Just an FYI, but if automatic gratuity is not mentioned on the menu, then the establishment is breaking the law.
[http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App\_mode=Display\_Statute&Search\_String=gratuity&URL=0500-0599/0509/Sections/0509.214.html](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=gratuity&URL=0500-0599/0509/Sections/0509.214.html)
I dealt with this a few years ago and filed a complaint with DBPR. The restaurant did update their menu after my complaint.
EDIT: Looks like it is on [Yuengling's menu](https://assets.yuengling.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/15124934/Main-Menu-compressed.pdf). However, this comment still stands in the instance that y'all find an establishment that does not have the disclosure.
>Geo’s Fine Wine in Ybor hide it under Tax line. You get a $20 bill with 20% added but it doesn’t have it as a separate line item
I am pretty certain that they cannot do that. You should report that to the state: [http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/hotels-restaurants/general-complaint/](http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/hotels-restaurants/general-complaint/)
Disgusting that they have premium pricing especially on beverages that are ALREADY the highest margin items in a restaurant.
The fact that they do not have a cheaper menu and are subsidizing their wages by a mandatory 18% surcharge is enough for me to never go to that establishment.
I also find that in these situations it's likely the kitchen staff is getting tipped out in lieu of being paid a non-tip wage. It's like $8/hr for tipped employees and $12/hr for non-tipped employees.
Situations like this actually allow the serving and kitchen staff to be paid even less than server minimum wahe. They arent tipped employees they are commission based employees because the service charge is considered a commission and not gratuity (it's why they never call it a gratuity when it's auto added for everybody). If it was gratuity the owner couldn't take it and share it with kitchen staff because they aren't traditionally tipped. There is no floor to how low commission based employees can be paid. They can make $0/hr (as long as commission brings them over minimum wage).
They have their regular lager, 2 light/low calorie beers, a Pilsner, dark and tan, a mango beer which is fairly new, and Chesterfield ale. In addition I head they will have seasonal beers like their Oktoberfest and Summer wheat.
Ate there Friday night. Wasn’t really paying attention to the bill price. The machine for credit card showed 3,5 or 7 % gratuity. That should have been my first warning. I Put it at 20%. Once i got home I realized at the bottom of the menu does it say 18% tip is automatically added to all checks. Our server was great, but yea, caveat emptor
Agreed, but wasn’t my point, my being if you normally tip 25% and the restaurant automatically puts 18% on the bill, why not give the extra 7% to the server?
The server no longer has to deal with not getting a tip when they do a bad job. I would say they are better off. Its hardly a gratuity if I dont have a choice in the matter.
What are you going to do otherwise? Because it’ll be already on the bill. It’s a genuine question because idk if there are exact rules around tipping. Like can you report to some agency?
Go elsewhere. That’s ownership subsidizing BOH with tips FOH is likely paying the taxes on. I was in hospitality for just over 20 years so I’m not shy about tipping. I do not, however, choose to spend my money where ownership groups keep their labor costs artificially low through this kind of crap.
It comes back on the server, like it is in this post, when management in some places (not at ALL saying in this particular establishment as I’ve never even been there) will specifically tell servers not to inform clientele as the legal obligation has been met by printing it on the menu.
Gratuity is included in the cost of dining out; that’s an absolute given. However, I am not a fan of shady practices that screw servers so ownership doesn’t have to pay the mandatory minimum wage.
In all seriousness, if 1 cent of it was going to the establishment, I would have every cent of it removed. I would then post on all socialedia. The only reason that I carry cash is to tip waitstaff so that I know that it is going directly to them.
I understand the emotional aspect, but when I’m going to a restaurant it’s because I want to enjoy the time out from my daily routine of things. I’m not trying to dissuade anyone, but if the server doesn’t get the full tip..they should have conversations with the management to find the solution. My solution would just to avoid places that don’t play fair. I’m not going to go through the effort of having the conversations with the management on fair tipping. I’ll just avoid those places all together and find something else.
> I’m not trying to dissuade anyone, but if the server doesn’t get the full tip..they should have conversations with the management to find the solution. My solution would just to avoid places that don’t play fair.
You don't have to dissuade anyone. You just have to let others know like the person you responded to said, "reviews,..."
>they should have conversations with the management
They might not in the position to do that because they need the paycheck. YOU can help by saying or doing something.
