A restaurant in the United States has sparked controversy by stating on its receipt that "an 18% tip will be automatically applied for parties of one or more."
On the 20th (local time), Fox Business in the U.S. introduced the story of customer A, who was asked to pay an 18% tip after visiting a Vietnamese restaurant in Cupertino, California. A shared the restaurant's receipt on Reddit, the largest community in the U.S.
The receipt states, "18.00% service charge included. An 18.00% tip will be automatically applied for parties of one or more. Please contact the manager if you have any questions."
A receipt from an American restaurant stating that an 18% tip is automatically added [Image source: Reddit capture]
A ordered three menu items at the restaurant, spending a total of $49.50 (approximately 66,000 KRW) on food. In addition, sales tax of $4.52 (about 6,000 KRW) and an 18% service charge (tip) of $8.91 (about 12,000 KRW) were added, so he ultimately had to pay a total of $69.93 (about 84,000 KRW).
A said, "This restaurant automatically charges an 18% service fee. While tips are sometimes included for large groups, this is the first time I have had to pay a tip even when dining alone."
The post quickly received over 5,000 comments. Netizens expressed anger with remarks such as, "They complicate things by saying they will charge all customers an 18% fee," "Just raise the food prices instead," "If it were me, I would just leave the restaurant," "If the service charge was posted outside the store or on the menu, I wouldn’t have gone in," "This is a very easy way to lose customers," and "Let's not go to this restaurant."
Typically in the U.S., customers leave a tip of 10-20% of the order amount at restaurants and cafes as a service charge, but this is always at the customer's discretion and is not automatically enforced on all customers. Since COVID-19, however, there has been a growing trend of requesting tips not only at restaurants and cafes but also at fast food outlets and kiosk-only stores, leading to increasing dissatisfaction.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, where tipping culture is not yet established, there have recently been controversies over tipping requests at restaurants, cafes, and taxis. Some cafes and restaurants have been criticized for asking customers for tips when ordering or placing tip jars at the counter. Additionally, in July, Kakao Mobility’s taxi-hailing service "KakaoT" piloted a "thank you tip" feature, but a survey showed that 7 out of 10 consumers opposed the introduction of a tipping function on taxi-hailing platforms.
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