10% Service Charge

[kittyctc]

In the u.s. you pay the state tax about 10% then service charge/tip 15%! You call this a fuss?

[jahoga]

...

The 10% service charge helps the restaurant keep its doors open, and is entirely up to the venue under the banner of good will, what they pay staff...

If the restaurant has such "good will" towards us customers and their own staff, why can they not simply print the real prices on the menu?

In any other business, if you do not price your products properly, you have no excuse for low revenues. In the restaurant biz, just add a "service charge."

[Skyhook]

I don't see what all the fuss is about, Jahoga.

At the bottom of most menu's as a requirement by law, the venue must list the 10% surcharge on the menu somewhere, usually at the very bottom of the page in small print.

If you have lived in HK for a while big J, you should be accustomed to paying the 10% service charge.

From what I know, in most instances, the 10% surcharge goes a fair way to paying the restaurant owners wage bill, each month. I don't see why there are people complaining about it, and if you think its so easy, why don't you fork out a min of $2 million HKD of your own cold hard cash, open your own cafe, and let us see, if you can afford not to charge, a 10% service charge.

Boss fails, all staff that drew their income off, go hungry.

[Crocodile]

In the u.s. you pay the state tax about 10% then service charge/tip 15%! You call this a fuss?

Agree.

Also, in the Philippines, it is often quoted something like "P200++".
You have add on the Service Charge and the VAT.
So, 12% plus 10% (I think!).

In Australia, all prices must include GST and I don't recall seeing Service Charges on any menus either.

[Flat Hunter]

Going off at a tangent slightly - the majority of restaurants in Sai Kung town only have a service charge during weekends and public holidays.

[Banana Pancakes]

Let's be real about restaurants: they're a business, not a charity. As a business, their intention is to get as much money from your pocket as possible. There are plenty of restaurants in Central - if you don't like a restaurant because of its 10% service charge, try to find another one that does not have the service charge.

[shri]

>> In Australia, all prices must include GST and I don't recall seeing Service Charges on any menus either.

And you wonder how those Australian brothers would survive if they went back from Hong Kong and opened an uber chain of restaurants down under.

If the food and service are really good .. then would you stop going to a restaurant if they changed the price of your favorite dish from $100 to $110 or even $125? Doubt it ...

[sstella24]

I have a question..
Do you have to tip on top of the 10% service charge.
Agreed some/all of it might not be going to the service staff. But whats the norm in Hong Kong?
I always get confused.

[PDLM]

The norm is not to tip on top of a 10% service charge. Unless (as anywhere in the world) if the staff do something exceptional. And if you do tip on top then try to do it in cash, not by adding to the credit card bill, so that there's a higher chance it goes to the staff.

On the basis of limited data, my impression is that in western-run F&B establishments tips do generally go to the staff, albeit often on an "equal share" basis, whereas in Chinese-run places (even western-styled ones) it is less common.

[jimbo]

I have a question..
Do you have to tip on top of the 10% service charge.
Agreed some/all of it might not be going to the service staff. But whats the norm in Hong Kong?
I always get confused.

Only if you think they're worth tipping and you got great service otherwise I may just give them some loose change.