Accidental Hedonist - 18% "Foreigner Fee" added onto Restaurant Check

18% "Foreigner Fee" added onto Restaurant Check

01/17/07, by Kate Hopkins

1555 views • Categories: Restaurants

From the department of "Wha-wha-WHAT?!?"

A French-born Manhattan resident claims a trendy SoHo restaurant tacked a gratuity on his bill without telling him - then said it was to "protect" the waiters because foreigners don't tip.

The restaurant of note is called Aquagrill, and what they did, if true, is a city violation. But I'm sure the management of the restaurant have other restaurateurs considering other types of 'Immediate gratuities'. If I ran a restaurant, I'd consider the following:

Overstayed your welcome gratuity: 5% charge remitted for each additional 15 minutes a party stays at the table after the initial payment has been procured.

Faux Bartender Gratuity: 10% added to the bar tab of anyone who insists on a flavorful dry vodka martini.

Beef Destruction Tax: 15% added to the bill of anyone who orders Wagyu or Kobe Beef "well-done".

Wine Bribe: 10% gratuity added to the bar tab of anyone who asks to smell the cork of the wine; added only if server keeps a straight face and compliments the sniffer on their wine knowledge.

Arrogance Fee: 10 dollar charge on anyone who enters a busy restaurant at 6 o'clock on a Saturday night and demands to be seated immediately even though they don't have a reservation. 5 dollar additional charge if they then say that they made a reservation, but the host or hostess must have screwed up entering it.

Closing Time Tip: 20% tip and a case of beer added to the bill to any parties that arrive within five minutes of closing time. The case of beer is for the crew in the back who most assuredly had to get out pots and pans already cleaned for the night.

(via The Food Section)

Technorati Tags: Restaurants, bigotry, tips

Permalink • 18 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Nicky [Visitor] · http://www.deglazing.com

Wow, that seems crazy! I can't believe a place would get away with that for long. I think your suggestions are much better, especially the sniffing of the wine cork tax. I would also suggest a tax for people being extremely rude or demanding to the wait staff. I don't know how many times I go into a restaurant and people are overly demanding. Maybe, it could be the pain in the *** tax.

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 08:26

Comment from: Emily [Visitor] · http://www.tomatokumato.com

I completely agree with all of these! They're hilarious.

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 08:27

Comment from: Quar [Visitor]

Heh, that's pretty bad. But I think more places are trying to force tips onto to the customers.

Just last week I was a restaurant enjoying a themed chef's table. And in total it was a party of 6. They actually went ahead and included an 18% gart onto to the bill.

What's funny is my wife and I had fun, and would have tipped 20% because of the service and food. But it soured our enjoyment at that point. Especially since the grouping was the restaurant's idea not our own.

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 08:50

Comment from: Kate [Visitor] · http://moon-pie.blogspot.com

Yeah, I've eaten at this place, and that's about what I'd expect. I'd still pay the foreigner tax for the oyster platter, though...

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 09:03

Comment from: Gourmet Peasant [Visitor] · http://gourmetpeasant.blogspot.com/

Quar, I can understand why you were insulted, but It is not uncommon for resaurants to add on a gratuity to parties of six or more. I don't thick it is such a big deal. They do this because unfortunately many people, for one reason or another, don't know how much to tip, or some people know but simply don't care. Imagine how insulting it is to serve six or more people, to give them good service, and to clean up after them, only receive a bad tip. No body likes to work for free. When I am with a group, I am often releived to see that there has been a gratuity added, because then I know I won't have try and get more money from a friend who leaves a stinky tip. That being said, it should ALWAYS be pointed out that the gratuity is included. That way, if you choose to leave more - which you should because waiting tables is a tough job - you are doing so by choice.

