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Tipping point (restaurant charges automatic "service fee" to all customers)
Chicago Tribune - Yahoo ^
| August 26, 2005
| Stevenson Swanson
Posted on 08/26/2005 9:02:02 AM PDT by EveningStar
Waiter, there's a service charge on my soup.
Customers at a high-end Manhattan restaurant soon will notice an extra expense when they get their bill, and not only for their soup course.
Beginning Thursday, chef Thomas Keller will charge customers a 20 percent service fee at Per Se, his year-old outpost in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, where the views of Central Park are nearly as breathtaking as the prices.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; US: New York
KEYWORDS: foodservice; tip; tipping
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To: EveningStar
WTH?
Why not just raise prices?
2
posted on
08/26/2005 9:03:56 AM PDT
by
CanisMajor2002
(“My religious beliefs don’t allow me to be scared.” -- SPC Antrone Vaughn)
To: EveningStar
And if the service that day is bad, can customers just lope the 20% off?
3
posted on
08/26/2005 9:04:15 AM PDT
by
theDentist
(The Dems have put all their eggs in one basket-case: Howard "Belltower" Dean.)
To: EveningStar
Hmmm, let's see - reduce the tip by 20%...there, that evens it out.
4
posted on
08/26/2005 9:04:35 AM PDT
by
reagan_fanatic
(Proud member of the 21st century Christian Crusaders)
To: EveningStar
Tips are now an entitlement and not a reflection of the quality of service provided.
5
posted on
08/26/2005 9:04:43 AM PDT
by
gov_bean_ counter
(Can we swap Cindy Sheehan in Crawford for Cindy Crawford anywhere?)
To: EveningStar
This is the European (socialist get paid whether you do a good job or not) way, so is there any suprise the New York elite are promoting it?
Some restaurants charge a flat 20% for large parties which is fair enough, I suppose, as long as they're up front about it. If they sneak it in, that's another thing, though.
6
posted on
08/26/2005 9:06:41 AM PDT
by
Conservative Canuck
(The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness)
To: Howlin; onyx; Clemenza; Petronski; GummyIII; SevenofNine; martin_fierro; cyncooper; Melas; ...
To: EveningStar
He does the same thing at the French Laundry in Yountville.
My wife and I dined there several years ago, it was an indulgence that we felt was a must try experience. The food was absolutely delicious, but was absolutely way over priced.
If you are curious, try it once, your curiosity will be satisfied. I would not go back, as I felt that Mr. Keller's pride in his food and the pains he goes to was over reflected in his pricing.
8
posted on
08/26/2005 9:07:20 AM PDT
by
Michael.SF.
('That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy Sheehan")
To: EveningStar; mhking
20%? Highway robbery, if you ask me.
9
posted on
08/26/2005 9:08:20 AM PDT
by
steveegg
(Real torture is taking a ride with Sen Ted "Swimmer" Kennedy in a 1968 Oldsmobile off a short bridge)
To: EveningStar
We'll see how long it lasts. Longer than Hawaii's oil caps?
10
posted on
08/26/2005 9:09:04 AM PDT
by
atomicpossum
(Replies should be as pedantic as possible. I love that so much.)
To: EveningStar
See Chef Keller.
See Chef Keller's foot.
See Chef Keller shoot himself there. :)
FWIW, if the service is good, I usually tip 20-25%.
But, if the establishment insists on ramming a "service charge" (usually 15%) down my throat, I don't tip more than what I have to.
And it REALLY pisses me off when the service is abysmal and they stick the service charge on the bill. I pay, have to. But I never go back.
11
posted on
08/26/2005 9:09:11 AM PDT
by
upchuck
("If our nation be destroyed, it would be from the judiciary." ~ Thomas Jefferson)
To: EveningStar
They have been doing this in Miami for years. Simply reflects the fact that wealthy Eurotrash like to eat in certain places.
12
posted on
08/26/2005 9:09:22 AM PDT
by
Clemenza
(Proud "Free Traitor" & Capitalist Pig)
To: reagan_fanatic
Hmmm, let's see - reduce the tip by 20%...there, that evens it out. There is no tip. There is a service fee of 20%, which is part of the bill. All you pay is the total bill.
13
posted on
08/26/2005 9:10:00 AM PDT
by
Michael.SF.
('That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy Sheehan")
To: Conservative Canuck
Also, as in socialism, the waiters won't care about their job since they are getting 20% anyway. You will definitely see service go downhill in these places.
14
posted on
08/26/2005 9:10:59 AM PDT
by
varyouga
(Reformed Kerry voter (I know, I'm a frickin' idiot))
To: Clemenza
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!
15
posted on
08/26/2005 9:11:26 AM PDT
by
durasell
(Friends are so alarming, My lover's never charming...)
To: EveningStar
That's the way it's done in Japan, actually almost the whole world, except here.
16
posted on
08/26/2005 9:11:37 AM PDT
by
stuartcr
(Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
To: upchuck
But I never go back. Do you ever tell them why you never go back?
If more customer's do tell of their displeasure, it may be corrected. But by not telling them, it will not be.
17
posted on
08/26/2005 9:12:21 AM PDT
by
Michael.SF.
('That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy Sheehan")
To: EveningStar
Why does some dumb college broad deserve 20% of every bill?
18
posted on
08/26/2005 9:12:57 AM PDT
by
chudogg
(www.chudogg.blogspot.com)
To: Michael.SF.
There is no tip. There is a service fee of 20%, which is part of the bill. All you pay is the total bill.
So, the 'tip' is mandatory, huh?
19
posted on
08/26/2005 9:13:29 AM PDT
by
reagan_fanatic
(Proud member of the 21st century Christian Crusaders)
To: reagan_fanatic
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