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Comment by itronitron | Hacker News Reader

Our family went out to eat a nice restaurant over the holidays and our bill had the '20% economic recovery fee' tacked on at the end. Naturally we didn't leave a tip and were happy to return a few days later to repeat the process.

I'm usually happy to tip at restaurants, and if there is any surcharge on the bill like this then I just consider it the tip, as they often tack on for large groups.

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>Our family went out to eat a nice restaurant over the holidays and our bill had the '20% economic recovery fee' tacked on at the end. Naturally we didn't leave a tip and were happy to return a few days later to repeat the process.

If you used a card to pay, you may well find yourself listed by name at https://bitterwaitress.com (N.B., this used to be hosted on the open web, now it's behind the Facebook login wall, so I won't be looking at it).

Not tipping your waitstaff? That's cruel - that's part of their pay, which they need to get to minimum wage. Expect to be treated like dirt next visit. I would.

Waitstaff should expect that any surcharge, aside from taxes, will result in a lower tip especially because those surcharges are usually described as tips on the bill. Whether or not they are actually distributed as tips by the manager isn't my problem.

Regardless of your perception of fairness, you should be aware that waitstaff usually remember repeat customers who never leave a tip.

It might not be a great idea to frequent the place if that's your chosen form of social protest.

So scary, what will they do? Frown as hard as they can?

It usually involves bodily fluids.

I got food poisoning when at an American university and I used the university hospital. They followed up with me to ask me whether I ate out anywhere. Next thing you know they've gone and done an inspection on the place and it's closed for a couple of days. Seems a bit high risk.

Tbh I think I got sick off my own food but I was doing the thing where I just honestly gave them all the info. I never really expected anything to come of it.

No, restaurant workers will not mess with your food in that way. No matter what they think of you as a client. Ask people you know who have experience in that sector and they will tell you that such things are absolutely taboo. Anybody who did anything like that even once - or even suggests it - would be instantly fired and blacklisted in the community.

If the waiters or chefs hate your guts, at most they will swear in the kitchen.

They were treated like dirt on this visit--being asked to pay an unexpected 20% extra.

Not by the waitstaff. Why not kick the dog on the way out too?

A waiter who doesn’t ensure that you know about such unexpected fee is doing a terrible job.

Absolutely. A server who doesn't explicitly tell the customer about these fees in advance is complicit with it, and I'll assume they get the full benefit of these fees in lieu of tips.

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