The news that Gordon Ramsay – that most self-publicising of restaurateurs – has increased service charges at his Lucky Cat restaurant in the City should strike terror into anyone who cares about the future of the hospitality industry.
Ramsay introduced a 20 per cent charge, rather than the industry standard of 12.5 per cent or (increasingly) 15 per cent, for the seasonal special menus that the restaurant offered last year. The chef – who claims to have invested £20 million of his own money into the Asian-influenced restaurant – has also stated publicly of Lucky Cat, that ‘if it was to fail, I’m fucked.’
What has led to resentment here, shown by Ramsay’s hiked charges, is the way in which often mediocre service must be rewarded as if by right, unless the diner wants to face huge embarrassment for their supposed meanness
The question of whether US-level service charges are necessary is one that anyone who cares about going out to eat should be watching closely.
A meal, whether at a Michelin-starred restaurant or humbler chain, is now far more expensive than it has ever been, thanks to the spiralling costs of everything from rent and ingredients to staff. While the 1 per cent of people who could be regular diners at Lucky Cat and other similarly pricey places can afford to pay whatever they are charged, the rest of us have to be rather pickier. The prospect then of a middling meal being made considerably more expensive by an increased service charge is an unhappy one.
Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant will know that it is tough, demanding work, at every level. It is also traditionally not very well paid, in Britain at least, where we do not have the culture that many European countries do of respect for waiting staff, and seeing it as a worthwhile profession. Instead, outside of the best restaurants in this country, you are lucky to find waiters who are truly committed to their job, with the vast majority doing it for a few months in order to make money. And this is where the vexed question of the tip comes in.
It is surely uncontroversial to wish to reward good service with a gratuity, and not to pay for mediocre or sloppy service. However, since most people have stopped carrying cash, it has been all but obligatory to include this service charge in the final bill. This is rarely given to the staff member who has served you, but placed in a communal fund – the ‘tronc’ – and then shared out amongst all the members of staff, front of house and backstage alike.
In theory, this is a fair and democratic system, but in practice it not only means that it’s harder to reward a good waiter directly, but also, in the event of the service being disappointing, you are made to feel that you are committing a dreadful sin by asking for the charge to be removed. Only the bravest – or thickest-skinned – ever dare do so, and more often than not, if the experience has been disappointing, diners scurry out vowing never to return.
The whole system needs wholescale revision. The American way – where 20 per cent service is the bare minimum, and you are often expected to pay as much as 30 per cent – is based around a hospitality culture that is largely alien to Britain. It also is increasingly threatened there by the fact that dining is rapidly becoming too expensive a treat for anyone but the wealthy. But what has led to resentment here, shown by Ramsay’s hiked charges, is the way in which often mediocre service must be rewarded as if by right, unless the diner wants to face huge embarrassment for their supposed meanness.
If the current culture of near-obligatory service charges came to an end, it is impossible to know what would happen. Some restaurants would probably close down, as it seems clear that the additional charge is being used to top up the (minimum) wages of their staff – which is highly morally dubious, if not actually illegal. Few would mourn the end of these establishments, save from the perspective of choice. Others would raise the price of food and drink to cover the difference, and then allow diners to decide if they had received exceptional, tip-worthy service from their waiter. This would be better – more transparent – and should be implemented.
But the idea that an ever-increasing service charge has become the norm, rather than the exception – and that Ramsay might be, as so often, spearheading the way for other businesses to follow suit – is both depressing and, in the long run, potentially disastrous.
It would be wonderful to be able to tip for great service and know that the waiters were being paid decently and fairly, whatever happens, but in these straitened times, this is nothing more than a pipe dream. And this is the real tragedy for anyone who enjoys the conviviality and fun of eating out – or, at least, does so until the higher-than-expected bill arrives, anyway.
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