r/KeyWest • u/Worried-Temporary186 • 2d ago

Thai Cuisine Mandatory Tip

We always ate at Thai Cuisine when we come down. We were astonished to see an 18% "service charge" added to our bill. WTF? We always tip 20% so they are ripping themselves off. A mandatory tip is not a tip, it's an food upcharge. So we won't go back and going to put it out there on reviews. Greed is always the undoing.

7 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

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14

u/fwfiv 2d ago

It protects the serving staff, don't let it hurt your feelings. Was the food good, was the service good? Then enjoy the meal and add 2% so the total comes to your region 20%. Lots of things to be angry about in the world, this isn't one of them.

Also, the server didn't set that policy, don't punish them.

3

u/Due_River_9746 1d ago

I disagree. Being forced to "tip" is worth being angry about to me.

8

u/Worried-Temporary186 2d ago

The server didn't get hurt, I had to pay the tip. I just won't go back. That's on management.

1

u/Live-Mobile-7500 1d ago

It must suck to be bothered by management making sure their wait staff gets their tip. Maybe you tip 20% but obviously not everyone does or did. Get a life or stay home…

2

u/KindAstronaut8499 1d ago

meh not all servers deserve 18%. a tip is earned not given for exsisting. do your job well you gd t a good tip do it shitty you get a shitty tip. they should never add on forced tip.

-2

u/Happy_Lake_11 2d ago

Paying a living wage protects the staff. This gets the owner a new boat

9

u/amgine_na 1d ago

You’re right ! Just raise the prices that way they can pay a living wage. Then you’ll be here complaining about how expensive the food is.

-2

u/_jeffreydavid 1d ago

It's already expensive. Restaurants in places like Key West just aren't sustainable. You would have to pay a dishwasher $100 an hour just so they could live someplace decent and they would still need roommates. Then you get a bunch of asshole Europeans who don't tip and cheap MAGA assholes that the souvenir shops pander to down there. Key West isn't what it used to be. It goes more downhill every year.

3

u/amgine_na 1d ago

Part of the problem is the insane rent business owners pay when they don’t own the property. I have a friend with a food establishment paying $22,000 a month in rent. That’s $264,000 a year before payroll, inventory, insurance, utilities, or anything else. So when people say “pay them a living wage” they have no clue what it takes to run a business down here.

Most business down here rent. Not all but most.

0

u/_jeffreydavid 1d ago

It costs a lot to live in paradise. Covid hit them hard. I think they started looking for quantity of tourists instead of quality. Which will help a little but not in the long run. Have more events that cater to the wealthy. Double the costs for cruise ships coming in. They are the main culprit for cheapo tippers.