Went to a restaurant in LA today and when I got the check I noticed that it was a bit higher than it should be. Then I noticed this 18% service charge. So… We, as customers, need to help pay for their servers instead of the owners paying their servers a living wage. And on top of that they have suggested tip. I called bs on this. I will bet you that the servers do not see a dime of this 18% service charge. [deleted a word so it wasn’t a grammatical horror to read]
And even if it’s on their printed menu, you might look at the menu on Google Maps and see one place has a dish for $20 and another place had the same dish for $24. You go to the cheaper place and sit down and see the 18% fee. Are you necessarily going to leave and go to the other one?
I would probably leave and just go home. I wouldn’t be in the mood to eat anymore.
It’s usually on the menu but it’s in fine print under an asterisk.
It’s alarmingly common (though not usually as high as 18%), and ought to be fucking illegal.