New York City – The city is cracking down on eateries that illegally add automatic gratuities to meal tabs.
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After a Post exposé last Sunday of the growing practice, the Department of Consumer Affairs dished out violations to five restaurants.
Mikata Japanese, at 150 Centre St.; Rocky’s, at 45 Spring St.; Novella, at 191 Grand St.; Cloister Café, at 238 E. Ninth St.; and Le Caire, at 189 E. Third St., were all issued tickets.
The DCA says its ongoing investigation will target those restaurants that illegally add a gratuity to parties of less than eight, charge more than 15 percent on the tip, or do not clearly state gratuity policies on the menu.
We ate out at a certain restaurant (shelanu) and the bill was about 190 dollars and the owner himself was the only waiter there. Yet, we got a bill for over 240 dollars and it said on the receipt, tax, service, gratuities, to “explain” the added fifty bucks.
It was a party and I didn’t want to end the scene with an argument and leave a sour note in everyone, so i paid it. Hoeweve, this person is never going to have us in againiy”H, so he got his quick bucks on the spot, but he will not get all the bucks he might have received time and time again, had we been charged fairly. This smart alec is going to do it over and over until he pushes away all customers and then when he closes in a year he will say, “I don’t understand, I gave such good food.”
Can anyone here please explain what exactly is the law.? i am always charged for tips when i eat out with 3 people..is this legal or not?
I ate at a kosher restaurant in Rockland last night, and noticed the gratuity had been added to the bill. I asked the owner and he said he is forced to do it because so many customers will leave a tiny tip or not tip at all for the waiters who after all depend on tips for a living. He told me stories of parties of 14 that sat for hours eating and drinking and then leaving the waiter $1.50. This is wrong and he says it is a growing practice in the “frum” community. Maybe outside also, but we don’t know that. In any event, he was quite adamant that he wants his workers, most of whom are not Jewish to be paid fairly for their time and work, so he adds the tip now.
As long as the menu clearly says that a service charge of X% will be added to the bill and you know that in advance, it is perfectly legal although not a good business practice. You can get up and leave if you don’t like it or pay it, but is has to be disclose in advance of the meal.
I was recently charged in a resturant for some take out food. i’m not sure if this artilce include NJ, but it happens.
I’m glad this is strating to be enforced.
One store is adding 2.00 to every order they send to b&h is it legal?
i was in manhattan and i had very bad service from beginning to the end so i paid my bill of $275 and i diidnt give a tip he ran after me till the corner saying that the waiters only get paid by tips…blah
i think its ridiculous that when i go out and order a steak thats $40 dollars that they throw on an extra $10 tip. ( that’s $10 dollars for carrying my plate to me , that’s a rip-off)
I always clean off the shabbos table A-Z, it’s not so hard.
I do agree to a percentage but not 18% like in most restaurants i think it’s sick, especially when i go to expensive restaurants and the waiter doesn’t even look at you, why should he get 18% for crumby service does that make any sense?????
i believe tipping should be an option because otherwise they don’t give a darn about you which is why a lot of high line restaurants have bad service!!!
whats the reason of tipping in a restaurant i dont get it they charge an arm and a leg and still dont pay the waiters we have to tip them Y a bunch of thiefs at least if u charge alot of money it should include the waiters also abunch of pigs
I feel the tip is optional. If I get good service I give a good tip, but for bad service I do not have any obligation. My experience if they know they will get the tip than there is no reason to give good service because it is part of the charge on the bill.If I go to acheap rstaurant I leave a biger tip than in excpensive restaurant since I feel the tip has nothing to do with the price of the food.If my bill comes to 300 dollars than 18% comes out to 54 dollars plus 26 for taxes an extra total of 80 dollars, this is nonsense
in these ecconomic times the restaurants should be happy having patrons and
not impose on them such enormous tips.
i ate at a place in manhatten with five pepole where the prices are crazey we had a bill that was $ 1,600 from the 1,600 dollers $ 800 was in wine and evreybody got a 80 doller steak so the waiter did not work to hard when i got the bill we gave a tip of $ 225 the waiter started a big think its not right it shuold be 275 i got realy angrey and canceld the payment that had the tip and paid only the $ 1,600 and never wend back to that place its a shame the whole thing is a robbery how hard is it to bring 3 bottels of wine that is overprice allready and how many pepole make for so little work $ 225 an hour its time to stop this when i spent 300 or 500 and 800 or more at one time dont make me look like a cheap person because it was only 14-1/2 % and not 15% this crazenes is part why a lot of resturants are so slow thay make fill like the gave you a free meal and you are not even saying thank you.
I spent some time in Melbourne, Australia and would you believe that Tipping is not required! When I tried to hand the waiter some money, he said it was not
neccessary. America has this expensive “tipping” requirement for every service
from getting a haircut to tipping the postman (on his holiday)….it’s ridiculous.
Employers need to pay their waiters or a proper salary so that customers don’t need to add on another $20 or more dollars to their meal.
Don’t go to restaurants and have bills of $250-300 and complain of a $50-80 tip. Don’t eat out if you can’t afford it!
The problem is that Israelis don’t tip and Jews are too much “wise guys” that stiff the waitress to “teach her a lesson” if one thing or another was not perfect according to the particular person’s exacting standards, which is really often just an excuse for not tipping. That’s why all the Jewish establishments have taken up adding the tip. In the non-kosher world, tip is not automatically added (except in tourist places that cater to Europeans who don’t know the custom) but NOBODY WOULD DARE not tip.
I just don’t understand why the tip is based on the amount on the bill by percentage. Does the waiter really deserve more just because he served a $50 steak rather than a $3 hot dog? I think they should change the system to tip based on the amount of ITEMS rather than on the amount of DOLLARS.
