I looked up the definition of gratuity on dictionary.com. It is defined as a "gift of money" or "something given without claim or demand". Consequently, adding the "gratuity" makes it anything but a gratuity. Although I'm sure this goes right over their pointy little heads. Because I understand it to be a gift, I really resent having it added on.
This is just becoming so common. We were faced with it in another restaurant because we had six people in the party. Again it was 18%. Another restaurant we used to enjoy started adding a 23% gratuity - and that was with two people at the table. We've made a decision not to go back there because of that 23% add-on. It sure adds to the price of the meal (which wasn't cheap to begin with.)
And why is it now 18% instead of 15%? As prices go up, the amount of the tip goes up. Why is the percentage going up? I recognize that tips based on percentage are customary, but let's take a serious look at this. Let's say that I ordered a $12 salad and Mark ordered a $25 entree. Based on the percentage method of determining the tip, my tip (assuming 15%) would come to $1.80 and Mark's tip would come to $3.75. Did it take more time and effort to serve the entree than the salad? It didn't look like it to me. Do waiters and waitresses who work in establishments where the average entree price is $10 not work as hard as waiters and waitresses who work in establishsments where the average entree price is $30? (I'm willing to bet they work harder.) If my water glass gets filled five or six times in an evening, it doesn't count because there's no charge for water. It's a messed up system. It's worse when it is added automatically. Plus, they don't tell you it's been added so if you're not paying attention, you might actually put 15% more on top of the 18% you've already been charged.
Mark and I have a tip scale with four levels: zero, 10%, 15%, and 20%. (You'll notice that neither 18% nor 23% appear on our scale.)
Zero - You really have to work hard to get no tip. (It's only happened once in the past ten years.) You have to virtually ignore us. Make us wait ten or more minutes before you bring us water or take our order. Make sure we can see you chatting up the table of young men or women nearby while we are balancing empty glasses on our heads in an attempt to get your attention. Don't check back to see if we'd like anything else - maybe a drink refill or a dessert, or even the check. Force us to get up and head for the parking lot in order to get the tab. That will get you a zero tip.
10% - You made us wait to refill our drinks. Once again, we probably had to balance empty glasses on our heads. You brought out our entrees but didn't bring us any flatware to eat them with. I asked for Worcestershire sauce, or butter, or extra dressing and my food was cold before you brought it. You got the order wrong and then you argued with me about what I ordered. You left the dirty plates on the table too long. You don't have to swoop in to get them the moment we set our forks down, but the first time you walk by and your hands aren't full, I expect you to take them away. In other words the service was a bit less than satisfactory.
15% - You did a good job. It was satisfactory. It was what I expected. It was not outstanding, but I have no complaints.
20% - You did an outstanding job. Drinks were refilled before they were empty. The food delivery was perfectly timed. You were present and attentive without being intrusive. You went the extra mile to make our evening pleasant. You made us want to come back. Well done!
As you can see from my scale, people are still tipped for providing sub-standard service. It really is no longer a "gift". It has become an obligation, and people expect 15% to be the minimum rather than the norm. It would really be nice if restaurant owners would just pay the waitstaff a living wage and we could do away with "gratuities" all together.
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