Is a pub's service charge on beer at the bar a rip-off?
It's only at this point that things get a bit lively. Drinkers at the Well & Boot in London's Waterloo station, with its panoramic view over surely the nation's single ugliest concourse, must now ask themselves a difficult question. Was that short moment of perfection worth an extra 31p? Or does the existing £7.65 for the pint itself adequately cover the act of pouring it out?
The reason they must ask it themselves is because no one else is going to. The pint they've just ordered is about to have a 4 per cent service charge added to it, even though it's been ordered at the bar and paid for at the bar. It won't, in fairness, be drunk at the bar, as there is no bar to speak of, not one with seats anyway, or an actual bar top, and that's the real scandal here, which we'll get on to shortly.
The Well & Boot has hit the headlines over the past 48 hours, for its not-so-obvious 4 per cent service charge on drinks at the bar. Two days of newspaper coverage have not been sufficient to compel the bar staff to mention it. It's in the small print on the bottom of the menu, but who looks at that? It's on the receipt if you happen to ask for one, but who gets a receipt for a pint of beer (apart from journalists, obviously)?
When you see it printed out and written down, it's a bit irksome. If, back in the year 2000, I'd been paid 31p for every pint I'd poured, I'd have ended the Friday night shift with several hundred quid to show for it, not £15.85 and, I realise now, severe PTSD from over-exposure to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.
• 9 of the best pubs in London — chosen by our beer expert
The Well & Boot is banking on customers not noticing the difference between £7.65 for a pint of beer and £7.96 for a pint of beer, and it's a safe bet. Once you've paid £7.65 for a pint your subconscious is already doing everything it can to suppress the pain, just to allow you to enjoy it. You can, if you like, ask for it to be removed, and, having done the job myself, I simply couldn't face hassling a bar worker to go through the necessary rigmarole on the till just to do themselves out of 31p.
Is it a rip-off? I don't know. Pint number two — all in the name of research, obviously, was a Guinness — and that one was brought to the table, at which point a 4 per cent charge for table service is quite good value. All the other customers were having a lunchtime meal, ordered and brought to the table, so 4 per cent for that sort of service is extremely cheap.
What really irks is that it is a calculated effort to strip out the entire purpose of tipping culture. Having lived in New York for a bit, I am a passionate believer in tipping culture, which British holidaymakers to the United States rarely understand. There, it is routine to hand over a dollar bill for every drink (an amount which has not gone up in at least 20 years, even while the cost of the drink itself has doubled). But — and here comes the whole point — should you stay for four or five drinks, you are likely to receive a drink on the house in return for your generosity, which has cost you in tips a lot less than the cost of the drink itself.
It is a virtuous circle of conviviality. Decent wages for service workers in return for cheap drinks for loyal punters, the purposeful nurturing of a good atmosphere, and all of it done off the books. A few dollars are handed over in cash, a bit of liquid goes missing, no need to worry about the spreadsheets or the taxman. Proper tipping culture is the same double victory as paying the plumber in cash, except there's also booze involved.
• Pubs must wake up and smell the coffee: morning money is the future
It doesn't work if it's all done on card (the Well & Boot does not take cash), and it certainly doesn't work if it's done in secret.
Of course, what's actually going on here is yet another case of long pub Covid. Pubs with no discernible bar, where you shout over the taps and then are cajoled into having your drinks brought to a table you haven't even found yet. Where people still order and pay over app, or queue in single file, and no one truly understands what the point of it all is. At least, I think that's what's going on here. I might be wrong. Perhaps if I'd racked up £7.65's worth of 31p tips, my 25th pint would have been on the house. I might, however, have missed my train.
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Times
5 hours ago
- Times
Is a pub's service charge on beer at the bar a rip-off?
