So I am speaking on my wife's behalf too. She was a bartender/waitress/manager, tips are for good food and good service. A tip is not mandatory, an is idiotic if someone thinks it is. Most service sucks these days and the food is 50/50.
You don't like what I say, than you are probably a terrible waitress, and should find yourself another job. Your looks only last so long, go get a career that pays something better than minimum wage
Bonnie Anderson-Caulfield - 8 years ago
I get the impression that most people consider tipping to be mandatory, regardless of service, I know that I do. I would prefer that the servers be given decent wages and have the cost of those wages be reflected in the price of the meal. Tipping and hospitality tax in my opinion are basically wage subsidies. Many other jobs as well do not receive a liveable wage. How about raising the minimum wage to a realistic level for all? Let's call a spade a spade, instead of,a wage subsidy a hospitality tax. If you are concerned that your level of service will falter, and situations arise that prove this so? Those employees should be looking for another occupation anyways. And if you do feel compelled to show your appreciation for exemplary service by way of a monetary tip, feel free to do so. And maybe consider stopping by your local Wal-mart, or many other retail outlets, and showing appreciation for many outstanding employees in many other job positions as well. They are all around you, just look, and even if your pockets don't allow , maybe the occasional verbal acknowledgement couldn't hurt. Bottom line is that people need to live, and not only those in the service industries. The cost of living is going up radically, but who's wages are? Increasing the minimum wage is not the end all for sure, but we have to start somewhere. Does anybody out there have an answer, please?
Gary - 8 years ago
I won't go there. Earls can't seem to get it through their heads that doing these dumb things drives customers away. 1st they get rid of Canadian beef now this! A tip is for the service, I will not pay a mandatory tip. There are alot of other options out there, Earls won't be one of them!!
Muriel Gibb - 8 years ago
Completely opposed to this idea. I tip what/when I feel it is deserved. The sooner restraunts start paying their staff a proper wage the better. You do not tip in New Zealand & Australia - they don't expect the customer to subsidize low wages & it works! I can't see that Earl's could actually force you to pay the 16% - as some commenters have said - be upfront & increase your meal costs by 16% because that is what this actually is and see how well your business does!
BBT - 8 years ago
I have a better idea. Why don't all Earl's employees get organized and former a union? Unionized companies force management to actually manage because they are forced to pay their employees living wages.....then they can do away with variable tips all together and instead raise their prices slightly to accommodate the living wage.
I will gladly frequent a restaurant that financially supports it's employees than one that pays it's employees tips after the restaurant management had taken their skim off the top of the tips first.
All privately owned Earl's restaurants do this that I've worked at, and it's illegal.
Clean up your message Earl's.
Julie Bubnick - 8 years ago
I am open to the idea of a gratuity being added to the bill, in place of tipping, but why 16%? Why not 10% or 12% or 15%? I have just been to some countries in Eastern Europe where all food and drinking establishments automatically added a gratuity charge (usually 10-15%). While it was nice not to have to figure out what would be an appropriate tip, the policy did not seem to have an influence on the service - sometimes it was great, sometimes it was awful, but mostly it was just okay.
Julie
kevin - 8 years ago
being forced to leave a tip whether service and food was good or not, what a crock, they wont see me, if wages are so low that we need to be forced to leave a tip, perhaps they should pay workers more and cut into their profits not force me to subsidize their workers regardless of service, and people who work their know the wages when theykevin take the job, plenty of us work and do not get tips no matter how good the job
Jesse - 8 years ago
At a meal at Earl's Banff once and my wife and I waited 15 minutes after being seated before anyone even asked if we wanted a drink. I made sure I used my outside voice to say to my wife that we were down to 10% and would go down 1% for every minute after. Seconds later they came sniffing....but until then I wasn't worth the effort??
Sorry Earls. Your food is over-priced, your establishments are over-rated and the experience you expect me to now be "surcharged" for....COMPLETELY underwhelming.
Ooo - 8 years ago
Will do everything in my power to tell the public to not enter EARL'S. What a sad way to pay their employees. The public pays all of EARL'S wages. Obviously just a money grab.
No surprise when you look at what there idea of good service is
I always tip before my meal or coffee. Have ALWAYS received great service, but then again would never tip at EARL'S as I don't believe that earn one.
Was forced to have a meal there a couple years ago and only received poor service.
So EARL'S why should we enter your business when your restaurant is no different than any other.
