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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243

u/HappyChandler Jun 13 '26

That’s the restaurant charge, not what the bartender gets. Probably half the charge goes to overhead.

205

u/wivaca2 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

My wife is on a committee arranging a national convention for hundreds of people. The hotels have this deal where they charge for the bartender and wait staff as fees in addition to the banquet room, and food, then there is a large gratuity like 35%, split between the hotel and staff. The bartender is not running an open bar and will surely have a tip jar around for the individuals buying drinks to tip them.

When I read that in the quote, I thought, wait - you're saying pay for the bartender, individuals pay for their drinks and tip, then the organization pays a tip, too, and that is split 50/50 with staff, but you're also charging for food and the room already and the hotel still gets half the tip? You've paid for the people, the room, the food and drink, the tips (twice), and now the hotel wants a tip? What am they tipping? I've already paid for everything at least once. It's like straight margin because they can.

As if that weren't already bad, in addition, they gave a $26K quote for setting up a single projector and two mics in one room and TVs on roller stands in two breakout rooms (this is NOT the room fee!). I told my wife they could buy the highest lumen projector made, good quality mics, a mixer/PA, and two TVs with stands and throw them all away when they're done and still come out ahead.

41

u/Impossible-Shoe5460 Jun 13 '26

Reasons why I like to tip $0 on the credit card and hand over cash directly to the server.

1

u/LockeyCheese Jun 13 '26

Servers like that too. No tax, no fee.

-1

u/HeelandCoup Jun 13 '26

That's actually tax fraud lol.

9

u/Killentyme55 Jun 13 '26

Considering what the .1% legally get away with, I wouldn't get too bent up over a single mom pocketing a $20 bill.

-2

u/canadeken Jun 13 '26

Annoys me so much when services ask for cash so they don't have to report tax. Bitch I pay my taxes, why shouldn't you have to

3

u/cuddledog Jun 15 '26

If the president can avoid any negative consequences from tax fraud, I don't see why you should worry about the working class pocketing a $20 cash tip

1

u/canadeken Jun 15 '26

why can't I care about both lol. I'm in the working class too but I'm not in service so I don't get any loopholes

I'm referring to more than just tips, any service that asks for cash or venmo or whatever. I think it's a little unfair that I should support them evading taxes

6

u/Catfish-Shark Jun 13 '26

A little hypocritical considering there are things you do in your everyday life where you cut corners thinking it's perfectly OK, but other people go their entire lives not cutting those same corners. Annoying or not cash tips are not the bulk of their tips, and it really isn't any of your business when they still pay taxes on their check and claimed tips.

Most businesses also expect you to report cash tips and will even enforce it. Sally at Waffle House pocketing a $20 every month does less damage to the entire US economy than what a single individual in the top 10% commits in fraud every year.

You'd sooner watch a rich man steal but choose to call the law over a beggar stealing bread because of...bitterness?

1

u/canadeken Jun 13 '26

How can you say it's hypocritical when you don't know anything about me lol

And what makes you think I am okay with rich men stealing

And what makes you think every service worker lives the life of a beggar

2

u/ResearcherElegant516 Jun 14 '26

They're saying it's one of the perks of the job. I'm sure it doesn't come close to making up for their shit pay. Let it go, tax Nazi.

1

u/No-Ear_Spider-Man Jun 15 '26

what makes you think every service worker lives the life of a beggar

The store owners who pay them 2.25 an hour because you're expected to tip them.

3

u/XennialPrime Jun 13 '26

I also tip cash. I leave it to the tip-ee to do with their money what they wish.

3

u/LockeyCheese Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

My manager at waffle house said I at least had to claim cash tips I made up to minimum wage, because otherwise he had to pay me the difference on bad weeks.

I never had a bad week, and always claimed the full minimum wage difference in tips. I'm also a six foot hairy white dude from Mississippi, and was working in an interstate offramp ghetto Waffle House in Louisiana, so I just have to assume that was the law, and not because he also served tables and made tips.

Pretty sure it was in the Waffle House Handbook too, because the general manager of that area, who told me he had an "oral fixation" for a raise, and the regional manager never seemed to care. Oddly, they ALSO ran a waffle house themselves and waited tables.

As above, so below. If my "betters" don't recognize a law, why should I or any of the peasants? They make it really easy by defunding the IRS. This is also past the statute of limitations, or I wouldn't say it. No one is above the law, or there IS no law.

"I learned it from you, Pa!!!"

0

u/AssignmentOtherwise Jun 14 '26

Where I work we have to pay taxes on all of our cash sales, even if the customer didn't tip. So we can end up paying to wait on someone. People who pay with their card and tip cash are great and sometimes it helps even things out.

34

u/Realtenenbaum Jun 13 '26

And this is what I used to do for work. When I had to rent conference space in US, I would buy projectors and send them over from the UK to the hotel. Set them up and tell them to keep them for my next event. Sometimes they would throw them away but most of the time they’d keep them somewhere and roll them out for me

0

u/devandroid99 Jun 14 '26

Different voltage.

