Hi Kimmy, I found your post interesting but I have never "tipped for the food". I expect to pay the appropriate price for good food. The concept of tipping has historically been linked to the overall quality of service, so if I receive poor service I would rarely tip even if the food had been goo...
Read more...
...d. Some chefs are just better than others because cooking is an art, whereas service isn't really an art, it's a process that can be customer focused or not.
However, and I digress, I had a lengthy argument with German friends who tried to convince me cooking was a science. (Patisserie maybe...) I told them that cooking was an art with an element of science but they argued it was a science with an element of art. Told you I was digressing! 😁
Back on topic, a service charge added to a restaurant bill in the UK is not a "legally applied" charge and if you disagree with it you can ask the restaurant to remove it.
A lot of restaurants started this in the 70's, the charge called a "cover charge", (le couvert) which I think derived from the French tradition of "paying" for the privilege of a napkin, cutlery, and sometimes bread and butter! This "cover charge" evolved into a service charge.
Another late ramble......I went to a restaurant in Altea a couple of years ago, we wanted a quick meal before joining friends at a bar for a drink. The manager (guy in charge) met us as we entered and we asked for a table for 2. He asked if we would like to eat downstairs or on the roof terrace. We opted for the roof terrace, had really poor service and the bill had a charge on it of €4 for the terrace table. I was very happy to stamp my feet and make a big noise about it until it was removed. I made it pretty loud so that his customers got the idea we were not prepared to be ripped off but it took that stage act to get it removed. No tip there...
Steve