Restaurant owner adds automatic gratuity to customers' bills to combat rising costs

CINCINNATI (WKRC) — Mandatory tipping and service fees have become more commonplace since the pandemic, but some consumers say they are frustrated by the trend. They said it's not their responsibility to offset rising costs and inflation.

"I get it as a consumer, it may be harder to pay for that, but again the people are going through the same struggles and they depend on that money to live," said former server, Amber Gerkey.

"I think tipping should be more based on the service that's provided and it gives more of an incentive to the waiter or waitress to provide good service to their customer and make sure they are satisfied," said Ross Sefring.

If you dine at Dutch's in Hyde Park, you'll notice a small note that reads, "We offer living wages to our employees partially funded by a 20 percent automatic gratuity".

"Restaurants are behind the eight ball and we are taking a lot of the costs on and are trying to figure out kind of again reactively. How do I manage this? How do I change how I set this up," said the owner of Red Feather Larder at Dutch's, Brad Bernstein.

When asked why can't the restaurant bear the brunt of price increases instead of the public, Bernstein replied, "We are in a position where we need to stay profitable to stay in business so we can provide the services, the hospitality customers love. But it's not so cut and dry anymore with how things used to be, everything's changed so quickly. When you talk about some of the hidden costs of paper towels, to-go boxes, bags, gloves, cleaning supplies, all that is gone through the roof and those are costs that aren't even charged to the guests."

Bernstein says people often tip 20 percent anyway. That's why he chose gratuity over other fees.

"If it became industrywide, it wouldn't be a service fee anymore. It would be on the bill fare like in Europe, but we aren't standardized yet, so what I am trying to do is not have my menu prices be jacked up and be like, you're so expensive," said Bernstein.

He says the mandatory gratuity is split equitably to his staff, not just the server. eliminating bias.

The owner says some people believe that makes the service lazy, but he says it makes the process quicker and more efficient for customers and is the wave of the future.

Since the pandemic, the restaurant has also started using QR codes instead of traditional menus.