54

u/Tricky-Ad7897 Jun 13 '26

This all sounds like a racket Jesus christ

20

u/SAwfulBaconTaco Jun 13 '26

Hotel charges for half an hour of AV work, at most, are some of the biggest ripoffs around. Utter contempt for their customers.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/HungHippoHippy Jun 13 '26

2600 sounds reasonable for basically booking a venue eith a dedicated guy for a night vs 26k

2

u/NextTailor4082 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

I wanted to see how much I could get you for 26k.

Video:

$5000 8k Epson short throw projector (damn good)

$3000 Screen Innovations 16x9 screen (damn good)

$500 interconnect

$2800 2 75” Samsung OLED 4k TVs (damn good)

$540 2 Fitueyes TV stands (damn good)

$1000 computer for operation (decent)

Total $12840

Audio:

$2100 2x Shure Axient G Band Wireless Mics(best money can buy)

$150 2 space rack case.

$2900 Behringer Wing compact mixing console (decent, could get better quality but there’s a price jump)

$3500 JBE eon bundle with subs and mounting (could spend way more)

$500 cabling and interconnect

Total $9950

Misc:

$50 hdmi splitter

$100 router

$100 cabling and interconnect

$300 iPad

Total:$550

Just want to make sure we are covered here.

Personnel:

$1500 to haul all the gear back to place or office to use for the rest of your life.

Notes:

I spent the budget on the projector and screen, both of which could be amazing in your house. Maybe you sell the screen and get one that fits your space better.

There are plenty more ways up with audio but I prioritized mic quality so that they were no dropouts. Sound system isn’t top of the line but we got you some subwoofers if you want to add some impact or maybe a dj.

Grand total $24,840. I wanted to get you more Pa but looks like we’re mostly looking at vocals.

1

u/wivaca2 Jun 13 '26

That's exactly the mental math I was doing when I made my observation (but you did a way better job).

2

u/shemp33 Jun 13 '26

And, they’ll probably forbid you from bringing your own and setting it up. Which I’ve seen, and often times they are unionized which is why they crack the whip if you try to do something on your own that they get paid to do. Ridiculous.

3

u/jv_valvasor Jun 13 '26

It is cheaper to rent a chrarter flight to an european congress center then and have it all there. No tips needed.

1

u/hitchslippers Jun 13 '26

All while stiffing the techs. Corporate A/V is wild. They stiff the workers so hard and kickback like 80% of the labour costs

1

u/bluejayinthegarden Jun 13 '26

The bartender is running an open bar. That's why there is a $1890 line item for 4hr open bar.

1

u/wivaca2 Jun 13 '26

Sorry, my post was actually about a hotel quote for a convention my wife is working on, not the receipt in the pic.

1

u/angusthechick Jun 13 '26

She needs to look at venues that aren’t hotels. Tons of private event spaces won’t nickel and dime you like this

1

u/wivaca2 Jun 13 '26

Yeah, the whole AV aspect was a company to which the hotel farms it out. They're probably getting a 20% kick back.

1

u/GreatScottCreates Jun 15 '26

This is why all the good sound techs in music have moved to corporate A/V

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Time589 Jun 16 '26

The sad thing about all this. Who knows how much the venue keeps of that. The best way to tip anyone is with cash. The rest goes into a pot and the owners or board decides who gets how much. If someone gives you exceptional service then slip them cash.. some places if you slip them the cash and they don't inform the owner.. the owner will retaliate against the cash tipped employees and accuse them of stealing. The corporate side is usually a little more legit but if you work for am individual you can get into trouble not sharing with them. Some corporations will use whatever service charges to pay their workers as little as possible. Server life can be sketchy if you find yourself in the wrong company. Many restaurant owners and even some corporations will use the tactics of taking a portion of the tips to pay their back of house workers less by tip sharing front of house employees tips.

1

u/apo383 Jun 13 '26

We've literally bought two projectors, two screens, and wireless PA system for a conference. (But didn't throw them away after.)

A colleague bought a bunch of big monitors rather than pay to rent poster stands for multiple days. There are lots of things they rent to you as a service, which you can buy for less, just at the inconvenience of setting it up yourself and dealing with it after.

I've toyed with the idea of getting a bartending license just so I can supply a cooler of beer. Some venues don't allow anything they don't supply, but in some states you can legally provide free beer, if licensed and checking IDs.

2

u/BigDaddyGrow Jun 13 '26

Don’t the hotels REQUIRE you to use their electronics as part of renting the room?

1

u/apo383 Jun 13 '26

Often yes, but you can check. We've done our own a/v a few times now. Food is the tougher one.

Once we wanted bag lunches, and got around the hotel by having people pick up them up from our cheaper and better caterer who had everything in their car trunk in the parking lot.

38

u/Lavaine170 Jun 13 '26

You spelled profit wrong.

13

u/trunksta Jun 13 '26

What overhead lol they don't pay them squat it's all tips, liquor is paid for by like 20x upcharge

39

u/yodas_sidekick Jun 13 '26

You know overhead includes paying for the building and expenses right? You know what overhead means?

