TGI Friday's Blanchardstown Service Charge

Diddler1977

TGI Fridays charge a service charge of 5% on all bills.

When I asked the waiter did he get it, he said no. He said "it goes to pay the kitchen staff". He then said that they don't even get it directly, that it goes to the company.

On my way out I asked the girl who was seating people. She said that it doesn't go to the the wait staff that it goes to the company.

I am pretty disgusted to hear this. I presumed that it was going to the person who served you. Basically TGI's use this "service charge" to pay the wages of the kitchen staff.

Left a bad taste in my mouth. I've made a decision to boycott TGI's.

What does everyone else think? Am I over reacting?

Random

it's common enough practice really. i refuse to pay these "optional" service charges unless it's mandatory and mentioned on the menu.

as for boycotting ... well that's up to you but i doubt they'll care too much unless you can rally some massive support.

Diddler1977

Random wrote: »

it's common enough practice really. i refuse to pay these "optional" service charges unless it's mandatory and mentioned on the menu.

as for boycotting ... well that's up to you but i doubt they'll care too much unless you can rally some massive support.

I have come across service charges like this before but I never bothered to find out where the money goes to as I presumed it went to the wait staff. I am just so cross to hear that it is used to pay peoples wages.

I just don't think this is right. TGI's should just pay their staff their wages.

Diddler1977

Random wrote: »

as for boycotting ... well that's up to you but i doubt they'll care too much unless you can rally some massive support.

This is my first port of call to rally support!

Want to join me in my boycott???!!!!!:D

Random

i already avoid the place as much as possible because i think it's sh1te.

amdublin

The "service" charge doesn't go to the "server"?? That's bullsh1t!!!

Like if it is for the kitchen staff:
(a) the company should be paying their wages
or worse case scenario
(b) this charge should be called "kitchen staff" charge and at least you know what you really are paying for.

Why are they adding on an automatic "service charge" anyway????

Diddler1977

amdublin wrote: »

The "service" charge doesn't go to the "server"?? That's bullsh1t!!!

Like if it is for the kitchen staff:
(a) the company should be paying their wages
or worse case scenario
(b) this charge should be called "kitchen staff" charge and at least you know what you really are paying for.

Why are they adding on an automatic "service charge" anyway????

Join me on my boycott?!

Eircom_Sucks

robbing cnuts anyway im in on the boycott

€16 for a burger WTF

Yeah those serving staff deserve a lot, imagine wearing that uniform all day.

I'l boycott too because I'm broke.

Shienarier

Isn't there some trickyness with these charges, that since they are optional, they can't be added automatically to the bill unless there are 5+ (or so) people in the group paying together?

I remember reading something about that on a receipt I got at the Japanese place in Castleknock.

Kev.

Dont eat there anymore either,the price of the food is stupid

JupiterKid

TGI Fridays is completely overrated.:( I have been disappointed with poor food there a number of times.

It's a pale imitation of Captain America's - go thee instead. Great food, and friendly staff who are taken good care of.:)

Zaph

More a general issue than specific to Blanch so I'm moving this to the Consumer Issues forum.

Moved form D15 forum.

Fighting Irish

Make a facebook page

jahalpin

A lot of places use the "service charge" to pay the waiting staffs wages.
Apparently Rolys Bistro in Ballsbridge does the same

TGI's have had this charge for the last few years and it is clearly on the menu

As for the food in TGI's, I think that it is actually quite nice and reasonably priced. The Jack Daniels grill stuff is very nice

Kevin!

Go to the one in Blackrock, it's suffering badly with the resession and there food costs practically nothing (two course decent meal, 15euro starter+main or main+desert.

robo

Kevin! wrote: »

Go to the one in Blackrock, it's suffering badly with the resession and there food costs practically nothing (two course decent meal, 15euro starter+main or main+desert.

That offer is in every TGI's
However, the one in Blackrock is my fave TGI restaurant.

It is a well known fact that TGI's service charge doesn't go to the witing staff. This was on Liveline about 2 years ago.

Kevin!

robo wrote: »

That offer is in every TGI's
However, the one in Blackrock is my fave TGI restaurant.

It is a well known fact that TGI's service charge doesn't go to the witing staff. This was on Liveline about 2 years ago.

oh, I didn't realize I just presumed it was exclusive to blackrock considering it being empty all the time.

super_furry

So is the service charge optional then? Never really thought about it before.

Cabaal

I'd join your boycott...problem is I've only been to TGI's three times in my life

Kevin!

To be honest, I don't think there is much complaining to be done if you can get a decent meal for 15euro.

Just don't leave a tip at the end of the night if there is service charge on the bill, it's that simple.

rubadub

Kevin! wrote: »

Just don't leave a tip at the end of the night if there is service charge on the bill, it's that simple.

