3 /5 Andrew Shook: We were a party of four, and when the check arrived, the gratuity was not left to the discretion of the customer—a mandatory 20% gratuity was automatically added to the bill. Now, that alone is a point of contention for many, as it removes the ability to reward service appropriately.
The larger flaw, the bit of deception that should not be overlooked, is that the 20% gratuity was calculated after the tax had already been applied.
This is a strategic move for maximum value extraction. They are hiding a cost by calculating a tip on money that is not even profit, but state revenue. It’s an exercise in fiscal dishonesty that compromises the trust they built with the meal. It strips the act of tipping of its original meaning, turning what should be an appreciation for service into an enforced fee based on an inflated total.
They also added a 3.5% credit card transaction fee to the final total.
They have the talent in the kitchen, but the accounting framework they’re running is flawed and manipulative. Its a system designed to take, rather than operate on transparent exchange. Fix the calculus, and you fix the trust.
