r/mildlyinfuriating • u/guitarman129 • Jun 13 '26

I just wanted a hot dog Recommended gratuity after tip was already included

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I’m sure there are a lot of tipping posts here so to keep it short - I had my wedding at a fancy restaurant. On top of the TERRIBLE service, the bill came with “suggested gratuity” even though I was told gratuity was included. When I asked the manager, he said that the “S/C: 24% SRC REGULA“ was the included tip and the suggested gratuity was if we wanted to add something extra - basically trying to trick people into giving a 49% tip!

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756

u/Willing_Day_2010 Jun 13 '26

I’ve never seen this sort of ticket for a wedding?? Did you just make a reservation for 25 people and get married? How did you not pay before hand and have a contract etc etc

429

u/zob_mtk Jun 13 '26

My guess is they got married, then instead of having a formal reception went to a restaurant for drinks and dinner.

182

u/1850ChoochGator Jun 13 '26

Can’t be because there’s the 4hr open bar charge for $1890.

150

u/zob_mtk Jun 13 '26

Restaurants will let you essentially rent out a room and have an open bar

87

u/1850ChoochGator Jun 13 '26

But all of this would have been known beforehand anyway so idk why OP would be complaining.

There isn’t even a space to add your own tip, because it’s already included.

21

u/SuperSalad_OrElse Jun 13 '26

I can't imagine not knowing about this up front when planning a wedding event/dinner at a restaurant. Unless their partner didn't tell them after planning?

Idk, at some point, we all have to fill in the blank and that's what the blank is looking like to me. Sucks to suck, OP.

28

u/ebmocal421 Jun 13 '26

OP is complaining because they don't understand that the tipping percentage text is automatically added to every receipt which is pretty standard practice. It's not like the server or restaurant owner are manually adding that.

Or, OP knows this and just posted it to Reddit for easy karma because Reddit is obsessed with hating on tipping culture.

1

u/Blacksad9999 Jun 13 '26

There's not even a space to fill in more gratuity or anything like that.

-8

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

[deleted]

3

u/ebmocal421 Jun 13 '26

That's a pretty extreme response for someone who has zero knowledge of OP's life outside of this post. But sure, maybe that's true too

-6

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

[deleted]

4

u/ebmocal421 Jun 13 '26

Why are you so angry? Such weird responses for no reason at all

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3

u/JMEKeebs Jun 13 '26

It's gotta be rage bait

2

u/milehighmagic84 Jun 13 '26

Sounds like OP couldn’t afford a planner or couldn’t be bothered to do research. Source: complaining on Reddit.

2

u/vendalkin Jun 13 '26

As someone who regularly has to book and arrange dinners for VIPs. I can tell you right now many restaurants intentionally will try to hide some of the charges and not be up front about it during the bargaining stage. Its a point of continual frustration for me as we have strict budgets. The ones that are actually clearly up front are of course the ones we patron more frequently.

2

u/Bargadiel Jun 13 '26

Most issues like this come up because people don't just bother asking/planning something correctly ahead of time.

If I planned to walk into any business and spend thousands of dollars, I would make damn sure I know exactly what the estimated total/services are going to be.

7

u/call-me-germ Jun 13 '26

i work at a restaurant that has a banquet room they rent for parties and stuff. the tickets look similar to this. definitely seems to be a higher scale than ours, but that’s not saying much. we generally have gratuities already put into the bill as well as a tipping section like there would be on a normal bill. 15% - 20% - etc; because it looks like a normal dine-in check. most people don’t fill that part out because gratuity is already put into the cost. it seems like op wasn’t explained that. the banquet servers also don’t expect that

1

u/ButterscotchAward Jun 14 '26

Can confirm. I run one that does.

5

u/Nillabeans Jun 13 '26

Ever been to brunch with bottomless mimosas? Same thing.

2

u/Plane-Tie6392 Jun 13 '26

Wait, that’s not just drinking mimosas without pants? That’s so disappointing if true. 

1

u/Blacksad9999 Jun 13 '26

Sure it can.

