When paying service charge where does the money go to?

Is it included in the company till or is it for the waiter / waitress to keep?


Also is it optional whether you want to pay it or no? (in the UK)





Thanks|||In the UK you have the legal right to reduce your bill by the amount of the service charge if you feel that the service you have been given was not adequate and did not warrant paying extra for.





I strongly disagree with a service charge being included. When I go out for a meal I will decide whether or not the service warrants a tip - and I will decide how much to give.





Things are probably different in the US, where tipping is practically compulsory. Fortunately we haven't reached that stage yet in the UK.





Why is it so important to tip a waiter that gives good service yet you would never consider tipping the shop assistant that bends over backwards to help?|||Ok the service charge you see on your receipt is NOT optional, you can't refuse to pay it if the service was bad - it is TOTALLY COMPULSORY. Unlike America where you are forced to tip the waiters and if you don't they will never serve you again - here in the UK service charges are compulsory.





Restaurants want to increase prices on their menus all the time but are afraid that their items will look too expensive if they do and that their customers will desert them for cheaper restaurants. So what they tend to do in the UK is to introduce a compulsory service charge at the end of your bill. Effectively they are charging you for the so called service - the waiter or waitress bringing you food to your table. The money goes to the restaurant owner. It does NOT go to the individual waiter or waitress who served you. It is just another way of jacking up the price of food without you complaining too much.





So if you were not satisfied with the service, you would be expected to go to the manager at the end of your meal to complain. The manager would then hear your complaint and if and only IF he agreed with you, he would deduct something from your bill - NOT NECESSARILY the full service charge on your receipt. The waiter or waitress would have had to have made some major mistakes in serving you for him to do that.





Lets be honest here, if you can afford to eat out regularly in this recession, you can afford to pay the service charge so why bother about it? Just enjoy your life of luxury eating out and be thankful that you are not part of the masses suffering at home who are forced to buy take aways because they can't afford to eat out in restaurants anymore.|||Usually the service charge is shared out amongst all the staff, not just the waiter who served you.





In theory it's optional, but you wouldn't normally decline to pay it unless the service was truly awful.|||If the service charge is listed on the menu, then it is a condition of service that you pay it. If you don't like it, you go elsewhere.