#$%@## AutoTip
 

Back in November I left a review on Yelp! for a lackluster sushi place in a high traffic tourist destination. One of my complaints was the automatic gratuity added to the bill. I mentioned that I almost failed to notice it when paying. An indignant response to my review mentioned that the automatic gratuity was for parties of 6 or more (we were 4 adults and 2 children) and was clearly identified on the menu.

Well, it was well over an hour between reading the menu and paying the bill and as 90%+ of my dining out is a party of 2, it didn’t register. I noticed it while reviewing the bill and didn’t add to it. Although I would typically tip more than 18%, I didn’t think it was deserved.

Thinking about it later on, I wondered what is the purpose of the auto tip. Do large parties typically undertip? Do large parties typically fail to tip? Do diners in tourist destinations usually undertip? I dunno. I am capable of separating service from other aspects of dining out and tipping appropriately. It has the opposite effect on me and, rightly or wrongly, discourages additional tipping.

I don’t mean for this to devolve into a criticism of our tipping culture. That’s a different subject. But how do you feel about automatic gratuities?

If they're not announced on the menu, I refuse to pay "automatic" tips out of principle.

Once I had an issue when there was a 20% (IIRC) tip for parties of six or more, but we were only five and the bill came with the tip already added. Somewhat worse, the place applied the tip to the total *including* tax and then ROUNDED UP. The restaurant deliberately took a very long time to remove the tip and give me a correct bill so that I could pay by credit card. I complained to AmEx and they backed me up, sending an inspector to hassle the restaurant.

Its normal here in the tourist areas as Nashville has a lot of group gatherings (bachelorette parties, girls/boys weekends, etc) so it is very common for large groups to be seated together and each person wanting a separate check. I think that is the intended audience for automatic gratuities for large groups. It seems to me that a standard large group tip of 18% would probably be in response to groups leaving less than that on average.

Some venues (like brunch restaurants downtown) are almost exclusively groups on weekends, so I imagine making sure the servers get tipped for the extra work of dealing with groups ordering lots of things on separate checks is behind the policy. Although I wouldn't want them to count kids towards that automatic tip. Its also very common for servers to remind folks the gratuity is already in there and they can add more if they want. I don't think it does any business any good to have their customers feel 'tricked'.

Larger parties do tend to undertip - one party of 6 can often result in lower tips than 3 tables of 2. If they split the check, invariably one party will undertip though others tip standard. I think they assume that others are covering so they can skimp a bit. Or if one person covers the full bill, the dollars can get high so they tend to go lower.

This was my experience being a server long ago. My family owned a restaurant and it was common knowledge that large tables meant worse tips. This was so long ago we never did automatic gratuities but servers typically would not want to take big groups. Sunday lunch crowd was the worst in terms of tipping. Back then cash was common too and sometimes one person would collect then pay and they would skim the tips. You'd watch them collect money and everyone was putting in tips, then they would lower their own cash contribution by using other tips to cover their bill or leave like 5% if using a card. Even in the 1990's before tip inflation, 5% was not a good tip. This was most common with co-worker lunches; we knew they were doing it too because if same people came in without this person, the tips would be standard. But there's nothing we could do as the server.

Separately, I do think that tourists undertip by American standards but that's just because our tipping culture is wild. I do tend to see more signs at US tourist areas which say "gratuity not included" or it's printed on menu.

As someone who decided to quit buying liquor and anything else at The Epicurean Trader because they installed a credit card fee (ie instead of just offering a cash discount), I would suggest not going back to restaurants that have policies that one dislikes. These businesses won’t change and we can change our tendency to give our money to an eatery that isn’t giving us satisfaction. I have the bridge-burning ability to stop frequenting places that I’ve enjoyed for years or decades. I’m a total wolf.

I have had this happen as a party of one at a sports bar in Hallandale Beach, FL for lunch. The service was terrible with the order of a burger cooked rare took over 30 minutes to arrive and the fries were cold. The had put a sign at the front receiving area for seating, but not on the tables or menu. I complained and they were adamant about this being legal. This was in a time just after Covid and I decided to pay cash for the amount without any tip and walked out. I never heard from any police and decided to never go back.

Yes, large groups under tip. Families with children have a reputation for under tipping and leaving a mess.

it might be ymmv. My book club of 5 people total will consistently tip 20+% for our group meals.

Where to begin?

I don't have a problem, in theory, with a tip added for large groups as long as it's printed clearly on the menu. If nothing else, the larger the group the longer the meal, and fewer chances for a server to make tips on that table in an evening. Getting a zero on even one 3-hour table can make a difference. Here are my issues:

- What is a large group? Is it really 6 people? That's a family, not a large group. Plus, if its 3 couples and they split the bill, isn't that really 3 groups of 2? Like you, most of us don't expect an auto-tip for 6 and then we're confused (see next point).
- It isn't always clear on the check. Sometimes it will say service charge or something else. Is that going to the server/staff? If not why is it there, and do I tip or not? To add to the confusion, I've occasionally seen a restaurant with an auto-tip policy on their menu not actually implement it on the check.
- It better not be more than 18%. I'd actually argue it should be 15%. Certainly allow people the option to add more if they wish for good service. I'm not in the camp that believes tipping starts at 20% regardless of service, even though I typically tip 20% (often on the bottom line after tax amount).
- That 18% shouldn't include tax or other charges.

The real bottom line though, is that its time to get rid of tipping in restaurants. After years of international travel, I truly felt that I got better service in the US because people were working for tips. But now there seems to be an expectation that a server will get 20% and anger if they don't. The service incentive is gone. Raise the price of the meals and outlaw tips.

I wouldn’t consider 5 a large group. Special purpose groups usually do tip well because they appreciate the meeting space and will return in the future.

From my time working in a restaurant, I wanted nothing to do with high school/college age groups and groups with lots of small children.

Get rid of tipping altogether; raise salaries of servers instead.

USA tipping is culture is infecting non-American cultures.

Refuse to tip!

I do not like automatic tips at all. I, the customer should be deciding what gratuity I am going to leave based on the service, not on the restaurants lack of business acumen, in that they need to subsidize underpaying their staff by using required tips.

Good servers do not want this. You will create mediocrity and worse if tips are taken away.

It'll be interesting to see how much this changes, if at all, with the new tax laws. If the amount is automatic and the customer has no opportunity to change it, then it is not deductible on the server's taxes. Of course, many restaurants make a point of saying "this is a service charge, not a grautity" so they're soaking you twice. I wonder what the statistics are for tips in those cases.

Unfortunately, I think tipping is here to stay until we start thinking of service positions as worthy, as most of the world does. Let's face it; as a society, we in the US still look down on this line of work as menial labor unworthy of recognition.

Really?! I had the opposite. Asia countries have no tip and way better services. They bring you food, change plates, handles checks just like US servers. The only extra step in US is the server come asking "how is everything", which I find unnecessary at best, and annoying when I'm in the middle of eating.


How is undertip even a thing? Tip is voluntary by definition, otherwise it's a fee.