Is Gratuity Required Even If Printed on the Menu?

Hello,

I need some clarification. Is one required to pay the gratuity if the menu is printed with the gratuity requirement? I thought that in Illinois (or is it Chicago?) the laws state that gratuity is not required. However, I am not sure this is true.

There have been a few occasions where I did not think our server deserved the 15%+ gratuity due to lack of service or poor attitude. I am not talking about not liking the food or that food presentation was slow due to our larger party.

Most restaurants and servers won't argue with customer about the gratuity - although I did have one particularly nasty experience at The Plaza Hotel in NYC with a server openly challenging us. But I wanted to know more definitely for future reference.

Thanks.

I am not a lawyer but my understanding is that if they use the word "gratuity" it is not required, but if they use the word "surcharge" or "service charge" then you would be legally required to pay it.

Even in the case of a gratuity, not paying it would probably be akin to walking into one of Chicago's summer street festivals without paying: You don't really have to, but you'd better expect a hassle if you're not going to.

Best,
Michael

Peety, I think this is an excellent question. I never thought of objecting to the automatic 15% gratuity (most times, that's less than I would tip for good service), but in a way it seems like there is no reason why you couldn't -- if you don't mind "making a scene" in the presence of the six other people at your table.

EC, I think the additional 15% is usually called a "gratuity," isn't it? I don't recall if I've ever seen it referred to as a "service charge," but maybe I'm not remembering.

David

David Hammond wrote:EC, I think the additional 15% is usually called a "gratuity," isn't it? I don't recall if I've ever seen it referred to as a "service charge," but maybe I'm not remembering.

"Service charge" iis more commonly used for banquets, catered events, etc. I have seen it used on menus in the past (as in the "For parties of 6 or more..." meaning), but it is not common.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:Even in the case of a gratuity, not paying it would probably be akin to walking into one of Chicago's summer street festivals without paying: You don't really have to, but you'd better expect a hassle if you're not going to.

I've never once been hassled. I've heard stories of people who have, mostly a few years ago, but since then whether I'm entering alone or in a group, I've gone straight in without hesitation from either side.

HI,

Patron arrested for stiffing restaurant gratuity wrote:Humberto Taveras faces a misdemeanor theft of service charge after allegedly stiffing on the tip at an upstate New York pizza place. He and his party of eight others recently ate at Soprano's Italian and American Grill in Lake George. Taveras says he didn't know about the mandatory 18 percent gratuity for parties of six or more and only left about ten percent.

But restaurant owner Joe Soprano says all the menus have the notice and the waitress told them, too. Soprano says he's not pressing charges because of the money. He contends Taveras was rude.

Taveras counters they weren't satisfied with the food or the service. He plans on fighting the tipping point in court.

I found a subsequent comment on a blog the state's attorney dropped the charges.

***

While there are issues of racial discrimination in this situation, there were comments on gratuities:

Attorney General of Florida wrote:Under the agreement, Thai Toni will follow a policy under which a 15 percent gratuity will be added to every patron's bill and customers will be advised they can either increase or decrease that amount. The uniform tipping policy will be duly noticed at the restaurant as required by state law.

What do you do when you eat at a place that waits on you and when you check out has a big jar for "Tips for Cook". I have noticed this in 2 local Mexican places. One of which I eat visit at least weekly. I usually sit at the counter and am waited on by the cook and/or waitress, usually both providing some service. I'm not cheap, and never leave less than a buck for a tip. But, trying to tip both seems a little overboard. If all of the workers split the tips I wouldn't be concerned. But I know they don't.

Bruce wrote:What do you do when you eat at a place that waits on you and when you check out has a big jar for "Tips for Cook".

Check out this info from the 2/1 Dish regarding the new Il Mulino on Dearborn:

"the New York spot (with New York prices) offers a first for Chicago diners. “In addition to the line on the check for a server’s tip, there is also a line on which you can designate a tip for the captain,” the FOD notes. “For next time around, I’d appreciate some guidance on what constitutes an appropriate captain’s tip.”

Tip tally: server, Captain, cook, doorman, bathroom attendant...and counting.

When they can explain what the captain actually does for me, I'll think about giving him a tip.

How course. They must really think we are rubes (or they think everyone's a rube if they have the captain line in NYC as well). We've been tipping captains, maitre d's and whatnot here in Chicago for a long time, but you do it before dinner, when you want to get a good table, or any table. Tipping the captain after dinner requires a major leap of faith, a prematurely forced decision to come back, and a much delayed (and uncertain) return on the investment. I guess if the captain fillets a fish or flambes some peaches over by me during the meal, I might could understand the postprandial captain's tip.

Do they also have a coperto and ostensibly free amuses bouche that are, in reality, things that you agree to purchase when you touch them or look at them for more than a few moments? Now that would be authentic.

