Service charge? 10% service charge? That is RM10 for every RM100 that we spend on food. And that is 8 more glasses of ice lemon tea , 4 more bowls of kolo mee or 1 more dish of sweet-and-sour chicken. That's how much additional money we have to pay for every single dish we enjoy. Incredulous? Ridiculous?
When have bistros , cafes and some food courts started imposing this exorbitant fee? We don't practice tipping here but service charge is just tantamount to tipping. Okay , it's not totally wrong to charge additional fees for the service they provide. And it is reasonable to impose these charges at 5-star restaurants and hotels. But at places like "pizza hut" ?Wat kind of service do we get?
When we dine in hotel , there are waiters who open the door for us , greet us good day , find us seats , lay napkins for us ,attend to our every single need , serve us with utmost manner , and most importantly ensure us the best service. That will be reasonable for us to give extra service charge. That's the price to pay for the satisfaction we get.
But at some eateries , i just do not feel the need to do so. There were a few instances when i really felt not worth paying it , not even for the food. I thought when we eat out , it is the duty of the waiters to serve us the food. Then the price of the food should be inclusive of serving the dish to the patron's table. What's the use of hiring and paying salary to the waiters if their responsibility is not to serve the food? So why should we pay more for the service? Or put it the other way , if we take the food from the kitchen ourselves , can we be excluded to pay for this service charge?
And 10% of the price of the food? Does it imply that the more expensive the food , the more service they provide? What's the difference in service we get when eating a bowl of salad and a plate of sirloin steak?
One of my worst experience was dining at "One tree hill". A new night spot in Kuching. A nice place and right ambience for alfresco dining. But one bad thing - horrible service. I have never seen waiters and waitresses gathering around smoking in front of patrons until that night. Firstly it is unhygienic , imagine the smoke ashes that drop from the finger nails onto the food ? Secondly it is totally rude and unthoughtful to patrons like me who abhor people smoking when i am eating. It just spoils the mood and appetite. Shouldn't they be more alert and pay more attention to the patrons' need? I have to shout a few times before my voice is audible to them , just to ask for my drink. And with such a disappointing state of affair , they unshamefully charge me 10% for their service , with no sense of guilt. Maybe i shouldn't blame the place. It's the waiters' fault. But their lackadaisical attitude is be due to the lack of watchful eyes of the supervisor and their boss. So the boss SHOULD do something about that.
And i am not the only one complaining about the service there. My friend who went on a different occasion also experienced such horribble service. It would be a waste if such a nice place is closed down just because of their bad service.Furthermore , words spread like wild fire , and Kuching after all is not that big , it will be in no time when "One tree hill" garner its bad service reputation if no improvement is made soon.
So back to service charge. Should or should not? I think it should be optional. Patrons should not be obliged to pay unless they are satisfied. Learn the way of serving from "Mango Tree". The
RM19 i pay for their service though quite expensive is still more worthy than the RM4.50 i pay to "One Tree Hill".
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