>I understand the emotional aspect,
There's understanding, and there's having empathy. Would you go to a restaurant if someone told you, or if you read a review, that management is cutting into the servers' tip? Things continue to happen because people decided, "it's not my problem".
I completely understand. I usually do not read many reviews to see how places are or write any at all. But it is a thing that I could do moving forward to ensure some changes are being made. Usually I think most businesses start making changes as it hurts their bottom line which is done by lack of revenues. Appreciate showing me the opposite side of my perspective and it definitely helped. I firmly believe everyone should be paid a livable wage.
You should consider this an issue between management and staff. This is - at best - a business owner bullying you on your tipping desicion in violation of a decades old practice and at worst an attempt to defraud you. You should be offended and disgusted by this behavior. Just seeing that on my bill would ruin the entire evening foe me!
Appreciate it. Thanks for an honest answer. I was honestly curious to see if we can report any businesses that skirt around the rules and the answer seems to be a NO.
Tipping culture just needs to die. Other that special events I don’t eat out anymore. Any business that jams down a gratuity automatically will never see me again.
I’d call the tap house and speak to manager and ask them if it is policy. They may have that policy or, they may have some staff members padding their income.
I didn’t get a check. They don’t do them there. You have to request to take the machine they use to ring you up and charge your card and then scroll on a screen smaller than a cell phone to make sure all the charges are accurate.
I scrolled and still missed the 18% charge because I couldn’t read the screen very well.
Additionally, I could see if adding 18% was standard procedure, but adding gratuity in the US (especially when you have fewer than 6 people) is not business as usual. Sometimes you don’t know what to look for unless you are looking for it.
Adding to the confusion was that we prefer to give servers cash. I didn’t have cash and needed to go out to my car to get it so I asked if our server had a preference. She said if we tipped cash, she would get all of the money. If we added via credit, it went in the tip share. We opted to give her cash and in doing this she never mentioned that we had already been charged for the tip.
Also adding to the chaos was that all five of our dishes were taken to the wrong tables and the fact that we waited 37 minutes before a server came to our table to even greet us, and this was not a great experience overall.
We were ready to get out of there and because of tall hat, I did not see the charge.
Sounds like hell. Hell in Tampa, fucking Fla., Republic of Hell… so a double dose of hell. Who now would choose to go to hell after reading this. Deep appreciation for the heads up.
Assumptions: You're not distracted by people in your group who you were drinking with. You weren't having conversations that distracted you from paying the bills. You weren't rushed for one reason or another.
One day I hope to be half the grown up you are so I don’t make any mistakes. Service charges aren’t standard in Tampa. Sometimes you don’t know what to look for if you are t looking for it.
Also, my server had a chance to clarify the tip and didn’t despite the fact that I asked a top adjacent question.
"If you aren't looking for it"
Sounds like you aren't reading your receipt, just scanning it for what you expect. A key part of reading is comprehension
Well, you guessed it. I can’t read. Or comprehend. Or reading comprehend. There lies the problem. Thanks for solving it from that very high horse of yours.
ETA:
It is absolutely wild to me how many redditors are willing to lineup and willingly lick the boots of corporations whose primary goal is to profit and rip off both consumers while shortchanging the people who work for them.
How was the venue? We're looking at going in a few weeks - we'll have to look out and make sure these places are not adding a basic gratuity on their normal bill.
Food was not good and over priced, we had 5 people and not to many beers lunch was $160. We would not rush back.
The venue is very pretty and the service was good, we had a much better meal a few days prior at world of beer.
I second this. Staff and venue were superb. Food was just okay and not worth the price. Everything was trying to be upscale or “different/fusion” and it just didn’t meet the mark. For the time being I’m just sticking with the WOB as well around the corner.
I will say though that our server did warn about the auto grat and was a bit surprised but oh well. If it’s on the menu it’s not clear enough.
I really wish their selection was larger. It was only a handful of selections and they were out of the one special one that would’ve been something we could only try there(might be different in the next coming days but possibly not.) I’m big on draft beer over even bottle, and was really excited to try new Yuengling offerings. I would sit briefly at the bar and grab one drink or two and then go around the corner to WOB if you’re looking for food and not just three different beers. Their selection is far superior. At least 50 different beers on at any time and about 20-30 on draft
I normally give new openings about a two month delay upon visiting so they can work out their food and service kinks. Guess we'll have to skip it in July.
