Latest news with #servicecharge
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Now London pub adds 4pc 'optional charge' to drinks customers order at the bar
A London pub has now added a four per cent 'optional charge' to any drinks customers order at the bar. Punters at The Well and Boot in Waterloo station have been slapped with the automatic tariff, which applies to any food and drink, The Telegraph reports. The boozer, which is owned by hospitality firm Glendola Leisure, has a small sign on the bar informing customers of the service charge. It notes, '100 per cent of all tips go to our staff' - and, in another blow, that the venue is cashless, accepting card and contactless only. Cash acceptance campaigner Martin Quinn said: '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 visited the pub, buying a half pint of cider for £3.90 - around 15p more than the price listed on the menu due to the additional charge, which he paid. It could be a real money-making measure for the pub in the busy London station, which sees more than 60million people pass through its doors every year. Pubs and restaurants normally add a service charge of roughly 12.5 per cent to the bill for customers seated at a table and attended to by a waiter. It means extra tipping on top of this is not usually expected in the UK - in contrast with the US and some other European countries. But sadly, conventions are changing, consumer expert Martyn James said, as he is seeing more and more a service charge on drinks bought at the bar in pubs. He called it 'insidious', adding there are few regulations to stop it, with the only real definitive rule on tipping being that the house is not supposed to keep tips. And signs advertising a bar service charge can sometimes be hard to spot, with news of the levy often written in small print. Mr James reminded punters it is optional, recognising they might feel too awkward to say no to it as it goes against 'our British sensibilities'. At The Well and Boot, an Aspall cider or Guinness sets you back £7.45 - while customers have to cough up £7.65 for a pint of Camden IPA. A glass of sauvignon blanc costs £8.50 while cocktails come in at £12.50 apiece. Prices look only set to rise further, with ballooning overheads for licenced venues expected to see the cost of the average pint in the UK rise to £5. Things look even worse in London, where the standard price of a pint is set to bed in at £7. It is a marked increase even on March this year, when the average pint cost £4.80 across the country and £6.75 in the capital. Struggling venues have taken increasingly extreme measures to stay afloat, with one major pub chain increasing the pint of 15p after Chancellor Rachel Reeves's tax raid. Fuller's said in June the rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) from last October's Budget and the higher minimum wage from April has left the firm badly hit. The Chiswick-based company - which has 5,500 staff members - warned back in November last year the financial measures would cause the price of its pints to rise. It came after hospitality bosses warned in April the industry faces a £3.4billion hit over the next year from the measures in the autumn Budget. Rises in the national minimum wage and employer NICs, and cuts to business rate relief announced last October all kicked in during the first week of April. The triple-whammy means individual businesses face tens of thousands of pounds in extra costs – and prices have already soared in pubs, restaurants and hotels. UK Hospitality – representing 130,000 venues – has said across the sector, the minimum wage rise will add a £1.9billion burden. It added an extra £1billion will have to be paid in NICs after the tax was expanded to take in more part-time workers. Meanwhile, a further £500million of costs will come from business rate relief being lowered from 75 per cent to 40 per cent. The Institute of Directors also revealed business leaders are 'highly concerned' about the extra costs – with a monthly study of bosses' confidence showing levels as low as during the pandemic. Glendola Leisure was approached for comment.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
London pub adds 4pc charge to pints ordered at the bar
Drinkers at a London pub have been hit with an automatic 4pc service charge when ordering at the bar. The 'optional' charge is applied to food and drink at the Well and Boot in Waterloo station, and adds 30p to the price of a pint of beer or cider. The venue, which is owned by Glendola Leisure, displays the additional charge on a sign by the bar which states: '100pc of all tips go to our staff'. Martin Quinn, a campaigner for cash acceptance who visited the pub, said: '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 purchased a half pint of cider for £3.90 – about 15p more expensive thanks to the service charge, which he paid. The venue would not accept cash. Typically, pubs and restaurants apply a standard service charge of around 12.5pc when customers sit down at a table and are served by a waiter. It means there is usually no expectation for customers to pay anything extra in tips beyond what is included on a bill, making Britain an outlier compared with America and some European countries where tipping is commonplace. Martyn James, a consumer expert, explained service charge on drinks bought at the bar in pubs was a growing trend. 'Sadly, I have seen this in a number of bars in London and other places. It's very insidious.' There is little to stop businesses doing this, he added. 'There's no definitive rules that cover tipping other than that the house is not meant to keep the tips.' Customers might also not see signs mentioning additional service charges, especially if they are written in 'small print'. Mr James added: 'You have to be looking at that small print. The key thing is it's optional, but it forces you into an awkward situation where you have to tell the person who is pouring your drink, 'I'm not tipping you', and that goes against our British sensibilities.' Prices at the Well and Boot are £7.65 for a pint of Camden IPA, while an Aspall cider or Guinness costs £7.45. Cocktails are £12.50, and a regular-sized glass of sauvignon blanc is £8.50. Licenced venues have faced mounting costs in recent years, and the price of a pint is expected to rise to an average of £5 nationwide, while London could face £7 pints becoming the norm. As of March, the average cost of a pint was £4.80 in the UK and £6.75 in the capital. Pubs have resorted to new ways to combat rising energy, goods and staff costs in recent years. In 2023, The Telegraph revealed that Stonegate group, the UK's biggest pub chain, had rolled out dynamic pricing on drinks across some 600 licenced venues that saw prices go up during busier times. Some restaurants in London's fine dining scene have also recently rolled out 'minimum spend' requirements for diners of as much as £1,000 per reservation.
