Hidden service fees at restaurants and cafes

Hey everyone,
I’m starting this thread because I want to get your take on these mandatory service charges they've been slapping onto bills at restaurants and cafes lately.
I had an experience recently that caught me completely off guard, though honestly, it feels like I'm being shaken down more and more often these days. To make a long story short, a group of us went out for dinner, and we definitely went all out on the food and drinks. At the end of the night, we all chipped in what we thought was our fair share—some gave a bit extra, others a bit less since none of us could do the math properly after polishing off several bottles of wine 😁 . When the server finally brought the check, we realized we were short, even though we were certain we had enough. That’s when we noticed a 15% service fee tacked onto the total.
Look, I get that it’s technically legal; they handed us a receipt and I’m sure that little fine print is buried somewhere in the menu. But let’s be real: nobody wants to spend their entire dining experience squinting at a menu just to hunt for hidden fees in the tiny font at the bottom.

I will admit, the prices at this particular restaurant were actually reasonable, even with that extra 15% added on, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It feels like a bait-and-switch.

Do you think this is acceptable, or is it just another shady tactic to squeeze more money out of people? Should there be better consumer protections in place to stop this kind of daylight robbery?
How do you guys handle it when this happens to you?

As for me, I am never stepping foot in that place again, and I’ll be sure to tell all my friends to steer clear of it too.

Of course it’s a dirty little trick
they really ought to just name the restaurant and get it over with
and honestly, if they want to start charging extra for service, then the "ingredient" markup should be strictly at cost

Nothing new here, just the same old story about charging extra for the service fee—it’s practically a tradition out in California...

Look, I don't mind if you see a service charge at a nice restaurant or a cafe near Times Square in Venice, but being hit with it in some tiny backwater village along the coast? That's straight-up robbery...
I guess they feel the need to bleed every tourist dry during those three peak months, even if it means making sure you never set foot in their town again. It’s all to make up for the long, dead winters, right?

I never really ran into that issue back home in the States. In some other countries, it’s actually pretty standard for the service to be separate from the bill—you know, that whole "service not included" thing.
Personally, I can't stand it. To me, it just feels like being forced to pay a 10-15% Tip, so I usually just don't leave one at places like that.

frozengull94 said:Nothing new here, just the same old story about charging extra for the service fee—it’s practically a tradition out in California...

Look, I don't mind if you see a service charge at a nice restaurant or a cafe near Times Square in Venice, but being hit with it in some tiny backwater village along the coast? That's straight-up robbery...
I guess they feel the need to bleed every tourist dry during those three peak months, even if it means making sure you never set foot in their town again. It’s all to make up for the long, dead winters, right?

🤣 Pretty sound logic, 🤣

But why give some people the right to tack on extra fees while others don't? 🤷

At the end of the day, everyone is out to maximize their margins. The customer has the freedom to choose where they spend their cash—they can pick which restaurant, cafe, or pub they support, and easily avoid the places that try to squeeze them with extra service fees.
It's their right to charge what they want, and it's the customer's right to walk away. 😉

Henry Edwards33 said:🤣 Pretty sound logic, 🤣

But why give some people the right to tack on extra fees while others don't? 🤷

At the end of the day, everyone is out to maximize their margins. The customer has the freedom to choose where they spend their cash—they can pick which restaurant, cafe, or pub they support, and easily avoid the places that try to squeeze them with extra service fees.
It's their right to charge what they want, and it's the customer's right to walk away. 😉

Tipping is such a ridiculous, Western invention. I was recently traveling through South Korea, and they don't have that whole bullshit system over there. In fact, people actually find it pretty weird if you try to leave them a tip.

Customers have a fundamental right to know exactly what they're paying for upfront. Take those local gastropubs, for example—you’ll often see a little disclaimer stating that the tip isn't included in the menu price. Usually, though, you'll find that's balanced out by lower prices on the food or the drinks themselves. It's all about transparency.

I.

So what does that actually mean? When you pay the bill, are they just tacking on a "service fee," or is this more of a self-service setup?

It’s pretty much standard over there... you always leave a Tip in those specific percentages, and sometimes they'll even remind you what's expected.

But see, out there, servers don't usually have a steady base salary... they're mostly on minimum wage, so they actually rely on being polite and providing great service just to get by.

If it were up to our local spots—with their unwashed glasses, fingers dipping into the soup, and that overall arrogant attitude—people would be starving...

Look, we aren't talking about a tip here. This is a specific service fee known as a cover charge.