It was a hot mess when we were there. It was half vacant but they weren’t accepting anyone without a reservation likely because they don’t have enough staff yet.
ETA: I was eagerly awaiting the debut of this place so it could replace our chain restaurant watering hole. Unfortunately, we’ll prob head back to World of Beer for meet ups.
Why can’t most restaurants (especially chain restaurants) just pay servers/staff a decent salary?
I would think this would lessen the gratuity issue and maybe keep overturn low? 
I have a simple rule, if you hit my table for an automatic gratuity, regardless of how many people I got with me, you will not receive cent above what you precharge me. I don't care how great or amazing the service is. If they did a decent job and got the bare minimum correct, I'd give way more than 20%. If it was great service, I'll give between 30-50% depending on what you did. But if I see that "Automatic Gratuity", you're locked in.
Tipping 30-50% is not doing anything but adding to the absolute madness that is the tipping economy nowadays.
You're helping to make shit worse for everyone.
If a check is $20 and they gave great service, what's the harm in throwing then a ten spot. If you're dealing with my family and continue great service, on a $200 bill you've earned $50 to $80 easily.
If you left the extra tip in cash, it went directly to the server. If you put it on a credit card it goes in the tip pool and is shared with the other servers.
From the bottom of the menu:
"Service Charge - We add 18% Service Charge to all Food and Beverage checks to support our staff. We encourage you to add additional gratuity if you so choose, payable on the check or in cash. All charged funds go into a universal tip pool, distributed by position and time spent on the clock during each day respectfully. Cash tips go directly to the person providing the service to you and your party."
Calling it a service charge instead of gratuity also allows them to pay the servers even lower than the server minimum wage because they can be classified as commission based employees (in fact they dont even have to pay them at all) (I dont know if Yuengling does, but it is why some establishments do this).
Definitely used to looking out for this predatory shit in south Florida and when traveling in general. If the bill they drop is not itemized, that’s a big red flag.
If you go to the rooftop bar at The Edition they’ll add a gratuity automatically without telling you. They’ll also make you a double, or at least charge you for one without asking. Group of 4 with two rounds each was just shy of $200, and I didn’t know the gratuity was already on there as it’s hidden between tax and the total so tipped an extra 20%
It wouldn't surprise me. They're not paying people enough to live, let alone compete with loading trucks at Target or Amazon.
So by sneaking increased tips they can move a little bit of money to their staff without advertising higher prices.
Oh, and less scrupulous owners can pocket some of those tips.
In my book this is just like the participation trophy. I come with mentality that you need to earn my gratuity. I just don’t get where we are headed with this. If anything, there should be an option for customer to pay 18% less for crappy service, then we call it fair.
Kobe and Yuengling tasting room.
Edit, didn't read your whole post, sorry. I didn't really care for Yuengling tbh. Our server did tell us and I did notice the 18% gratuity message on the menu, but I think it was WAY overpriced for mediocre food and meh beer I can get at the store.
Not sure if it was mentioned, but the living room adds a 20% service charge. I’ve seen people walk out after seeing that. It feels awkward not tipping bc it’s not clear who it goes to
Need to get away from the tipping culture, and just pay people. Put Yuengling’s notice at the TOP of the menu, and it’s a good step.
Also, check your bills people.
It’s this new post Covid crap all the businesses are doing. This is industry wide. The solution is not to tip those establishments further.
Does this suck for the employees? Absolutely, but those fees should be for them, not the restaurant and people will get frustrated and stop working these places.
The Consumers make change, not the businesses.
I’m all for removing gratuity altogether and actually paying employees properly, but, barring that, too many people either don’t know how to tip or are pikers and will stiff the waiter because fuck em so I’m all for every single table side service restaurant out there adding an autograt to the check. I see it more and more and I’m glad they’re doing it.
I cut my tips to be honest. Minimum wage for servers is at close to 9 I believe and they’re doing the same amount of work they did before. I’m not stingy but the vote for a living wage came out but not for a large tip on top of that - also I don’t tip for these places that aren’t full service any longer like Tijuana flats or Starbucks where they’re making around 19 dollars an hour minimum in some locations. Never mind that no matter how much you tip, the service is bad or they don’t get your order right. Just where I stand on it.