I once read that “TIPS” meant “to insure prompt service.” That is what the tip should be for. Anybody that sits for hours and hours in a restaurant and doesn’t leave the proper tip – he’s the one responsible for the owners having to add the tips automatically onto the bills. Do you really think a waitperson wants to have to deal with a table that sits around for hours, and then leaves no tip? Wake up, people. The schnorerrs are making it bad for the rest of us.
What I don’t understand is alot of restaurants add the tip on automatically and then when you get the receipt to sign it says amount, tip, and total they try to get another tip out of you.
The law is simple, restaurants can ONLY charge an automatic tip if there are eight or more patrons at a table. If that’s the case, then they can ONLY charge 15% and they MUST state so clearly on their MENU. Any establishment that charges an automatic tip when there are less than eight people OR if they are charging more than 15% OR is they fail to state so clearly on the MENU is breaking the law.
TIPS = TO INSURE PROPER SERVICE {tips are and shouldnt be mandatory}
There is no reason for tips. If I buy something in a store I don’t care about who cleans up the store.
Although it is counterintuitive, I find that the service in restaurants that include a tip is better than where it’s left to the diner’s discretion. A place like Tea for 2 Light has signage all over that the tip is included & on the Menu & on the check. Certainly establishments that play down that a tip is included should be sanctioned.
I know of a store in bp that includes tip and the service stinks becahse they dont need to please anyone
Most of the restaurants in BP charge an 18% tip and include it in your bill. I’ve noticed that since then, the service stinks. They don’t come back to your table or check up on you. Most annoying!
Ironically, a cab driver who spends so much more time with you and cannot serve others ar the same time (like a waiter) gets a relatively small tip.
Couple of points:
1. TIPPING IS NOT OPTIONAL…whether or not you agree with the lomdus behind tipping is utterly irrelevant, if you go out to eat in a restaurant, you are necessarily subjecting yourself to the industry standard (i.e., minhag haamokem) — barring extraordinary circumstances (e.g., waiter spits in your food while flipping you the bird), leaving a tip of anything less than 15% (in NYC) is a per se chilul hasham.
2. As is the case in other industries (see e.g., tuition statements…”administration fee,” “registration fee,” “dinner fund”), you’re a bloody fool if you get caught up in the labeling of the various costs…do you think that it costs $400 to register a kid in school…not so much…they apply different labels in an effort to make the overall cost more palatable to the general public (i.e., the bloody fools).
3. I love the fact that numerous comments bemoan the perceived overpayment for wait service…yet those very same people have no issue paying $40 for a singular piece of meat.
Peace out.
it is achilul Hashem not to tip someone to whom it is customary to give one to.
The law should also say that if the tip is included, there shouldn’t be a LINE asking for ‘Additional Tip” because it is confusing for those who don’t realize they’ve already given a tip, they end up tipping twice and feeling like a putz
It sounds like no one here ever relied on work as a waiter or waitress to feed their families or to put themselves through school. Right or wrong, restaurants don’t have to pay servers minimum wage because tips are supposed to make up most of the earnings. If you go out expect to pay 15% for a tip. If the service is really great, pay 20%. If you are too cheap or can’t afford it, eat at home.
For all who say, servers should be paid a decent wage and have no tipping, I agree. But for now we are stuck with this system. Also, the meal price will go up if waiters are paid a decent hourly wage, so you will pay one way or the other.
Many years ago, most people gave the waitor a nice tip. Today, if the restaurant doesn’t charge a tip on the bill, many people won’t give a tip.
p.s. It’s a Halachah that you must to tip your waitor the standard tipping price. Ask your local Rabbi about it.
Only place they dont ask for TIPS i know is Gotliebs in Willamsburgh….
Why does the owner of a restaurant not have to pay his employees regular salary and not depend on tips. Does he not make enough money off of the $40-$60 dinners? Who tips the employees in a dress shop? They show you the clothes over and over till you decide which one looks better after trying on many outfits. THen they have to hang everything up. Hopefully you didnt ruin the dress with your make up. And if you leave without buying anything, the store didnt even turn a profit. The same at a electronics store, where you look at many different models of whatever and then go elsewhere to find where you can get it cheaper….. etc etc etc. Lets make a STOP to this nonsense if TIPPING!!!
The most ganeiva way is to add the tip by calling it GRATUITIES. Then there is a line on the bottom after the totals for TIP.
Or the guy that doesnt look at the bill, just hands them the money and then leaves money on the table for the tip PURE GENEIVA!!!
The biggest scam is that they bill you 15-20% mandatory gratuity, and if you pay by credit card, they bring you the slip which has a line for a tip, and they expect you add something on top of that… (many add an additional 15%+ on the CC slip w/o realizing)
A lot of places in Brooklyn do that.
I remember listening to a shiur once and it aS me tinned that it is usser to tip an ûrel. How do we justify tipping in todays times?
Print the linked page and bring the printout to your local kosher auto-tip establishment:
NYC Rule §5-59 Restaurant Surcharges.
(a) A seller serving food or beverages for consumption on the premises may not add surcharges to listed prices. For example, a restaurant may not state at the bottom of its menu that a 10 percent charge or a $1.00 charge will be added to all menu prices.
(b) A seller may impose a bona fide service charge (such as an added charge for two persons splitting one meal, or a per person minimum charge), if the charge is conspicuously disclosed to the consumer before the food is ordered.
(c) In this section, the term “surcharge” does not include tax.
http://24.97.137.100/nyc/rcny/Title6_5-59.asp