Last year, most of my family went to the Outer Banks for vacation. My youngest sister and her family couldn't go, so it was eight of us instead of thirteen. One of the highlights for me was a day we drove up to Nag's Head to do some shopping and sight-seeing. And one of the highlights of that day was eating at this awesome restaurant that was right on the water. Our windows overlooked the water, and the ambiance was very nice. The food was really good too. I had some great fish and fries.
And then the bill came. Or, as they like to call it "the check." Get real, it is a bill. Were it a check, the restaurant would be giving ME money. As I examined it and was about to write in the tip, I saw to my surprise that it had already been taken out. This was one of those restaurants that deducted the tip for you if your party had a certain amount of guests. I was a bit annoyed, but signed my slip.
I get why restaurants do this. They don't want their waitress to wait on a large party of people and get stiffed, or get a small tip..... but I still don't like it. Here is why I think it is a bad idea:
1) A tip is given for services provided. In this case, it was taken from me without a choice. It was basically a fee tacked onto my meal for daring to dine with seven other people.
2) In our case, the waitress received less from some of us. They charged us 18%, and my sister and I normally tip more than 18%. Had we been allowed to tip what we wanted, she would have gotten more money.
3) It is unfair to the diners if they receive bad service. You could have a terrible waitress, and she would get tipped as much if you had a great one. You should be allowed to tip according to the quality of the service. This policy takes away that right.
I know, I know.... we could eat elsewhere. True. But I still don't like the policy.
In my country, tipping is fixed at 10% - supposedly voluntary, in practise it's compulsory - and worse - no one knows if the waiters and waitresses really do get it. Probably not. Bottom line - as bad as it can be in your country, there is always somewhere else where it is worse!!!
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