dopkick t1_j5yk33h wrote
Reply to comment by XanderCruse in James Beard Awards recognize Ekiben and Foraged chefs — but not Cindy Wolf by Cody_in_Baltimore
Just looked at their menu. They tack on a 5% fee allegedly for tipping kitchen staff. A recent conversation in the DC sub about fees: https://old.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/10ilz0v/founding_farmers_charging_a_restaurant_recovery/
Gonna have to pass on this one as a matter of principle. I refuse to support places that hit you with surprise fees. I haven't used Airbnb, Uber Eats, etc. in years because of them. If something like this is added to my bill I make sure to leave zero tip, leave a message on the receipt why there is zero tip, and never return. This ludicrous practice of blindsiding people with arbitrary fees needs to stop.
JBSanderson t1_j5z67rd wrote
Looking for an excuse to give 0% tip is a real shitty move on your part.
Expecting to pay at least 15% for service (more realistically 20%) is part of going out to dine in the US.
You could maybe justify subtracting the 5% fee from your tip.
By tipping the server 0%, the server effectively paid you for the "pleasure" of serving you as they will have to tip out their bussers, bartenders, etc.
dopkick t1_j5z928l wrote
Ultimately, I see this entirely different than you. This is about the now pervasive problem with being asked for tips and being hit with surprise fees nearly everywhere. You can buy stuff at retail and get prompted for some ludicrous 20% (or higher) tip.
I have no problem with leaving an appropriate tip. Or automatic gratuity for larger parties (generally 18% for 6-8+). Or upcharges on menu modifications. The problem is with these surprise fees that are outside of the norm.
I see it as no different than Uber Eats or AirBNB fees. The only difference is that it is currently trendy to be against those fees. Social media has not yet told you to be against surprise fees imposed by restaurants so here we are.
I will be tipping 0% at Foraged. Because I'll never go to a restaurant that imposes non-standard fees. So, it has nothing to do with the "pleasure" of anything.
PigtownDesign t1_j5zeiat wrote
If it's written on the menu, then how is it a surprise?
dopkick t1_j60offj wrote
Do you actually comb through the latest menu of every restaurant you go to?
JBSanderson t1_j60c7h2 wrote
Tipping for service at a restaurant is not new by any stretch of the imagination.
I think that all businesses should pay their workers a living wage, and that we should move away from tipping for anything.
However, I live in reality and understand that if I choose to dine out in the USA that there is a standing social contract older than any of us that the server earns their living from tips. Until that changes, you are an asshole for not tipping, for any reason.
dopkick t1_j60o6qj wrote
As I said, this is not about tipping. It’s about being hit with surprise fees. I’m happy to leave a tip. But once a business engages in deceptive practices I’m going to avoid the business entirely. If enough people avoid such businesses they will outright go out of business so the trend will end. Less directly, if such businesses cannot attract or retain labor because of pissed off customers not leaving tips they will go out of business.
Fees have proven to be a slippery slope - look at how a single burger on something like Uber Eats can be something like $30+ delivered. It won’t be long before there’s the 5% tipping fee. And 10% supply chain fee. And 5% carbon neutral fee. And then you’re asked to leave an actual tip on top of that.
There’s a reason that European countries have passed price transparency laws.
JBSanderson t1_j60p4ci wrote
You're almost there. The right solution is to not eat there at all.
You said you don't tip if a surprise fee is added. When you make that decision, you are not hurting the restaurant that assessed the fee, you are hurting the laborer who served you.
dopkick t1_j60ra2z wrote
Correct. I do not go to such restaurants. Just like I don’t use Airbnb anymore.
And yes, it hurts the people working there if I get hit with some unpredictable fee. If enough people get pissed off and don’t leave tips then the labor will go elsewhere and the restaurant will have a problem.
They could just be transparent and raise the price of popular dishes by $1 to cover the fee.
JBSanderson t1_j60slaw wrote
Maybe you have a really rosy view of the financial standing of most did service workers. They can't just bear the brunt of a bunch of non tippers without missing a car payment or not being able to pay tuition, etc.
From 20+ years of restaurant work, I can tell you that at least half of the waitstaff is living week to week on the tips they make. Switching jobs temporarily interrupts that income stream and is a financial hardship.
It's a nuanced topic, but at the end of the day we really do have a standing expectation that servers are paying their bills with the tips that diners give them. When you choose not to tip a server, in a roundabout way you're committing wage theft. That should not be on you as the diner, but it is the reality that we're all living in, and have been for decades.
Advocate for better wages, choose restaurants that are transparent about their charges, hype up restaurants that give their staff health insurance and pay a living wage, just don't use your irritation about a hidden fee as an excuse to not tip.
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