Living wage fee of 18% added to each dine-in check

[Por_sha911]

Below the total was a disclaimer from the unnamed restaurant saying, "Living wage fee of 18% added to each dine-in check. This fee goes directly to staff payroll and provides a living wage to our team."

The notice also said that any tips given would be pooled and distributed among the "entire team."

Others noted the fee must be made clear before customers sit down to eat — which the restaurant did, according to another comment on the original Threads post. It read: "100% of living wage fees are used for payroll. Rather than just increasing prices to pay staff more, this increase is guaranteed to go fully toward the staff and provides a wage to all employees that they can rely on for a steady income."

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/restaurant-stirs-up-controversy-extra-surcharge-business-owner-should-embarrassed

Read the article - there are servers against this. A good server doesn't want to share their tips with the rest of the staff who don't put in the effort to give good service.

"guaranteed to go fully toward the staff" may include managers and the owners daughter who spends the entire shift in the back drinking diet coke and chatting on her phone.

If the notice is buried with small type in some obscure spot I would have strongly requested the charge to be removed from the bill. If the management refused I would have considered not tipping, leaving the server a note why, and (regardless of the outcome) never gone back there again.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/restaurant-stirs-up-controversy-extra-surcharge-business-owner-should-embarrassed

Read the article - there are servers against this. A good server doesn't want to share their tips with the rest of the staff who don't put in the effort to give good service.

If the notice is buried with small type in some obscure spot I would have strongly requested the charge to be removed from the bill. If the management refused I would have considered not tipping, leaving the server a note why, and never gone back there again.

Wait, this is an added charge. IOW forcing the patron to leave an 18% tip? How can that be legal?

[wdfifteen]

Sounds like they’re raising prices and specifying where the increase in price will go. I don’t see a problem as long as they don’t expect you to leave a tip too.
These days you are being expected to tip for everything. It’s out of control.
I hate tipping except in very nice restaurants.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Wait, this is an added charge. IOW forcing the patron to leave an 18% tip? How can that be legal?

Same reason businesses can charge more if you use a credit card. The notice just have to be in a prominent place before you are obligated.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Sounds like they’re raising prices and specifying where the increase in price will go. I don’t see a problem as long as they don’t expect you to leave a tip too.

As I stated, what about when the cashier, the manager, and the person busing the tables are getting a portion of that 18%?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

We went to a new pho restaurant the other day, 18% was on the bill. We assumed that was the tip and so we didn’t tip.

Great reviews which must have been from friends or fake because the pho was not that great and even had too much cinnamon. Won’t be going back.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

We went to a new pho restaurant the other day, 18% was on the bill. We assumed that was the tip and so we didn’t tip.

Any server that is half way decent would be taking a pay cut if they got 18% instead of what I would usually give.

[Rick Lee]

An 18% surcharge would definitely short change the server, since I never tip less than 25%, but would tip nothing if I were hit with that surcharge. And I'd not go back either. They will learn this one the hard way.

[Dixie]

I tip 20% unless something's amiss. In this case, something's amiss. I wouldn't eat there. Raise your prices if you must, but it's the employer's responsibility to pay their employees, not mine. I only expect clearly stated up-front pricing.

[Alan A]

I’d nope right out of that if I saw it.
But we have options - I can drive 5 minutes and find 20 restaurants.
Rural KY - not so much…

[juanbenae]

Not to get this all PARFie, but I wonder if it is a way to track tips of server income accurately for tax purposes? I know of a number of bar tenders and servers that at close would throw a few bucks at cooking and bussing/dish washing staff to keep them enthused.

Had not considered this previously when tips started getting taxed... If one is paying taxes on they tips they might not be so generous with other, lesser staff.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Any server that is half way decent would be taking a pay cut if they got 18% instead of what I would usually give.

Same here. But I think many people are cheap bastids.

I've been out to dinner with folks who insisted on paying and tipped for crap. One time it was so bad that I had to make an excuse to go back in to give the server an additional tip. Then we never went out with those folks ever again.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

Not to get this all PARFie, but I wonder if it is a way to track tips of server income accurately for tax purposes? I know of a number of bar tenders and servers that at close would throw a few bucks at cooking and bussing/dish washing staff to keep them enthused.

Had not considered this previously when tips started getting taxed... If one is paying taxes on they tips they might not be so generous with other, lesser staff.

I doubt it. If that's what was going on it would be govt mandated and everyone would be doing it.

