Results tagged “automatic”

A little sleuthing by the Post has turned up about a dozen NYC restaurants which have been tacking a 15-20 percent gratuity onto the bill regardless of party size and without noting the policy on the menu. One disgruntled diner, Dazi Chen, tipped off the tabloid after finding a 20 percent "autograt" charge on his check at Midtown's Bombay Eats, where he dined with a friend. "I felt cheated and taken advantage of," Chen fumed. "They're trying to get double gratuity." It's illegal for restaurants to automatically charge a gratuity without notifying customers, and it must be a party of eight or more. But at the River Cafe in DUMBO, two diners from England recently discovered an unannounced 15 percent gratuity on a $400 check, even though the menu reads, "Gratuity and sales tax not included." A manager denies it, but it sounds like a case of tourist profiling by waiters, who always complain about paltry tips from foreigners. Check out the full list of restaurants angling for gratuitous gratuities here.

When restaurants charge larger parties an automatic service fee – usually 20% – it’s generally understood that the money goes to the servers as a gratuity. But some restaurants have been keeping the lion’s share of the fee and passing along just a small fraction to the staff. Now a state appeals court has ruled that the practice is as illegal as it is outrageous.