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 09:12

Comment from: Cris [Visitor]

In Northern California (and in most places outside CA I've been who take pride in their wine list), no waiter would dream of pouring a bottle of wine unless they first offered the cork for sniffing (whether or not the customer chooses to do so). And most N. Californians who would order a bottle of wine while traveling would expect the same courtesy. Sniffing the cork, as any decent sommelier will tell you, can save you from having to taste a wine that has gone bad. I suggest you make an effort to taste a wine that has a high level of TCA growth (which is undetectable prior to opening the bottle), or that has turned for any number of other reasons (improper storage, secondary fermentation, oxidation, etc.), and then you can complain about people who want to sniff the cork. Returning a bad bottle of wine after it has been poured is quite difficult. It is much easier all around if the problem is caught while the wine is still in the bottle. The attitude that someone who wants to sniff a cork is just being pretentious is offensive.

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 10:19

Comment from: Kate Hopkins [Member]

· http://www.accidentalhedonist.com

Ugh.. I knew there would be one thing that I wrote that would upset someone.

From here:

Sniffing the cork of an opened bottled of wine is a ritual that is unecessary. It won't tell you anything about the quality. You really should be sniffing the wine to ensure there aren't any defects, like oxidation.

...and here:

Returning to our question, if the cork tends to smell like cork, it is not likely that anyone will be able to discern a flaw by sniffing it. The ability to detect Trichloroanisole is often debated and some experiments have demonstrated the inability of expert wine tasters to consistently and reproducibly identify the presence of TCA in wine.

The server or sommelier may hand you the cork so you can examine it visually. The main thing you should look for is the date: it should match that on the label. (Inexpensive wines will not have dates or other identifying information on the cork). You can also look for signs of mold, evidence of drying or cracks or breaks. (A crumbling cork does not necessarily bode poorly for the wine). You can also look for tracks of wine up the side of the cork which may suggest the wine was subjected to heat. (The heat causes the wine to expand and push against the cork, sometimes seeping around it). This may also happen when the bottle was too full during bottling.

and lastly, here:

However, sniffing the cork has very little to do with being able to determine the quality of the wine. This is especially true for anyone who is not the most highly trained and gifted oenologist on the planet - and even in this case it would be questionable as to whether the individual would, in fact, be able to detect the presence of mold on the cork which could help diagnose a bad bottle.

I could point out at least a dozen other references if you wish. But really, it's a joke. My apologies if the light jab to your metaphorical palate touched a nerve. I realize that some people are hardcore when it comes to wine, but again, it was a joke. A well reasoned joke with several well informed opinions backing up the premise of said joke.

Sheesh, some wine folk are so easily offended.

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 10:37

Comment from: Babka Nosher [Visitor] · http://abiselebabka.blogspot.com

As someone who worked in the restaurant industry for several years, I would add one more "tax"

The Sally Tax

For those who give detailed instructions when ordering, often creating an entirely new dish that isn't on the menu!

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 10:37

Comment from: Kelly [Visitor]

Alas, it's true, sniffing the cork gets you nowhere. There are (historically) two reasons to inspect the cork, but that routine in no way entails smelling it. The first (and more historic) of the two reasons dates back to the early days of the wine importation business... Think colonial era... Many winemakers would trick unsuspecting buyers by shipping cheaper, lower quality wine in the guise of its higher quality counterpart (i.e. label). Checking the cork was required to see if the label on the cork matched the label on the wine. It's impossible to pull a cork and replace it, then ship it, without the wine going bad, so this was a sort of insurance policy.
The other reason, which still holds true, is to inspect the cork for signs of degradation, such as mold or wine saturations. The job of the cork is to seal the bottle, so if the cork is breaking down and wine is soaking into it in large amounts, smelling the wine is imperative. Like Kate says, smelling the wine is the only way to detect a flaw. Not the cork. If it smells like grandma's musty basement, don't drink it!

(And yes, I'm trained in service standards according the court of master sommeliers... they don't promote cork sniffing, either. I don't care what California says.)

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 11:36

Comment from: Rachel [Visitor] · http://rachelsbite.blogspot.com

what! that's crazy!

you are so funny with your additional taxes. i think the closing time tip sounds like fun!

