Gratuity Included

A few days ago I ate at this small restaurant in downtown Framingham. The food was delicious and the service was quick and efficient. Upon receiving the bill, there was a fifteen percent gratuity included. There was a small sign on the table saying every bill will include a gratuity of fifteen percent. I have experienced included gratuity outside the country, or with parties greater than six or eight. It makes me think if this will become the new norm for restaurants. On a personal level included gratuity is a good thing especially in this tough economy.

Big portions of wait staff income come from tips. Legal hourly wages are described in greater detail on www.paywizard.org. This site provides the legal amount a restaurant must pay in order to match the minimum wage. Included gratuity is a good thing most of the time. Our regular gratuity service is based on service, leaving the customer in control of how they tip. Some of my co-workers that have worked in restaurants have expressed the frustration of providing good service and receiving little or no tip. It is this behavior which I feel is motivating restaurants to include gratuity.

Included gratuity might be seen as a bad thing in regards to receiving poor service. It must be frustrating to tip a wait staff member who provides horrible service. The issue that people need to remember is that a service is still a service. Gratuity should be included in order to pay for the service being provided. A bad tip will not resolve the issue of the server. One way to express poor service would be to report the negative dining experience with a manager. This way the manager can take other forms of action in order to fix the behavior of the wait staff.