Originally Posted by
behuman
For this year with the help of AI I prepared a small text which I will print and hand upon asking for the bill. We will see who feels bad, especially at high end restaurants with heavily up priced wine lists:
"regarding fair compensation and transparent / honest pricing - statement of principle
Dining at your establishment, I thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience. However, I noticed a discretionary service charge may be added to my bill, which I find to be rather inelegant.
I firmly believe in fair compensation for staff by the owner, (not by the guest who pays the posted price for the service already), through transparent pricing. The service charge is supposed to be directly reflected in the menu item prices, as per UK pricing transparency regulations. In light of this, I kindly request not adding the discretionary service charge to my bill.
Thank you for your understanding. Please consider this a statement of principle to oppose this tendency."
Assuming you are serious, I suspect this will be written off and perceived as an eccentric's rather odd way of doing things, thus negating any positive impact you are hoping to make.
If you do wish to make a point of it, I'd suggest speaking reasonably with the manager may be a marginally more effective approach.