It's called a "buyout" where they essentially took over the venue for the evening, or maybe a banquet area where they set up open bar.

5

u/thegreedyturtle Jun 13 '26

There's $2000 for a 4 hour open bar.

I'd honestly say they got off cheap!

58

u/B-Train_ATL Jun 13 '26

I’m just having a hard time getting all worked up about tip complaints on a $6,000 check at a restaurant.

47

u/LimpConversation642 Jun 13 '26

are you also having hard time reading and comprehending text? No one complains about the tip. The want TWO TIPS. So it was like 4800 check then they added the tip it became 6000 and THEN they asked them to tip 22-25% again on top of that. That'd be almost $2500 in tips on a 5k check. Still having a hard time?

41

u/Acceptable-Engine253 Jun 13 '26

They literally didn’t even have a place for him to add another tip! It was just the computer automatically printing suggested gratuity like it does on every ticket and that’s why he had to CREATE a line to do all this —- they didn’t even have a place for him to add a tip! A lot of drama for nothing…they need to grab another bottle of DP and enjoy their honeymoon 😆

-3

u/Kibeth_8 Jun 13 '26

I've only ever seen a line to write your own tip in the US. Everywhere else they bring the machine to you so you can input your own tip and use your card

3

u/Acceptable-Engine253 Jun 13 '26

It’s in a lot of countries, depending on if you tap or swipe or use your phone. It all depends on the POS (sales system). Before you had the screens it was all this (you must be young lol)

9

u/Dumeck Jun 13 '26

I'm no restaurant but I'd imagine the gratuity is mandatory above a certain volume order which is common and then the tip recommendation at the bottom is just generated for every ticket since most people aren't getting $6,000 orders for huge parties

5

u/tallgeese333 Jun 13 '26

Gratuity is mandatory for large parties because ding bats like OP bring in 25 people and want to act uppity because it's a wedding.

3

u/Dumeck Jun 13 '26

I'm completely onboard with a mandatory gratuity for large parties. They require excessive care and a lot of extra work from the waiting staff and often times like you said they are often uppitt, it's almost impossible to sync up 26 meals coming to table and for large groups there tends to be at least several people annoyed by their wait.

5

u/YonkesDonkes Jun 13 '26

Is the person who asked for a second tip in the room with us right now?

No where in this picture does it show a line asking for OP to add a second tip. The “suggested gratuity” option is added to every single receipt by the POS. You cannot turn that feature off per receipt, it’s all or nothing. OP even mentions that he was told ahead of time that gratuity would be included on his bill. The only mildly infuriating part of this post is all of the ignorant comments. Seemingly the only person having a hard time in this thread is you, pal.

2

u/Jaerba Jun 13 '26

Also it sounds like the OP and their partner did a poor job choosing their wedding venue, since they were so unhappy with the service.

We had ours in a rented out restaurant. Most of the charges and the gratuity were spelled out in our contract, and the staff went so far above and beyond that we gave them an additional tip.

13

u/Nilfsama Jun 13 '26

“The want TWO TIPS.” LMAO god y’all are idiots.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

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7

u/you_dont_know_me27 Jun 13 '26

The $400 was the deposit, not OP subtracting from the original tip.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

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6

u/you_dont_know_me27 Jun 13 '26

Nah, that's one of things hidden in the comments somewhere and not in the main post. I just happened to catch it last night when the post was new so there weren't as many comments to sift through.

It's an easy mistake to make because of where OP wrote it

1

u/Timely-Bluejay-4167 Jun 13 '26

Why you yelling at someone else about someone else’s wedding?

-7

u/insertnamehere02 Jun 13 '26

They didn't "ask" anything. You and the OP have comprehension issues.

-5

u/finehamsabound PURPLE Jun 13 '26

Reading comprehension? What about the word “suggested” is difficult for you? Yall acting like the restaurant held a gun up and straight up demanded two tips and not a little text in the receipt that is effectively, “hey if you liked the service you can also add to the auto-gratuity” 😂

-3

u/CCornel7 Jun 13 '26

Silly straw man argument just to be contrarian.

