Customer chooses not to tip server after being charged 18 percent 'voluntary' gratuity, sparks debate

While business owners often vent online about difficult customers, the other side of the coin frequently comes up too—some businesses take advantage of customers with unfair pricing. In restaurants, especially, it pays to scrutinize the bill to avoid unexpected charges. Recently, a Reddit user shared their experience of being charged an automatic gratuity at a restaurant. The post, complete with a picture of the bill, sparked debate as the user explained why they chose not to tip, and commenters were split in their opinions.

The Reddit post was titled, "An 18% gratuity was 'voluntary' yet automatically added to my bill for 2 guests. Swipe left to see the choice I made." The first picture showed the restaurant's bill that said that the customer had to pay a total of $73.94. The customer highlighted the whopping 18% gratuity that was added to his total which meant that he had to pay an extra $10.65 for the server. Below was a note that said, "Please note that an 18% gratuity has been added to the check. Please feel free to increase, decrease or remove the gratuity. This gratuity will be paid to your server, is voluntary and is added for your convenience."

The customer was frustrated by the automatic addition of the gratuity without prior notice, especially since the option to tip remained open. From the second picture, it was evident that the customer refused to pay the tip while also removing the gratuity from the bill. Right next to the tip, they simply wrote '0' and paid only $63.29. Many users on the forum who shared the same opinion as this customer expressed their displeasure with such restaurants and also shared similar experiences they had.

"People shouldn't have to 'opt out' of anything. There should be no tip line, extra buttons to click on or push, and no cashier standing there watching if you are tipping or not. If they want to tip, they can do it like it was just a couple of years ago. The customer simply told the cashier to add so much for a tip," commented u/sameeker1. "You should have left a note near the '0' saying it was because of the 'automatic' tip and the lie of it being for the 'customer's convenience,' but actually an attempt to rob customers," suggested u/Apprehensive_Fault_5. " I avoid eating out because I don't want to deal with it and the experience and food are never worth the cost," wrote u/Fair_Line_6740.

Others, however, disapproved of the customer’s decision to punish the server for the restaurant’s policy. "I get being upset and asking for it to be removed, but stiffing the server who makes so little, to begin with, is a d*** move. It’s not the server's fault, it’s the store's policy. Leave a negative review sure, but don’t be a d***," commented u/OnePride16. "Why would you punish the server? It's not their policy, it's management. I hope you tipped your server with cash because the server only makes $2.10 an hour," wrote u/Camaro684.

This article originally appeared on 2.01.24.