Gratuity charge on a party of 2 @ 18%.?

Question

I went to a restaurant and I only paid the amount before gratuity. Was I wrong and did the restaurant charge illegal % on a party of 2? or should there have even been a gratuity charge???????

Answer 1

Some higher end restaurants, I have experienced, have reserved the right to keep an 18% gratuity on any party size, even though most of the places I've worked at usually require 6 persons or more for a gratuity charge to be assigned to a table. The only requirement is that the charge be assigned to the table before the customer receives the bill.

Because of people like you, servers at those restaurants will usually assign the gratuity charge every time for every party size. I did.

Really though, the bottom line is that the server/restaurant in question saved you from inadverdently being a selfish jerk. Sometimes, in life, we have to drag babies, kicking and screaming, to the places that will be better for them.

Answer 2

They might have had in fine print that they charge. Also, it could have been a mistake. Maybe they meant to add it to another check. I would have brought it to the servers attention. That would have been best.  

Answer 3

If it was displayed that gratuity is automatically added then you were wrong. If you didn't like that rule, you should have walked out the door once you saw it.

For you not to tip at all was insanely harsh! I hope you get to wait tables one day so you see how it feels to be stiffed on a tip.

Answer 4

That is very strange and very suspect.  I noticed your avatar is that of a person of color.  I don't want to say that it WAS racism, but you might want to ask someone else who went there before if they noticed the same thing.  It is illegal if they charge discriminately.  It's a pretty drastic claim, but that is not normal for a party of 2.  Now at a restaurant I worked at I saw a 16 year old hostess cry because some dude chewed her out and called her racist because she sat them farther from the other tables and she was sitting people in the rotation by server's area, so I would be careful about getting proof, but yeah.  It's fishy as h**l.  

Answer 5

Any restaurant can make up any rule about gratuity that they want, within reason.  Usually that is a party of 8 or more.  18% is pretty typical.  I think that customers should be made aware via a note on the menu and receipt and credit card slip before they make the error of adding yet another gratuity especially for a small party of 2.  I think it seems silly to have it tacked on for a party of 2, but I think you were in the wrong if you left no tip at all.  Servers and bussers work very hard and only make $2/hour in most places.  They rely on tips for their livelihood.

Answer 6

Many restaurants now automatically charge a gratuity to every customer. Eighteen percent is a fair charge. The federal minimal wage for servers is (and has been since at least 1995)  $2.13. That's not much money to live on when you're divorced and trying to rear 3 kids  while earning your master's. Especially when the bulk of those customers are high school kids who run you ragged then fail to tip.

Be kind to your wait staff.

Answer 7

At the restaurant I work at we have it right on the menu that we automatically will put gratuity on the check for a party of 8 or more. Most restaurants will do this. It is against the law for the restaurant to put a gratuity on your card after you have left. It is your decision whether or not to give the server a tip. However, I will let you know that waiters and waitresses make less than minimum wage. I make $4.60 an hour which is the minimum wage for a server in New York State. The only way I make enough money to survive is through the tips I receive. It is considered a slap in the face if you leave no tip.