The pint is ordered. The tap handle is pulled down firmly, from completely closed to completely open. Having pulled several thousand of these things myself, once upon a time, I can see it's a textbook start, and it only improves. The glass is held at 45 degrees and raised high against the tap, limiting, but not entirely restricting the drop height of the liquid. Then, as the level rises, the angle is slowly opened and the glass is lowered, ensuring consistency of drop height all the way through the pour, agitating the carbon dioxide within to the optimum level required for a solid 2cm of foamy head. It's perfect. I mean, it's not very hard. Anyone can master it in about five minutes, as I once did, aged 18. But it's still perfect. It's only at this point that things get a bit lively. Drinkers at the Well & Boot in London's Waterloo station, with its panoramic view over surely the nation's single ugliest concourse, must now ask themselves a difficult question. Was that short moment of perfection worth an extra 31p? Or does the existing £7.65 for the pint itself adequately cover the act of pouring it out? The reason they must ask it themselves is because no one else is going to. The pint they've just ordered is about to have a 4 per cent service charge added to it, even though it's been ordered at the bar and paid for at the bar. It won't, in fairness, be drunk at the bar, as there is no bar to speak of, not one with seats anyway, or an actual bar top, and that's the real scandal here, which we'll get on to shortly. The Well & Boot has hit the headlines over the past 48 hours, for its not-so-obvious 4 per cent service charge on drinks at the bar. Two days of newspaper coverage have not been sufficient to compel the bar staff to mention it. It's in the small print on the bottom of the menu, but who looks at that? It's on the receipt if you happen to ask for one, but who gets a receipt for a pint of beer (apart from journalists, obviously)? When you see it printed out and written down, it's a bit irksome. If, back in the year 2000, I'd been paid 31p for every pint I'd poured, I'd have ended the Friday night shift with several hundred quid to show for it, not £15.85 and, I realise now, severe PTSD from over-exposure to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader. • 9 of the best pubs in London — chosen by our beer expert The Well & Boot is banking on customers not noticing the difference between £7.65 for a pint of beer and £7.96 for a pint of beer, and it's a safe bet. Once you've paid £7.65 for a pint your subconscious is already doing everything it can to suppress the pain, just to allow you to enjoy it. You can, if you like, ask for it to be removed, and, having done the job myself, I simply couldn't face hassling a bar worker to go through the necessary rigmarole on the till just to do themselves out of 31p. Is it a rip-off? I don't know. Pint number two — all in the name of research, obviously, was a Guinness — and that one was brought to the table, at which point a 4 per cent charge for table service is quite good value. All the other customers were having a lunchtime meal, ordered and brought to the table, so 4 per cent for that sort of service is extremely cheap. What really irks is that it is a calculated effort to strip out the entire purpose of tipping culture. Having lived in New York for a bit, I am a passionate believer in tipping culture, which British holidaymakers to the United States rarely understand. There, it is routine to hand over a dollar bill for every drink (an amount which has not gone up in at least 20 years, even while the cost of the drink itself has doubled). But — and here comes the whole point — should you stay for four or five drinks, you are likely to receive a drink on the house in return for your generosity, which has cost you in tips a lot less than the cost of the drink itself. It is a virtuous circle of conviviality. Decent wages for service workers in return for cheap drinks for loyal punters, the purposeful nurturing of a good atmosphere, and all of it done off the books. A few dollars are handed over in cash, a bit of liquid goes missing, no need to worry about the spreadsheets or the taxman. Proper tipping culture is the same double victory as paying the plumber in cash, except there's also booze involved. • Pubs must wake up and smell the coffee: morning money is the future It doesn't work if it's all done on card (the Well & Boot does not take cash), and it certainly doesn't work if it's done in secret. Of course, what's actually going on here is yet another case of long pub Covid. Pubs with no discernible bar, where you shout over the taps and then are cajoled into having your drinks brought to a table you haven't even found yet. Where people still order and pay over app, or queue in single file, and no one truly understands what the point of it all is. At least, I think that's what's going on here. I might be wrong. Perhaps if I'd racked up £7.65's worth of 31p tips, my 25th pint would have been on the house. I might, however, have missed my train.
