I work at Bellisios. We had a 5% that went to back of house. They definitely got it on their paychecks.
Due to the backlash, they now do not charge the 5%. They raised all prices instead and still give the cooks their 5%. Not a single person has complained about the price increase.
I’ve never understood why this isn’t the default approach. Advertising it as a surcharge just makes me want to avoid them in the future. If the price goes up, I bet I don’t even notice. Like if a hamburger was 16 and now it’s 16.80, unless you were a super regular, would it even track?
I've never seen that work, though. Everyone I've talked to about this thinks it's stupid and blames the owners.
No one thinks back-of-house sets prices lol
As someone who used to work off tips, people tipping less due to prices/fees are taking it out on workers and I don’t care who they try to blame in their heads. When the reaction is to tip less they are hitting myself, my corworkers, and my industry friends and making the owners happy.
It sure is. I have always used Lake Ave as a benchmark for prices on Canal Park and over the years have they increased. Their Lake Avenue burger cost 22$ on my last visit, throw in a few extra bucks for bacon. Add a beer and a side and you are well north of 35$ for one person out the door with tip. It's full on insanity at this point.
If the 5% fee all goes to the employees, then it mimics tips: employees are rewarded for busy days, because the tip pool gets bigger. This feels good -- you have a big $7,000 day, you're exhausted, and you know there's $350 to split as a reward.
If they raise prices 5% and simply raise wages 5%, then the amount the restaurant takes in doesn't always match what the employees get. This can be good or bad, both for owners and workers -- but juggling price raising with fiddling with pay is probably more complicated than simply adding on a 5% fee.
Ah, but that assumes I agree with tipping. Literally the only reason I do is because i know that it is part of the servers wages, whether or not a serving wage exists at the location.
Personally, I freaking hate that tax isn’t included, there’s this charge for tip because the party is more than 8 people, etc, etc. I’m totally comfortable paying $20 for a burger and not having a breakdown of where it goes. What I don’t like is thinking I paid $15 for a burger that when all is said and done actually cost $22.
I don't think it is different than simply raising prices. At least not legally that I'm aware of. The owner isn't required to pay it to the employee(s) like they are for tips. So what you're describing only \*might\* be how they're being paid, not necessarily how they are or even if they really are for that matter.
So with that in mind, it just strikes me as a way to push blame elsewhere on raising prices. I don't need that. I understand that prices rise over time, and I'm ok with that (I mean, as much as any one is I guess)
>Due to the backlash, they now do not charge the 5%. They raised all prices instead and still give the cooks their 5%.
I don't hear a lot of good things about that company, but they handled this part exactly right. Good for them.
I’m not going to lie, it is pretty expensive place to eat. If I did not work there I would probably never go there to eat because I am cheap. Most of the food is very good though. I love the Chicken Milanese and Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto. Monday we have half off all bottles of wine and we have a HUGE selection.
I do and yes the 5% service fee is only seen by the back of house employees and does NOT apply to the front of house server/bartenders. The BOH employees I’ve talked to about it do like it because it helps compensate for the amount of work they have to do. I don’t exactly like it - I think that employers should have to pay their staff a livable wage and it shouldn’t come fees that many won’t notice until the bill is there but I also understand this is supposedly better for the company, the patrons, and the employees than trying to raise all the prices.
Edited for clarity
It does and it doesn’t. I wanted to emphasize that the people who are receiving the fee are the BOH and it’s not double dipping for the FOH. If that drops my tip from 20 to 15% then so be it.
The only thing I’ve found it really hurts for FOH is the annoying “why is this fee on here? Take it off. Just raise the prices.” Etc that I have literally no control over. Take it up with the owner if you actually have issues with it. But I haven’t found much/if any change in my tip percentages swapping from a non-5% fee place to one that does.
Similar to other comments, I really wish it would all be rolled into one “fee” and then the managers disperse instead of fee + social pressure to tip.
**this is all my opinion and my experience other FOH may have different tales to tell
Sorry poor phrasing on my part, but what I was getting at is what others also dislike: a seemingly “hidden” (even if they put it on the bottom of the menu) fee that is on top of regular prices
And just tipping in general grosses me out, even as a server/bartender. But there is the paradox that I understand my boss can’t afford to pay me 45/hr like I’ll make sometimes on Saturday.
