1. Customer is the king

Its a delightful news for the customers and the foodies across the nation as they now clearly understand that its not a compulsion to pay for a really terrible dining service. Its only optional. It is really up to the customer to decide whether to pay the service charges or not. Many felt that it was the hotel industry’s job to provide services, then why should it charge for it? And if the services charges are optional indeed, why not completely wipe them off the food bills and revert to old tip system?

 2. Restaurant owners not amused

Riyaaz Amlani(President of National restaurant Association of India) expressed that India has the lowest service charge(5%-10%) and the service charge is billed in fine print and this is part of the same bill on which the restaurant pays VAT while the employees pay income tax. A few hotel owners are even making bold statements such as “Don’t eat if you don’t want to pay”. A few restaurateurs find it fine and believe that its truly up to customer’s discretionary to pay or not for the service.

 3. Blues of the kitchen

While some waiters state that the money from the service charge is actually pocketed by the managers and not by them, the cooks, on the other hand, feel that the gap between the customers and them is too large, as a result the tips would only go to the waiters and not get distributed evenly.

4. The neutrals

There have been some cases where the hoteliers have politely asked customers if they were okay with paying the service charges and if not then told them to visit places that didn’t levy a service charge. Chef Anees Khan expressed that for any restaurant or a hotel, its important to build a loyal customer base which cant happen if the customer is dissatisfied with the service. While others feel the service charge helps in levelling of the wages for everyone from hotel staff to the cooks which in turn proves to be a motivating factor for all. Also it helps boost the morale & confidence of the hotel.

References :

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/you-can-now-refuse-to-pay-service-charge-on-your-food-bill-if-you-don-t-want-to/story-00Zj4XY1fjuA4tpPwQzesL.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/service-charge-dont-eat-if-you-dont-want-to-pay-says-restaurants-body/articleshow/56302848.cms

http://www.bombaytimes.com/lifestyle/food/to-pay-or-not-to-pay-service-charge-at-restaurants/articleshow/56311845.cms