General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHotel Finds Free Money, It Is Employees’ Tips!
Okay, you are probably thinking, thats fine, because that service fee will go to all of the nice servers who handed out cake so efficiently, and the bartenders who helped all your friends get drunk on delicious cocktails, and the staff who set up your gorgeous decorations! And yes, that service fee is often distributed among the service personnel, and that is fair, plus, also it is possibly the legal thing to do. But sometimes, the service fee is just code for the hotel raised your banquet price by 20 percent and you thought that was a tip, but really the hotel just kept it.
It seems that some employers in the hospitality industry are thinking how could we make some easy free money? Hey, we could steal it from our employees tips! And employers are tacking service fees onto customers invoices, but instead of giving this tip money to traditionally tipped employees, like wait staff, employers are keeping it. This is a terrible thing to do to tipped employees, because these workers can be paid way less than the minimum wage its assumed that theyll make it up in tips. And they probably can, unless their employers steal reclassify it.
Laurie Zabawa, a Hilton Garden Inn banquet manager in Bozeman, Montana, filed a lawsuit in October 2014 claiming that her employer did exactly that. According to Zabawas complaint, Hilton had for years added a gratuity fee to banquet clients bills and then distributed the money to the employees who had worked the banquet. When Hilton outsourced its banquet services to Gateway Hospitality Group, Gateway was like, hey banquet employees, how about if we raise your base pay by $1 per hour and then well just keep the 20 percent gratuity, mmmkay? And the banquet employees were all, no! Because $1 per hour doesnt even come close to the tip money were losing in this deal! And Gateway said, you know what, Laurie Zabawa, go ahead and fire those whiners. Like a boss, Laurie Zabawa refused, was demoted, quit, and sued. Montana law has this to say about service charges and tips:
service charge means an arbitrary fixed charge added to the customers bill by an employer in lieu of a tip. It is collected by the employer and must be distributed directly to the nonmanagement employee preparing or serving the food or beverage or to any other employee involved in related services, pursuant to a tip pool agreement.
Wonkette
uppityperson
(115,677 posts)NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts).
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. Can't find a thing about it.
I think President Warren or Sanders would take a stand.
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pnwmom
(108,980 posts)Warren and Sanders are both fully capable of opening their mouths. What have they said about this situation?
dsc
(52,162 posts)maybe because they are busy doing their jobs, fancy that. Just like Hilary is busy preparing her run.
Orrex
(63,215 posts)I think Warren or Sanders would take a stand.
leveymg
(36,418 posts)No matter what you call that, it's a fucking rip-off.
randys1
(16,286 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Egnever
(21,506 posts)Pretty lame way to bill someone but it looks to be spelled out very clearly. There is no excuse for not leaving a tip on that bill.
Lancero
(3,003 posts)Egnever
(21,506 posts)The service charge is not a gratuity. It may be designated that under Montana law but I doubt it is in the majority of states and this bill is from New York so Montana has nothing to do with it anyway.
pnwmom
(108,980 posts)to do with it.
It doesn't matter what verbiage the employer chooses to add to the bill. Montana law defines what a "service fee" is and the hotel can't just redefine it, clearly or not.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)The bill is from a new York restaurant that has no ties whatsoever with Montana.
Pretty sloppy story.
While I agree the practice described in the law suit is despicable and likely unlawful. The bill shown has nothing to do with the case and in no way implies that the service charge is going to the server. Quite the opposite.
If the bill in the Montana case looks anything like this bill however this is a lawsuit that is going to be lost.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)Very explicit burden on the employer to explicitly indicate which charges are and are not gratuities in a plain language contract, and for anything ambiguous, "The employer has the burden of demonstrating, by clear and convincing evidence, that the notification was sufficient to ensure that a reasonable customer would understand that such charge was not purported to be a gratuity."
Egnever
(21,506 posts)n Montana, however, state law provides that service charges that are added to a customers bill in lieu of gratuities must go to the non-managerial employee who served the customer or prepared the customers food or beverages. In other words, this money belongs to the employee, not the employer. For the purpose of service charges only, the statute states that this money may be subject to a tip pool. However, the law isnt clear as to whether this tip pool must be by voluntary agreement among the employees or whether the employer may require it.
A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)match the price on the menu? Or for parties does it match the agreed to price? That would make the difference for any decision I make on whether to do business there or not.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)I would never spend that kind of money on a meal to begin with. I highly doubt that the service charge of the bill shown comes with no warning though.
