All prices stated on the menu must include any applicable surcharges. In other words, the price of the meal is also the final price. The quantity served must also be stated for drinks.
I’m honestly surprised the percentage options they offer are so low. In NYC they start at 20%, and usually go 20% 25% 30%. I’ve even seen them start at 22%
Besides from a extra fee (which would be illegal in my country), who tf could afford 32$+18%+taxes for two bowls of pasta? At my local italian restaurant you get 2 bowls spagethi for 20€ (including taxes)
It’s crazy how it’s your job to pay the workers when you’re not employing them. Just put the damn living wage into the price of the food, there, done. I’m going to a restaurant to eat stuff, not to haggle the worth of someone’s work.
I’ve been to a couple places in Denver that do this and obviously it’s bullshit. Just raise the prices! Not 18%, though, they’re 5% and started when everyone felt bad for restaurant workers during Covid. At both of them they had a disclaimer “if you disagree with this charge, we will gladly remove it”… as if that’s a comfortable thing to do to save $4.
I get mandatory tips on large parties as long as the policy is made clear before ordering. But like you said, service charges are ridiculous and so are mandatory tips for small groups.
To be honest restaurants became so expensive so long ago that we just stopped going to them. I cant even remember when that was, but it was more than 5 years ago for sure. And things sound like theyve gotten a lot worse since then so I cant see us ever going back.
Anyone who wants to rant about how Lemmy is all tankies and fringe leftists oughta come see what happens when underpaid workers have the gall to so much as stink eye a customer who doesn’t tip.
In below cost of living income jobs tipping isn’t a reward for good service, it’s the “not a callous fuckface” tax for people who actually care about making sure their fellow workers don’t fucking starve over their bosses’ greed.
Got a problem with it, call a congressman, otherwise, stop using service work if you’re not willing to pay the actual full price for the service.
Straight up fees like that should not be legal, if they even are in that location.
They should instead just add 18% to every menu item since it applies to everything anyways.
As it is right now advertising their cannoli for $11.00 is a straight up lie since it’s really $12.98. They simply don’t because they want to hide the actual cost and make their menu appear to be cheaper so you cant walk out until after you’ve ordered and eaten.
Also if got a bill with an 18% service charge I would definitely not tip, since tips are supposed to adjust for the low wages anyways.
I 100% would after offering to pay the full bill as indicated in the menu. I bet 99% of the time they would just accept it too. Only a sucker would pay a random tacked on fee they never agreed to.
Stuff like this is on the menu and posted on the restaurant windows usually.
I agree tipping culture is insane and owners of restaurants use tips and fees to pass on labor costs to consumers, but this shouldn’t be a surprise to you.
Edit: not you as in op I was responding to but “you” being whoever is going to the restaurant
A lot of times I don’t read the drink sections of the menu because I’m not having a drink. Or I might skip the dessert section. Sometimes the special that the server tells me about sounds so good so I just say ‘I will take that please’ without looking at the menu at all. I don’t read menus cover to cover nor do I inspect all signage on a window…but I guess I will now when visiting the USA since apparently that’s the expectation. If I did notice such a thing before ordering, I would just not eat there.
And any mandatory fee is not a tip by definition so I see this as a completely different issue from tipping culture.