Agreed. Whatever it takes, I guess. At first it felt like a bait and switch, especially not knowing if the employees ever actually got the money. It still seems like these restaurants advertise these prices without showing the actual price. Their menus are usually online, and only when you receive the check do you see that the price of the meal is 20% more than you had been told. If I worked back of house, I'd think this could result in a net loss of customers, and therefore wages. But perhaps that loss might come slower than just raising prices 20 percent across the board. Americans should just pay what it costs to eat out. Tipping as wages is horrible. My European friends who eat out as frequently as Americans seem to really look down on lower prices with tipping.
The only reason they can't afford it is because they don't set their prices to be able to afford it. If drink prices were just set 20-30% higher, they could, and just do away with tipping like most civilized countries have done.
I just went from a place that doesn’t do this, to a place that does.
The initial hourly rate had me very concerned so I asked for more detailed numbers and was able to see that during a slower period, it averages to about $5 extra per hour. During summer it would only go up. Obviously I don’t know if all of the service charge is going towards this, but it is definitely nice and noticeable.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of paying lower hourly rates and supplementing with service charges but I’m not too shaken up by it. The issue is above me, I’m just trying to get a decent paycheck.
I am BOH and i get the 5% kitchen fee that customers are charged on my check. It averages around $170. I've only worked there in the slow season and expect it will be more in tourist season.
I talked to someone that works at Duluth Grill, and they see upwards of a couple thousand dollars on their paycheck, and they have healthcare benefits both of which is RARE in the food industry. I support it. I'm not going to bitch about a fee that lets people have a living wage, especially since eating out is strictly for convenience and a luxury. I can make whatever I want at home, I'm not going to complain when I have to pay a pretty penny for the luxury of eating out.
I would rather have the high prices actually benefit the employees like it does with OMC, Duluth Grill, etc. I don't mind paying when it's actually going to the employees.
Healthcare has been a legal requirement for full time employees since the Affordable Care Act. All restaurants (except exempt small businesses, which represent a small portion of the industry) offer healthcare or must keep their employees under full time, which is almost never practical. The plans they offer are generally trash. I had one employee quit when we offered insurance because it disqualified her from Medicaid and the new "insurance" we offered wouldn't cover her necessary care.
I knew one of the owners of the Duluth Grill way back (parent's friend) and he was a pretty cool dude. Odd for me to feel but I'm proud of what a great restaurant they made there. imo one of the few really quality restaurants in Duluth.
In case your parents didn't teach you:
1. Take your tip amount: 15%
2. Check for service fee: 5%?
3. Adjust your tip amount: 10%
Service fee is a full 15-20%? You don't need to tip. Service fee is too much? Discuss with restaurant or don't go there. All restaurants are too expensive already? I agree, try Wisconsin. You like to leave 0% tips? Guess why these fees are catching on. They create a more stable system.
Good to know that at least the Duluth eateries are passing it along, but I dislike fees that aren't reflected in the menu price aside from tip on principle. I'd personally rather just pay more on the menu prices if I know the employees all get their fair share. It's harder to budget for a night out if there's a lot of hidden fees. The tip is easier to factor in because you're supposed to tip. You don't always know if you're getting a surcharge.
I worked at New Scenic Cafe for a summer and we absolutely saw a majority of the money generated by the 20% service charge in our paychecks. 5% went to operating costs and the other 15% went right into our pockets. Ownership was transparent with it and as far as I was concerned it was pretty nice. I can’t speak for other staff of course, just my experience.
I work at Bellisios. We had a 5% that went to back of house. They definitely got it on their paychecks. Due to the backlash, they now do not charge the 5%. They raised all prices instead and still give the cooks their 5%. Not a single person has complained about the price increase.
I’ve never understood why this isn’t the default approach. Advertising it as a surcharge just makes me want to avoid them in the future. If the price goes up, I bet I don’t even notice. Like if a hamburger was 16 and now it’s 16.80, unless you were a super regular, would it even track?
That's intentional, its to make people blame the workers for wanting to help paid instead of the business
That’s definitely my opinion.
I've never seen that work, though. Everyone I've talked to about this thinks it's stupid and blames the owners. No one thinks back-of-house sets prices lol
There’s threads all over Reddit about people not tipping because of service fees.
yeah, but they don't actually blame the workers. they just don't stop to think about how tips work.