A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)And no, I would never pay 1/10th of that for a meal. I have never had a meal in a restaurant that was better than I could do myself at home for much less and in this case much, much less than just the service charge.
csziggy
(34,136 posts)As in the first line of the quoted part of the article, "Are you planning to host a banquet soon, like a wedding" so it is a meal for a group. If I were planning a banquet for a group, I would expect a fee to cover gratuities for the staff. Trying to give a percentage in cash for a large group meal would be ridiculous.
If I negotiated a price for a banquet and then saw the extra 20% "service fee" I would expect that to be for service by the staff. And If I caught the disclaimer at the end, I would be raising hell - an extra 20% and I STILL have to make sure the servers get their tips? Fuck that! Management would be hearing from me and I would make sure no organization I am a member of would return to that facility for future events.
Organizations I am a member of that have events with banquets negotiate carefully and pass on the costs to their members. An extra unexpected 20% would make the different between breaking even and having a loss on a major event since those organizations simply don't have a large cushion for their events.
This is just like airlines charging extra for bags on flights. Rather than raising their rates, they're tacking on extra fees to make more money.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)The receipt shown is for a meal for 5 and is standard for the resteraunt in question their name is on the top of the bill you can look them up.
It also has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the court case the story is supposedly about.
The story is about banquets and the receipt is from a 5 person dining experience in one of the most expensive dining establishments in america.
One can only guess the author of the original article included it because of the high dollar amount shown on the bill .
While I agree that a practice of charging customers a service charge with the implication it is going to the servers and then not giving it to the servers is wrong, the bill shown is not in any way a demonstration of what is discussed in the suit.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)The graphic appears like a dinner bill, until you look at the line items closely. And it's for a venue in New York which requires the explicit language depicted.
The story is referencing the type of event that would have a negotiated contract signed in advance, normally with a deposit paid as well. It's the vagueness of some contracts that lead to this unethical business practice. I'd like to see what this company's contract looks like.
ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)samsingh
(17,599 posts)dissentient
(861 posts)never give a tip by credit card.
This way, shenanigans like this can be bypassed, as the server can just pocket the tip money directly.
pnwmom
(108,980 posts)bill, not a tip.
But the hotel will lose in the Montana case because they're re-defining the meaning of a "service fee" - which is defined in Montana statutes.
dissentient
(861 posts)What a slimy operation.
sunnystarr
(2,638 posts)Isn't that what the cost of the meal, drinks, and for a hotel, rooms is supposed to cover?? If we don't watch out they'll be tacking 20% to our grocery bills, mortgage, utilities, etc. etc. next. If the public doesn't complain then it will spread.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)this bill is from 2009. While the practice may continue, I would think we could have a better example.
C_U_L8R
(45,003 posts)just doesn't seem like a very smart long-term strategy.
Poor poor Masa may not be around much longer
if they keep fleecing customers with such panache.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)Two things wrong with this. First that bill is not related at all to the case in the story and second mass is known as one of the most expensive restaurants in America. I doubt the customer under any illusion about their billing.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masa_(restaurant)
This story is very sloppy which is sad because the complaint in the law suit sounds valid. The presentation of this particular bill as an example weakens what should be a compelling narrative by muddying the waters with something completely unrelated.
C_U_L8R
(45,003 posts)Ha!! The story may well be incorrect.
Still Masa will charge you $200 if you cancel a reservation under 48 hours.
Well within their right to do so but its not a shining example of customer love.
And with the weather being what it's been, I imagine there may be some
unfortunate folks with empty stomachs and lighter wallets.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)I have never been one to go for over charging as a status symbol. Having said that I doubt anyone going to that restaurant is under any illusion about the reasonable pricing there.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)rocktivity
(44,576 posts)because a "generous gratuity has already been provided by your host." The ad agency I worked for did that for the company year-end parties -- at a nearby Hilton hotel!
rocktivity
olddots
(10,237 posts)So called conservatives want to conserve fascism .
sorefeet
(1,241 posts)Steve Zabawa is a right wing Koch lover and has tried to destroy medical marijuana in this state. I just don't trust the name.
sybylla
(8,514 posts)Check your bills and ask the delivery people. I did, and I found out that my local Pizza Hut not only collects a delivery charge, but they also share none of it with the delivery people while expecting them to clock out and deliver my pizza in their own vehicle on their own time.
I bitched about it on Yelp. Won't be eating there again ever - not even dining in.
RiffRandell
(5,909 posts)Last edited Thu Feb 19, 2015, 09:40 AM - Edit history (1)