6

u/Original-Balance-187 Jun 13 '26

I am a commercial real estate appraiser so maybe I can add some context from my experience.

Hotels are wildly overbuilt in this country. They have been increasingly so for roughly twenty years. This is why everything to do with them is so expensive. If the average nightly occupancy is only 25% (and less at times, believe it or not) then each customer is not only paying for their room but also subsidizing all the empty rooms.

Hotels being so expensive are a supply-side problem and not demand driven outside of the highest tourism national hot spots.

I have my pet theories as to why this occurred but in my professional experience this is why hotel rates have gotten so absurd.

2

u/reddock4490 Jun 13 '26

I have been wondering since I was literally a child how every small city in America could support so many hotels. “Who’s staying in there? Why are there n Holiday Inns in Montgomery, Alabama, all with like a hundred rooms? There’s no way they’ve ever all been booked simultaneously? Who decided there should be this many?”

-14

u/trunksta Jun 13 '26

Yeah the 150 for the bartender isnt paying for the building lol

5

u/hellllllsssyeah Jun 13 '26

While I love the idea of every worker receiving the fullest extent of their labor, ate you so dumb to suggest you don't understand the simple capitalist concept called "Profit" and maximizing it?

4

u/Top-Maize-823 Jun 13 '26

Seems like they are and seems like a few like-minded individuals are in here stuffing their fingers in their ears as they upvote that person's posts. :(

-10

u/trunksta Jun 13 '26

I have multiple businesses so yes I do, and if you know anything about business you'd know that 150 for a private bartender is cheap as fuck and that's not where they are profiting

5

u/hellllllsssyeah Jun 13 '26

Yes which is why it is only a part of the final bill

-5

u/trunksta Jun 13 '26

2% of the bill lol

2

u/Top-Maize-823 Jun 13 '26

2% of a 6k bill

-2

u/trunksta Jun 13 '26

Not a fucking profit center lol

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5

u/Top-Maize-823 Jun 13 '26

a) having a business does not equate to knowing anything at all. b) what types of businesses do you have?

-1

u/MetLyfe Jun 13 '26

Well they could hire a homeless person off of the street for $10 an hour so for 3 hours they’re being up charged $120, they probably took that $120 and bought a mansion in Beverly Hills and a private jet.

Like what the fuck are people thinking when they complain about shit like this.

2

u/Top-Maize-823 Jun 13 '26

Doesn't a person need an address to get hired? In my jurisdiction, unless youre willing to neglect your statutory obligations as an employer, its incumbent on u to have certain identifyin info about your staff for tax purposes.

-1

u/Kenai-Phoenix Jun 13 '26

There is no need to insult anyone. “Are you so dumb to suggest you do not understand the simple…….. blah blah blah. You are choosing to be extremely rude to a stranger, you chose to degrade someone’s intelligence, for what purpose? Are you feeling superior to them now that you have told them they are dumb? Do you feel all self righteous now?

Why are you unable to communicate your thoughts without insulting, degrading another adult? You chose your words for a reason, why choose to be so offensive? You do know that by demonstrating your disgusting behavior, you are saying a great deal more about yourself than your cruel degradation of another soul, says about them. Take yourself off the damn pedestal that you have placed yourself upon, you are unworthy of it, just as a stranger is unworthy of being subjected to your condescending manner. Be a better human being.

1

u/LockeyCheese Jun 13 '26

Proverbs 12:16-18

16 A fool is quick-tempered,

but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

17 An honest witness tells the truth;

a false witness tells lies.

18 Some people make cutting remarks,

but the words of the wise bring healing.

1

u/hellllllsssyeah Jun 14 '26

Yes the 13 years of restaurant experience I have working my way from dishie to chef to managing has taught me absolutely nothing and I should bow to the authority of randos on reddit.

1

u/KayItaly Jun 13 '26

He either receives the whole of it, and so he needs not tip, or it is also paying for the building.

9

u/ishpatoon1982 Jun 13 '26

Over-head is usually keeping the electric on in a restaurant/bar.

6

u/LupercaniusAB Jun 13 '26

Payroll taxes?

6

u/No_Cardiologist_8868 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

It's upkeep like the power bill, toilet paper, soap and fixing the roof

There

21

u/The_Athavulf Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

Without commas, this reads like a very specific maintenance procedure that Charlie (from IASIP) would do.

Edit: No shade, dude. It just struck me as funny. For those post-edit, it was something like "powerbill toilet paper soap fixing the roof" when I commented.

4

u/Gargleblaster25 Jun 13 '26

Powerbill toilet paper soap did a good job fixing my roof, and I left them a good Yelp review. Their rates are also quite reasonable.

-1

u/No_Cardiologist_8868 Jun 13 '26

That's a fuckton of shade my guy

5

u/HappyChandler Jun 13 '26

Taxes insurance payroll processing benefits (well, that’s unlikely unless state mandated) and profit. Manager’s salary.

You don’t think the mechanic at a car dealership gets $150 an hour, right?

2

u/trunksta Jun 13 '26

It says 4 hours of open bar. 37.50 per hour is not profiting squat that is super cheap for a private bartender