Leaving a tip when paying by card

I work for a company that provides services to restaurants, pubs and take aways in the UK. We have some of the biggest clients in the UK and we provide tills, back office software and financial analytics for over 3000 sites.

In our software any over payment on a card transaction is automatically considered a gratuity and shows up as this on all reports and in the cashing up process.

When a manager comes to cash up at the end of the night they have different fields to enter total sales and gratuities and it's kept completely separate all the way through reporting. The money is all banked the same and goes to the same account but certainly as far as I see the money is kept away from standard takings and I would expect it goes back to the staff.

Service charge (that 10% they add for 8 or more people for example) is initially kept separately from the sites takings but gets merged very quickly and that as far as I can see is included in the output figures for the site.

We have no need to consider or handle cash tips within our software and that is almost certainly just pocketed by the staff member.
 
arknor said:
American employees still HAVE to be paid a minimum wage,

IF the tips don't make up the difference then the employer has to so don't be fooled by the crap about them being paid under the minimum wage and they will starve if they don't get tips.

The tip system is good for the manager because he saves on wages.
The tip system is good for the employees because the tips more than make up the difference and they earn more than they would on a set minimum wage.

if you don't believe me google it
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in the US the minimum wage for service employees is a lot less than that for other jobs because of tips, service emloyee minimum wage is often around $2 ph
 
Last restaurant I was in, offered a note to the waitress who then told be that she couldn't keep it and it would go to the company - she kindly thanked me then told me not to bother
 
Rotty said:
in the US the minimum wage for service employees is a lot less than that for other jobs because of tips, service emloyee minimum wage is often around $2 ph
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FALSE as I said in my post.
Now you made me google...
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm
Employers electing to use the tip credit provision must be able to show that tipped employees receive at least the minimum wage when direct (or cash) wages and the tip credit amount are combined. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct (or cash) wages of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour, the employer must make up the difference.
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Ofcourse the service staff would not want you to know this and they have done a good job of created the "myth" that the minimum wage is only $2.13 for service staff when in reality it is exactly the same as every other job
 
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benskia said:
Hi,

When leaving a tip in a restaurant and you have no cash, is it worth using the gratuity option that some card machines offer when you make the payment?

Or does that just go to the restaurant's profits instead of the Christmas fund for the waiters/waitresses?

Cheers.
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Varies place by place. I ask the server wether they get their card grats or they get a portion of it.
 
I only tip if someone has really done something to impress me. I don't get tipped in my job for lugging heavy stuff like cat litter up 3 flights of stairs :(
 
So many people are so bitter they don't get tips for their work. We get it, you don't like tipping, no one cares.
 
arknor said:
FALSE as I said in my post.
Now you made me google...
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm

Ofcourse the service staff would not want you to know this and they have done a good job of created the "myth" that the minimum wage is only $2.13 for service staff when in reality it is exactly the same as every other job
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Nothing I said is false according to that, I made no comment in respect of employers making the difference up

you appear to have added more to my comment than I actually said
 
Edrof said:
Agreed. When presented with the bill, I make a point of discreetly asking whether the staff receive the tips. Some restaurants pay their staff all of the tips, some only the cash tips.

Despite once having been a waiter, I do wish we would do away with tipping. It's an awkward and archaic practice in this country and how some people even qualify for extra payment boggles the mind (I'm looking at you, taxi drivers).
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true, i hate the whole tip business. too many people tip even if the service was complete carp or the whole experience was just bog standard. oh no you have to tip! no thanks. and i don't want to feel like a criminal for not doing it.
absolutely nothing against the waiters and staff though, you're doing a great job but getting paid for that, and i'm paying you through paying for the food. if i don't tip everytime i'll have more money to come back more often :p
 
Two restaurants i have been to recently add 12.5% service charge to the bill anyway. I am sure this used to be 10%.

I went out twice last weekend and both did this. Cost me over £24 for service charge. (expensive meals for my wedding anniversary)

I have only refused to pay a service charge or tip once and that was in New York. I was practically chased out of the restaurant when confronted over this. I told him he was rather poor at his job he did not like this much.

Some places don't give you the option to add a gratuity to the card payment when i have asked (had no cash) so could not leave a tip.
 
I have never left a tip if a service charge has been added to my bill. Automatically assumed it was the same thing.
 
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