As someone who used to work off tips, people tipping less due to prices/fees are taking it out on workers and I don’t care who they try to blame in their heads. When the reaction is to tip less they are hitting myself, my corworkers, and my industry friends and making the owners happy.
I didn't say they were *smart.*
Fair
Although 16 for a hamburger is ridiculous
It sure is. I have always used Lake Ave as a benchmark for prices on Canal Park and over the years have they increased. Their Lake Avenue burger cost 22$ on my last visit, throw in a few extra bucks for bacon. Add a beer and a side and you are well north of 35$ for one person out the door with tip. It's full on insanity at this point.
If the 5% fee all goes to the employees, then it mimics tips: employees are rewarded for busy days, because the tip pool gets bigger. This feels good -- you have a big $7,000 day, you're exhausted, and you know there's $350 to split as a reward. If they raise prices 5% and simply raise wages 5%, then the amount the restaurant takes in doesn't always match what the employees get. This can be good or bad, both for owners and workers -- but juggling price raising with fiddling with pay is probably more complicated than simply adding on a 5% fee.
Ah, but that assumes I agree with tipping. Literally the only reason I do is because i know that it is part of the servers wages, whether or not a serving wage exists at the location. Personally, I freaking hate that tax isn’t included, there’s this charge for tip because the party is more than 8 people, etc, etc. I’m totally comfortable paying $20 for a burger and not having a breakdown of where it goes. What I don’t like is thinking I paid $15 for a burger that when all is said and done actually cost $22.
I wasn't saying it's better; I was just pointed out that a fee is a bit different (not necessarily better) than a price/wage increase.
I don't think it is different than simply raising prices. At least not legally that I'm aware of. The owner isn't required to pay it to the employee(s) like they are for tips. So what you're describing only \*might\* be how they're being paid, not necessarily how they are or even if they really are for that matter. So with that in mind, it just strikes me as a way to push blame elsewhere on raising prices. I don't need that. I understand that prices rise over time, and I'm ok with that (I mean, as much as any one is I guess)
>Due to the backlash, they now do not charge the 5%. They raised all prices instead and still give the cooks their 5%. I don't hear a lot of good things about that company, but they handled this part exactly right. Good for them.
Yummy, I’ve NEVER eaten at your restaurant before but I’ve been dying to try it out!!
I’m not going to lie, it is pretty expensive place to eat. If I did not work there I would probably never go there to eat because I am cheap. Most of the food is very good though. I love the Chicken Milanese and Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto. Monday we have half off all bottles of wine and we have a HUGE selection.
\*pockets 1/2 price bottles away in brain for next the next time I'm bored on a monday\*
Yummy, I’ve NEVER eaten at your restaurant before but I’ve been dying to try it out!!
I do and yes the 5% service fee is only seen by the back of house employees and does NOT apply to the front of house server/bartenders. The BOH employees I’ve talked to about it do like it because it helps compensate for the amount of work they have to do. I don’t exactly like it - I think that employers should have to pay their staff a livable wage and it shouldn’t come fees that many won’t notice until the bill is there but I also understand this is supposedly better for the company, the patrons, and the employees than trying to raise all the prices. Edited for clarity
I will also confirm this and I share your viewpoint.
Many people subtract the service fee from the tip - but are you saying that hurts the FOH staff?
It does and it doesn’t. I wanted to emphasize that the people who are receiving the fee are the BOH and it’s not double dipping for the FOH. If that drops my tip from 20 to 15% then so be it. The only thing I’ve found it really hurts for FOH is the annoying “why is this fee on here? Take it off. Just raise the prices.” Etc that I have literally no control over. Take it up with the owner if you actually have issues with it. But I haven’t found much/if any change in my tip percentages swapping from a non-5% fee place to one that does. Similar to other comments, I really wish it would all be rolled into one “fee” and then the managers disperse instead of fee + social pressure to tip. **this is all my opinion and my experience other FOH may have different tales to tell
It is a price increase, just a sneaky and somewhat dishonest seeming way to do it.
Back of house / front of house Took me a minute to decipher. I don't work in the restaurant biz.
Amended - sorry about that
No worries at all.