Never believed in shared tips, quit one job because of it. If the waitresses want tips they should earn it, because they are willing to work for it. (Earning their own tips)
Bad practice for a business. Tired of pathetic service from girls who stand around socializing expecting tips because they think their cute.
Paul - 8 years ago
Earl's lost me as a customer after the out-sourced beef... AND now this? All this does is force people to pay for mediocre service AND over-priced meals. Because the serving staff now knows no matter what kind of service they provide, they are getting a 16% tip anyway. Earl's is making the consumer pay their employees wages in many ways here. How about man-up and pay your own employees and give them a tip out of your over-priced food profits as an incentive to provide quality service and do their job? And yes it is their job! If they aren't happy with their pay, get educated and get a better paying job. I never get a tip for great service... sometimes not even a thank you and I still do the job because I chose this profession!!!
Al - 8 years ago
It will always be my choice to tip including the amount based on my overall dining experience. Another bad move by Earls in the service business.
JB - 8 years ago
At least the leftist socialists who usually work at this establishment would finally be forced to pay taxes on their forced gratuities and thus actually contribute to the society they make so many demands on.
Curtis - 8 years ago
As a consumer, I have encountered this 'model' a few times here in Edmonton; and it strikes me that there is only one flaw in the implementations I have seen. The flaw I see in the currently implemented model is the removal of the possibility for the customer to exercise his own volition as to whether a tip is to be paid. With the system as implemented at earls67 and other places I have encountered it, the customer is not given the choice of whether or not to tip. The only choice the customer has is whether or not to (ever) return to the establishment. IF he chooses never to come back, there is never any feedback to the establishment. If one is already dissatisfied with the encounter, the last thing most people would feel inclined to do is to take even more time to explain the issue to a manager (this was suggested in the news story by the manager of earls67). However, if there was also a checkbox as to whether or not the 'tip' is to be paid, then the customer would be able to exercise some choice. By making the 'tip/gratuity' compulsory, it moves from the category of a 'gratuity' to that of an 'overall price increase'. If a company is going to implement such a process, they should be required By Law to publish it prominently on all of their Menus and Signs so that the consuming public may include that consideration in choosing a place to go. One place I encountered it in Edmonton was a typical example of a place that if they didn't automatically put the tip on the bill, they wouldn't have got anything, as they totally screwed up the order. And the first indication was the 15% 'gratuity' on the bill. As we were the only group and customers in the restaurant, there can be no excuse for bad service except incompetence... Rather than stay and complain, we left (after paying the bill), but I am not going back there again...
James Hogan - 8 years ago
Is this the same company that tried to replace Canadian Beef. If those Chief`s are so hot shot then pay them more let the server`s get the tip`s sound`s like another Dumm Yankee move.
MD Becur - 8 years ago
Servers in Alberta do not have to be paid the minimum wage; and they struggle especially during times economy is slow., then they must share their tips with cooks, and door men etc. Is that even enough, 16% I won't eat out unless I can afford to tip, 30%
Donna - 8 years ago
Hospitality employers should just pay their employees a decent wage. It is not my responsibility as a customer to pay for wages an employer should be paying. In Australia there is no tipping. Employers pay their employees a decent salary . North America could learn from the Australians. Service everywhere was awesome and friendly.. No extra taxes and no tipping.
Tyler - 8 years ago
I will never eat at this Franchise again. It is not my obligation to fulfill your managers duty! Pay your staff!
Eric Hansen - 8 years ago
Tipping has been used as a wage replacement by employers not willing to pay people a living wage. So yes on the one hand, tipping gives incentive to improve service, but not necessarily respect for the job itself. People try hard, because they love their job and take pride in what they do. In North America the hospitality industry is scene as a means to an end, not a real profession.
Chelsey - 8 years ago
I am a high tipper but that's only if I have great service if I have bad service I do not tip at all. It is not up to patrons to pay the rest of servers wages I tip according to the service I receive I will not eat at restaurants that decide how much I tip. Bad move earls
Mike - 8 years ago
It is a mandatory 16% surcharge, not a discretionary gratuity. Let Earls change their menu prices by 16% and a notice "no tipping allowed"; then let their customers decide if Earls is their restaurant of choice. It will not be mine anymore with prices 16% higher than similar establishments. The argument that the surcharge will be equally distributed is a sign management do not have staff bought into a sharing model anyway.
Trev - 8 years ago
Earl's lost me as a customer long ago.
The outsourced beef, and now the self-entitled tip is just a couple more nails in the coffin.
