Nickle-and-diming us to death

Dear reader, we live in worrying times. No, not the chaos in Iraq or the leadership drama in Britain, something more insidious and closer to home. I am, of course, talking about service charges in Beijing restaurants. When friends back home ask what I like about life in the Chinese Capital, one of the more facetious things I used to say was the lack of notes you had to dole out as tips when dining out. Here, no one would run after you, as one obnoxious waiter did in New York City when we failed to leave him anything after being served the worst, greasiest, most congealed burger and fries I’d ever had. If they run after you in Beijing, it’s to give you the three mao you had accidentally left on the table. It’s also one of the many reasons why Beijing is infinitely better than Shanghai. Back in 2002 when I had the misfortune of living there for six months, restaurants like expat-favorite KABB adding 10 percent used to make me choke on my already over-priced brunch.

Service charges go with the territory when you dine in expensive hotel eateries. Those people can easily afford the extra hit. It is the more ordinary, mid-range places which have jumped on the bandwagon that I resent. Isn’t it just another way of passing costs onto the customer that should be covered by the restaurant? What next, charging the customer for trips to the bathroom? As someone once said to me, only wait staff and lap dancers depend on tips for a living. What does that tell you about where wait staff fall on the restauranteur’s scale of priorities?

I could almost rationalize tipping if the money went to wait staff who earn on average RMB1000/month. But in places like Capone’s, the Courtyard, and the new Indian Punjabi on Lucky Street, does the money even go to staff? It’s a touchy subject and many restaurant managers refuse to comment. The money certainly doesn’t end up with staff at the swanky Philipe Starcke designed restaurant, Lan. There they add a 10 percent service charge and when asked if the money goes to staff (just to be clear, the people providing the bloody service) the waitress said no, the money is treated as revenue.

At Capone’s, where they also add on 10 percent, manager Laurence Chen diplomatically explains, “At the moment the money goes to the restaurant but we have only just opened and are still deciding policy. At our other restaurants we give a percentage of the service charge to staff.”

Beijing resident, Rebecca Dorton, says the service charge actually puts her off going to places. “I heard that the new Italian place +39 by Ikea adds on a 12 percent service charge, and I don’t think I’m being cheap, but I end up not going because there are still plenty of places that don’t charge extra.”

If the service was amazing, the Florida native says she would leave a tip, but she cautions, “China's not a country where customer service is really taking off, so I don't feel the need to pay extra for mediocrity.”