I've seen this used quite often around the world, where if you have a group of 6+ or 8+ then a 10% service charge is automatically added to your bill.

Here in Singapore virtually every restaurant adds a 10% service charge (as do hotels), so a lot of people don't leave tips even though the two (service charge vs tips) are treated differently here. But hey, can't blame people, if they have something automatically added to their bill then I can see why they're going to leave it at that.

I love that thread, but I didn't think this belonged in there. TBH I can kind of see my company's point. In the UK the tip is added when your bill is transacted on the card device - the bill is shown, then you're asked on the device if you won't to leave a tip which appears on the final card slip. This isn't a valid tax receipt but it does prove beyond a doubt what tip you have paid. The problems occur in places like Italy where a tip is expected but it can't be added to the bill or paid by CC, therefore no proof of tip, or in the US where a space is left to write in the tip on the merchant's and customer's receipt. There is no way to tell whether the person who paid the bill left the same tip to the server as they wrote in their copy of the bill. The company could ask for the CC slip in the latter case, but adding the service charge automatically to the tax receipt removes all doubt.

I was told one of those stories about a chap who we realised was screwing the expenses system in every way he could, and one of those ways was that he would always submit restaurant receipts with 18-20% tip. It turned out that he was either tipping badly or not tipping at all then claiming the full 20%. He was a fairly unpleasant guy so it didn't take much for him to realise that he could personally profit by, A, ordering an expensive meal, and B, stiffing the server on the tip.

All in all, having the service charge added makes my life easier, less time is wasted at HQ questioning tip claims and in general people are happier not having to have this to deal with so often.

Since starting this thread I decided to try something new. When asking for the bill at the end of the meal I also ask if service/tip is included in the bill. If it is not then I ask for an appropriate tip to be added to the bill as a line item at the end before they bring it to me. So far 3 out of 4 restaurants obliged, the exception being a major pizza chain where the EPOS system wouldn't allow them to do it.

As the tip is meant to be a voluntary payment, to have it automatically added to the bill is wrong.

It is the role of the employer to pay their operatives properly, not the customer.

I'd be in favour of the total abolishion of the 'tipping culture'.

The idea of leaving a tip implies two things for the tipper. It is a personal way of recognising good service. It is therefore also a way of encouraging that good service from that same person or those same people in the future.

Adding the tip automatically does neither.

As a general rule I'm not a fan.

A lot of restaurants in Colombia will ask you after your meal if you'd like to include a tip, and will add 10%(normal tip rate) to the bill for the service. I kinda like this policy, as it makes it convenient for paying and keeps the waiters on their game.

If it would be added automatically it would be a service charge. Like for example in Singapore where most restaurants add a 10% service charge to your bill. I have no problem with a service charge that goes directly to the staff and I will give a small tip on top if the service was good or excellent but a tip should always be a voluntary thing. I know that a tip in the US is something else. In my opinion it is a semi voluntary by social conventions requested service charge which makes up the majority of the wage of a waitress/waiter.

Me neither and IIRC Hong Kong has this policy and I grumbled at the 18% or whatever automatic gratuity added for what was basically very little service. If it's automatic where is the incentive to work hard and serve the customer from a waiter's point of view? Seems more like a disincentive to me but that is merely MHO.

Yes you are. Tips are based on the servers performance, not automatic.

Yea that seems pretty harsh. I would be ok with this in some high end place that won't compromise its service, but in other restaurants and/or countries where customer service isn't stressed(never been to Hong Kong so not sure what the case is there), it would definitely put me off.

Isn't it a matter of local laws and customs in the end?

In Japan, you don't tip, but the servers are pretty well paid.

In much of Europe, your service charge is not a tip, but a way for the restaurant owner to organize his expenses.

In some U.S. states, it's permissible to pay servers much less than the minimum wage on the assumption that they'll make it up on tips. Federal taxes are assessed on their presumed tips, whether they actually receive them or not, so I automatically tip except for really bad service.

Having seen how some people act in groups, I can understand why some restaurants automatically add a service charge for large groups. Otherwise, you get arguments between those who tip as a matter of course and those who whine that they don't tip because the restaurant owners should pay their servers more. (But the restaurant owners don't pay more, so if too many people adopt this attitude, then the servers are taxed on tips they never received.)

like many here I also believe a tip is discretionary. I have no problem providing a good tip but I think it should be correlated to the level of service. As far as I am concerned you can have my tip by default unless you do something to lose it.

I hate seeing the auto-gratuity at the bottom of receipts, but I've also never left the tip portion blank. I even grumble about the auto-gratuity when dining as a group. The tip should be based on the server's work, not simply because you were served!

My standard for tipping is usually between 20-25%, but if an auto-gratuity has been added, I don't add anything extra, even if the auto-gratuity is only 15% or 18%.

Same here.

+1