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Passions: Service, please!
Is the old fashioned “tip” the gold standard, or should eateries levy a charge in your bill? A chef and a foodie debate.
“Service charges help both the employees and the customers”
By Noah Barnes
As a chef and restaurant owner, I understand how and why the industry uses service charges to help the staff and also increase customer satisfaction in a multitude of ways. The service charge contributes to a good chunk of the staff salaries and is also used to help the team in other formats. It also motivates the employees to provide an experience beyond the customers’ expectations.
With inflation on the rise and running costs increasing, service charges help both employees and customers as prices are not hiked and wages are not affected. Plus, since the tipping culture in India is not like the West, this incentive keeps motivation consistent between team members.
In an industry known for long hours and laborious work, it is crucial to have a monetary reward for consistent and good service. Inflation has made it difficult for business owners to sustain such bonuses, so they do this with the help of the service charge.
Perhaps most importantly, a service charge is not illegal, as long as it is clearly mentioned on menus and elsewhere around the property, enough that a customer is made aware.
Noah Barnes, 34, is the co-founder and chef at Miss Margarita by Arriba.
“It’s as simple as: If I like the service, then I’ll tip well”
By Anubhuti Raikwar
When it comes to eating out, we are already paying a huge amount of money. In fact, restaurant bills often manage to give us quite a shock! Overpriced menus and the variety of taxes charged on food are really irksome. While the service charge may not be much of a bother, I wonder why I need to pay for bad service, an unsatisfactory experience, or the okayish, mediocre, yet overpriced food one finds in most joints. I’ve even seen waiters try to shame customers who want the service tax removed from their bill! It feels like customers are being robbed in broad daylight. I really am not in favour of the service charge and deny it when I can.
I represent the working middle class. Eating out is part of our lifestyle and no slab is put on the prices of food we are served, just multiple layers of tax. It is sad that people feel that the service charge is a replacement for a tip; it should absolutely be a voluntary charge, and the customer’s choice. If I like the service, I’ll tip well, it’s as simple as that.
Marketer Anubhuti Raikwar, 34, dreams mostly about food and good wine.
From HT Brunch, June 18, 2022
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