Daily Mail
05-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
London restaurant sparks outrage after adding 'sneaky' charge to diners' bills
A London restaurant has sparked outrage after surreptitiously adding an extra charge to diners' bills - with customers branding the decision 'sneaky'. Taking to Reddit, one customer who visited The Pig And Butcher in Islington highlighted a discretionary £1.23 'Carbon Free' fee that had been added to the total price of their meal. An image shared of the restaurant receipt soon circulated online - with many branding the fee 'stupid', 'sneaky', and even a 'scam'. The customer wrote on the r/London thread: 'I kind of got desensitised to the service charge already, but carbon free dining? That's something new.' The receipt showed that the customer paid £54 for two beef dinners, £4 for bread for the table, £9.50 for a glass of red wine, £11.50 for another glass of red wine and £10 for a strawberry pavlova. However it was the 'optional carbon free dining' charge that got people talking online. Social media users were quick to criticise the fee as another unwelcome addition to the cost of dining out in the capital, with many accusing restaurants of using climate change as an excuse to charge more. One person said: 'Yeah, this is a very stupid and sneaky thing that's coming over from the US. Service charge percent on top of the additional 'optional' fee that they've added (probably hidden away on the menu, if mentioned at all). 'When you ask for the £1.23 to be taken off, do you reckon they remove the 12.5 percent of £1.23 that they've also added for no reason?' Another added: 'As an American, I've never seen anything like this. Carbon free dining? Come on. The only thing I've seen is a service charge only when it's a large party. This is ridiculous.' Someone else added: 'I… do NOT feel good paying this. Total scam.' A fourth added: 'Did they ask you before adding it to the bill, since it's optional? If not, I would ask them to remove it and will also reduce the service charge (also optional!) for all the time and bother they've caused me.' Carbon-free dining first began to enter the restaurant scene in late 2023 and was created to help 'offset the environmental impact of meals'. According to the organisers behind the scheme, Lightspeed, the charge of £1.23 also helps to plant more trees to stop the 'high rates of deforestation'. According to the website: 'For every six trees funded, the restaurant receives one sustainable credit. 'Through your restaurant's personalised Carbon Friendly Dining portal, you can keep track of credits earned and redeem them for Lightspeed annual renewals, upgrades and additional software.' The Daily Mail has contacted the Pig And The Butcher for comment. It comes after a vegan restaurant in London left customers seething after charging 50p for a 'Diversity Role Models donation'. Mallow restaurant in Borough Market is fundraising for Diversity Role Models, a UK-wide charity dedicated to ending LGBTQ+ bullying in schools through educational workshops and role model storytelling, according to their website. While the charitable initiative is well-intentioned, Reddit users have expressed concern that the scheme places the burden of social responsibility on the customer rather than the business. One person took to Reddit to showcase the extra 50p automatically added to their bill, which came to £57.55. The customer paid £19 for a vegan full English breakfast, £19 for a mezze brunch, £5.50 for an oolong and pineapple drink, and £7.20 for two oat flat whites. There was also an optional additional charge of £6.35 for service, plus the optional 50p for the diversity charity. Some commenters questioned the extent of the restaurant's contributions to the charity, suggesting that while the business promotes its charitable support, the financial responsibility appears to fall primarily on the customer. One person said: 'This is about the owners being able to claim they're environmentally / socially conscious at your expense. 'You'll hear their celeb chefs on TOPJAW being all smug about 'giving back to the community' while guilting you into this situation, 'Oh, you want me, a service worker, to take this bill back to the till, remove the 50 pence donation and bring it back to you? Do you want me to club a baby seal on my way back as well?' 'It's making the customers pay for their PR. The id**** posting 'Hurr durr not paying 50p is a bad look on you' is justifying this s*** being the norm. They concluded: 'I might not get it removed at that time, but I will make a mental note of not going to that place again.' Another said: 'Yep, they do exactly that. They boast about supporting charities, but they don't make it clear that not a penny is from them.' Someone else wrote: 'You also see this a lot with airlines. They offer you the option to pay extra for your flight to help them meet their environmental obligations. And the way they word it is a clear attempt to make you feel guilty for not doing so.' A fourth added: 'I hate this sort of thing. It's shaming the customer into paying more money, with the implication that if you don't you clearly don't care about diversity. 'Even if it does go to a charity in this case, if this sort of thing gets normalised you could quickly see places start to establish their own 'charities'.' The Daily Mail previously reached out to Mallow restaurant for comment. Mallow restaurant's website explained where the money goes, writing: 'Diversity Role Models is a UK-wide charity, working with schools to end LGBTQ+ bullying through educational workshops and role model storytelling. 'They educate young people about difference, challenging stereotypes and addressing the misuse of language to shape a world where everyone embraces diversity and can thrive.'