Or if you do wish to tip then refuse the service charge (if it is only optional) and tip the waiter.

Seems it has to go to the staff in the US, except kentucky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fee

Restaurants and banquet halls charging service charges in lieu of tips must distribute them to their wait staff in some U.S. states (e.g., Massachusetts, New York, Montana), but in the State of Kentucky may keep them.

Though in Irish law
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1996/en/si/0193.html

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (CATERING JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE), 1996

WORKERS TO WHOM THIS SCHEDULE APPLIES.


1. Workers employed in a catering establishment anywhere throughout the State except *the County Borough of Dublin and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire

Service Charge


7. Service charge, where levied, shall be distributed weekly to waiters, waitresses, counter assistants, barmen and barmaids. A maximum of 20% of the total service charge may be distributed to any other classes covered by this Employment Regulation Order with the agreement of the majority of the staff.

(c) Counter Assistant — A person wholly or mainly engaged in the preparation and/or service of food at a counter and ancillary duties.


(d) Waiter/Waitress — A person who has completed 2 years service† and is wholly or mainly engaged in the service of food at table and ancillary duties.


(e) Barman/Barmaid — A person who has completed 2 years service† and is wholly or mainly engaged in the service of alcoholic drinks and other beverages and ancillary duties.

Haven't read it fully but it would seem a TGI in the the bourough of dun laoghaire (which is large) is exempt.


Also
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2008/en/si/0142.html

Service Charge — In accordance with the provisions of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 service charge, when distributed to employees through the payroll, can form part of the weekly earnings referred to above.

Diddler1977

Kevin! wrote: »

To be honest, I don't think there is much complaining to be done if you can get a decent meal for 15euro.

Just don't leave a tip at the end of the night if there is service charge on the bill, it's that simple.

Well i wouldn't leave a tip if i knew the service charge was going to the wait staff - but it's NOT in TGI's - that's what I am annoyed about.

It basically just a levy on your meal that they then use to pay certain staff.

Diddler1977

jahalpin wrote: »

A lot of places use the "service charge" to pay the waiting staffs wages.
Apparently Rolys Bistro in Ballsbridge does the same

TGI's have had this charge for the last few years and it is clearly on the menu

As for the food in TGI's, I think that it is actually quite nice and reasonably priced. The Jack Daniels grill stuff is very nice

Service Charge of 5% is noted clearly on the menu. That is not my complaint.

I am annoyed that the service charge does not go to the wait staff. The service charge is taken by the company to pay the back kitchen staff. Nowhere on the menu does it say anything about this.

borderlinemeath

The issue here for me would be the service charge at all.

It wouldn't matter to me if it was going to the wait staff or the kitchen staff or the cleaner for that matter as they are all protected by the minimum wage.
In the US wait staff get paid literally half nothing and depend on their tips to supplement their take home pay.

So for TGIs to basically add money on to pay anybody is disgusting. Why don't they just add the price to their already overpriced food?
Because people will run a mile from the place.

I don't eat there regularly but my niece loves the place, when I tell her this she will more than likely join the boycott!

Kevin!

borderlinemeath wrote: »

The issue here for me would be the service charge at all.

It wouldn't matter to me if it was going to the wait staff or the kitchen staff or the cleaner for that matter as they are all protected by the minimum wage.
In the US wait staff get paid literally half nothing and depend on their tips to supplement their take home pay.

So for TGIs to basically add money on to pay anybody is disgusting. Why don't they just add the price to their already overpriced food?
Because people will run a mile from the place.

I don't eat there regularly but my niece loves the place, when I tell her this she will more than likely join the boycott!

Nobody is forcing you to eat from the expensive menu, and you cannot complain about value on there promotional one which has been running for several weeks, I challenge you to find many places that offer the same amount/quality of food that TGI do for 15euro.

Restraunt staff in Ireland don't get paid a hell of a lot either, maybe slightly more than America but in America they are heavy tippers (up to 40%) which makes waiting staff better off there.

The chances are, your meal shouldn't cost more than 70e for three people, which eludes to a 3.50euro service charge which isn't massive considering the value of the meal you have just received.

JohnC.

Kevin! wrote: »

Restraunt staff in Ireland don't get paid a hell of a lot either, maybe slightly more than America but in America they are heavy tippers (up to 40%) which makes waiting staff better off there.

We have a minimum wage. There's lots of other workers also on a minimum wage who don't get tips either.

But the company seem to be trying to keep things tight, if that atrocious cheap ad in cinemas is anything to go by :pac:

dno7239

I worked as a waitress in america. i was on 3 dollars an hour but relied heavily on tips. tips were usually 20% of bill. We would easily have tables which bill comes to say 100 dollars.....then thats 20 dollars for waitress if they are tipping twenty percent. I know they do this service-charge-not-going-to-waitress-bullsh*t in Thunder Road cafe as well (so i was told).

