If you have been wondering why your bills at restaurants seem to be steeper, then inflation alone may not be the reason. Most restaurants have started quietly introducing a service charge in your bill.
So, you are already forking out almost a quarter of your restaurant bills as "extras" - 22.5% gets added to your restaurant bill. All restaurants charge 12.5% as Value Added Tax (VAT) and some restaurants charge an additional 10% as service charges. The service charge is not a tax but a charge by the restaurant for services provided to you and to meet your expectations. Service charges are shared by everyone from the F&B manager, to the valet and to the stewards.
There are two riddles here. One, isn't providing quality service an integral part of the restaurant industry? Second, if the restaurant imposes a service charge, then there is no incentive for the stewards to provide quality service to the customer as his share is assured. Thus, a service charge seems to defy logic.
However, many restaurateurs complain of high attrition rates amongst the staff because of low tips and as there is no norm on tipping in India, levying a service charge makes it easy for everyone.
Tipping norms vary from country to country. In western Europe and America tipping varies from 15% to 25% while in Japan tipping is taboo. In the United States, even taxi drivers expect to be tipped at least 10%.
In India the norm is around 10% but most customers round it off to a denomination - like leaving a tip of Rs 100 if the bill is Rs 1400.
So, if a restaurant imposes service charges then you do not have to leave a tip but many customers still tip the steward or the valet. Interestingly, service charges maybe levied on buffets also.
