You do know, don’t you, that there are certainly people here who don’t know what a “ten key” is?
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Adjacent to surcharges, but I thought the generational differences were interesting.
Gotta caveat the lifestage trap though:
“To be sure, as the youngest and least wealthy generation, this may be because Gen Z has the least money to spend—yet rather than taking restaurant visits out of their budget, many simply get stingy when the bill arrives.”
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Here’s an excellent service charge FAQ. They don’t put a link to it on the receipt (or at least didn’t when I was last there on Friday).
WHY DID YOU REMOVE THE TIP LINE FROM THE CREDIT CARD SLIP?
To eliminate any confusion as to whether a further tip is expected.
ok y’all cool.
In some countries (like Japan), tipping is not allowed. If you leave a tip at a restaurant in Japan, a staffer will likely run after you to return your money. But this system exists across the entire country. Since we are doing something new in a price-sensitive market, we need to keep our overall menu pricing structure similar to the many restaurants in Berkeley and beyond.
a fair point.
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From Email:
Today we are implementing one of the first changes you will see on your next visit to Petit Trois. We are transitioning from the previous 18% service charge to a 4% surcharge. This surcharge will continue to help provide a range of benefits for our entire team. And, like before, any gratuity that you choose to leave will be shared in its entirety with all of the hourly employees responsible for making your experience a memorable one.
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Much better. I would actually tip 18% on this.
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the LA reddit board is only now starting to experience this and they are MAD. Mad enough to start a google sheet with aggregated info, which then got picked up by KTLA.
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Just saw on Eater.
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Respect to Timeout who did some actual legwork and talked to restaurants about whether a service charge is meant to be instead of a tip:
“ In the interest of price transparency and accuracy, Time Out independently verified the restaurants with mandatory service fees listed in the Google Sheet as of August 9. We ultimately found that most L.A. restaurants implement service charges instead of , rather than in addition to, a standard 15 to 20% tip. (Additional tip is appreciated, but truly not required.)”
“ The spreadsheet’s few remaining restaurants with service fees that also expect a standard tip are as follows:
Duck House in Monterey Park: 15%
Jon and Vinny’s (multiple locations): 18%
Orsa and Winston in Downtown L.A.: 20%
Son of a Gun in Beverly Grove: 18%”
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Yeah booo jv group
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Ototo, a sake bar in Echo Park, charges dine-in guests an “18% fair wage and operational fee” that is not a gratuity for staff. The fee “goes towards all operational expenses including livable wages and health benefits for all of our staff,” Ototo’s website says, adding that it encourages customers to pay an additional “optional tip.”
an 18% fair wage and operational fee will be added to all dine-in bills. this is not a gratuity or tip. it goes towards all operational expenses including livable wages and health benefits for all of our staff. we do include an optional tip line should you choose to tip. the entirety of all additional tips go into a pool and are distributed evenly amongst all kitchen and dining room staff who create your experience.
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I like Ototo and dislike this policy 
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was recently at bar Ama, another place with an 18% service charge that is “NOT A TIP”. The service despite not being very crowded was also super bad. Very nice waiter but just really not trained, or able to handle more than a few tables… perhaps because no one wants to work there given their service charge/getting less tips? The kitchen was also VERY slow despite again not being busy.
Im really beginning to think these LA Times 101 reviews are paid for/all politics because that place was pretty average… obviously the service charge sours the mood too
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I think this is the first one that explicitly says it will be used for operational expenses.
Some hospitality consultants probably feel like adding the fee is no big deal like it was for hotels, but hotels didn’t have decades of an expected percentage tip. Nobody is gonna pay a tip on top of these 18% fees, then they’ll wonder why they can’t keep their waitstaff.
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Ordered takeout from a local place. The website heavily encourages online ordering vs calling in the order. When it’s time to check out, there’s a default tip - of 25% - which I had to go in as “other amount” to set to 0. (We tip cash with takeout.)
This is the receipt I received:
Maybe I’ve not been paying attention, but are “Pickup Fees” a new thing or have I been oblivious? Also note the “Online Ordering Fee,” which, again, the website encourages.
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Yeah, it was that last sentence that got me. Sheesh.
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I’ve not seen both a “pickup” and online ordering fee at the same time. That seems really… weird.
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I’m sure this is another topic but as they say on reddit ‘AITAH’ If I’m picking up why am I tipping you? I prefer to go to local places but all that nickel and dime-ing would put me off that place
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