DrumSteve

Same thing happened to me in Spur in Liffey Valley. I questioned the girl who was serving me about the bill and she said it goes to the company but as an optional charge. I asked her to get a manager to remove it off the bill as she said it goes to pay the staff but not directly to her.

I'd already left a tip but it was only four euro so i just gave her the service charge instead in to her hand.

Diddler82

First love the username, nice to know Im not the only one with a great nickname/username! Secondly that is disgracefull I never realised and especially since you are paying for good service. That should be highlighted. Is it not false advertisement or something like that?

XBOX employee

I was recently in Tgi's for a meal with my girlfriend, the meal was fine, waited a while though, but when i asked for the bill it cam to 47 including the service charge fair enough. i paid with a 50 and received no change, sat there for 10 minutes waiting on our change, now ill tip as much as the next person thats fine if they deserve it. BUt ide like to have that option of tipping. The waiter just assumed he could have it! Shocking!

dudara

You should have asked for your change. Make your point by asking for it.

krudler

Its to pay for all those extra pieces of flair.

Exclamation Marc

I once ate in that TGI's and recieved my €20 change from a €50 in a tenner, fiver and coins.

Didn't think much of it until I talked to a friend who used to work as one of the hosts in TGI's and she said that some of the waiting staff do that as a way of making sure you have the coins to tip.
Bit cheeky really!

Back on point though. I refuse to eat in TGIs anymore due to their prices. They had a nice deal going when they had their €15 menu. But then they removed all their popular dishes off the menu and re-released the menu with loads of cheap crap on it. So now any half-substantial meal and a drink will be costing upwards of €25 + 5%.

No thanks.

run_Forrest_run

FireballPitcher wrote: »

Didn't think much of it until I talked to a friend who used to work as one of the hosts in TGI's and she said that some of the waiting staff do that as a way of making sure you have the coins to tip.
Bit cheeky really!

I've noticed this in various places, from restaurants to barbers and I dunno, I think it can also be convenient as I may not have change and will tip once i get the change. But if the service is poor in any way I simply don't tip, no matter what format the changes comes in and I don't feel bad for it.
But not returning at all with your due change is a different story, cheeky and illegal!

P. Breathnach

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

... But not returning at all with your due change is a different story, cheeky and illegal!

Cheeky, sharp practice, bad form, dishonest, whatever: yes, no argument.

It's less clear that it is actually illegal. That is because a trader has no legal obligation to give change, and could have demanded that you pay the exact amount. That said, if anybody tried that stunt on me, I'd deal very actively with it.

[In fact, it happened to me in Germany, and the server pretended to have no English when I challenged him (having spoken English to me earlier). Calm, focused, determined, anger seems to work in all languages.]

10-10-20

Kevin! wrote: »

Go to the one in Blackrock, it's suffering badly with the resession and there food costs practically nothing (two course decent meal, 15euro starter+main or main+desert.

No. They stole the Playwright Pub from us, so they can suffer.

Exclamation Marc

Kevin! wrote: »

Go to the one in Blackrock, it's suffering badly with the resession and there food costs practically nothing (two course decent meal, 15euro starter+main or main+desert.

Are you kidding me? Thats my local one, I only live up the road. They used to have a great €15 menu and €3 pints. Then when business was up, they completely mugged the menu (eg replacing bruschetta on the menu with mozarella sticks, and a JD burger with a chicken finger BLT, and reducing the size of garlic bread from "substantial" to "tiny"). Then they put up pints to €4. It all blew up in their face and now they only open 1-9 (last orders) and its rarely full. They should go back to the menu that brought everyone in.

It used to be a great place about 6 months ago or maybe a little longer, but now its just a rip off.

Kevin!

FireballPitcher wrote: »

Are you kidding me? Thats my local one, I only live up the road. They used to have a great €15 menu and €3 pints. Then when business was up, they completely mugged the menu (eg replacing bruschetta on the menu with mozarella sticks, and a JD burger with a chicken finger BLT, and reducing the size of garlic bread from "substantial" to "tiny"). Then they put up pints to €4. It all blew up in their face and now they only open 1-9 (last orders) and its rarely full. They should go back to the menu that brought everyone in.

It used to be a great place about 6 months ago or maybe a little longer, but now its just a rip off.

Are you kidding me? The introductory menu I'm presuming was a loss leader, to regenerate business. Its inevitable that they have to ween it off to cheaper products.
The 15E menu is still packing good value regardless, and if you want a JD burger just get the cheese burger and ask for JD sauce on the side (they usually don't charge for it) granted you're missing bacon but it's still as nice.

