Restaurants Charging 10 Percent Service Charge And Not Giving It To Their Staff

[wolf5370]

Another red flag are tip jars. When you observe tip jars and a "captain" taking the orders while others bring the food out, etc., you might ask if the severs actually get any of the tip money. In some Thai owned restaurants they do not, but the severs dutifully deposit the money in the tip jars and never see any of it again.

We have a tip jar (used to be a tip donkey, but it got dropped, so now its a tip tin moneybox ) - anyway, all tips go in it (and sometimes small change from shopping too) and all of it goes to the non-owning staff equally based on the days they worked (which we think is fairest way to do it). Any odd baht left due to rounding, stays in the tin for the next month. Only time its opened before then is to make change occasionally and then its notes in, coins out.

The tin is not in site of customers, and staff are not allowed to stand and beg (or give puss-in-boot eyes or lay on their backs waiting for a tummy rub). Tips left on the table (or in the receipt folder) or given to waitresses (no waiters) gets deposited in the tin. Mrs makes sure they all work in equal measure - not so busy that she has to slave drive and when busy she works kitchen and cafe as required (if not at school, kids help too before bed).

In short, tip jars are not necessarily red flags - I think service charge is much more of one. I have heard of people being held for refusing to pay them. In the UK - I know, not Thailand, but - an Italian restaurant owner was arrested after locking in a customer who refused to pay it on the grounds that the service stank - wonder how that would go down here, refusal to pay?

Personally I think keeping the service charge is either fraud (against the customers) or theft (from the staff) - but not likely to be looked into here (although western owners may be in danger perhaps of getting a sting from the local BiB).,