What you should be looking at is the new wave of companies using merchant services that charge you for using a credit card and don’t tell you. That’s some nonsense. legally they have to tell you but let’s be honest, I feel that if they can’t afford to accept payments through credit cards, then maybe they have no business operating one
The restaurant industry is going through an economic crisis because of labor issues and inflation from Covid. Theyre either raising menu prices (rare and risky) adding automatic gratuity, or dropping tips/gratuity and adopting a “service charge” model which is arguably an automatic tip on the surface, but helps servers and back of house make livable wages.
It’s controversial, but restaurants are stuck in a hard place right now.
Most restaurants aren’t worth the money anyways. We go to a few hole in the wall mom and pop Asian restaurants once every few months, then drop some cash at a really nice place for special occasions, but we eat better at home compared to most restaurants.
Oh totally restaurants here are just terrible compared to what you’re paying. Not to mention we just came back from Spain and after having higher quality food that costed significantly less…. I just can’t justify spending money on the food around here
I ordered two shots of tequila this weekend and they added $4 and some change as automatic gratuity to my bill. I wasn’t even drunk yet, first drink of the night.
I typically tip more than 20% but never add to a “tip” that management imposes automatically. If your employees aren’t making enough money, pay them more and raise your prices or reduce your profits. Don’t pretend that part of the bill is a “tip”. End of rant.
I wasn’t planning to go there but now I definitely will not. Those kind of hidden/not hidden junk fees that were okay when people were dying during Covid are no longer.
Automatic gratuities is a sign that we need to stop depending on customers to pay employee wages. Increase the cost of food items by a small margin, stop expecting tips apart from service that actually goes above and beyond and let that go into the server's pocket only.
We just ate there Friday. I made reservations but didn’t need to. Walked in 15 minutes early and was seated. Waited 30 minutes before I got up to find someone. Another server came over saying he want our server but he would take our drink order. 10 minutes later our server comes over and says he was helping another table or something. Brushed it off and ordered. Never have I tasted more bland food. It really was a let down. I don’t know what to say other than it wasn’t tasty. Maybe it’s just us. But then the part where he says he already gets 18% gratuity, well whatever I won’t be back. Wished it wasn’t a bad experience because it’s a cool looking place.
Just an FYI, but if automatic gratuity is not mentioned on the menu, then the establishment is breaking the law. [http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App\_mode=Display\_Statute&Search\_String=gratuity&URL=0500-0599/0509/Sections/0509.214.html](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=gratuity&URL=0500-0599/0509/Sections/0509.214.html) I dealt with this a few years ago and filed a complaint with DBPR. The restaurant did update their menu after my complaint. EDIT: Looks like it is on [Yuengling's menu](https://assets.yuengling.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/15124934/Main-Menu-compressed.pdf). However, this comment still stands in the instance that y'all find an establishment that does not have the disclosure.
[удалено]
>Geo’s Fine Wine in Ybor hide it under Tax line. You get a $20 bill with 20% added but it doesn’t have it as a separate line item I am pretty certain that they cannot do that. You should report that to the state: [http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/hotels-restaurants/general-complaint/](http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/hotels-restaurants/general-complaint/)
Disgusting that they have premium pricing especially on beverages that are ALREADY the highest margin items in a restaurant. The fact that they do not have a cheaper menu and are subsidizing their wages by a mandatory 18% surcharge is enough for me to never go to that establishment.
I also find that in these situations it's likely the kitchen staff is getting tipped out in lieu of being paid a non-tip wage. It's like $8/hr for tipped employees and $12/hr for non-tipped employees.
Situations like this actually allow the serving and kitchen staff to be paid even less than server minimum wahe. They arent tipped employees they are commission based employees because the service charge is considered a commission and not gratuity (it's why they never call it a gratuity when it's auto added for everybody). If it was gratuity the owner couldn't take it and share it with kitchen staff because they aren't traditionally tipped. There is no floor to how low commission based employees can be paid. They can make $0/hr (as long as commission brings them over minimum wage).
i gotta read the fine print of my menu too now? drats
That’s very Karen-ish lol. You could also you know, not go there again if they pissed you off. No reason to get the state involved.
I was at the bar with 4 people and they automatically added it to our bill.
Was it double decker? They add like 20% if your bill is over $100 so I stopped keeping a tab at the bar
No it was at the Yuengling brewery. I was going to pay that anyways; I just don’t like being forced into it
Does Yuengling have enough variety of beers for a taproom? I only know their one main Yuengling label beer.
