Anyone Else Frustrated By This "service Charge" Concept In Thailand?

[Tokay]

Eh, it's cheaper than Key Money.

[nakachalet]

usually, there are friends from different countries coming over for dinner and such, weekly, at the naka chalet restaurant and resort....

occasionally, or should i say, quite frequently.... our guests just plainly and simply forgot to leave any tip for the waiters and waitresses....

and the waiters and waitresses just love it.... when guests just said thank you very much.... and left....

they reported at the end of their shifts to the management that there was no tip from farangs at table 13....

almost always.... they would end up with 200 baht tip....

but that was not the end of the story though....

the following week, many quests would remember that they did not give any tip the week before....

so these very kind farang friends.... would double up their individual tips.... to the delight of the waiting team members....

i am sure there are many many proprietors also practising this same thing to boost team members' moral and such....

[Colabamumbai]

You pay taxes or a service charge in nearly every country in the world, they are either included in the price or added to the price. Go to Canada where the price is not the price until they add 15% tax.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Colabamumbai

[Colabamumbai]

What I'm more upset about is all these places that think they can increase my charges 3% just because I use an international credit card. I can't count the amount of times I've completely turned down a $3000 purchase on my business credit cards because they want to add about $100 to the bill. I usually threaten to get their merchant accounts shut down with the credit processor (I have good business relations with Visa, Mastercard and AMEX). Some of them just look at me like... what are you talking about? "It's illegal to do that? But they charge us to process payments this way... It can't be illegal!"

The service charge idea for me is fine, though. It's just like another tax, and usually they'll split it through to the staff, so no problems there. In most instances its written in small writing on the bottom of the menu. Have some class, stop biotching, and give them 20 baht for your 200 baht tab... what is that? 0.70 USD.

i always thought they charged 3% extra on all credit cards transactions,whether international or not, as its a merchant charge, i could be wrong thou

it is the merchants charge and many times they ask the customer to pay it more so in smaller businesses where the mark up and turnover is less. If They don't like it they can shop at more expensive stores where it is already in the price to cover it. I was a visa/mastecard/amex card taker for many years and never charged the client the percentage that I paid, although I would suggest they use their debit card, where I paid a flat fee of $1.50 regardless of the amount of the purchase. Also note this If I sell you and item in Canada, cash or on your visa card and their is a 15 % government tax, varies from province to privince so a $100. sale becomes $115.00 visa charges me the 3% on the $115.00. So the governments are in cahoots with the credit card companies. The 15% I have to remit to the government, why should the government allow visa/mc/amex to charge a percentage of the taxes.? Is this clear? The credit card companies charge their fee based on the volume of business that you do on their credit cards if it is small they can charge the vendor 5%, if it is larger usually it is 3%, amex always charges the vendor more and the client usually pays a fee to have their card.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Colabamumbai

[Bizz]

this is now and happening, but what can one do.

[JAS21]

In the international chain managed hotels the service charge will be calculated and divided equally between all the staff (including back of house) at the end of the month.

Um...well I can tell you that, having stayed in a few 5*hotels in the last year or so (here in Thailand), that they not only add 10% to everything but there is an area at the bottom of the bill that says TIP.

I guess in a few years that this will become the norm. If I recall correctly the 10% started slowly, well it did in the UK, until now most restaurants add this automatically. I actually remember years ago that there used to be as note saying something like we add 10% but you don't need to pay if you don't want to..............

My wife tells me that this TIP business was started here by the foreigner...who thought 'this meal is cheap' and now they complain...probably a lot of truth in it.

[doggie888888]

I always thought, as some other posters have said, that the service charge means "tips" so I never leave a further tip in such establishments unless the service had been extraordinary to warrant a further discretionary tip. Do waiting staff in Thailand really expect more on top of the service charge, in normal everyday scenarios for just providing average service? Or have they been trained that the service charge is the tip and they should not expect anymore for normal service.

[jackr]

Anyone Else Frustrated By This "service Charge" Concept In Thailand?

No, because I won't frequent any place that has this policy. It is just morally wrong and a form of theft instigated by the yank contingent.

[Ulysses G.]

I always thought, as some other posters have said, that the service charge means "tips" so I never leave a further tip in such establishments unless the service had been extraordinary to warrant a further discretionary tip. Do waiting staff in Thailand really expect more on top of the service charge, in normal everyday scenarios for just providing average service? Or have they been trained that the service charge is the tip and they should not expect anymore for normal service.

Most restaurants in Thailand pocket the service charge (in places that charge it) and the staff receive only part of it or nothing. They claim they use it to pay their salaries, but that should come out of their profits, not from underpaid workers.

Customers think that they are giving a tip to helpful employees, but in reality, in most cases, both parties are getting royally screwed.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[bonobo]

Anyone Else Frustrated By This "service Charge" Concept In Thailand?