I don't know how you can classify a 4E pint a 'rip-off', it's still cheaper than the vast majority of pubs.
If TGI's 15E menu is a rip off, I challenge you to find much better value for money and quality in the general vicinity.

Exclamation Marc

Kevin! wrote: »

Are you kidding me? The introductory menu I'm presuming was a loss leader, to regenerate business. Its inevitable that they have to ween it off to cheaper products.
The 15E menu is still packing good value regardless, and if you want a JD burger just get the cheese burger and ask for JD sauce on the side (they usually don't charge for it) granted you're missing bacon but it's still as nice.

I don't know how you can classify a 4E pint a 'rip-off', it's still cheaper than the vast majority of pubs.
If TGI's 15E menu is a rip off, I challenge you to find much better value for money and quality in the general vicinity.

I never said €4 pint was a rip-off, I said the sum total of TGI's was, and they were definitely not loss-leading with their original menu.

Gourmet Burger down in Dun Laoghaire. Burger & chips for a tenner. And the range of burgers extend beyond "cheeseburger". Bigger portion of chips as well. Throw in a drink and its €12.

In TGI's you can have a cheeseburger and a starter (which range from tiny garlic breads to mozarella sticks or a whole 4 (!) chicken wings) and a drink for €18 on its special menu.

previous user

I feel story for the staff, on another note yeh TGI is a f*cking rip off for the quality and quantity of food you get,
I'm gonna try wagamama in Blanch for lunch next time, I hear it's 10 euro, so i'll see.

paddydriver

Can't believe there is a whole thread on TGI's and no one mentioned "Tesco Clubcard Deals" - I thought everyone paid with them in TGI's

I have a stack load of them and got €300 worth of TGI deals about 4 months back and we head down every few weeks with the kids and they love it.

All things aside - I would not pay for it in cash as they have totally cheapened the menu and I honestly think that is because of the Tesco tokens cause I see so many people using them. The menu used to be far better - they used to do a great surf and turf etc. I prefer the one in Luigi Malone's now but they don't do Tesco deals...:eek:

I too didn't realise that the 5% did not go to the staff so I may tip a little more in future as generally they are good and they are always very accomodating of the kids and provide lots of crayons etc.

No boycotting from us... as long we have our tokens... Sorry

Kevin!

FireballPitcher wrote: »

I never said €4 pint was a rip-off, I said the sum total of TGI's was, and they were definitely not loss-leading with their original menu.

Gourmet Burger down in Dun Laoghaire. Burger & chips for a tenner. And the range of burgers extend beyond "cheeseburger". Bigger portion of chips as well. Throw in a drink and its €12.

In TGI's you can have a cheeseburger and a starter (which range from tiny garlic breads to mozarella sticks or a whole 4 (!) chicken wings) and a drink for €18 on its special menu.

You forget to mention that this offer is only valid Monday thru Friday - and the chips are most definitely not bigger.

So basically, you can get a

Burger+Fries+Desert/Starter and if you so choose to buy a drink it's free refills.

OR

Burger+Fries+Small Drink for three euro less


imo TGI's is still better value, but have you got any other examples for value?

Exclamation Marc

Kevin! wrote: »

You forget to mention that this offer is only valid Monday thru Friday - and the chips are most definitely not bigger.

So basically, you can get a

Burger+Fries+Desert/Starter and if you so choose to buy a drink it's free refills.

OR

Burger+Fries+Small Drink for three euro less


imo TGI's is still better value, but have you got any other examples for value?

The Gourmet Burger meal I gave you is straight off the menu, its not a "deal". Also, the burgers on the TGI deal are limited to Cheeseburgers. The Gourmet Burgers are any burgers, whether its chicken, beef, veggie and includes a variety of toppings aside from cheese, lettuce, tomato and onions.

Shikei

FireballPitcher wrote: »

I once ate in that TGI's and recieved my €20 change from a €50 in a tenner, fiver and coins.

Didn't think much of it until I talked to a friend who used to work as one of the hosts in TGI's and she said that some of the waiting staff do that as a way of making sure you have the coins to tip.
Bit cheeky really!

Back on point though. I refuse to eat in TGIs anymore due to their prices. They had a nice deal going when they had their €15 menu. But then they removed all their popular dishes off the menu and re-released the menu with loads of cheap crap on it. So now any half-substantial meal and a drink will be costing upwards of €25 + 5%.

No thanks.

I'm a waitress and I'm always worried people will think that's the reason I'm giving them change, but it's not! Sometimes I just don't have enough notes because everyone's been paying with 50s!


Does anyone know if this 5% thing is actually legal? Because I work for this company and I hate the "service" charge with a passion, first because I don't think people should be forced to pay a service charge and second because most people understandably presume it's going to their server and then they don't leave a tip.