I can understand why they automatically add a tip to a large group.
If the tip came to 120 the overall bill came to about 600.
On smaller sums 20% isn't all that significant but on larger amounts it's not unimpressive... And people will think 80$ ("hey, it's almost 100") is OK, but it's actually 33% less than 120.

Edit: Working as a mover in the summertime I noticed that the wealthiest customers were, generally speaking, the worst tippers.

Well you don't get rich by giving your money away...

I tip for good service only. If my office or other group is going out to a restaurant we ask beforehand if there is a service charge added fo large groups. If there is, we go elsewhere. That being said our group is quite generous for good service.

I object to being "expected" to tip. I have been in restaurants where the food and service was awful , why should I tip ?

I was very pleasently surprised in Northern Ireland some years ago when ,on several occasions, tips were politely refused with a comment of "it's our job to be of service sir "

I have been a bar tender for the last 9 years, so here is what I will say to this after skimming the thread (sorry but I have to be at work in 20 mins). You either get it or you don't. No amount of reasoning from anyone else will ever change your mind.

As for people who say you shouldn't have to make up for the fact that a server makes $2.13 an hour just think about it this way: for most restaurants to make up the difference in pay they would have to raise their prices at least 15-20% and people complain about the cost of food enough as it is these days. Also, no one forced you to go to a restaurant. Buy some groceries and learn to cook. Thats what I do and I spend a lot less money than I used to eating out all the time. Or hit up a drive through. The lovely people at McDonalds make minimum wage and will gladly give you a cheeseburger for a dollar with nothing more expected.

As for the "idiot tax" a lot of bars do that. Mine has signage for it, but we don't usually do it. The reason behind it is simple, it is to keep the bar tender from getting screwed over by some jackass who walks out on their $100+ tab because they were buying shots for all their buddies and got hammered. When people DO come back to take care of walk out tabs the next day 99% of the time they don't tip. Sorry but I am not going to run around busting my butt for you all night and then have you get sticker shock the next day when youre sober and screw me over.

One last thing, I agree there are plenty of terrible servers and bar tenders out there. It is not a job that everyone is cut out for. Usually those people don't make much money and they don't last real long, but sometimes they are just damn stubborn and won't go away. But you take the chance at getting poor service when you go out. You may get one of the aforementioned bad servers or you may just get someone who is having a bad day. We all have those days and when I get bad service somewhere I usually give that person the benefit of the doubt.

Most places post it either by the entrance or on the meny that they charge a fixed tip for large groups. As such, you go into it with eyes wide open and have zero room to complain.

The system is what it is in the US, trying to compare it to Europe where we have $20 minimum wage is senseless.

Ain't that the truth?

The rich act poor and the poor act rich.

Wireman:

That is really bad. What's worse is that it left me giggling when I read it.

No tipping culture over here in Aus,i bussed tables and then moved into grill cooking at Sizzler many eons ago but was paid far above US minimum wage. The hot chicks always got tips, unfortunately i looked dodgy in a skirt. I would only pay for excellent service though and the whole gratuity thing..lol.

In my opinion (coming from Australia and the UK), tipping should definitely be option. Waiting staff should be paid a basic liveable wage (like anybody else who is employed) which is in exchange for them providing a basic level of service. Service below this would result in disciplining and sackings, service about this would result in tips.
Basically, I see a tip as a reward for providing good service, not as payment for doing their job. It's the employer's responsibility to pay employees (it is kind of what the terms mean), and the customer can provide extra reward if they deem it warranted.

Naturally this system fails in the US, as businesses have managed to institute a brilliant system of hidden costs that aren't mentioned on the price tag, especially with taxes not being included in the price.

That's quite civilized.

Ain't that way here, that's for sure. I haven't been a bar person for many moons, but there are (were) places where if there is no tip, there is no service. If you put out just enough for the drink, the waitress won't bring you a beer.

I still remember the dying days of the Quebec tavern. No women allowed. Just men, quarts on the table, and hockey on cheap televisions strewn about the tavern. I used to go the St-Regis after work in downtown Montreal. What a dump. It was glorious!

Why is it just waiters that may have this reward system? I do a good job and I don't expect customers to pay me a tip as I did my job.

As an observation from Germany, (decent) wages for the staff are already included. I may still give a small tip if the service was good, and if it wasn't, I don't go there anymore. Personally I find the US habit of giving you net prices everywhere and then adding special fees, surcharges, taxes, tips and whatnot afterwards rather annoying.

I understand that with the taxes, maybe it SHOULD be annoying so people realize how much they are giving to the state, but annoying it still is because I feel constantly misled about the price. I suppose that's just a matter of habit and upbringing / local culture, so I'm not roundly condemning the practice. I'm just ... irritated by it.

In any case, waiting tables isn't exactly a fun job, and it SHOULD be paid somewhat decently. Admittedly it is a low skill type of job so it can never really reach spectacular levels in a free market environment. That's economy 101. But ultimately the tipping thing appears like mandatory charity to me to make up for restaurant owners that are giving their staff a rough ride.

Good question.