No, because I won't frequent any place that has this policy. It is just morally wrong and a form of theft instigated by the yank contingent.

The "yank contingent?"

You need to go to the US.  The US works on voluntary (but expected) tips, not a service charge.  The first time I ever saw a service charge was on a trip to Europe.

It wasn't until the last 20 years or so that some restaurants started adding a service charge for groups of 8 or 15 or more.  And this is clearly printed on the menu.

[dumball]

Having read many of the posts on tipping versus the added 10%(?) , I note that the complaint is not so much about paying a tip volentarily , but more about being 'Forced ' to pay without realy knowing where the TIP ends up . It would appear that in America , the added gratuity is accepted in the most part as normal and acceptable because wait staff are underpaid , I know that in Canada the wait staff are paid below the minimum pay set by the government at $10.00 per hour . My problem with this is that restaraunts expect the customer to bring the wait staff pay up to par by adding the gratuity as part of the bill , I do not consider it to be my problem to pay towards an equitable salary for thier staff , but I do like to award my own tip when service has been satisfactory . Over the years I have also found that paying in advance to receive a job 'Well done' , does not always mean that will be the end result , if giving good service is part of a buisiness policy , then either give it or lose the customer .

In our buisiness we guarantee our workmanship (Labour) any seeming discrepancies are dealt with at no charge to the customer , this is the best advertising one can get , happy customers telling potential customers , complaints are always listened to and appreciated , no one is perfect no matter what the endevour to please , logical complaints assist in betterment of future services supplied .

[eyebee]

I often go to Marine Seafood in Pattaya. I usually have shrimps with spring onions and a beer. The bill always came to 175 baht, and I used to pay 200 and leave the other 25 as a tip. Last time I went there, they had a 5% service charge added to the bill, so the bill came to 184 baht. This time I waited for my change and took it all. So now they are getting 16 baht less from me. The management of some places can be so stupid sometimes!

[IMA_FARANG]

I agree it should be called an "miscellaneous overhead expenses charge" not a "service charge". Because what the service charge actually does is to pay the salary of the people who work in that place (let's just assume it is a restaurant we are talikg about), the one's who you assume "gives you no service" by coming in and:

1. sweeping the floor

2. setting up the tables

3. cooking and preparing the food

4. clearing and washing the tables

5. washing the plates and silverware

6. taking your order and bringing you clean silverware, napkins, and water

7. even running the air-conditioning and lights in the restaurant

and all such small details that you wrongly assume are of "no service" to you.

The economic truth is that everything involved with such a restaurant costs money, nothing is free including water and electricity. Somone has to pay for it, and as the customer, you are that someone. So the "service charge" is the catch-all phrase used to cover your share of that amount.

I agree it probably shouldn't be called "service cahrge" but would you pay it more readily if it was listed on the bill as "pro-rated estimated charge per sutomer for ovrall operating expenses incurred"? I doubt it?

P.S. I have relatives who worked in a Thai restaurant...and usually the head waiter or busboy gets ALL the tips from ALL the tables/customers. He or she then devides the total among the staff, usually with the head waiter or busboy getting the largest share of that total. It isn't uncommon for a waiter or busboy to have to agree to pay the head waiter or busboy a bribe, from his or her part of the tips in order to get hired in the first place...and the head waiter or busboy takes that out of the total of the tips collected first. (just so you know how it is really done in Thailand).

[phomsanuk]

"Service Compris" been standard in Paris for many years, part of the Tronk? system that portions out the 15%+ charge among all employees, sometimes even the owner. You are expected to leave a little in cash for the wait staff.

[Ulysses G.]

I agree it should be called an "miscellaneous overhead expenses charge" not a "service charge". Because what the service charge actually does is to pay the salary of the people who work in that place (let's just assume it is a restaurant we are talikg about), the one's who you assume "gives you no service" by coming in and:

1. sweeping the floor

2. setting up the tables

3. cooking and preparing the food

4. clearing and washing the tables

5. washing the plates and silverware

6. taking your order and bringing you clean silverware, napkins, and water

7. even running the air-conditioning and lights in the restaurant

and all such small details that you wrongly assume are of "no service" to you.

The economic truth is that everything involved with such a restaurant costs money, nothing is free including water and electricity. Somone has to pay for it, and as the customer, you are that someone. So the "service charge" is the catch-all phrase used to cover your share of that amount.

I agree it probably shouldn't be called "service cahrge" but would you pay it more readily if it was listed on the bill as "pro-rated estimated charge per sutomer for ovrall operating expenses incurred"? I doubt it?

In my day, all of that used to be covered by the price of the meal and in many places it still is. Charging a "service charge" is not really honest unless it is going directly to the employees on top on their lousy salary.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[Huey]

I hate it too. However that's just a way for them too tell me NOT to tip. And I certainly ablidge them.