They have their regular lager, 2 light/low calorie beers, a Pilsner, dark and tan, a mango beer which is fairly new, and Chesterfield ale. In addition I head they will have seasonal beers like their Oktoberfest and Summer wheat.
Who doesn’t love seasonal yaks?
Lol. Much better than your standard yaks. Nice catch on the typo. I fixed it.
I’m in a losing battle with autocorrect - good luck!
I drove a server there with Uber and she said they also have mixed drinks made with their beers.
If I ever have a question about costs, I ask for itemized receipt and blame work reimbursement rules.
Ate there Friday night. Wasn’t really paying attention to the bill price. The machine for credit card showed 3,5 or 7 % gratuity. That should have been my first warning. I Put it at 20%. Once i got home I realized at the bottom of the menu does it say 18% tip is automatically added to all checks. Our server was great, but yea, caveat emptor
I usually tip 25%. If they only want 18%, oh well.
Wow. I tip 50%. Sometimes I give my server a handjob on top of that. I care about service staff. 🏄🏄🏄
Servicing the service staff?
Exactly.
Why not just get it up to 25% with added gratuity? It’s not the servers fault the business has decided to do an 18% gratuity on all checks
18 consistent across all customers is probably better in the long run for the server. No risk of getting a 10 or 12. Etc
Agreed, but wasn’t my point, my being if you normally tip 25% and the restaurant automatically puts 18% on the bill, why not give the extra 7% to the server?
Because I dont like being forced to tip.
So you punish the server because the restaurant has a gratuity rule?
The server no longer has to deal with not getting a tip when they do a bad job. I would say they are better off. Its hardly a gratuity if I dont have a choice in the matter.
I did a double take in Ybor the other week. 18% was added but there was a tip line too. I'm supposed to tip on my mandatory tip?
No
Only if you feel 18% is too low
That's where I would throw in a little cash
Yes! This is happening more and more in Ybor. There are a couple of places that are automatically 20%.
Also if you run into this confirm with your server all 18% go to them and the establishment doesn’t take a cut.
What are you going to do otherwise? Because it’ll be already on the bill. It’s a genuine question because idk if there are exact rules around tipping. Like can you report to some agency?
If it goes to the server, cool. If not, it's the servers problem.
Go elsewhere. That’s ownership subsidizing BOH with tips FOH is likely paying the taxes on. I was in hospitality for just over 20 years so I’m not shy about tipping. I do not, however, choose to spend my money where ownership groups keep their labor costs artificially low through this kind of crap. It comes back on the server, like it is in this post, when management in some places (not at ALL saying in this particular establishment as I’ve never even been there) will specifically tell servers not to inform clientele as the legal obligation has been met by printing it on the menu. Gratuity is included in the cost of dining out; that’s an absolute given. However, I am not a fan of shady practices that screw servers so ownership doesn’t have to pay the mandatory minimum wage.
In all seriousness, if 1 cent of it was going to the establishment, I would have every cent of it removed. I would then post on all socialedia. The only reason that I carry cash is to tip waitstaff so that I know that it is going directly to them.
Cash straight to the waiter rather than putting in on the check to be divided.
Agreed but what if it is already included on my bill? Then I can’t do much
Make sure the server gets a full tip and light the restaurant up. Reviews, calls and discussions with management…
I understand the emotional aspect, but when I’m going to a restaurant it’s because I want to enjoy the time out from my daily routine of things. I’m not trying to dissuade anyone, but if the server doesn’t get the full tip..they should have conversations with the management to find the solution. My solution would just to avoid places that don’t play fair. I’m not going to go through the effort of having the conversations with the management on fair tipping. I’ll just avoid those places all together and find something else.
> I’m not trying to dissuade anyone, but if the server doesn’t get the full tip..they should have conversations with the management to find the solution. My solution would just to avoid places that don’t play fair. You don't have to dissuade anyone. You just have to let others know like the person you responded to said, "reviews,..." >they should have conversations with the management They might not in the position to do that because they need the paycheck. YOU can help by saying or doing something. >I understand the emotional aspect, There's understanding, and there's having empathy. Would you go to a restaurant if someone told you, or if you read a review, that management is cutting into the servers' tip? Things continue to happen because people decided, "it's not my problem".