I do think there are 2 goals. I think it is a way for the restaurant to pay the servers/employees more without driving the customers away with much higher prices and also a way to somehow get out of other additional costs associated with being an employer. I don't know the employer side of things, but I suspect there's a difference in cost for an employer that pays an employee 50k vs paying an employee 35k + 15k of redistributed fees. Hell, the restaurant may even call it "tips" at the end of the year when they tell the IRS.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by masraum

I doubt it. If that's what was going on it would be govt mandated and everyone would be doing it.

I do think there are 2 goals. I think it is a way for the restaurant to pay the servers/employees more without driving the customers away with much higher prices and also a way to somehow get out of other additional costs associated with being an employer. I don't know the employer side of things, but I suspect there's a difference in cost for an employer that pays an employee 50k vs paying an employee 35k + 15k of redistributed fees. Hell, the restaurant may even call it "tips" at the end of the year when they tell the IRS.

Wonder if the joint was a corporate chain or a brick and mortar ma & pop?

[Baz]

Originally Posted by masraum

Same here. But I think many people are cheap bastids.

I've been out to dinner with folks who insisted on paying and tipped for crap. One time it was so bad that I had to make an excuse to go back in to give the server an additional tip. Then we never went out with those folks ever again.

I was with a friend once - I mean we go back to the 70's - met in college. He ended up moving here for quite a few years before moving out west. Anyhoo, when he was in town we'd always eat at a local Mexican place.

The last time I left $20 for the waitress. The total bill for both of us was only around $25.

You should have seen his reaction. You'd think I signed over the deed to my house!

I never gave it a second thought because I very rarely ever eat out. So a healthy tip when the service & food was good I think it how it's done, right? Who cares about percentages. Just give from the heart and $20 is nothing nowadays! And this was about 3 years ago.

BTW, we both had the Carnitos soft tacos. 3 for ~$10. Always very good at this place.

[Gogar]

I ate at a place the other day with a 20% service charge and a 4% BOH surcharge.

Right underneath there was a sentence about how no tip above and beyond this fee was encouraged or expected.

It's just virtue signaling from the restaurant.

I do love "all in pricing" especially here in the states where the tip culture is kinda out of hand, but I don't need the rundown from the business.

[Gogar]

At Denver Union station some of the fancier restaurants charge 20% service fee and then the city charges a 5% "Union Station Revitalization surcharge" on top. Before tax.

Denver's genius mayor noticed that less people were dining downtown and for a moment was floating an additional city-imposed 20% surcharge on every restaurant tab to 'help the struggling restaurant business downtown.'

If you ask me I think it's all the stabbings and crime but maybe buying a $20 cheeseburger for $29 at the train station will straighten me out

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Baz

I was with a friend once - I mean we go back to the 70's - met in college. He ended up moving here for quite a few years before moving out west. Anyhoo, when he was in town we'd always eat at a local Mexican place.

The last time I left $20 for the waitress. The total bill for both of us was only around $25.

You should have seen his reaction. You'd think I signed over the deed to my house!

I never gave it a second thought because I very rarely ever eat out. So a healthy tip when the service & food was good I think it how it's done, right? Who cares about percentages. Just give from the heart and $20 is nothing nowadays! And this was about 3 years ago.

BTW, we both had the Carnitos soft tacos. 3 for ~$10. Always very good at this place.

Exactly. 15 years ago, I worked a job where our group frequently went to lunch as a group. I've been at places where one of the guys would get something that was $8-10, and they'd leave a tip of $1.20 - $1.50 (I'm pretty sure I remember one time where the bill was $6 and the tip was 90¢). I'd give them crap for it. My reasoning is that I wouldn't want on me hand and foot for an hour for $1.50.

[thingmon]

Theyre just copying the tire shop model.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Gogar

At Denver Union station some of the fancier restaurants charge 20% service fee and then the city charges a 5% "Union Station Revitalization surcharge" on top. Before tax.

Denver's genius mayor noticed that less people were dining downtown and for a moment was floating an additional city-imposed 20% surcharge on every restaurant tab to 'help the struggling restaurant business downtown.'

If you ask me I think it's all the stabbings and crime but maybe buying a $20 cheeseburger for $29 at the train station will straighten me out

I don't know what sort of action you guys have downtown. The Houston downtown suffered during Covid (moreso than the 'burbs since no one was going to work downtown), but since covid, I think there is still a lot fewer folks downtown working so downtown continues to suffer. Lots of places closed down and haven't ever been replaced. Does Denver have any sort of tourist draw or do folks that live nearby have any reason (other than work) to go downtown?