Bingo. We’re somewhat selective of where we go out to, and take pains to ensure the bar staff knows and likes us (ie - we’re fabulously good tippers if you don’t leave us hanging when we’re parched).
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Leaving a bar or restaurant without paying is stealing from the (usually small) business AND the server you didn’t tip. I don’t understand the defenders of dining and dashing in this thread.
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It’s not the same thing as a walkout, but once I was dragged out all night with some friends. It was the loud-cluster-of-bars part of the city I live in and we went to several loud bars within close proximity to each other. The next day I noticed an outrageous charge on my CC bill, I think like 50-100 dollars on top of the tab I paid. I called the bar to ask them what happened because I definitely wasn’t that drunk. They told me they charge that fee when they open a tab but take it off when you pay out… but sometimes it takes a day or two for it to come off on the CC bill."
I smelled bullshit. But they did refund me.
If bars like this are adding such things when they open a tab and removing them sometimes when they close it… that is shady.
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I think you or they misunderstood
It’s a pre-authorization. Your gas station can do it to. It’s your banks problem that it didn’t drop off not the bars
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Please explain: How is it stealing when you don’t give a voluntary tip? Being an ass, sure. But Stealing?
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Actually, yes.
In some places it’s legal to pay wait staff below minimum wage with the understanding that they can make up the difference and more with tip income - which is also taxed by the way.
Also keep in mind tip money doesn’t necessarily go right into their pockets - part of it gets distributed to the kitchen, runners, bussers, bartenders, etc.
When they get stiffed on a tip that means they can literally be losing money by serving you.
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Yes, stealing. The social contact it’s that servers get a percentage of their sales. The fact that it’s enforced socially rather than legally doesn’t make dining and dashing more acceptable. You’re ALSO creating extra uncompensated work by making them deal with your walkout.
If you don’t want to tip, that’s on you. Just tell your server ahead of time so you get the level of service you’re paying for.
And if you want to pay once you collect your card, expect a courtesy fee for the short-term loan you decided to award yourself.
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So not a crime then.
I get the gist though. Paying decent wages is probably not socially acceptable either because socialism or something.
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There are a few bars in the college town where I live that have this, which I know about from their “prominently displayed” signs. In all cases I’ve seen, the fee is a 20% tip on top of what you owe for the drinks.
Seems totally reasonable to me.
I was at a bar in the east village manhattan once and talking to the bartender we somehow got on the topic of people leaving credit cards. He pulled out a stack like a deck of cards and said “this is just from last night”. (This was after a Friday or Saturday night I think)
Is the 20% fee going to your server/bartender, or to the house? I could see this working out if it went to the server, but they might be stiffing him/her and just keeping it.
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