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Tipping on top of pre-added service charges (e.g. larger parties, etc)

post #1 of 27
3/9/09 at 2:50am
Thread Starter 
Say you're paying for a dinner party...parties over 6 or 8 have an auto-tip figured in. If service was good, what is a reasonable tip on top of this? This happened the other night, bill was about $550 with tax and tip (which was pre-added) and I threw in another $50, so about 10% on top of the 18% added automatically. Just wondering if people in the service industry have feedback on this scenario. If this was about average/above/below the standard tips.
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post #2 of 27
3/9/09 at 2:58am
$550 each? Talk about reasonable...
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post #3 of 27
3/9/09 at 2:59am
I'm not in the industry, but I'm a frequent customer and have a lot of friends in the industry. I'm a very good tipper. I only over-tip at places where I am a regular, but I rarely tip less than 20% unless the service was poor. If the service was poor enough to merit less than 15% , I will give it directly to a manager and explain why I was not giving my usual gratuity. That said, if I am given a pre-determined 18%, I rarely add anything unless the server went WAY out of the way. In a more expensive restaurant, that hurts the server twice.. once because I probably would have tipped on the full total, rather than the before-tax amount, and second because I would have done 20%. But if they don't trust me to do so... I give them what they asked for. Perhaps I'm a jerk. Last night, 12% had been added and was pointed out once by the server and once on the bill. Since I consider that too low for the service I received, I added. But any assumption of >15% and I will not add.
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post #4 of 27
3/9/09 at 9:48am
I usually won't add to the tip unless the server went out of his or her way to provide extraordinary service.
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post #5 of 27
3/9/09 at 11:47am
I find it rude of an establishment to include a pre-added service charge (even though I generally tip 20% on my own). Therefore, I definitely do not add anything to an 18% predetermined charge.

Oh, and obviously if you ask someone in the service industry what is appropriate, they will respond that you should tip more, not less.
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post #6 of 27
3/9/09 at 12:15pm
I have, on one occasion, actually reduced a pre-determined 18% to 10%. Again, it involved a conversation with the manager as just leaving less money would make me look like an a-hole. The situation was a brunch BUFFET where they added 18% off the bat. First, I generally won't tip more than 10-15% on a buffet. I'm doing half the work. The other half of the work... the server had major issues doing. She spilled multiple drinks, tables were not bussed quickly, drinks were left empty for long periods of time. Here's a question... how do you tip at the places where you cook your own steak?
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post #7 of 27
3/9/09 at 1:06pm
When they choose the tip amount, they get to be satisfied with their choice. I don't tip for bills with pre-added gratuity or service charges.

How about places with delivery charges? Do you tip the drivers still?
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post #8 of 27
3/9/09 at 1:44pm
I usually do tip delivery drivers.... 2-3 dollars extra regardless of price.
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post #9 of 27
3/9/09 at 2:14pm
Why would you reward the establishment for instituting a mandatory tip? I never add extra.
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post #10 of 27
3/9/09 at 2:19pm
I went out a couple of weeks ago for dinner with some friends. There was 6 of us total. When we sat down it took 20 minutes for our server to arrive, and when she did she expected us to place our order but never asked if we would like drinks. When we ordered our drinks it took about 15 minutes to get them and our food arrived only a couple minutes later. The food was decent, but the service was very bad. I think we saw our server twice.

The best part of the meal was when the check arrived and the tacked on a 20% gratuity for awful service. Some fucking nerve.
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post #11 of 27
3/9/09 at 2:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarmac View Post
Why would you reward the establishment for instituting a mandatory tip? I never add extra.

Its pretty common for most restaurants to do so since in larger parties, people cheap up on the tips. The server was very helpful and friendly though and I felt bad leaving that tip field blank, so I threw some extra tip on there.
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post #12 of 27
3/9/09 at 3:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milhouse View Post
When they choose the tip amount, they get to be satisfied with their choice. I don't tip for bills with pre-added gratuity or service charges.

How about places with delivery charges? Do you tip the drivers still?

I have driven for several pizza places that had delivery charges. The charge goes to the store, not the driver, so the accepted practice is to tip normally.
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post #13 of 27
3/9/09 at 3:23pm
I usually stop buying from places that have delivery charges that don't go to the driver. I have asked on several occasions "does the delivery charge count as the driver's tip" and when they say "no", I've cancelled my order. It irritates me.
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post #14 of 27
3/9/09 at 3:24pm
The concept of pre-added service charge is nothing new. They have been doing it in Europe for a while. When I'm in Paris or Rome, I have to remind myself that yes, the tip is already included in the bill. My friends have to remind me all the time, you don't need to tip because it's already included.
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post #15 of 27
3/9/09 at 3:52pm
Just to clarify, I have absolutely no problem with a mandatory 18% tip for big groups. It's usually almost exactly what I tip anyway (I live in CA, I do 2x sales tax and round up). I just will never add on top of 18%. I don't see the need.
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