I will not be tempted to give them another chance.
A tip is a gratuitous present - I think this forceful tip is an act of ingrates.
rampant culture of self-entitlement in the business world.
Tammy - 8 years ago
I would like to reply to Cecile... Open your eyes when you go out. You will begin to notice that there are servers that work much harder than others, if a server is already sure they will be getting a tip there is no incentive to improve on service. There are many absentee owners in the industry and managers have their favorites, as in any business, so the truly lazy still have jobs.
I do not agree with every server getting a tip, they need to work for it! Putting a mandatory gratuity on a bill is not the answer for the consumer, they need to decide with personal choice (and yes there are people who do not believe in tipping) and the level of service. Pay the back of house a higher wage if they are not being treated fairly, because they do work very hard, but it still should be the choice of the consumer, not the business.
Gord - 8 years ago
SO if I get crappy service, I STILL have to pay 16% no matter what? Sorry Earl's, I have left 2 CENT tips for shite service before from one of your locations. Tipping is MY OPTION based on MY perception of the service/server. First it was the outsourced Beef, and now this?? You have lost another customer.
Donna - 8 years ago
I don't feel that it is right for me to be told that 16% gratuity is required in place of a tip. Giving a tip is my choice. To me this is inappropriate. I will not be eating at your restaurant again if this comes into effect.
Rita - 8 years ago
It seems to me that a potential tip is incentive for good service. Removing that to give everyone an automatic cut no matter what could lower quality of service. It's similar to everyone getting a trophy. In Australia minimum wage is $17.29/hr, and tips are not mandatory and are considered a bonus.
D - 8 years ago
Being in the industry for a long time I believe that it will hurt the great servers and reward the weak ones. I typically leave 20% as a standard. My question is if someone orders a bottle of wine for 100 a btl are they still tipping the 16% I'm sorry but when you have a item that is marked up min. 100% forcing a grat is unacceptable and will end up costing Earls business. That's just my opinion. I will still go as I think 9/10 the service is great and so is the food! Good luck
Dan - 8 years ago
All these so called restaurants and bars should not be relying on me to top up your employee wages, instead quit being so greedy with your profits and pay your staff better wages. Tipping is an optional extra, NOT a forced extra. Wont eat anywhere that tipping is mandatory
Norm kaiser - 8 years ago
Fire the management that is making these2 decisions.get real ,put a price on your menu and pay your employees yourself.i thought your beef idea was stupid but you have outdone yourselves
Ann - 8 years ago
I guess Earls is bound and determined to lose business?!? First out sourcing beef, now this!
Know your customer Earls! Imposing a mandatory tip is ludicrous at a time when we as Albertans are in an economic downfall. Cashing in on the stampede?? Way to alienate your customer, was it ever considered that perhaps some of your consumers went to the stampede on a budget? And won't be eating at your establishment because of the forced tip? I for one WAS willing to give Earls another chance after the whole out sourcing beef....but after this?? Not a chance
d - 8 years ago
I refuse.
I'd rather tip what I thought the food and service was worth. or have an option to "TIP kitchen" and "tip wait staff"
I won't be forced to pay 16% extra if my food/service sucks
Lee - 8 years ago
When min wage goes to 15 dollars an hour full time waiter will earn close to 30 k a year in wages before tips
If they ring out $800-1000 a night which is average for a waiter they will earn an additional $120-160 a night
I did that 25 years ago and would make 100-150 min a night in tips and the avergage ticket meal was 12 dollars ,so that has to be the case now a days when a steak is 40 dollars
Really?????
why go to university get educated and try to lift yourself to a stronger paying careers when you can earn 75k as a waiter at earls
What a joke this country is now becoming socialist movement that is going to make people with little education or motivation live in the top tax brackets
And please don't tell me or anyone else a waiter should make 75k a year in wages
Jack - 8 years ago
A good cook should make more than the servers with his/her salary. This equality should be handled by the restaurant owner
Maria - 8 years ago
I don't think that a mandatory tip is appropriate.
It is my decision on how much of a tip I give on how the food was or how my server did.
Employees should be payed according to how well they do their job. It is not my responsibility to add to their wages.
I always tip very well for good service and good food.
I will no longer eat at this establishment any longer if the choice of how I choose to tip is taken away from me.
