How did we arrive at a ‘discretionary’ 15% service charge?

I presume the « discretionary » is a way round what would otherwise be advertising the wrong price.

Much as people used to require £x « donation » for things, most intriguingly for alcohol as a way round having to get a licence.

if i am asked for anything over printed menu price i will not be paying anything at all

I did t realise we had.

I’ve never felt pressured to leave a tip and I can’t recall anywhere suggesting a specific amount of money for a tip.

That being said we don’t get out to eat as much as we used to.

https://archive.ph/6ZRot

So basically the article is saying that the service charge is nothing to do with tips – it’s an integral part of the restaurant costing. Colour me surprised.
No other industry would get away with such dishonest practices.

The other week, I went for lunch and as I ordered at the counter and paid with my card, it asked if I wanted to give a tip. This was before I’d even got my food!

1. card transactions, no tips (I know, in theory you can tip and the owner might get it)

2. covid inflation

How many people take it off? It’s awkward when you get decent service. In Bristol at least I can only remember one place we’ve been to that didn’t add it by default

As a couple we’ve just settled in to going out once a week rather than twice. With friends they often host and we stay in for a takeaway rather than going out for a curry.

British attitudes to higher prices seem to be to cut back a lot and save instead. Saw a few things posted on the Europe sub about uk consumer spending being the worst in the g7. The yanks meanwhile keep spending more and more.

Just to say, having worked at TGI Fridays 11 years ago, I remember very clearly that it’s was *10%* service charge.
Over time you may have noticed it’s become 12.5% and now 15%.

Companies not wanting to pay a fair wage, so asking public to subsidise their awful wages.

This service charge and tips thing really rattles me. The prices are more than high enough anyway but the employers should just pay the staff properly in the first place. It’s corporate greed and the customer is expected to pick up their inadequacies. All this is already included in your food prices without additional tips and charges. I’d rather not go to the places extorting workers in the first place

Surprised about the comments to be honest – I feel like every single place in London does this, and every customer just goes along with it. I myself have never asked to remove it because I just couldn’t see anyone around me requesting it, so I didn’t want to give the impression I disliked the service (no matter how much I’d prefer to keep my money).

Never pay it ask for it to be taken off the bill, it’s not legal
I do it all the time.

I always ask for the tip to be taken off if paying by card – don’t care if they don’t like it but generally it’s on the machine as would you like to tip xxx or xxx

However I generally pay in cash 😂😂

But I always tip the waiter / waitress

I like to think I’m a generous tipper anything from £5 -£20 on a meal for 2 people depending on the level of service the food and the restaurant ambiance

The last meal out was at high quality steak restaurant
the waitress was fab and she actually remembered us from the previous visit at Christmas so over 8 months

or maybe it was the £20 tip I gave her previously but her service was fab , the food was amazing and the restaurants is probably one of the most popular restaurants where I live and well worth the tip

On my last holiday in the canaries if we ages out the meal would normally come say 85 -90 euros so we would pay 100 euros in cash and leave that as a tip.

I tip in cash it’s up the person to tell HMRC/ Tax

Let’s call it out for what it is. It’s greed and designed to make the restaurant/bar/pub more money in the hope you won’t ask for it to be removed. If it truly was discretionary it wouldn’t be on there until you asked for it to be.

I actually don’t mind it when the service is over and above what you’d expect. Couldn’t believe the cheek of the place I went to recently, who had this service charge on the bill, after forgetting multiple things at different stages of our meal, and left us sitting for an age to actually order too.

Also, I’ve noticed it appearing at places like Yo Sushi. How is it justified there when I literally service myself from a conveyor belt?

Remember when chains like Las Iguanas were busted for garnishing their employee’s tips? This is why always tip the staff in cash.

Any charge that is applied by default should have to be included in the displayed price, the Government should amend the law. These charges are nothing more than an attempt to trick consumers into paying more, either hoping that they won’t notice, or hoping they will feel pressured to not remove the charge. Any place that applies a default charge is somewhere I won’t go back to, it’s a fundamental lack of respect to their customers.

perhaps tell the staffperson who seats you that you expect there to be no service charge on your bill and that they may choose how to serve you based on this understanding.

I really don’t mind leaving a tip for decent service. I will pretty much always tip between 10 and 15% on a round up basis unless service was really poor or I have to get things myself. 

Don’t really see a need for restaurants to enshrine this in their billing system. If they need more income, just put the prices up. 

Had dinner the other day at The Giggling Squid – they had added 7.5% discretionary service charge. I thought this was genius as it was below what I expected to tip (service was good), and so would imagine that nearly everyone would leave the SC on the bill. At 15% I’d refuse on principle in the Uk