Bermuda: Taxes & Tipping

I entirely agree with giving a tip for good service. Me and my friends would normally give 10% in the UK. I think the amount I tip should be up to me on the basis of the service I have had. I have often given a much larger tip for very good service but do not feel the need to over tip when if eating out the establishment should price its food and drink at a price that allows the staff to earn a good wage and tips as an extra. I work in a service industry and do not get tips from our customer for my great service and if I wish to earn more money I have to do overtime.

Regardless of what it is called, the 15% gratuity that is added to your bill 'for your convenience' as often stated on the menu is NOT mandatory. What people don't often know, and are not told by the establishment (obviously) is that you do NOT have to pay the 15% if you don't feel that the service was up to par. I live in Bermuda and on a few occasions when I have eaten out and the service has been less than stellar, I have refused to pay the full 15% and that is my choice as a patron. The majority of the time the service is fine and the addition of the 15% is convenient. The bottom line, don't like the service don't pay, or pay what you feel is acceptable. You have the right to refuse.

A tip is a tip and a charge for service is just that. Tipping should be for service above the normal. Tipping is spreading across the world even where staff are paid a adequate wage.

I live in London and we get charged service charge over here. I hardly ever pay it because I know the establishments take it for themselves and the waiter is lucky to get 10p in every pound. Some establishments are even cheeky enough to take breakages out of service charge before dividing it amongst the staff! So, I always ask for the service charge to be removed and give the waiter a cash tip. I have never had a waiter say anything negative about doing it this way - in fact, it's always met with a positive reaction as they get the full tip as deserved. I do not like the automatic service charge as it de-motivates staff to give good service because at the end of the day, they know they will hardly see any of it.

Bermuda has a consumption based tax system. You pay tax at the rate u choose to consume. The now 17% SERVICE charge is in fact a TAX. That tax is used to pay salaries. There is no uniform standard for the division of this revenue amongst staff. Some establishments are very fair others are less than fair. The service charge is equivalent to paying GST & PST for Canadians or State and Federal tax for Americans. It is not a TIP its just how our economy works.

I agree. If I had made the full 15% off every bill my restaurant charged I would never have stopped being a waitress.

True, but not in all cases. Some places do give full 15% to each server. However it's rare. In most cases the money is pooled then divided among staff with some being left behind for bonuses and to pay for some staff functions.

As someone that has worked in the industry for many years I would like to mention a couple things about the 15% included (none of this defends lousy service. It's your job do it well or find something else to do). I do agree if you get bad service you should not have to tip however someone stated that on a $100 bill your lousy waitress got $15 and that's just not true. Any restaurant that charges 15% on the bill DOES NOT give this directly to each server. It is pooled and divided between all service related staff. So if you do get really good service I suggest giving to the 15% directly to your server because he/she really only makes around 10% of the 15% i.e. $200 bill adds $30 for tip, your server in most cases will only get $3 to $10 (depending on the number of staff).

Just an observation. I understood that TIPS meant--To Insure Prompt Service. This seems like an incentive program for future service, not for what was necessarily done during this purchase, otherwise it should be paid up-front, in advance. I believe and tip fairly, but on the assumption that TIPS are to insure prompt service, I should have the flexibility of tipping as warranted, not to cover someone's salary. The owners should be paying fair salaries, and we should be paying for the cost of the service, food, etc. and frequent an establishment based on our ability to pay the total price or not, (as well as to tip or not, rather than to feel guilty for not providing adequate tips when we do not know what the person is being paid.

I am an American businessman about to visit Bermuda. I do agree with Mike F that his server was very rude, but talking to a manager is more effective than wishing you could tip below 15%.
Furthermore, I believe it is American (and Bermudiian) etiquette that a patron should expect a 15% service charge at any sit-down establishment. The 15% should be considered a fixed cost or a cost of doing business. An extra 3% or more is added if the service was better than expected. If the patron does not want to pay the fixed cost of 15% then the patron is dining at a restaurant that exceeds their budget.
In business, if an employee goes over budget, the employee is at fault, not the person the employee is supposed to pay. Plus, a few dollars (1 or 2 Sterling Pounds) should not hurt a visitor or an expat in Bermuda.

Pete is right about the automatic tip being annoying and a lack of incentive to provide good service. I was recently in Bermuda (1 day removed as I write this.) I just completed dinner with my girlfriend at a restaurant. Three different waitresses cleared the table. We waited for the main waitress to come back and ask about dessert or give us the check. A half hour past, the table was cleared off but no came over. I finally got tired of waiting and got up to get someone. I tracked someone down and expressed my disappointment. She appeared mildly interested and went to find our waitress. Minutes later a waitress handed us the check never asking us if we wanted dessert. I told her in a very polite manner how I felt about the lack of service. She looked at me, laughed and simply said "oh I am sorry" and walked away. The bill was over $100.00 so she automatically made $15.00 plus. So do you think she cared how good or BAD the service was. I believe the patron should have the right to judge the amount of tip to the quality of service. Being fair of course.

Most restaurants in Bermuda add the gratuity automatically, true. I have worked in the industry and many people do not realize that servers make a very minimal hourly wage, sometimes as low as 5.00 per hour. Gratuities pay their rent, grocery bill, etc. My experience in Bermuda has been that the service, overall, is excellent and well worth the automatic service charge.

To clarify: SOME US states allow "tip credits", meaning you can work under the minimum wage so long as you're getting tipped to at least the equivelent of the minimum wage. When this doesn't happen, the employer makes up the difference. In other states, they simply pay the minimum wage like they should in the first place. Bad service = no tip, no matter where you're at. That said, I usually tip 20% for even a mediocre experience. It's just how I do things.

I don't see how the comment below relates to Bermuda. Bermuda isn't the US and workers aren't paid minimum wage, nor are they subject to income tax.

This is a thorny area but tourists should try to be culturally sensitive... The reason it's important to tip waiters in the US is that they are paid below the minimum wage, and have to pay tax at a rate that assumes they have made 15% tips. So if you choose not to tip they have to pay income tax on money they haven't earned, and are paid at below what the state regards as the minimum acceptable wage. 15% tipping or above is just part of US culture and doesn't mean the diner has received "excellent" service. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

As a British visitor due to arrive in June, I'm pleased to see there is 'automatic' tipping in restaurants. It gets rid of the problem I have when in North America of not knowing how much to tip just to make sure the waiter/ress has a living wage - I've seen some websites suggest tipping in N America for normal service at levels I would never imagine paying even for excellent service. If service is poor, just refuse to pay some or all of what I presume is a discretionary charge.

The guys at the gas station also expect a tip (if they fill your tank). Most people usually give a dollar.

The automatic tipping is very annoying. This is becoming commonplace nowadays. I think many restaurants have forgotten that a tip is for good service and not an automatic surcharge. They should earn it. With these restaurants there's simply no incentive for the waiter or waitress to give you good service, unless of course they want 30%.