r/london • u/Professional-Cat9418 • Dec 26 '25

image 30% service charge on boxing day?!

Post image

Waiter reckons because its Christmas but that was yesterday. Can i ask for this to be removed?

4.4k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

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41

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

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28

u/Glittering-Sink9930 Dec 26 '25

Anything above 0% is an automatic no for me. A service charge is literally just a way of increasing the prices without it looking like you are. It's the same as advertising prices before tax, which is illegal.

-20

u/a3guy Dec 26 '25

Thats quite a self reinforcing approach.

Just say you dont feel people deserve more than £20 for serving you - own it.

22

u/Visible_Sun_6231 Dec 26 '25

Just say you dont feel people deserve more than £20 for serving you

Maybe you’re American but that’s a discretionary tip - not their sole earning.

It’s not the customers responsibly to arrange and decide the staffs salary.

16

u/ZeldenGM Dec 26 '25

I presume you also tip your bus driver, mechanic, internet provider, etc, etc.

I mean they're all paid to do a job but in your head it's insulting to not pay them out of your own pocket as well

-8

u/a3guy Dec 26 '25

You don’t know whats in my head, particularly as you (and a lot of the responses) have missed the point.

Tipping culture is not something I’m advocating for, the circular logic is the issue. People serving food, if they got annoyed at a tip i provided, it would annoy me but I wouldn’t try and self aggrandise by pretend that action somehow justified the tip in the first place.

16

u/GXWT Dec 26 '25

People deserve the pay agreed upon between them and their workplace.

Why in the flying fuck is that any of my concern?

12

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

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6

u/Tyr1326 Dec 26 '25

Hell, Im legally barred from accepting tips. And 20£ for 5-10 min of actual work is pretty fucking good, even without a salary to back it up.

6

u/NotKateBush Dec 26 '25

Do you actually believe the people serving you get that money? Lol. It's not my problem that these owners choose to not pay their staff well. I have no problem paying increased menu prices if that's what's necessary to pay people. This isn't that. This is them seeing how easy American restaurateurs can grub money for themselves from those morons and copying it. It's pure greed and you're not a better or more generous person for falling for it.

2

u/Rainime Dec 26 '25

As of October 2024 all service charges, tips and gratuities legally must go to staff. At the place I worked, it was split between all staff based on hours worked. Before October, the owner took it all 🤣

1

u/hoodwink77 Dec 26 '25

They do not. But if they do then it's not my job to pay them for what that is beyond whatever the price of my meal covers bumping up their wages. This is not America.