Since the recession we've heard more and more about restaurants adding automatic gratuity for parties much smaller than six but an automatic gratuity for brown people? At an Indian restaurant? That's new to us. But that is exactly what a new lawsuit is claiming the Forest Hills outpost of the chain Baluchi's does. In papers filed in Brooklyn yesterday [PDF] Abe Shah and Hemang Virani, who are of Pakistani and Indian descent respectively, claim that on May 12 they were charged an 18 percent gratuity without their permission. When they complained to a manager they were told that the restaurant routinely adds on the extra money to "Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi customers" bills because "they never tip." And then things got violent!
Lawsuit: Indian Restaurant Forces Indians To Tip, Or Else They'll Get Beaten Up
How Does New York Stack Up In The Tipping Department?
Certain websites aside, we always thought New York was actually a pretty good town for getting tips, what with all the big spenders here and the many professionals whose livelihood depends on tips. And we are! But you know who apparently tips better? New Hampshireites. And Alaskans. And Wisconsinites. Also? People from Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Hawaii, Vermont, and Alabama. According to research from Marketplace, they beat us on when it comes to average tips given on $20 sit-down meals.
Ace Hotel Bar Gets Sneaky With 18% Mandatory Gratuity
The Ace Hotel lobby bar made headlines last March when it was noticed that they were instituting a mandatory 18% gratuity on every drink. It was hard to miss, because the bar stamped every receipt with "YOU'RE COVERED: For your convenience we have already added an 18% tip to your bill. You can thank us later." Why, thank you so much for conveniently turning a gratuity into an added fee, Ace Hotel! The incredibly condescending tone of the old stamp was bad enough, but now the stamp has changed, and it's even more obnoxious: In big letters, each receipt is stamped 18% GRATUITY SUGGESTED, and beneath, in a much smaller font that appears slightly faded, "Gratuity Included." Is this their way of trying to get you to tip twice?
Co-Op Declares "No Holiday Tipping"
If it's November, it's time to start dreading the Holiday tipping ritual. How much do you give the super or the doorman or—no joke—the sanitation worker? Well, if you're the board of directors at a tony co-op, the solution is simple: Nothing. A thread on the Urban Baby message board has sparked a vigorous debate about noblesse oblige during a recession, beginning thus:
SANTA CLAUS CAME EARLY!!! Just got a notice from our co-op board: "In response to past complaints about favoritism, and in light of the current recession that has dealt a significant blow to many of our shareholders, the board of directors of (XYZ Building) has implemented a strict "no tipping" policy for the building staff." THANK YOU SANTA!!!
The Fixe Is In: More Restaurants Adding Automatic Tip to Bill
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.
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