BreakingNews.ie
7 hours ago
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Residents of Limerick village join forces to save its last pub
Residents of a Co Limerick village have pooled their money and pulled together to cancel last orders at their local pub. The group, involving 25 men and one woman, bought the former Ahern's pub in Kilteely, which was on the market for €300,000, as they feared it would be closed for good after the previous owners retired. Advertisement It has been rebranded as The Street Bar by the group, none of whom has pub trade experience. Among them is a barrister, a psychologist, a solicitor, a pharmacist, a carpenter, an accountant, a teacher, farmers, builders, electricians and others. The idea came about as locals in Kilteely had seen the closure of a range of businesses – pubs, shops, post offices and a creamery – in the not too distant past and were keen to avoid another loss in their small community. Noel O'Dea, a landscape gardener who invested in the pub, said the only other business in the village, a recycling venture, was set up by locals after the last recession hit 'because employment was hard to get'. It now employs seven people. 'They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I tell you, it also takes a village to save its pub,' he said, adding that the bar 'was our last meeting place'. Advertisement 'We just couldn't see the people in the village having no place to go to because otherwise it is just a group of houses.' The ownership group is also considering how best to use a shop premises that was included in the pub sale. Ireland Operator of Hogan's pub lodges plans to convert fo... Read More 'There were a few suggestions but I don't think we would get away with some of them,' Mr O'Dea added. Another member of the group, barrister Liam Carroll, said rural pubs are dying out all over the country. While acknowledging there is little or no profit to be had in such a venture, Mr Carroll said he would still encourage others elsewhere to do likewise for the good of their communities. 'Hopefully we can keep it going, employ a few people and harness the community spirit that we have on tap here.'
The Sun
15 hours ago
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Drinkers' fury as pub slaps automatic 4% tip on anyone just for buying pints at the bar
A PUB has slapped an automatic 4 per cent tip for anyone buying pints at the bar leaving drinkers furious. The new charge means punters at the London boozer will now be paying an extra 30p for a pint of beer or cider. The Well and Boot at Waterloo Station is now adding an automatic four percent "optional" charge that applies to all food and drink ordered at the bar. Eagle-eyed customers may notice a small sign on display informing them of the new charge, adding that "100 per cent of all tips go to our staff". You won't be able to pay the extra charge in pound notes though as the venue doesn't accept cash either. Cash acceptance campaigner, Martin Quinn, told The Telegraph: "You can understand it if you're sitting down and it's table service, but you're ordering it from the bar. "Where's the service in that?' Mr Quinn paid a visit to The Well and Boot and purchased a half pint of cider for £3.90. He paid the additional charge which made it around 15p more expensive. A typical service charge of around 12.5 per cent is usually added to the bill when customers are seated at a table and served by a waiter in any given pub or restaurant. In the UK, an extra tip on top of the service charge is not usually expected from customers as opposed to the US and some European countries. But businesses are bucking the trend by adding the charge on drinks bought at the bar in pubs. BrewDog beers axed by almost 2,000 pubs across the UK Consumer expert, Martyn James, confirmed as much saying he had seen the practice in a number of locations around the capital. He called the practice "insidious" and added there is little that can be done to stop it. What's worse is that punters may not even notice signs on the bar and if they do, it can often be hidden in the small print, James said. He added that customers should remember that the "key thing" is that the charge is optional. But he appreciated some may feel too awkward to decline the extra tip as it goes against "our British sensibilities". Glendola Leisure, who runs the Well and Boot, was approached for comment. You can buy a pint of Camden IPA for £7.65 at the boozer while an Aspall cider or Guiness will set you back £7.45. You'll have to cough up £12.50 for a cocktail too while a regular-sized glass of sauvignon blanc comes in at £8.50. Eight pubs are closing down every week in Britain amid crippling running costs and tax hikes figure show, as the price of a pint is expected to hit £5 nationwide. The situation in London is even worse with eye-watering £7 pints becoming the norm. Prices have increased even compared to March this year when the average pint cost £4.80 nationwide and £6.75 in London. The Sun recently reported on how a pint of lager could hit £13 in under five years, according to a new study. London Waterloo station is one of the busiest in the UK and saw over 62.5 million passengers in 2023/24.
