Every once in a while, my wife and I like to go to a certain restaurant in lower Midtown, Manhattan.
It is an Asian seafood/sushi buffet, and we both like the food very much.
Now, the issue of tipping at a buffet is interesting. I get that someone might say, “well, I’m getting the food for myself; why should I tip?” I do get that. But for me, I see that the servers are very quick to refill waters and (free) sodas, and that they frequently stop by to collect the used plates, and I like the place a lot, so I’m happy to tip there exactly as if it were a non-buffet restaurant. And anyone who thinks differently is free to tip less or not at all.
But the last time we ate there, they had a new policy, which was prominently displayed in the waiting area and also on placards at the table: We have a no-tipping policy. Our staff and servers are paid a fair wage and are happy to serve you, so tips are neither expected nor accepted. Furthermore, an administrative charge of 9% will be added to each check. This is for administrative overhead and will not be distributed among the staff and servers.*
This seems like horsesh!t to me.
If the “administrative overhead” is such that they need to make 9% more per check, then they should just raise the prices by 9% and leave the tipping optional.
But by specifically disallowing tipping, and then by the way charging an extra 9% which is specifically not earmarked for the staff and servers, it seems to me that they are baldfacedly grabbing the money that otherwise would have gone to the servers and staff as tips.
Do you agree?
*This is from memory, not verbatim, but I am confident that it is essentially accurate.
I don’t think it’s stealing. It may be shitty, but it’s not stealing. It would be stealing if they let you leave a tip which the restaurant owners kept themselves.
One possibility is that they gave the employees a raise when they disallowed tipping, and are paying for this raise with the 9% service charge. That’s not exactly the same as distributing the service fee directly to the employees, because the fee might not always be exactly the same amount as the raise. If this is the case, they did a really poor job of explaining it to their customers.
I will give them credit for being blatantly honest in their policy change statement. But still, my over all impression of them is that they are assholes.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable eating there. The lack of tipping I can be okay with. But the idea that a restaurant has administrative overhead makes no sense. Specifically saying they won’t give it to the staff seems mean, and sure does make it seem like they’re trying to take the money that would have previously gone to tips.
So they ban tipping, slap on a 9% charge and admit they keep that money?
My very first question, before I ordered, would be the extent of that ‘living wage’. Not gonna say? I’m gone.
What they are doing is both scummy and beyond stupid. They totally deserve what’s coming for them. This is SO going to bite them in the ass.
Just how much ‘administration’ is required to get me my sushi anyway? If they feel it’s perfectly ok to just take some extra money from me, I’d seriously question what else they feel is ok. Compromising on Freshness? Cleanliness? Food safety?
I think the “tip theft” designation is usually reserved for establishments that actually take a portion of servers’ tips, or require them to pool all tips and take an “even” share at the end of the day, even if their tickets were for higher amounts or they served more tables.
What this establishment is doing is definitely undermining their servers’ ability to receive tips, though, and doing it in a way that doesn’t really make any sense. There is no “administrative overhead” in a restaurant. There are costs, and costs should be covered by what you charge for food and beverage. By making the “administrative charge” less than what people would usually leave for a tip, they’re trying to make patrons feel like they’re getting a good deal, but it’s surely coming at a cost to the employees.
As good as the food may be, I wouldn’t patronize any restaurant that treated its staff that way.
A stupid policy, seemingly designed to annoy customers.
Simply raising prices 9%, with or without explanation* would be OK. Announcing that the restaurant has a no-tipping policy with the explanation that servers are well-paid :dubious: would be OK.
Combining the two with the implication that what would have been your tip money is going straight to the owner(s) is obnoxious.
*“We’ve had to raise prices on our buffet menu because an epidemic broke out on the shrimp farm/they jacked up our rent/the health inspector demanded a bigger monthly bribe/my kid got accepted to Princeton.”
As Jackmanii says, it is kind of ham-fisted to announce a 9% price increase in conjunction with the announcement of their no-tipping policy. Because it does make it sound like they are stealing the tips. The restaurant can jack their prices up as high as they think they can get away with, and they can have a no-tipping policy if they want. But they need someone to write their signs who is a lot better at spin.
If the servers are getting paid real minimum wage rather than a server’s minimum wage, they’re coming out way ahead in this situation. Buffet employees make shit for tips.
I, too, have been to Manhattan. pins gold star on self
I have also happened to eat at this place OP is referring to, if he’s referring to the one I am.
The restaurant opens at 11:45a EST, call the management, ask why they no longer tip, and report back then.
Service charges added to a bill are subject to taxes as they are non-tip wages. They’re being very loud and clear that this 9% “overhead cost” isn’t a service charge.
It’s an “overhead cost.” Being completely out in the open, stating that this money isn’t going to their staff-- meaning it’s 100% not a service charge. Not subject to taxes. Rather an “overhead cost,” which is a running business cost, which might be tax deductible.
If you call and ask, they might tell you they don’t want you tipping because it’s not customary in Japan.
Administrative overhead, whatever. It’s explicitly not a service charge.
I am curious to know how much their servers make and whether they’re happy or not with their jobs.
As others said, it’s not “theft” since management isn’t scooping up tip money and they actively say “No tipping”. Something about the whole combination would probably make me rethink going there though.
And agreed that they should just bump up the price of the buffet by nine or ten percent if they need more “administrative overhead”. Keeping the price nominally at $12 but making it $12+9% on your bill seems seedy.
Whether or not the administrative charge for this restaurant makes sense (without more information it appears to be nothing but “we’re paying our wait staff more without raising prices, but we’re actually raising prices” doubletalk) going to a no tipping policy is the hot new fad in the industry. A policy like that in a buffet place seems like a great deal for the staff, who now are guaranteed at least minimum wage.
If I went to such a restaurant, I would eat my meal, and then I would pay them exactly the amount stated on the menu. If they complained about the missing “overhead charge”, then I would ask them if they would like to discuss truth in advertising in front of a judge. Completely independently of that, I would give a random stranger who happened to be a server at that restaurant a freely-given gift of a few bucks.