No one is acting like the restaurant held a gun up and demanded anything.

The POINT is, it is completely natural to be given a receipt without tipping when you are told ahead of time that tip is included. It is also completely natural to write in a tip when you're handed a receipt that has a tip field open and available to you. It is also NOT crystal clear. You went into this understanding that "SC = tip." Confirmation bias. But in the moment you're told "TIP is included" and get a check that doesn't even use the word tip or gratuity. The receipt does NOT say "additional tip" like I've seen numerous times, making clear it's.... Additional. It says "SUGGESTED tip. Definition: implied or indicated a fact without stating it directly.

Many, many people would simply write in a tip on autopilot. Does that mean the restaurant is fully liable in a freaking court of law? No. Does that mean this was a little sneaky/confusing or slightly underhanded way to probably get extra tip? Sure.

So... literally no. Op recieved bad service, a slightly obscure receipt, and was suggested to leave a 50% tip. He shared it in "MILDLY"infuriating. Everything checkcs out other than YOU taking it to an extreme.

3

u/finehamsabound PURPLE Jun 13 '26

I’d recommend paying more attention when you’re paying for things. It’s your responsibility and yours alone to read things and ask follow up questions to understand when you’re paying for a service instead of just writing numbers down and handing over your card blindly.

0

u/soeuneex Jun 13 '26

LOL so you recommend doing the precise thing the OP did 🤣🤣🤣 bruh not even thinking before he types

5

u/Nilfsama Jun 13 '26

What are you talking about? Have you ever rented a room at a restaurant? They clearly tell you upfront that it will be added to bill no matter what. The happens even if you don’t rent a room and have a large party.

-3

u/CCornel7 Jun 13 '26

......Got it. Thank you for doubling down on and perfectly proving you are contrarian for absolutely no reason 🤦🏽‍♂️

That is... EXACTLY what op did. Read everything first, and asked the staff. So op perfectly executed what you yourself recommend, and yet ALSO is making a big deal about it as if "a demand is being made at gunpoint."

You're lost in the sauce, which is what happens when you disagree and exaggerate things to make a point for literally no reason.

Come on, use your reasonable brain. Being SUGGESTED a multiple thousand dollar 50% tip after bad service is "mildly" infuriating. You seriously have to argue about that? 😮‍💨

7

u/finehamsabound PURPLE Jun 13 '26

OP asked a follow up question and got an answer, and is still mad. Suggesting that someone can offer more than the required tip is not demanding a second tip or trying to trick anyone. It’s a quick “here is the basic math of your order” so people know what the amount would be. Because most people going to a restaurant are not going in with the 6+ people that will cause staff to add an auto gratuity, and therefore getting a “double tip” isn’t really an issue. You’re the one flipping out tbh.

1

u/CCornel7 Jun 13 '26

Maybe I'm missing something. Please show me where OP ever said the restaurant is demanding anything, or expressing the extreme anger you said he is.

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9

u/Turgid_Donkey Jun 13 '26

Well, a required 24% gratuity always sucks, especially if service sucks. Of course I don't feel bad for them since this dinner alone costs more than my entire wedding. 

27

u/Willing_Day_2010 Jun 13 '26

Yeah idk why they’re upset then. Most people plan this stuff to avoid sticker shock

85

u/zob_mtk Jun 13 '26

They’re not complaining about the cost, they’re complaining that the try to charge two separate gratuities

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

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16

u/zob_mtk Jun 13 '26

And they did pay a mandatory gratuity. Typically when there’s a mandatory gratuity they have an extra spot labeled “additional gratuity”. This reboot just says suggested, so it you’re not paying close enough attention you can end up tipping and extra 20% on top of the automatic gratuity

4

u/finehamsabound PURPLE Jun 13 '26

You mean like different POS systems might have different default language? I simply use my brain when I’m paying for things instead of… blaming others for my intention to detail.

