sko

Autograts.. Parties of six or eight… Kobe Teppanyaki, and many more.

Fine if the autograt was 10% to 12%; that’s standard tipping. And if the overall service was exceptional, you can always tip over the autograt. But some restaurants have autograts between 18-22%. And with new HST implemented… Voala—ouch.

Funny how bf and I were just talking about this topic last night. So is the practice of autograt legal in Canada?

Unless the restaurant actually has an ‘autograt policy’ in its menu (labelled as a service charge in lieu of the optional gratuity), the restaurant cannot automatically add gratuity to your bill. And if they have this policy… they better be adding the same service charge for all tables with the same prerequisites or that’s just discrimination.

Tipping is not mandatory in Canada, but eating in a restaurant also means entering in a contract. A contract, obviously works both sides. The restaurant is obligated to provide the service and food as listed in its menu, and you are contractually obligated to pay for your meal (including the autograt if it was listed in the menu). But of course, the contract is also breached if the restaurant did not deliver the service. So legal or not… hard to say.

sko

And if I see a 20% autograt on my bill, the restaurant better be reporting that tip/gratuity to the CRA.

sko

No lawyer yet, but like I said before, it's not so much a 'legal or not' issue.. but rather a civil wrong. In this case, the conduct would be the breaching of contract between the restaurant and the diner. It is entirely up the victim (server or diner) to assemble the evidence and formulate the the legal arguments which will be necessary in order to support their claims, and to decide whether to bring proceedings in the courts.

So if the restaurant stated the gratuity as a 'service charge,' and it was presented clearly on the menu or by your server, then you should have a good reason to challenge the charge/contract before you pay less. Note that many restaurant bills had changed "gratuity charges" to "service charges" because gratuities are legally stated as "optional" while service charges are not if written clearly before you order.

any lawyers here/?

can anyone answer.. it is against the law when we are not paying the tip when it ...
Guy 發表於 2010-9-27 21:19

sko

same thing for thai house..

I went to Chili House Thai restaurant restaurant and they automatically add 15% to the bill.

If you ...
myversa 發表於 2010-10-4 08:12