A question about gratuities...

[Ed W]

Last week, my daughter returned from a double date to say that the restaurant they'd visited added a gratuity to the bill before presenting it to them.  Now, I can understand doing so for a large group, but four people?  To make matters worse, they received lousy service.  Are customers obligated to pay a gratuity like this, or can they lawfully refuse?

[cannon_fodder]

What restaurant and was it indicated anywhere before they agreed to eat there?

If it stated something like 'gratuity added on all tickets' then they are probably screwed.

[Ed W]

This happened at Olive Garden, but I don't know which one.  I do know they add a gratuity for large parties, but I'd think a party of 4 wouldn't qualify.  Then again, it's been a couple of years since I went in there.

[cannon_fodder]

I've never had a gratuity added.  Been there with a party of 3 in the past few months.

I can not say I have been there with a party of 4 in a long while (that I remember).  

To solve this great mystery I called the Olive Garden on memorial.  Holding now (not sure why, its 9am... they probably aren't that busy)... still holding.  

"Do you add gratuity to all tickets or only for certain party sizes?"

"Only for parties of 8 and up..."

So there ya go.  They got screwed.  Call the manager and *****.

[billintulsa]

I don't know what the laws are concerning this, so I can't speak to that.

I would, however, write a letter to the offending company telling them that their practice of billing the gratuity is somewhat questionable, and then remind them that a TIP (as per current custom) is to reward good service.  Since in this case the service wasn't given, inform them of a choice to move your business elsewhere (if in fact that is what you've decided to do).

But in any event, if you let them know of your experience in writing, they are more likely to do something about it.  If not then by all means, take your business elsewhere.

[Conan71]

For a second there, I thought maybe Ed's daughter had been to Aleoli's. [B)]

I've never had bad service at the Olive Garden and haven't noticed them cramming gratuity either.  Might have been a fluke or the server knew his/her service was so crappy that they wouldn't get a tip otherwise.

[Ed W]

Well...I'm pretty sure she'd rather not contact the young man involved.  It was the date from hell, as far as she was concerned.  They may have been hosed because they're teens and twenty-somethings.

I offered to crush the young man like a beer can, but she declined that too.

[rwarn17588]

A few late-night restaurants I've been to do add a gratuity after a certain time (usually after 11 p.m.) and have a sign indicating such.

I'm certain this was done so the late-night help isn't continually stiffed by all the drunks wolfing down their pancakes.

[RecycleMichael]

11:00 PM!

I thought all of Tulsa was asleep at 11:00 PM.

[DM]

quote:Originally posted by Ed W


I offered to crush the young man like a beer can, but she declined that too.

Yes, and be sure to claim self defense. Works everytime. [B)]

[tulsascoot]

As a former waiter and former employee of Olive Garden, I know that adding gratuity to less than 8 people is against their policy. It could cause that waiter to get fired if you told them.

As to why it was there, that's easy. Olive Garden is a common place for high school kids to go for dates, proms, etc. It's also common to get insultingly poor tips from young kids, unless their parents have taught them about proper gratuity, which I believe parents should do. I was always impressed when the kids from Cascia Hall came in; they almost always left me 15-20%. I was usually lucky to get $1 or $2 from the kids from Rogers, Hale, or Central.

So it wasn't right for them to do that and it was definitely against company policy. The waiter just assumed he'd get a crappy from that table. However, if he intended to put the gratuity on from the start, he should have given proper service. Then again, the Olive Garden will hire anyone, so don't expect the best service always. It's a crap shoot.

And please, everyone, teach your kids about how to tip!

[joiei]

You can always ask management to remove the added tip if it is not posted, and then tip according the the level of service recieved.  If they refuse to remove the tip, then call your credit card company.  

If the service is even adequate then I will tip 20%, if it sucks, then I do not tip, if the food was great and the service lacking, I will send the tip to the kitchen.

[Rowdy]

This brings up another issue.  Sonic Drive-Ins. I have heard this split two ways. Do you or don't you tip the Sonic people when they bring out your food?  The argument could be made that they bring you your food but on the other hand, some look at it that you don't tip because they really aren't waiting on you.

[brunoflipper]

quote:Originally posted by Rowdy

This brings up another issue.  Sonic Drive-Ins. I have heard this split two ways. Do you or don't you tip the Sonic people when they bring out your food?  The argument could be made that they bring you your food but on the other hand, some look at it that you don't tip because they really aren't waiting on you.

i always tip carhops

[Conan71]

Now you have the option if you are too cheap to tip car hops you can go through the drive-through. []