• nogooduser@lemmy.world
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    19 hours ago

    Doing this is different to increasing the price.

    Firstly, from a PR point of view, it tells people that the extra money is going to the staff and not the restaurant.

    More importantly, in the UK, we are legally able to object to a service charge placed on the bill and they have to remove it.

    • Rioting Pacifist@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      Doing this is different to increasing the price.

      No it’s not it’s litterally increasing the price

      it tells people that the extra money is going to the staff and not the restaurant.

      They’re always free to publish their books if they care about transparency.

      we are legally able to object to a service charge placed on the bill and they have to remove it.

      Great so assholes can get a 20% discount.

      Menu prices should add up to what you are expected to pay, you don’t add taxes, you shouldn’t add service, those are expected functions of a restaurant, and the moment you give buisnesses an inch, they’ll keep pushing until the price you pay at the end is tangential to what they list in the menu.

      Your £20 main becomes £20

      +20% tax

      +20% service fee

      +5% tip

      +10% London rent fee

      +5% booking fee (brought to you by Ticketmaster)

      +7.2% Mercury in retrograde insurance

      Which is only slightly worse than a US bill

      If you want to charge me £24 just update the fucking menu!

      • nogooduser@lemmy.world
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        18 hours ago

        I do agree with you in that it’s much better for the price to be the price and for tips to be entirely up to the customer.

        That’s how it is in most UK restaurants in my experience but tips being added on already is creeping in. It used to be for large groups, then smaller groups and now a few places do it for everyone. Very annoying.

        Great so assholes can get a 20% discount.

        You’d be being an asshole if you were just doing it on principle but I have received bad service and asked for the tip to be removed. I didn’t feel like I was being a dick.