Coolness. Well Liz and I were in there a few weeks ago and they added 18% to our lunch meal, we pitched a bitch and they took it off, then the waitress ASKED Liz for a tip.........................AFTER Liz threw the fit about the automatic tip added. She said she thought we were "cruise shippers" and that's why it got added. Hope THEY have changed the policy cause they really have the best pool tables.

Thanks for the input!

Ya know, As much as I think it's wrong,I don't really object to the tip be automatic as long as you can modify it. If you can't and the service is lousy I would pay it, ask for the owner/manager and explain that I would not be back do to service and mandatory tip. In the long run the automatic tip would save me quite a bit of $. I'm the kind of guy that walks into a bar has a beer and leaves a buck on the Bar. Averages about 35% if ya figure it out. But if it's already in the check, that's what they get. My little way of protest. On a cruise I took several years ago the tips were always included in the tab delivered to you with your drinks. Each time when I saw the amount, I noted how much I saved as I would have tipped significantly more. It did add up, believe me. For example, a tray of drinks worth $20.00 gets a $3.60 (18%) tip. I would have given the guy a Five for sure. I can see the point of the places who have to deal with the cheap/rude folks who stiff the waitstaff and not all a cruise ship folks, for tips. The good ones waiters, are gonna leave. Hence bad servers and mandatory tips. A recipe for failure. Mandatory tips are a wage increase the owner(s) DO NOT PAY. Too bad but no easy answers.

I too, understand the logic behind this as I too, used to do weddings for the cruise lines. I knew that 95% of the time I would not be tipped. Mind you, this was their wedding day and I still did my best to make it a happy one!

To automatically charge a tip for a service such as the ongoing discussion above is wrong! In a restaurant, for a party of 6 or more, yes! Otherwise, NO! I will NOT go to a place of business for a beer and HAVE to pay a mandatory tip! BUT, I will tip of my own accord and always do!

I am a newbie poster to this board but I had to chime in on this topic. I consider myself an overtipper as I leave 10% for bad service, 15-20% (depending on the tab and what is ordered, i.e. expensive bottle of wine, etc since I don't believe adding an additional $30 bucks to the tip because the restaurant charges $150 for a $22 bottle of wine), and 20-30% for excellent service however mandatory tips for small parties are a huge pet peeve to me. Tipping originated as an incentive for the service industry to excel in the level of service they provided as well as to give a "special" thanks for that excellent service. However the accepted norm percentage has inched up over the years, as has the price of food and drinks, so an explanation that the increased percentage is based on COLA increases does not hold water as those are taken into account in the increased food costs, i.e. 15% of $20 is a 75% increase over 15% of $15. Tipping has evolved into a way for restaurant owners to be subsidized in their payroll costs. If tipping had not become "implied" mandatory, then restaurants would no longer recieve exceptions to the minimum wage, however as long as Joe Public puts up with it, Joe Public will pay the bill. Someone mentioned European standards and sadly enough, the American way is creeping across the pond as tipping is becoming expected on that continent as well. I have traveled to Europe twice a month for the last 5 years for business and I have seen this gradual shift taking place.

I think that it would be much better to adapt the old French way of "service compris" which incorporates the staff salary costs into the price of the menu item and anything given over and above that definately indicates your level of satisfaction. I was at the Westin on STJ one time and they added 18% to our breakfast buffet automatically (party of 2) which is already highly overpriced and equated to an $8 dollar tip for someone to bring us a pot of coffee and 2 glasses of O.J. Needless to say the tip was downsized to the $3 I feel is appropriate to pay when you see your server twice, once when they ask you what beverage you want and then again when they bring it. Unless posted, an establishment must remove any automatic gratuity if requested. It just takes people speaking up.

Okay, Im off my soap box and I apologize for this novel sized post.

I don't think you're an over tipper. Looks like you tip properly. You hit one of my pet peeves and that's tipping on the high cost of a beverage, ie, wine (usually a big money maker for a restaurant). I also don't tip on that bottle. I might add a couple of bucks if the wait staff makes an effort to pour from the bottle. The other thing I will not tip on and really only applicable here in the high sales tax state of California is the sales tax.

But other than that I am in total agreement as to your methods and they definitely coincide with mine.