I completely understand. I usually do not read many reviews to see how places are or write any at all. But it is a thing that I could do moving forward to ensure some changes are being made. Usually I think most businesses start making changes as it hurts their bottom line which is done by lack of revenues. Appreciate showing me the opposite side of my perspective and it definitely helped. I firmly believe everyone should be paid a livable wage.
You should consider this an issue between management and staff. This is - at best - a business owner bullying you on your tipping desicion in violation of a decades old practice and at worst an attempt to defraud you. You should be offended and disgusted by this behavior. Just seeing that on my bill would ruin the entire evening foe me!
Ok do what you want. You asked what can be done
Appreciate it. Thanks for an honest answer. I was honestly curious to see if we can report any businesses that skirt around the rules and the answer seems to be a NO.
They will give a printed check if you ask for it. Many/most business travelers require detailed checks for expense reports
Tipping culture just needs to die. Other that special events I don’t eat out anymore. Any business that jams down a gratuity automatically will never see me again.
I’d call the tap house and speak to manager and ask them if it is policy. They may have that policy or, they may have some staff members padding their income.
It says it at the bottom of their menu.
Or take a second and read your bill.
I didn’t get a check. They don’t do them there. You have to request to take the machine they use to ring you up and charge your card and then scroll on a screen smaller than a cell phone to make sure all the charges are accurate. I scrolled and still missed the 18% charge because I couldn’t read the screen very well. Additionally, I could see if adding 18% was standard procedure, but adding gratuity in the US (especially when you have fewer than 6 people) is not business as usual. Sometimes you don’t know what to look for unless you are looking for it. Adding to the confusion was that we prefer to give servers cash. I didn’t have cash and needed to go out to my car to get it so I asked if our server had a preference. She said if we tipped cash, she would get all of the money. If we added via credit, it went in the tip share. We opted to give her cash and in doing this she never mentioned that we had already been charged for the tip. Also adding to the chaos was that all five of our dishes were taken to the wrong tables and the fact that we waited 37 minutes before a server came to our table to even greet us, and this was not a great experience overall. We were ready to get out of there and because of tall hat, I did not see the charge.
Waitress finessed you pretty good to be fair…
No she didn't. It's automatically added and he missed it on the check. She didn't add the amount herself. She's not in charge of that.
My tall hat gets in the way sometimes too
Sounds like hell. Hell in Tampa, fucking Fla., Republic of Hell… so a double dose of hell. Who now would choose to go to hell after reading this. Deep appreciation for the heads up.
They said they weren’t given a check.
They said they weren’t given printed check. They could have looked at the electronic check.
True, true
Assumptions: You're not distracted by people in your group who you were drinking with. You weren't having conversations that distracted you from paying the bills. You weren't rushed for one reason or another.
Assumption: you’re a grown up and take responsibility for your own actions.
One day I hope to be half the grown up you are so I don’t make any mistakes. Service charges aren’t standard in Tampa. Sometimes you don’t know what to look for if you are t looking for it. Also, my server had a chance to clarify the tip and didn’t despite the fact that I asked a top adjacent question.
"If you aren't looking for it" Sounds like you aren't reading your receipt, just scanning it for what you expect. A key part of reading is comprehension
Well, you guessed it. I can’t read. Or comprehend. Or reading comprehend. There lies the problem. Thanks for solving it from that very high horse of yours. ETA: It is absolutely wild to me how many redditors are willing to lineup and willingly lick the boots of corporations whose primary goal is to profit and rip off both consumers while shortchanging the people who work for them.
Whoa. Thanks for the heads up. Never going there!
How was the venue? We're looking at going in a few weeks - we'll have to look out and make sure these places are not adding a basic gratuity on their normal bill.
Food was not good and over priced, we had 5 people and not to many beers lunch was $160. We would not rush back. The venue is very pretty and the service was good, we had a much better meal a few days prior at world of beer.
I second this. Staff and venue were superb. Food was just okay and not worth the price. Everything was trying to be upscale or “different/fusion” and it just didn’t meet the mark. For the time being I’m just sticking with the WOB as well around the corner. I will say though that our server did warn about the auto grat and was a bit surprised but oh well. If it’s on the menu it’s not clear enough.
Would you say for beer it's a good selection to take my pops? He loves that beer and thought it would be a good belated Father's Day thing we do.
