Why does it upset you if you planned on tipping anyway? Also , your server didn't create that policy so why not still tip the difference? I haven't been to the one here but I used to love going to the one in downtown KC.

Started it after they opened back post pandemic. I'm surprised they didn't stop when they started allowing 100% seating again. Seems like the kind of crowd that would usually tip pretty well as you're already paying a premium for the experience.

I don't order much food there anymore after being served some almost raw chicken a year or so ago. Quality of the kitchen has really gone downhill.

Simple fix, just stop supporting the business that practices it.

>Why does it upset you if you planned on tipping anyway?

i think the idea is what if the service was bad, rude staff or whatever reasoning so they were not planning on tipping but were forced to tip an undeserving staff member?

Mind you i am not advocating not tipping as i usually tip 20% or more on any restaurant that my wife and i visit.

If you order food online in advance, it doesn't have the 18% charge. I did ask the server one time I was in there, and they do get those fees as well. It was an attempt to keep the few employees they had after they opened back up.

Edit: somebody else in the thread says they don't get the service fees. Idk. It's been a year or two since I talked to the server, ymmv.

That makes sense. I guess not tipping gives people a passive aggressive option if they don't want to say anything lol.

We went there and the service was absolutely dogshit. No refills, all food came out at once including our apps mains and desserts, would put up flag and someone would come and read just to never be seen again. Then I get hit with a mandatory 18%. Not to mention I told them I was paying cash they never came around to take my money and bring change back. Never. Not even 5 minutes.after the movie ended. It was crazy.

Friend of mine works at Alamo and told me the tipping system is pooled. Waiters are not allowed to accept tips individually and the 18% gratuity is not shared with the waiters. This is second hand info so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Yep then i would absolutely not leave a tip....maybe two cents just to give them my two cents. i completely and wholeheartedly agree with you.

We really need comprehensive labor reform in this country.

that is true, though i rarely complain about the service unless they absolutely deserve a complaint or negative review. i feel like if someone is doing that bad and just doesn't care, then they will recognize the non-verbal message on why they got a low tip or no tip at all.

the other difficult issue is some people dont believe in tipping even if the service members went above and beyond on servicing you, so not tipping or low tipping wont always send the same message because some people are just a-holes or cheapskates

I think at this point any nonverbal communication goes right over people's heads. It's probably best to think about where the blame really lies (usually management) and focus our criticism there. If a server is rude or inattentive, it's easy to just address them directly but I would say the majority of the time it's not anything deliberate on their part. It would take something pretty bad for me to not tip.

Love the Alamo, but man I just want to pay for a movie and eat good popcorn.

Unless they added the function back in recently (last month or so), they removed the ability to order food online. I reached out to them, and they said it was because there were too many errors at other locations that it was entirely removed by the app.

Edit: what's with the downvotes- my information isn't wrong or even critical of the action lol

The info is so convoluted. On the tip line on the receipt, it says "additional tip", which straight up implies the 18% also goes to the waiter.

So "fuck you give us money" instead of "how can we fix the problems." Cool.

I have left .02 as a tip before. At the roost I got the sliders before and ordered an odd number. My last one was like the crusties from the corner of the grill and I confronted the waiter for a replacement. He came back with it and said "we aren't going to charge you, that is the best I can do." I wasn't being unreasonable I just wanted what I ordered, so I left a 2¢ tip and wrote the message "that's the best I can do." I usually tip well over 20% so it's not that I'm cheap with the server, but this has been multiple times in a row that I received sub-par service. What really got me was when he said that's the best I can do, like it was coming out of his paycheck. I just wanted my 1/4 of a burger patty...

What a bizarrely aggressive projection of malice into tech issues with a theater’s food order online function.

You doing ok?

I mean people wanted capitalism welcome to capitalism. I visited one of the original Alamo draf houses in Austin Texas. The ones we see today are a like bassackwards vision of what it was supposed to be

I can relate with that one! Its not something id usually consider but if they arent willing to help themselves? Then i wont bother

Yep. Getting big ruins literally every product eventually.

Went there tonight and our server came by once at the very start of the movie and that was it. Had an order up for at least 45 minutes with no response. I’m assuming they are short staffed because I’ve never had that problem before.

The 18% goes entirely to staff, as do any additional tips.

...instead of fixing the problems, they took away the only way to order food without paying the 18% service fee.

"Fuck"=/=aggression. I'm doing fantastic! Thanks for asking.

I went today for the first time since Covid. I was disappointed about the fee. Overall seemed quite a bit more expensive.

Wish I had a pic of the receipt when they first opened up they had the 18% fee that clearly stated did not go to the waiter, tipping still needed. I was so irritated I never came back.

I’m guessing that did go over well so all of a sudden now “shared”.

I mean, that's what the online customer service told me when I asked why we couldn't order ahead anymore, and then I was told by an employee something more along the lines that insinuated it was to make more money. So who knows, but the financial burden is put on the customer either way. The 18% isn't a standard thing across Alamo locations. And some have been straightforward in saying the 18% is a gratuity and additional tip isn't necessary.

Well the intro program before the movie about "How to Alamo" still says to Tip your Server and sign your receipt. So the messaging still isn't clear.