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 13:38

Comment from: wineguy [Visitor] · http://sbwineblog.journalspace.com/

When my daughter was married in Maryland, the venue added an 18% "garuity" onto the bill.... pretty innocuous until I discovered THE WAIT STAFF DIDN'T GET A PENNY OF IT! How's that for chutzpah?

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 15:34

Comment from: Lexy [Visitor]

I still wonder why the U.S. doesn't get rid of the tipping "policy" at restaurants. If it's expected, and the tip is always supposed to be a certain amount, I have never understood why it's just not part of the bill in the first place. Or, why not just pay waitstaff and other food service workers a real wage and forget tipping altogether?
I enjoy how "tipping" works in Germany (and maybe other countries): the waiter gives you the bill and you round up - if the bill is small, you round up to the next Euro, if it's larger, you round a few Euros (although I don't know how tips work for larger parties). From my experience, waiters in Germany earn an actual "living" wage and don't have to rely on tips.

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 16:09

Comment from: Nicole [Visitor]

All I have to say to you about your Gratuities is AMEN Sister!!!! There are a few more gratuities I could think of like the, I'm on a diet so I get a salad and an extra croissant and double helpings of the hot bacon and honey mustard dressing gratuity, or the I need ranch dressing on everything gratuity, or the all the ladies need straws and all the lemons in the house so they can make their own lemonade gratuity... oh the list could go on...

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 16:31

Comment from: poppy [Visitor]

I totally agree with Lexy--it should be the responsibility of the restaurant owners (and not the paying customers) to provide their wait staff a decent, proper wage. Why should customers subsidize poor wages? However, it seems to be engrained in our American psyche to tip--even when the service/food is poor. Oh, I would up the Beef Destruction Tax to at least 20%! ;)

Permalink 01/17/07 @ 20:48

Comment from: David [Visitor]

Hee hee, love the list Kate. And add to that another 10% for barging in and demanding a table and then saying you are a friend of the owner!

Permalink 01/18/07 @ 07:20

Comment from: Jay Young [Visitor] · http://www.listen2unclejay.com

I have an issue with the Closing Time Tax...
"Closing Time Tip: 20% tip and a case of beer added to the bill to any parties that arrive within five minutes of closing time. The case of beer is for the crew in the back who most assuredly had to get out pots and pans already cleaned for the night."

I ranted long and loud about this...
Advertise your "last seating time" and adhere to it...
It bugs the living daylights out of me when a restaurant says they are open until 10, and I come in at 9:30 and am told that the kitchen is closing and has a limited selection, or has already closed...
I know the line needs to be drawn somewhere, but it is crazy to alienate your customers (some of whom will blog the crap out of a bad experience).
I know people want to clean up and go home, but a restaurant is a service business...

My rant on this:
http://l2uj.blogspot.com/search?q=agora

Permalink 01/19/07 @ 12:30

Comment from: Nikee [Visitor]

I spent a week and a half in South Beach, FL last month and noticed that almost all restaurants had the same policy of automatically including a fixed 18% gratuity on to their bills. There invariably was a note on the menus stating that this would be done automatically *unless the patron requestsed differently*. It went on to explain that, if desired, the customer was welcome to include an additional amount at the time of payment.
I rather liked the idea, but did notice that some establishments didn't make a clear distinction on the itemized receipt to show that the tip had already been tacked on. This was frequently the case on credit card slips, delivered after the card was initally swiped; these did not have an itemized breakdown of the charges but did still have a tip line and a place to write in the final total.

Permalink 01/24/07 @ 15:51

Comment from: Pille [Visitor] · http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/

I love the list of extra taxes, and found the following comments (esp on wine corks) quite informative. Thanks!
I lived in Edinburgh for 7 years (moved back home to Estonia only recently) and at the restaurants there, it's quite common to add an extra % to the bills of parties of six people or more. It's always stated on the menu though.

Permalink 01/25/07 @ 12:03

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