks are 2.50 or so for sodas and iced tea so I can't see how the bill is so low for that many people unless they all shared two or three entrees.

My guess is that they have the added gratuity for parties of 5 or more and that the suggested gratuity thing only prints out on checks that have a party greater than 5. So the waiters all put down 6 to force the suggested gratuity to print.

But then again that would backfire on them if they keep track of dollar per customer. I would suspect that they would want them to reach a certain dollar amount per customer.

EDIT nevermind, read the linked article and it said the guy went with the family so he had kids. So the kid dishes could be cheap or they just shared their food with their kids.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Generally I tip 2x the tax in CA, where I live, depending on the service. I think that comes up to ~17%.

My wife had a horrible experience in some 5* restaurant in Capitola a few years back. Her and about 6 other friends (all girls) had horrible service and decided not to pay anything over the actual bill. An argument ensued between the friends, the manager and the waitress over tipping and my wife and her friends just got up and left, leaving cash for the bill (the change left as "tip"). The waitress ended up chasing them down the street and they told her to basically F off.

One of the girls is married to a sheriff so she asked him about it. As far as he knows, the tip is optional, even if it states there is a gratuity fee for x amt of people. I'm not sure who's right in this situation though. It's my expectation that if there is going to be a gratuity fee applied, I better get damned good service. If the service is shite, then I'm walking regardless of gratuity fee.

 

[Ben90]

Servers make like $2-4/hour before tips and ~$7-8 after tips.
If you can't afford 20%, don't go out to eat.

You aren't sticking it to the restaurant, you are sticking it to the server.

If the server sucks and is rude, give them 1%.

Don't they still legally have to be paid minimum wage if their tips don't make up the difference?

I tip, but I still think its bullshit. They should just include everything in the price and pay their employees accordingly.

 

[highland145]

Don't they still legally have to be paid minimum wage if their tips don't make up the difference?

Yes.

 

[Ben90]

So why don't they get a real job instead of bitching about no tip? They are going to be making nearly minimum wage anyways.

 

[kranky]

Please don't let this thread degenerate into a general tipping thread. Stick to the topic.

 

[Sinsear]

I don't know anyone that tips under 20%, assuming the service was good. I can't see why anyone would take an issue with some math assistance. Very silly thing to find offensive in my opinion.

You need to hang around here more. Plenty of cheap fucks here. And they are proud of i too.