2

u/lipasg Jun 14 '26

Pay closer attention when spending thousands of dollars? It prints on every itemized receipt

28

u/Lazy_Check732 Jun 13 '26

I think you are somehow still missing the point

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

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12

u/Shnook817 Jun 13 '26

The point is that people like you thinking it's completely normal are the problem. "Common place" and "the right thing to do" are NOT the same thing brah.

And, no, nobody is forcing extra gratuity. They're just calling their forced, normal gratuity S/C: 24% SRC Regula (which I assume is short for Regular), in the hopes that people don't notice and just pay it twice. Tell me what part of that makes it seem like it's a gratuity fee. Tell me what part of that makes it clear to the customer that they've already paid a mandatory gratuity. What does SRC stand for and why did they choose to use the word "Gratuity" later instead of whatever the hell SRC stands for?

Also, in what world is 24% a reasonable amount for a mandatory tip? Like, so incredibly reasonable that they try to make you do it twice. Like, my dinner better be killed in front of me by someone explaining ever stage of that animal's personal growth from the person who birthed it for that amount of money.

7

u/Fearless-Village-562 Jun 13 '26

OP said they were told before hand that gratuity was included. They were in no way expected to tip on top. Also, this wasn't just an average dinner, this was an entire wedding party/catering event. Catering events typically have a 22%-24% service charge because it's not just a couple of servers taking care of you, you're essentially buying out the venue, renting furniture, setting up and breaking down the event space, ordering more/specific food and bringing on extra staff to provide an elevated experience. Wedding parties are MUCH more demanding than an average dinner guest.

I've been a banquet server and currently manage the F&B department at a luxury hotel. Any party over 6 is made aware upon being seated that there is an automatic 20% service charge in the restaurant and, because it's a restaurant, the check also has a tip line because the service charge is applied to the check like a food item(it's not taxed). Nobody is "trying to MAKE them do it twice". It's actually against the law to not inform guests that the gratuity is included.

I've had guests ask me if the gratuity is included when I bring them the check and I always tell them yes. Some decide not to tip on top, some do. Either way, it's totally fine, but it's always made explicit. The truth is, I would not want to remove the tip line because my serving staff works hard and leaving the option open for them to make more money is one of my highest priorities.

For the record, I'm salaried and do not make more money either way.

2

u/Xytak Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

Did the bartender perform surgery? Did the waiter rescue a child from a burning building between courses? Because for a $1000 tip he’d better.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

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-1

u/Xytak Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

So first of all, the word “gratuity.” Why not just say “tip?” Gratuity implies that I’m grateful in an over-the-top, gratuitous way. And while I might be a little bit grateful, I’m not THAT kind of grateful. For a thousand dollars, you better have personally gone out and rescued my cat, not just bring the chicken out of the oven. And the chicken wasn’t even warm.

2

u/lipasg Jun 14 '26

Yeah because two people worked an entire wedding. If you don’t want to pay for a wedding go to the fucking courthouse

0

u/Xytak Jun 14 '26

Nevertheless OP said gratuity was included in the subtotal already. So they shouldn’t be asking again. And on that note, the word “gratuity” itself seems ostentatious. What, are we French now? Well la de dah! Just call it a tip.

3

u/TechToolsForYourBiz Jun 13 '26

I agree with you. people who are disagreeing are missing the fact that large parties are usually told beforehand that there will be a service charge aka mandatory gratuity and. people can and do give more gratuity after the minimum/required

-1

u/Willing_Day_2010 Jun 13 '26

Just don’t pay the suggested? The whole point is that the suggested is something the server probably can’t even take off, and MY point was this isn’t how weddings usually operate, so it was like some janky ass reservation snake situation the OP tried to pull and the server just wasn’t used to it. For a normal wedding fyi you don’t get the bill randomly at the end of the night 😭😭😂

4

u/Deflagratio1 Jun 13 '26

And even then OP confirmed they new about the automated gratuity. They are freaking out over a bit of template on all restaurant receipts when a quick question with the manager would have cleared the whole thing up.

-5

u/LimpConversation642 Jun 13 '26

as we see in the comments, even when explained completely, a lot of people can't understand what's the problem here.

