The woman posted to the “Talk” section, “AIBU” (Am I Being Unreasonable), to ask if she was wrong for asking the restaurant to remove the optional gratuity that had been added to her check.
The restaurant did not give her the option of choosing to tip.
The woman starts by telling readers that she went to a Seafood restaurant in a small town called North East. She was accompanied by three friends and says, “our bill came to about £230 and a £23 tip was automatically added to the bill.” RELATED: Woman Asks If She’s Wrong For Refusing To Split Costs Of Family Vacation Evenly With Sister Despite Not Having Kids Admittedly, there was text at the bottom of the menu that stated an optional charge would be added. The problem is that she never actually got to decide about paying the charge. “They didn’t ask me before actually adding it,” she wrote. The writer recalls that the waitress pointed out the gratuity and offered to remove it if she and her friends preferred. RELATED: Woman Asks If She’s Wrong To Refuse To Pay For Life-Saving Surgery For Boyfriend’s Son Who She Has Never Met According to the woman, however, the fact that the tip was added to the bill without permission didn’t sit well with her. She would have preferred the restaurant ask her before adding the additional charges instead of requiring the patron to request removal after the fact. “It was quite embarrassing to ask for it to be removed,” she recalled. But despite her discomfort, she had the charge removed. According to the poster, the waitress, probably accustomed to the charge being paid without protest, seemed surprised but remained polite. RELATED: Mom Wonders If She’s Wrong For Picking Her Son Up From A Sleepover Because The Family Has A ‘Bath Day’ In the end, they decided they wouldn’t leave a tip at all. The woman told readers that the food and service were good, but also says, “I would have left £10 but it soured the evening a bit, so I left nothing.” She ends her story by opining that she doesn’t think tips should be expected. One reader responded, “It’s fairly standard nowadays - but yes I agree it always annoys me and I have sometimes asked for it to be removed. I want to decide what to tip not have it automatically added on.” Another commenter agreed that tipping should happen and had no issue with the amount. “It’s pretty normal and standard and has been for a long time. I prefer this, instead of sitting and calculating especially if the bill is being split. 10 after spending 230 is measly op, unless you received poor service.” RELATED: Woman Argues With Date After He Taunts Server & Denies Her A Tip Because It Isn’t A ‘Respectable Job’ Others clearly sided with the waitress. One reader thought the waitress had acted unreasonably, stating, “You soured the waitress’ day too. You should have just paid it!” Another person added, “Is this the first time you have been to a restaurant? It has been standard practice to add a service charge to bills for at least a decade.” The responder continued, “Hell, when I was a waitress 20 years ago, it was standard for tables of 6 or more. You would have to be living under a rock to be surprised at this.” RELATED: Arkansas Restaurant Server Fired After Receiving $2,200 Tip From Generous Customers NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and the author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment & news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.
