Should service charge be included?
I’ve just spent a couple of days in France, where in many places there’s no service charge, the price you pay is what it says on the menu.
This made me think about the pricing in UK restaurants. By and large it splits into two…
- Service included. Here 10% or 12.5% (up to 20%) in the extreme is added at the bottom of the bill.
- Service not included. Here you’re usually expected to tip 10% to 12.5% – though it varies
If service is part of the bill why split it out?
If service is included then it forms a part of the cost of every dish you order.
So typically the bill at the end currently looks like this
| Meatloaf Teriyaki chicken Mushy peas Boiled potatoes Chicken Korma Chips Battered Cod Fried duck tongue Chocolate Pizza |
£6 |
Total: £45
Service (12.5%): £5.65
Total: £50.65
Wouldn’t it be more clear and more accurate if it were instead:
| Meatloaf Teriyaki chicken Mushy peas Boiled potatoes Chicken Korma Chips Battered Cod Fried duck tongue Chocolate Pizza |
£6.75 |
Total: £50.65
That way the price on the menu would actually reflect what we pay in the end.
This is only a change of presentation of course so the extra money should still be divvied to staff in the same way, and should still be voluntary.
Would it work?
As stated at the beginning I’m not totally wedded to the concept. There are certainly some problems with it…It would make it more difficult for people who didn’t like the service to exclude it, and a change like this could be inflationary. Would the restaurant really charge £6.75 for the Chocolate pizza or just round it up to £7?
But that makes the food look more expensive, and as a result we may move back to the voluntary service proposition where you choose how much you actually tip.
So I thought I’d blog my mulling to see what the consensus around this is.
Update Note: Having read some of the forum discussion – I think there’s a wee misunderstanding that I’m suggesting this as a preferred option. I’m not, like most people I would prefer service NOT to be included, and you can tip if you choose to.
My thought is if restaurants want to include the service automatically, which is semi-coercive, then it’s worth considering making them do it this way.
P.S. And if you use a 2for1 restaurant voucher should you tip based on the pre or post discounted cost?
