Should you tip a waiter when service charge is on your bill?

Published by Mumbai Boss Last week, I went to Idli House in Matunga (in Mumbai) for a late lunch. I was passing through the neighbourhood, and the thought of tasting their limda (curry leaf) chutney proved irresistible. As soon as we stepped in, the cashier shook his head. Looking very sorry indeed, he said, “Bandh ho gaya". I must have looked sufficiently disappointed when I said, “But, but…we’ve come after over a year, and travelled from so far.” The meal turned out to be among our most memorable at Idli House. We were served hot idlis in half a dozen varieties. Ladles of chutney, sambar and rasam were poured into our bowls before we could empty them. Recommendations were rattled off to us, “The Kanchipuram idli is very good today, should we bring some? Would you like a chilled kesar drink with it?” Thanks to the attentive, quick, and considerate service typical of Udupis, we left in half an hour, sated and grateful. Not for a second after we were allowed in, were we rushed. No one sulked at us. The bill was Rs 250. We left Rs 500 as a happy thanks. On the same day, in Andheri, at a tony cafe known for its celeb-heavy crowd, my friend refused to leave the 12 percent service charge included in the bill. He wrote to me, “I’d never have done that, Rosh, but like your column implied, tipping when so damned unsatisfied feels exploitative and shouldn’t be encouraged.” He’d received meal courses in the wrong order — soup before drinks, entree with appetiser — was charged Rs 100 for mineral water that he had categorically refused despite much arm twisting from the staff, and his hot dessert arrived cold. He said the staff frequently huddled in a corner, and that they avoided eye contact with diners, and were either indifferent to or offended by requests and complaints. Finally, several tables at the restaurant backed him up, saying the service was not up to par that day, and the charge was waived. [caption id=“attachment_67543” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The people waiting tables signed up for the job. For those who have stuck around in the industry, they know that not every diner is a rude skinflint. Getty Images”]  [/caption] I’m not going to name the place, because poor service can be attributed to many reasons, and it is not fair to single out one restaurant. It could have been a busy day for the kitchen; it could have been the first day on the job for the server; or a few guests could have behaved badly and aggravated the staff. Line cooks in the kitchen can ruin a server’s chance of getting a good tip by delaying or under-seasoning dishes. It is not always the waitstaff’s fault. But sometimes, it is. Waiting on tables is not the most stimulating way to spend the day, and often servers use a restaurant job as a stepping stone to other careers — even at a trusty, neighbourhood place like New Sardar at Kala Chowki. Says owner VN Prabhu, “A couple of my boys have become drivers and guest house caretakers. One waiter is waiting for his promotion as a sub inspector with the Mumbai police.” Being the best waiter in the world has probably never been anyone’s ultimate career goal. Alain Coumont, the founder of European chain Le Pain Quotidien, says, “It’s no secret that hospitality staff are often tempted into fast-growing service sectors such as airlines and call centres.” Most restaurants managers and owners agree that the quality of service depends on the quality of the training given to the waitstaff. Ketan Gohel, general manager at Two One Two Bar and Grill, says the servers at the Worli restaurant were trained for three months before the place opened. Classes included tastings and explaining recipes in detail. “Explaining the concept, cuisine and menu is always challenging when a brand is new to the applicant,” says Coumont. There are companies that restaurants can outsource training to, such as All Things Nice, which focuses on food and beverage expertise for waitstaff at several restaurants. “It is important to keep the training constant rather than [conducting] a one-off session, so as to keep the information fresh in their minds,” says director Nikhil Agarwal. Yet, the best service in the city is usually offered at either the most high-end establishments or the most bare-bones eateries like, for instance, Idli House, where regulars abound and expectations are clear and simple. With the explosion of stand-alone fine dining in Mumbai, we’re bound to run into training roadblocks. A few weeks ago, I asked a server what was in the marinade for a grilled chicken dish, and he confidently answered, “Yes”. Waitstaff rarely get the chance to understand what goes on in the kitchen, forget trying out what they recommend. More often, they suggest the bestsellers. That may work sometimes, but if a customer paying Rs1,000 or more for a meal, asks for something specific — say no pasta, mushrooms or butter, but still vegetarian and hearty — it can throw a server off. “Ideally, they should taste every wine, [and] the [whole] menu as well,” says Agarwal. “How can you talk about something you have never tasted?” It’s what organisations call “the learning curve”. It is finely calibrated, and applies mostly to new products and services. “[New] Sardar’s menu items are not difficult and hence in around six months, a person who has a rudimentary knowledge of the various items can work as an all-rounder and fill in the absence of a cook,” says Prabhu. “Within a year’s time, he can be a real good cook. This is for Sardar. In the case of my other restaurant Viva Kitchen, a speciality Punjabi and Chinese delivery and takeaway kitchen, there is a well-defined hierarchy.” A sandwich or a pao bhaji is easier and cheaper to explain than a truffled wild mushroom risotto. There may not be as many nuances in a Bloody Mary as in a Bordeaux. Five-star hotel chains have deeper pockets, and gain more from investing in wine and charcuterie lessons. So the stand-alones seem to get the worst of staff, and therefore, have service issues. Often, the easiest way to be assured of the best service in cafes and stand-alone restaurants is to become a regular, get to know the staff, and tip as soon as a meal goes off without a hitch. Let’s play devil’s advocate for a bit. There are many disincentives for waitstaff. Diners here can often be cheap. Unaware of the low pay scales, and harbouring a not-very-veiled classist attitude, they talk down to servers, disrespect them, and expect to be treated as superiors simply because they are paying well for the meal. Restaurant jobs are back breaking, both inside the kitchen and outside; our dining public is often utterly clueless about what it takes to be on your feet and still stay chirpy through an eight-hour shift. On the other hand, the people waiting tables signed up for the job. For those who have stuck around in the industry, they know that not every diner is a rude skinflint. Customers eat out not only for the food, but also for the luxury of being served in a way they don’t experience at home. While providing a service, making yourself valuable and earning your extras, helps build a solid career. I know of one freelance bartender who, three years ago, handled eight-hour parties at clients’ homes for just Rs 1,500 per night. He is now unavailable for these gigs. He went on to become the chief bar manager at one of south Mumbai’s hippest spots, and is currently the manager at a fancy European-style cafe in Bandra. Perhaps, instead of adding a service charge to the bill, restaurants could absorb it into their menu prices and invest the amount in superlative staff training. Or alternatively, they could increase pay scales by that amount and then provide incentives and disincentives for the quality of service provided by individual staff members. The customer is paying in either case, explicitly, or implicitly. Any tip then, is a bonus given to the ones who deserve it. This article by Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi has been republished from MumbaiBoss.com