David Hammond wrote:Tip tally: server, Captain, cook, doorman, bathroom attendant...and counting.

Silly me, forgot valet, sommlier, and hat check person.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:hat check person.

Strong economic incentive explaining the popularity of backwards-worn baseball caps at the table, no? Thesis: The spiraling escalation of tipping expectations (and the number of tip expectees) is driving civilization to the brink of destruction!

Attorney General of Florida wrote:Under the agreement, Thai Toni will follow a policy under which a 15 percent gratuity will be added to every patron's bill and customers will be advised they can either increase or decrease that amount. The uniform tipping policy will be duly noticed at the restaurant as required by state law.

Interestingly enough, Thai Tony (in South Beach) has gone out of business. I happened to eat there on the recommendation of a hotel concierge on its last night of operations. Needless to say, the skeleton crew of waitresses were none too happy to be out of work after that night and it showed in the service. I didn't object to the 15% tip being added to the check because normally I would have tipped much more, so to me it was a license to stiff.

Humberto Taveras faces a misdemeanor theft of service charge after allegedly stiffing on the tip at an upstate New York pizza place. He and his party of eight others recently ate at Soprano's Italian and American Grill in Lake George. Taveras says he didn't know about the mandatory 18 percent gratuity for parties of six or more and only left about ten percent.

But restaurant owner Joe Soprano says all the menus have the notice and the waitress told them, too. Soprano says he's not pressing charges because of the money. He contends Taveras was rude.

Taveras counters they weren't satisfied with the food or the service. He plans on fighting the tipping point in court.

this is really strange. any place that has a mandatory tip for large parties or banquets usually just charges the 18%, so when the bill is presented, it's already on there. there's no option of leaving without paying it. you either pay the bill or you don't.

sounds like this place in upstate NY was pretty unprofessional or disorganized. you don't print '18% gratuity for parties of 6 or more' on your menu and then leave it up to the guests to figure out how much 18% is and make sure they leave that much. duh!

when i see that on a menu, i assume they've already included it on the final bill and so i leave nothing on the table. why would i?

especially when you consider that people tend to drink more with larger groups or private parties. are you really going to be stupid enough to count on the host to a) remember to leave a tip when you've already told them it's automatic? b) be able to correctly calculate 18%?

i'd say the fault lies with the restaurant in this instance, not the customer.

Frank Bruni addresses the issue, sort of, in his 1/21 food blog he does for the Times.


http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/?cat=1

From the comments section of Bruni's post:

HERE’S A TIP: NOT LEAVING ONE IS LEGAL

N.Y. Prosecutor Finds a Difference Between Surcharge and Gratuity

A $2 tip on a $77 restaurant bill may be cheap, but it isn’t criminal. So says a New York state district attorney, who declined to press charges against a man who refused to leave a restaurant’s required gratuity of 18 percent for large parties.

Humberto A. Taveras’ arrest on Sept. 5 came under New York’s theft of services law, which carries misdemeanor charges. With a party of eight, the Long Island man dined at Soprano’s Italian and American Grill, a Lake George, N.Y., restaurant that applied the tip policy to parties of six or more.

Ultimately, the case boiled down to language. Soprano’s restaurant described the policy on its menu as a "gratuity," which by definition means "discretion," says Kathleen B. Hogan, the district attorney of Warren County, who ultimately decided to drop charges against Taveras.

She mentions a Southern District of Indiana ruling in which a judge found that a tip or gratuity was strictly within the customer’s discretion and payment could not be forced. U.S. v. Indianapolis Athletic Club, IP90-1783C.

So, service charge = mandatory. Gratuity = not. At least in New York and Indiana.

1) Is it now standard for places to automatically add a gratuity to a table of 5 diners? I've seen it on menus for parties of 6 or more, but 5?? Was (unpleasantly) surprised by this yesterday at lunch.

2) Is it de rigeur to assess a 20% tip in places that automatically add that to the bill? I remember when 18% was common but was surprised to see an automatic 20% added yesterday (see above) AND today.

3) If the service received is not just average but actually subpar, is it tacky to question the automatic addition of the 20% tip on a bill? It had been my experience that places assessing an automatic gratuity DO allow for adjustments based on actual service received, but we had a small debate about this subject AFTER lunch yesterday.

Thanks.

David Hammond wrote:Check out this info from the 2/1 Dish regarding the new Il Mulino on Dearborn:

"the New York spot (with New York prices) offers a first for Chicago diners. “In addition to the line on the check for a server’s tip, there is also a line on which you can designate a tip for the captain,” the FOD notes. “For next time around, I’d appreciate some guidance on what constitutes an appropriate captain’s tip.”

The "captain line" on the bill isn't "a first for Chicago diners"--although it has been a very long time since I've seen it. Back in the seventies or early eighties, at some fancy-schmancy place here that I can't remember anymore, I encountered it.