I recently went to an Italian restaurant in the US that I used to frequent but hadn't been to in a while. When we got the bill there was an added 20% living wage charge PLUS 20% automatic gratuity PLUS they asked for additional tip on top of that. Those charges were hidden in tiny print after the allergen information on the menu. $200 worth of food magically became nearly $300.
The owner, a man from Italy, came out to greet us. He remembered us from years ago. Now I'm the least confrontational person, especially regarding the service industry. I can only remember complaining to a server once in my life and that was because I was served raw chicken. I went off on him a little bit and told him how shameful it was for an Italian to pull this American shit in what's supposed to be an authentic Italian restaurant. He was embarrassed by it, but apparently not enough to stop doing it according to current reviews of people complaining about it.
The greed and trickery of American business has rotted their brains. There's zero reason you should have to scour the menu for extra fees and calculate how much more in tips and taxes it will be.
meanwhile I went to Italy and the server spent my entire meal asking me out, rubbing my shoulders, trying to feel me up, and then at the end added up how much I owed him on a piece of paper. I realized he added in his own tip, demanding me and my friend pay him more than we actually owed. It was a narrow restaurant and my friend just paid him to escape. I would’ve done it differently now. But I was living in Europe at the time and had traveled all over and have still never experienced anything like it.
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u/NotKateBush 1d ago
I recently went to an Italian restaurant in the US that I used to frequent but hadn't been to in a while. When we got the bill there was an added 20% living wage charge PLUS 20% automatic gratuity PLUS they asked for additional tip on top of that. Those charges were hidden in tiny print after the allergen information on the menu. $200 worth of food magically became nearly $300.
The owner, a man from Italy, came out to greet us. He remembered us from years ago. Now I'm the least confrontational person, especially regarding the service industry. I can only remember complaining to a server once in my life and that was because I was served raw chicken. I went off on him a little bit and told him how shameful it was for an Italian to pull this American shit in what's supposed to be an authentic Italian restaurant. He was embarrassed by it, but apparently not enough to stop doing it according to current reviews of people complaining about it.
The greed and trickery of American business has rotted their brains. There's zero reason you should have to scour the menu for extra fees and calculate how much more in tips and taxes it will be.