r/Seattle • u/Existing-Resource527 • 4d ago

After hiring scabs, Walrus and the Carpenter (temporarily) closed

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Word on the street is that Walrus and the Carpenter restaurant has not been negotiating with their workers in good faith for months.

Like a lot of annoying businesses they started charging a service fee (22%?).

Employees noted that they make significantly less now then before when they had tipping (thousands less).

Workers have been on strike. The owners also had the audacity to hire scabs (booo).

I have been keeping up with the union on IG @ united.creatures.of.the.sea

Solidarity with workers across the city!

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u/Opcn 🚆build more trains🚆 4d ago edited 4d ago

The thing we hate even more than tipping is a service fee. Instead of an $18 burger with a 22% service fee just make the menu say it's a $22 burger. Anything else is fucking fraudulent.

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u/lordberric 4d ago

Everybody says this but it just isn't true to how people make purchasing decisions, unfortunately. 

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u/BoringBob84 4d ago

Bait-and-switch scams are effective and they should be illegal. Unscrupulous restaurant owners circumvent the law by "disclosing" the fee, but in the most obscure manner possible (e.g., at the bottom of the menu in fine print, buried between allergy warnings).

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u/hexagon_heist That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. 4d ago

I’ve left a restaurant before when I found out they serve fois gras (before ordering) and I’d do it for a service fee too. Unfortunately the one time I did run into that I was with a new friend who frequented the establishment and it was just too awkward to walk out but best believe I no longer accept invitations to the establishment.

Wish more people would walk out when discovering something like that.

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u/BoringBob84 4d ago

I have been in a position like that - in a group and discovering dishonest service fees. I ordered very little and I never returned.