Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Gratuity or Fee?

At the risk of stating the obvious, I'd just like to point something out to the food service industry that they apparently do not understand. If, at the end of my meal, I choose to give you something extra for a job well done, it is a "gratuity". If you add extra without asking (e.g. "15% added for parties larger than 6 people") it is no longer a gratuity. That's called a fee. (In the spirit of disclosure I should point out that I've waited my fair share of tables, and I did it with a smile.)

If you give yourself a fee because you're worried that I won't give you a large enough gratuity, in my opinion, you deserve neither fee nor gratuity. Also, you're probably missing a bet. I would almost always leave a larger tip than the "mandatory gratuity" fee that some restaurants rudely put on my bill. So, in that respect, I thank you. You save me a little money each time you illustrate your ignorance by adding a fee and calling it a gratuity.

Maybe we should call that difference in compensation an "ignorance tax"? Then, when restaurants have those stupid little policies, I can tell them mine in return: "An ignorance tax of 5 to 10 percent will be assessed against all wait staff who opt for the service fee in lieu of a gratuity."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Totally agree dude. I have to scoff at the look of dismay that I get from table waiting staff at restaurants when I choose to leave NO tip when the service is abysmal. They never seem to get the gratuity thing, like "hello! if you spill soup down my $800 suit I am not going to reward you for your service".

BTW, nice blog dude.