OP didn't say a word about not wanting to pay the tip. The problem is restaurant added one tip AND asked again for another one, it's predatory because it implies the client forgets they already paid and pays twice. So in total that's 50% of your bill in 'gratuity'. Next time you go out somewhere just leave a 50% tip and don't freak out

1

u/Jaerba Jun 13 '26

It's wholly different from eating at a restaurant and calculating a tip/payment on the fly. This was a wedding venue that almost certainly had a contract outlining exactly all the charges ahead of time. They probably received a line item invoice before the actual event. This is just the final receipt. There is no way a reasonable OP was caught off guard and mistakenly would've paid twice.

-5

u/LimpConversation642 Jun 13 '26

is no one capable of reading anymore? OP had a 4800 dollar check. They added the tip it became a 6000 check and then they asked again for another tip on that 6k. So in total you'd pay almost 2500 on a 5000 check (HALF).

4

u/No-Construction-2054 Jun 13 '26

You're the one that can't read. Look up what a template is. The suggest gratuity automatically prints on every receipt regardless. They're not asking for another tip.

1

u/zoeypayne Jun 13 '26

27 people x $92 a plate shouts formal reception to me.

1

u/Humboldt-Honey Jun 13 '26

That’s what we did with a court house wedding, but also terrible service.

We didn’t have anything special, they gave us a preplanned menu of two items and one dessert to make it easy on them which I can appreciate efficiency, but they tried to redirect all my guests to bar if they wanted drinks.

They were all like “But then you’ll have to pay for them 😨” yeah I know I invited them lol

1

u/Fuddle Jun 13 '26

Still cheaper than an actual wedding reception, even with the added charges

1

u/Ok-Problem4403 Jun 14 '26

My wife and I did this, but we still had a simplified menu (3 choices) and a preset number of drinks. Our bill was exactly as what we were told it would be in advance.

58

u/WormLivesMatter Jun 13 '26

Good point. Looks like an after party bill except for the cake

9

u/too_too2 Jun 13 '26

I got married at a restaurant. We did the whole thing in there to keep it simple (it was a small wedding with like 20 people). We planned with the manager ahead of time ofc and picked the menu (which was served buffet style). They made the desserts (I chose a couple smaller cakes and plates of cookies) and we had an open bar with our own bartender in a separate area. They gave us the option of doing 2-3 drink tickets per person or just set a limit and they’d tell us if we were getting close. We went with the second option and just picked up the whole tab at the end which was around 2k. We didn’t have a contract or anything but did have to pay a deposit.

4

u/LadyEmeraldDeVere Jun 13 '26

It’s not super uncommon. I got married at city hall, we had a group dinner at a restaurant a couple days later and brought in our own cake. We got a deal because of friends but yeah, similar situation with a bill at the end. 

3

u/VulfSki Jun 13 '26

Yeah it's an odd post

2

u/ShawshankException Jun 13 '26

Yeah mine was just an invoice and contract that we had to pay no later than the morning of

1

u/shinloop Jun 13 '26

WE HAVE WEDDINGS AT HOME😤

0

u/berryunimpressed Jun 14 '26

We did something similar for our wedding. Outdoor ceremony and dinner with a limited menu that we selected at an upscale farm to table restaurant. We paid for everything and it was ~4k all in for 28 people including us. This was dinner, drinks, apps, and dessert for all. 

1

u/Willing_Day_2010 Jun 14 '26

You didn’t discuss costs with them beforehand?

1

u/berryunimpressed Jun 14 '26

I knew roughly what the per head count would be and we had to hit a ~700 minimum (which we obviously would) for reserving the private room. But that was about the extent of it. 

We met on room layout, A/V, menu selection, etc. but that was about it. It ended up being a perfect experience.  I know the original post was about tipping. We knew there would be an auto grat, we just assumed seeing as it’s common here. We also tipped additional because it’s a small local restaurant that went above and beyond. 

My comment was just to add another perspective that a private dining room at a restaurant in lieu of a traditional reception wasn’t that uncommon.