06/12/2026
Can someone explain this logic?
I recently got a restaurant bill that already had an automatic 18% service charge added.
Fair enough—more places are doing this now.
But then I looked at the fine print and saw:
“This charge is not a tip or gratuity.”
And that’s where I got confused.
Because from a customer perspective, when you see an extra 18% added to the total, you naturally assume it’s related to service in some way.
So if it’s not a tip… then what is it?
Is it going to the staff?
Is it covering operating costs?
Is it basically just a hidden fee with a different name?
And the bigger question: are you still expected to tip on top of it?
That’s where it starts to feel unclear. Because at that point it almost looks like you’re being asked to pay for service twice—once through the mandatory charge and again through an optional tip.
In my case, I didn’t leave an extra tip, because adding another service-related payment on top of an 18% charge didn’t feel straightforward.
This isn’t about the staff at all. Servers work hard and deserve fair pay.
It’s more about transparency.
If a restaurant needs to add 18% to make the model work, why not just adjust menu prices instead of adding a separate charge that leaves customers guessing what they’re actually paying for?
So I’m curious—what would you do in this situation? Tip extra, or consider the 18% enough?