If you work in hospitality, then you have surely seen the odd person stating that they want the service charge to be taken off their bill even though they really enjoyed the service. I thought that these instances were few and far between, however recently I have seen many people who do not want to pay this charge, and yet state that they have thoroughly enjoyed their dining experience to the point where they end up staying longer than the majority of other guests after their meal. And so begs the question…why?
Service charge is essentially a way to top up the salaries of hospitality workers, who work hard to provide guests with everything they ask for. And for some guests, these staff tolerate strange dietary requirements, an entitled attitude and various quests of taking their anger for the day out on an unsuspecting member of staff. One can always find out whether the restaurant they would like to dine at charges a service charge, as well as how much the service charge will be, prior to dining. It is also possible to find this out on the restaurant’s website, as well as on their menu upon seating. If a guest finds out when deciding to book that the restaurant charges a service charge, and they are not happy with this, then they do not have to book. Similarly, if they decide to walk in without a booking and see the amount of service charge the restaurant will charge on the menu, they can always walk out.
It is a free country, of course, and everybody is entitled to their own opinion. With this being said, I personally do not agree with guests removing the service charge from their bill, unless they feel that their dining experience has been negative or at the very least subpar. If a guest either cannot afford, or merely does not feel like paying a service charge (that they most certainly knew about prior to dining) then perhaps a restaurant or similar establishment that does not charge a service charge would be more fitting.
In short, please do not deprive hard working staff of their hard earned money if you are not in a position to pay your entire bill. This is all, of course, provided that your experience at the establishment you dined at was a positive one. If you, for whatever reason, do not want to pay the service charge for a meal that you enjoyed, please think about the talented and hardworking members of staff that were at your beck and call to ensure that you had a wonderful experience before you do so.
