Mandatory tips on meals when there is a large party has been standard procedure in restaurants for a while, but some trendy bars in the Meatpacking District are starting to add mandatory tips all drinks ordered at the bar. When asked why they began adding 20% gratuity instead of leaving it to the customer's discretion, a bartender at the Gansevoort Hotel said, "It's a hotel policy, because we have a lot of European tourists who don't tip." But what if the service was terrible?
A Post reporter says that when she was told she had to pay 18% gratuity at the Ace Hotel bar, she argued that she should pay whatever she felt fit, and the bartender scratched the gratuity off the receipt. Case law also says that gratuity is within the discretion of the customers. But that doesn't mean printing a "required" tip isn't a dick move. One bar goer said, "I was really surprised when the bill came. It's pretty presumptuous." Another said it would only upset her if she got bad service. We're sure she'll never have to experience that if she sticks with the trendy, crowded bars.