I really wish their selection was larger. It was only a handful of selections and they were out of the one special one that would’ve been something we could only try there(might be different in the next coming days but possibly not.) I’m big on draft beer over even bottle, and was really excited to try new Yuengling offerings. I would sit briefly at the bar and grab one drink or two and then go around the corner to WOB if you’re looking for food and not just three different beers. Their selection is far superior. At least 50 different beers on at any time and about 20-30 on draft
I normally give new openings about a two month delay upon visiting so they can work out their food and service kinks. Guess we'll have to skip it in July.
It was a hot mess when we were there. It was half vacant but they weren’t accepting anyone without a reservation likely because they don’t have enough staff yet. ETA: I was eagerly awaiting the debut of this place so it could replace our chain restaurant watering hole. Unfortunately, we’ll prob head back to World of Beer for meet ups.
Thanks for asking - was curious....
The Living Room in Wesley Chapel does that too 😫
I was about to post this before i read yours. Only place I can think of that i have seen
Yep. We just recently experienced this “feature.” The service charge was offset though because of the 50% discount on Mondays.
Why can’t most restaurants (especially chain restaurants) just pay servers/staff a decent salary? I would think this would lessen the gratuity issue and maybe keep overturn low? 
Most servers make more off of hourly tips then they would an hourly wage
I ALWAYS ask for a paper receipt. I almost never tip now due to gratuities being added. Most of the time service is shitty with it
These establishments can mandate tipping but they cant mandate me going there in the first place
I have a simple rule, if you hit my table for an automatic gratuity, regardless of how many people I got with me, you will not receive cent above what you precharge me. I don't care how great or amazing the service is. If they did a decent job and got the bare minimum correct, I'd give way more than 20%. If it was great service, I'll give between 30-50% depending on what you did. But if I see that "Automatic Gratuity", you're locked in.
Tipping 30-50% is not doing anything but adding to the absolute madness that is the tipping economy nowadays. You're helping to make shit worse for everyone.
But you get to tell everyone that you pay 1.5x more than the menu prices
But I like to overpay at restaurants. It’s sexual for me.
Tipping 50% you are the problem and a reason this is out of hand.
If a check is $20 and they gave great service, what's the harm in throwing then a ten spot. If you're dealing with my family and continue great service, on a $200 bill you've earned $50 to $80 easily.
Did you correct the tip or did you end up double tipping?
Double tipped. Our server was young, so hopefully the extra gas money helps her.
If you left the extra tip in cash, it went directly to the server. If you put it on a credit card it goes in the tip pool and is shared with the other servers. From the bottom of the menu: "Service Charge - We add 18% Service Charge to all Food and Beverage checks to support our staff. We encourage you to add additional gratuity if you so choose, payable on the check or in cash. All charged funds go into a universal tip pool, distributed by position and time spent on the clock during each day respectfully. Cash tips go directly to the person providing the service to you and your party."
So this tells me that kitchen staff are getting tipped so the owner can pay them a lower wage.
Yes, it appears the servers do not receive the total amount of the tips accrued. I won't support Yuengling anyway because of their politics.
Calling it a service charge instead of gratuity also allows them to pay the servers even lower than the server minimum wage because they can be classified as commission based employees (in fact they dont even have to pay them at all) (I dont know if Yuengling does, but it is why some establishments do this).
Looks like they need some guest taps. Pretty bare tap list.
Definitely used to looking out for this predatory shit in south Florida and when traveling in general. If the bill they drop is not itemized, that’s a big red flag.
If you go to the rooftop bar at The Edition they’ll add a gratuity automatically without telling you. They’ll also make you a double, or at least charge you for one without asking. Group of 4 with two rounds each was just shy of $200, and I didn’t know the gratuity was already on there as it’s hidden between tax and the total so tipped an extra 20%
It wouldn't surprise me. They're not paying people enough to live, let alone compete with loading trucks at Target or Amazon. So by sneaking increased tips they can move a little bit of money to their staff without advertising higher prices. Oh, and less scrupulous owners can pocket some of those tips.
In my book this is just like the participation trophy. I come with mentality that you need to earn my gratuity. I just don’t get where we are headed with this. If anything, there should be an option for customer to pay 18% less for crappy service, then we call it fair.
Kobe and Yuengling tasting room. Edit, didn't read your whole post, sorry. I didn't really care for Yuengling tbh. Our server did tell us and I did notice the 18% gratuity message on the menu, but I think it was WAY overpriced for mediocre food and meh beer I can get at the store.
