Good point. As an added, significant, benefit to the establishment and or wait staff, there are quite a few people who do not really scrutinize their check and add a tip to the tip already included. This is especially true if they have been partaking in a little too much partying. You gotta check them bills and the addition, number of drinks and tip situation prior to handing over that credit card or cash. Been there done that.

BOBCSIDE,

Check this out,

On the check I received from Shipwreck yesterday, it had the total on the first line,
the REQUIRED tip on the second line and THEN had an additional line for?

YUOU GUESSED IT.........."ADDITIONAL TIP"

Great Point about really scrutinizing the check before you actually remit payment........

18% added to a bill of 6 people or more is acceptable. NOT for one person coming in for a beer! I would be down right angry! Sad to hear this.

Dylan....I would of spoken to the manager and I just wouldn't have paid it. A tip is not mandatory in ANY situation and that just feels like downright stealing from the manager.

A couple of beers and an 18% tip? Give me a break!

This action is not accpetable. I have eaten at the Shipwreck many times and never thought about it as we were in large groups. I looked for a WEB site and the search did not find anything.

Drop them a note and tell them that you will tell everyone you see about how you were screwed. Perhaps that will get them to change the policy back to 6 or more guests.

And tipping is up to the customer, not the establishment.

biild

I don't feel as though I were "SCREWED", so to speak. I basically like Shipwreck. I know everyone there, INCLUDING the owner. The bartender on duty happens to be a good friend of mine and I would have given her a "5-SPOT" REGARDLESS of the amount of my bill.

My point is: TIPPING SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED -- IT SHOULD BE DISCRETIONARY!!!!!!!!

This very thing is also happening right now at Paradise Gate and a couple other places around town. There is evidently some new P.O.S. software that AUTOMATICALLY adds a gratuity to every check REGARDLESS. However, the PERCENTAGE of gratuity has to be inserted by the software administrator when they set up the system, soooooooooooo......................

I'm a musician by trade. Musicians ALWAYS have day jobs at some point in time, and I was a Front of House Floor Manager for one of the top food and beverage establishments in Nashville from time to time, DEMOS' Steak and Spaghetti House. This place seats 204 with a full bar and a $16.95 menu ceiling. On a Friday evening, from 4:15 to close, this place CONSISTENTLY does 16K+ on THAT SHIFT ALONE!! Trust me to say that the servers there do NOT need mandatory gratuities. They EARN the great money they make or they are OUT THE DOOR. And Nashville has as much of a tourist driven income as is here, believe me.

Thanks for all the input, anxious to hear more, but this is way wrong in my opinion.

HAPPY WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is my point. A TIP is to be given by the customer to the establishment if they exceed your expectations. By adding the tip they are simply increasing the price and then asking you for more.

biid

Dylan,

That is B.S. for sure. Used to be 6 or more was common and expected for tip to be included. Not so any more. Some are 4 or 5. Had a business lunch with 5 just yesterday and when the bill came one of the guys looked quick and said $100.00 so $25.00 each we decided. paid and left. We then started talking about how the bill got so high and guess what, We tipped on top of the tip and actually ended up computing the included tip as part of the bill for tip percentage. I know, DAH !! But it happens. Got to CHECK and RE-CHECK the check..

This same topic is also is what is killing the employees of the new Hooter's. All of the locals are going in as large parties, ordering a few items to share and then leave without leaving a tip. Everyone is frustrated and are ready to quit. They cannot have the grat included because it is against company policy.

STT,

Do you think MANDATORY tipping should be prohibited or allowed? Tipping has always been discretionary for small parties and added on parties of 6 or more. Even with this regulation, I feel if a server is as good as he/she wants to be, they will make more off large parties by giving superior service. When I go out in a large group, we always leave, uponm receipt of great service and excellent food, at least 20+%.

And people, LOCALS INCLUDED, who "Stiff" food service workers are not only being rude, but hurting themselves in the long run because THAT is the reason these rules are being initiated.

Let me ask, would you ever institute mandatory tipping at your restaurant? Or how do you handle this type of situation?

oNLY MANDATORY FOR LARGE PARTIES. uNFORTUNATELY, SITUATIONS LIKE hOOTER'S CAUSES THE ESTABLISHMENT TO CLOSE, LIKE ALL OF THE OTHER GOOD ESTABLISHMENTS HAVE IN THE PAST.

I've always felt that business owners can run their businesses however they want (as long as it's legal), and can charge whatever they want. They're in it to make money. The consumers get to decide if they want to patronize the business or not. The info found on these forums can help consumers decide.

Just playing the devil's advocate here, but would it be so bad if Hooters had to close???

😉

i personally have no problem with an added gratuity as long as it's stated on the check, the chinese place next to the delly deck adds a grat on their checks, as a waiter myself i choose not to add the tip for groups unless they are foreign or (gasp) locals. the carambola tried adding the tip to checks on buffet days and the service just got worse so they stopped, it's kind of a catch 22 situation all the way around, servers here are paid 2.50 an hour at most places and when you have lots of foreign guests,cruise people and locals you have a higher turnover on waitstaff because this group of people tend to be cheap or ignorant on the subject of tipping.

I think you were SCREWED.

Servers get $2.50 per hour+ almost EVERYWHERE....................Servers at Demos in Nashville average a $1.15 per head during a 3 hour lunch shift and the strongest servers, on an average night, IN SEASON(End of Feb, give or take until around Labor Day, again depending.....)in Nashville average $3.00 and up "per head served", if they are on their game.

It's about SERVICE....................and while I definitely agree with the 18% for 6+ parties, if a bartender or server is worth their salt they don't need mandatory tipping. Besides, why should I have to pay extra for Sh**ty service, where's the incentive to excel in THAT?!?

West, been there trust me. But I stand by the assertion that if a server or bartender will just strive to excel and hone the PEOPLE SKILLS, don't overdo it and get in touch with the customer as a person and not a commodity, the money is there without having to demand it.

Next time you are by Shipwreck go and ask for the manager. Tell him that you are not going to buy that beer at Shipwreck but are now going over to Delly Deck where tipping is up to the customer, as it should be!

Blow him a kiss and walk out!

biid

This is a terrible sticking point. I always tip, even if a service or product is gratis (when applicable). I do not understand people who do not tip, but they apparently have their reasons. I have heard it all:

- They (waitrons and such) are already being paid
- If they don't like the low pay they should not take the job
- Why should I subsidize a cheap employer

etc., ad nauseum. I don't like to dine out with people who won't tip unless I am paying the bill. I feel that most people are aware of tipping and their failure to do so seems almost like contempt to me. I don't appreciate it. If service is lousy, it's understandable, but it's kind of like a "cost of doing business", and if I cannot afford to tip there, I cannot afford to eat there. It's one of the few areas where I am persnickety. I'm allowed one, so "don't taze me, bro'!"

I think that when the tip is added onto the bill automatically, it is either divvied out to everyone regardless of their productivity or attitude, or the management keeps it --- so I don't eat at places that demand that for EVERY bill. I can see larger parties but I as a single person should have the choice of whether I tip or not. I always do. If things are that tough, I'd rather they just raise their prices and pay their staff better.

When in Rome, you have to be flexible. I guess my love affair with the veggie quesadillas over at ShipWreck Tavern is kaput.

Tsk Tsk on Shipwreck.

That's a bad system. Never heard of such a thing. What will they do if you refuse to pay it? Is it posted?

Oh well - let them make their $ off of the ship passengers and everyone else go some other place.