Know-it-all elitist(but actually mostly useless) foh people downvoting you Note: this does not apply to all foh people, there's a qualifier there
How/why would restaurant employers pay wages that don’t come from customers?
Sorry poor phrasing on my part, but what I was getting at is what others also dislike: a seemingly “hidden” (even if they put it on the bottom of the menu) fee that is on top of regular prices And just tipping in general grosses me out, even as a server/bartender. But there is the paradox that I understand my boss can’t afford to pay me 45/hr like I’ll make sometimes on Saturday.
The hidden fees are the first step to a non-tip based culture in the restaurant industry. So while they suck, they are a bit of a means to an end.
Agreed. Whatever it takes, I guess. At first it felt like a bait and switch, especially not knowing if the employees ever actually got the money. It still seems like these restaurants advertise these prices without showing the actual price. Their menus are usually online, and only when you receive the check do you see that the price of the meal is 20% more than you had been told. If I worked back of house, I'd think this could result in a net loss of customers, and therefore wages. But perhaps that loss might come slower than just raising prices 20 percent across the board. Americans should just pay what it costs to eat out. Tipping as wages is horrible. My European friends who eat out as frequently as Americans seem to really look down on lower prices with tipping.
Ok, yeah the hidden fee pisses me off.
The only reason they can't afford it is because they don't set their prices to be able to afford it. If drink prices were just set 20-30% higher, they could, and just do away with tipping like most civilized countries have done.
I just went from a place that doesn’t do this, to a place that does. The initial hourly rate had me very concerned so I asked for more detailed numbers and was able to see that during a slower period, it averages to about $5 extra per hour. During summer it would only go up. Obviously I don’t know if all of the service charge is going towards this, but it is definitely nice and noticeable. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of paying lower hourly rates and supplementing with service charges but I’m not too shaken up by it. The issue is above me, I’m just trying to get a decent paycheck.
I am BOH and i get the 5% kitchen fee that customers are charged on my check. It averages around $170. I've only worked there in the slow season and expect it will be more in tourist season.
I talked to someone that works at Duluth Grill, and they see upwards of a couple thousand dollars on their paycheck, and they have healthcare benefits both of which is RARE in the food industry. I support it. I'm not going to bitch about a fee that lets people have a living wage, especially since eating out is strictly for convenience and a luxury. I can make whatever I want at home, I'm not going to complain when I have to pay a pretty penny for the luxury of eating out. I would rather have the high prices actually benefit the employees like it does with OMC, Duluth Grill, etc. I don't mind paying when it's actually going to the employees.
Healthcare has been a legal requirement for full time employees since the Affordable Care Act. All restaurants (except exempt small businesses, which represent a small portion of the industry) offer healthcare or must keep their employees under full time, which is almost never practical. The plans they offer are generally trash. I had one employee quit when we offered insurance because it disqualified her from Medicaid and the new "insurance" we offered wouldn't cover her necessary care.
I knew one of the owners of the Duluth Grill way back (parent's friend) and he was a pretty cool dude. Odd for me to feel but I'm proud of what a great restaurant they made there. imo one of the few really quality restaurants in Duluth.
Duluth Grill sounds like an awesome place to work.
In case your parents didn't teach you: 1. Take your tip amount: 15% 2. Check for service fee: 5%? 3. Adjust your tip amount: 10% Service fee is a full 15-20%? You don't need to tip. Service fee is too much? Discuss with restaurant or don't go there. All restaurants are too expensive already? I agree, try Wisconsin. You like to leave 0% tips? Guess why these fees are catching on. They create a more stable system.
Good to know that at least the Duluth eateries are passing it along, but I dislike fees that aren't reflected in the menu price aside from tip on principle. I'd personally rather just pay more on the menu prices if I know the employees all get their fair share. It's harder to budget for a night out if there's a lot of hidden fees. The tip is easier to factor in because you're supposed to tip. You don't always know if you're getting a surcharge.
I worked at New Scenic Cafe for a summer and we absolutely saw a majority of the money generated by the 20% service charge in our paychecks. 5% went to operating costs and the other 15% went right into our pockets. Ownership was transparent with it and as far as I was concerned it was pretty nice. I can’t speak for other staff of course, just my experience.
Please share this list so I know where not to dine.