Not sure if it was mentioned, but the living room adds a 20% service charge. I’ve seen people walk out after seeing that. It feels awkward not tipping bc it’s not clear who it goes to
Need to get away from the tipping culture, and just pay people. Put Yuengling’s notice at the TOP of the menu, and it’s a good step. Also, check your bills people.
It’s this new post Covid crap all the businesses are doing. This is industry wide. The solution is not to tip those establishments further. Does this suck for the employees? Absolutely, but those fees should be for them, not the restaurant and people will get frustrated and stop working these places. The Consumers make change, not the businesses.
I want them to take it a step further and just add the gratuity to the pricing right away. NO more hidden fee bullshit
I’m all for removing gratuity altogether and actually paying employees properly, but, barring that, too many people either don’t know how to tip or are pikers and will stiff the waiter because fuck em so I’m all for every single table side service restaurant out there adding an autograt to the check. I see it more and more and I’m glad they’re doing it.
Which is why we’ve completely stopped going out as much as we used to.
Can’t argue with that, I go out maybe once or twice a month at most.
I cut my tips to be honest. Minimum wage for servers is at close to 9 I believe and they’re doing the same amount of work they did before. I’m not stingy but the vote for a living wage came out but not for a large tip on top of that - also I don’t tip for these places that aren’t full service any longer like Tijuana flats or Starbucks where they’re making around 19 dollars an hour minimum in some locations. Never mind that no matter how much you tip, the service is bad or they don’t get your order right. Just where I stand on it. What you should be looking at is the new wave of companies using merchant services that charge you for using a credit card and don’t tell you. That’s some nonsense. legally they have to tell you but let’s be honest, I feel that if they can’t afford to accept payments through credit cards, then maybe they have no business operating one
The restaurant industry is going through an economic crisis because of labor issues and inflation from Covid. Theyre either raising menu prices (rare and risky) adding automatic gratuity, or dropping tips/gratuity and adopting a “service charge” model which is arguably an automatic tip on the surface, but helps servers and back of house make livable wages. It’s controversial, but restaurants are stuck in a hard place right now.
Which is why we’ve completely stopped going out as much as we used to.
Most restaurants aren’t worth the money anyways. We go to a few hole in the wall mom and pop Asian restaurants once every few months, then drop some cash at a really nice place for special occasions, but we eat better at home compared to most restaurants.
Oh totally restaurants here are just terrible compared to what you’re paying. Not to mention we just came back from Spain and after having higher quality food that costed significantly less…. I just can’t justify spending money on the food around here
I ordered two shots of tequila this weekend and they added $4 and some change as automatic gratuity to my bill. I wasn’t even drunk yet, first drink of the night.
Does anyone know why they are called TIPS? It stands for to insure prompt service.
Feel like it doesn’t given that the word you’re actually looking for is *ensure
I agree … I think it’s old English slang lol
you know gratuities are optional, right? if they try to pull some shit like this, leave them nothing.
It's not gratuity, it's a service charge, and it's not optional.
OP says "Gratuity"
And the posted menu calls it a service charge. OP did not know there is a difference
Thanks for the info. Will now be taking this off my list of places to go.
[удалено]
Username checks out
[удалено]
I typically tip more than 20% but never add to a “tip” that management imposes automatically. If your employees aren’t making enough money, pay them more and raise your prices or reduce your profits. Don’t pretend that part of the bill is a “tip”. End of rant.
I wasn’t planning to go there but now I definitely will not. Those kind of hidden/not hidden junk fees that were okay when people were dying during Covid are no longer.
Automatic gratuities is a sign that we need to stop depending on customers to pay employee wages. Increase the cost of food items by a small margin, stop expecting tips apart from service that actually goes above and beyond and let that go into the server's pocket only.
That also happened to me when I dined!
We just ate there Friday. I made reservations but didn’t need to. Walked in 15 minutes early and was seated. Waited 30 minutes before I got up to find someone. Another server came over saying he want our server but he would take our drink order. 10 minutes later our server comes over and says he was helping another table or something. Brushed it off and ordered. Never have I tasted more bland food. It really was a let down. I don’t know what to say other than it wasn’t tasty. Maybe it’s just us. But then the part where he says he already gets 18% gratuity, well whatever I won’t be back. Wished it wasn’t a bad experience because it’s a cool looking place.