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Kent woman said she felt 'trapped by rising flat service charges'
A flat owner who helped change her building's management company and halve her service charge is urging others to consider doing the Amber Needham first moved into her home in Unicorn Walk in Greenhithe, Kent, three-and-a-half years ago and said she was hit with "unjustified" hikes by property management company struggling to sell her flat due to the service charge, Ms Needham and other owners used the right to manage legal mechanism to take control of the management of the said comparing charges was not straightforward and fees collected contributed to "long-term maintenance reserves" to reduce the risk of unexpected charges later. Ms Needham said when she first moved in her service charge was £1,800 a year, but after six months she was told it would be increasing to about £2,500, reported the Local Democracy Reporting said she was also told she owed an additional £600 for two Section 20 notices, which are issued when there are major works which leaseholders are required to contribute when such notices are for an amount greater than £250 landlords are supposed to inform their leaseholders and ask whether they want the work to be Needham said: "It was just scary and you feel trapped as well, because you can't sell the flat and get out of the situation, but then you can't afford to pay the charges." 'Don't be afraid' She then looked at how to replace the managing agent and set up a residence management company (RMC) which took responsibility for choosing new contractors to manage the repairs and process of setting it up and finding an alternative took about six Needham said although it might sound overwhelming, she would urge others to do the same if they had added: "Just look into your legal rights, don't be afraid to look at right to manage, don't be afraid to look at your lease and find out if there's a RMC." FirstPort said comparing charges like-for-like was not always easy and it did its best to advise customers.A spokesperson for the management firm added: "It's disappointing to part ways with a development, but we do everything we can to make this process as smooth as possible."
News.com.au
23-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Turning into America': Sydney restaurant's menu act outrages
A Sydney restaurant has responded after a customer aired their frustration over a tip being added to their bill without their consent – a move that has reignited the debate over whether Australia's tipping culture is becoming more like that of the United States. The discussion was sparked by a Reddit post detailing a visit to Lana, an upscale Italian restaurant in Sydney's Circular Quay, owned by hospitality giant House Made Hospitality. The post included a photo of the bill, which came to $221 before a seven per cent service charge of $15.47 was added, bringing the total to $236.45. The original poster wrote: 'This is the second occasion I have seen this at a fine dining Sydney restaurant. Is this slowly becoming the norm? Is the gratuity actually shared with the staff who go above and beyond?' They also noted the service charge was detailed on the menu in 'tiny print'. Commenters weighed in The thread quickly filled with angry comments from locals who felt the practice was out of touch with Australian values. 'Places like this should be made famous for scummy tactics of gratuity,' said one. Another wrote: 'This isn't America,' while others vowed to avoid restaurants with auto-tips. 'Thanks for the heads up,' said a third, 'I am not okay with paying an auto-gratuity. This is Australia. Once tipping culture takes hold, it will never go away.' Another user called it 'absolutely disgraceful behaviour' and said it 'needed to be called out'. Restaurant responds Lana responded to the backlash, telling 'The optional seven per cent gratuity at Lana is communicated at multiple stages during the booking process (on our website, in the booking widget, in the confirmation email), written on the menus, and verbalised again when the bill is presented, and is designed to reward our team for their dedication and hard work. 'It also serves to incentivise exceptional service and support increased tenure within our industry, at a time when experience is hard to find, and living costs are increasing. 'This surcharge is not mandatory and can be removed at any point, no questions asked nor judgment given, should a guest request it.' The restaurant explained that gratuities are managed through a third-party software program (which it believes is the fairest approach and ensures transparency), and every dollar goes directly to the team working during that shift, including the kitchen. 'Our goal is to deliver a memorable dining experience for our guests while rewarding our team for their efforts,' the spokesman continued. 'However, we fully respect that not all guests may wish to pay the gratuity, which is why it remains entirely optional.' The 'awkwardness' of opting out Despite this, commenters were sceptical that guests would feel comfortable opting out of the charge. 'They're counting on the fact that a good number of diners will feel too awkward to ask for it to be removed,' claimed one. 'You have to look the person in the eye who won't be getting the extra money,' pointed out another. Is this legal? In Australia, restaurants are permitted to add an automatic service charge or tip to bills, but there are strict legal requirements regarding transparency and the option to opt out. The charge must be clearly indicated as optional and displayed in the total price before the payment is made. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) states that businesses must be transparent about these optional charges and ensure customers are not misled. Diners must also be able to request the removal of any automatic gratuity before paying the bill. Do hospitality workers expect tips? Much of the controversy around tipping is due to the fact that Aussie workers are already paid a fair wage. Australia's minimum wage is $24.95 per hour, as of July 1 – among the highest in the world – while in the U.S., employees often rely on tips as they earn a base wage as little as US$7.25 ($11.32) per hour.