BBT - 8 years ago
I see all the comments are focused on the servers. I go to a restaurant for the food, not the lack of clothing the servers are wearing. Give the cooks some credit and pay them more. Without cooked food, there is no restaurant, let alone tips. If Earl's means what it says, set the cook's minimum wage at $25 per hour.
marty - 8 years ago
Not only is it inappropriate for any restaurant to mandate how much I tip, but we will now see the server hinting for a tip directly. It wont be long before the 16% is buried somewhere in the bill and we will be expected to tip on top of it all over again. Very clever marketing.
BBT - 8 years ago
Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Tim Hortons staff work much harder than those at Earl's, except Earl's servers wear shorter skirts. I think I'll skip Earl's, save the 16% and spend the money in a gentleman's club and get my money's worth.
Cecile - 8 years ago
Okay. People comment on the lazy servers and how they will benefit, just as the strong servers would or do. C'mon! Do you not think a resteraunt like that would keep the servers who could only handle two tables? ( maybe training! but unlikely! ) and really...on their phone? That's just dumb. That person won't last for very long.
You really see servers on their phone in the middle of the lunch rush or dinner rush? Doubt it.you can't just look and assume the negatives. But... I would think it could effect the servers out there that average 20-25% gratuity!
And yes they're are some that do. We also don't know the details and how their tip out system works at the time of a cash out. Hey.. I know if I'm a server on the floor with a 16% auto grat, I would be on my toes at all times! We all complain about poor service everywhere. Maybe this will change things!
Cexile - 8 years ago
Okay. People comment on the lazy servers and how they will benefit, just as the strong servers would or do. C'mon! Do you not think a resteraunt like that would keep the servers who could only handle two tables? ( maybe training! but unlikely! ) and really...on their phone? That's just dumb. That person won't last for very long.
You really see servers on their phone in the middle of the lunch rush or dinner rush? Doubt it.you can't just look and assume the negatives. But... I would think it could effect the servers out there that average 20-25% gratuity!
And yes they're are some that do. We also don't know the details and how their tip out system works at the time of a cash out. Hey.. I know if I'm a server on the floor with a 16% auto grat, I would be on my toes at all times! We all complain about poor service everywhere. Maybe this will change things!
BBT - 8 years ago
Sure it may work at the corporate owned Earls restaurants, but the privately owned Earl's restaurants are another story. The owners and restaurant managers skim the tips and leave peanuts for their serving, hosting and cooking staff. And yes, it is illegal but Earl's corporate turns a blind eye to the skimming because the privately owned restaurants provide corporate the required returns.
J - 8 years ago
I don't mind to pay and it is a good idea. BUT I don't want to pay if food is not good or get a lousy service from the server. I also don't want to pay tax on the top of tip amount.
Tammy - 8 years ago
Is it being divided equally? What about the server who is capable of taking 10 tables, compared to the server who is only able to handle 2 (for whatever reason) Are both those servers getting equal tips? What about the server who spends more time on their phone or gossiping than looking after the clients? Do they deserve the same as the server who is focused on their tables? This is a ridiculous policy! I tip for the service I receive, not what the restaurant determines is fair. As a server in the past, I worked hard and my tips reflected that. I worked with people who did nothing but complain about how little they made, If you work for the money you deserve to keep it. Any restaurant or bar that I have ever worked had a tip out policy to cover the back of house, a percentage based on sales.
Sherry - 8 years ago
The premise of a patrons tip is a thank you to exceptional service - nothing more. Restauranteurs forcing service tips to be divided amongst line cooks, etc. is utterly inappropriate. Compensation for staff should be derived by their wages (as their wage should already incorporate their certification and excellence in food preparation). If Earls isn't paying their cooks appropriately, it should not be subsidized by a hospitality fee or taken from tips; perhaps a review of their operational costs needs to be reviewed.
Patricia - 8 years ago
I think if it's poor service and poor food qualiry, I should not have to tip. If it's good service than its my decision to pay or not to pay. If I'm forced to pay a 16% hospitality fee, than I refuse to go or eat there.
P - 8 years ago
Why would a restaurant mandate me to how much I want to tip. I should be able to tip based on the kind of service I get and the quality of food. Restaurant owners should pay staff a fair wage and stop charging customers with mandatory fees. Earls not only took their beef business from Alberta but now they want to impose more payments from Calgarians? I wont eat at Earls anymore.
Tom Tullikopf - 8 years ago
This is just another tactic of Earl's marketing department to get free advertising and all the media outlets are taking the bait. Earl's will change policy in a couple of weeks and the media will be there to give them more free press. No company can tell me how to tip.
Sandra Rumbolt - 8 years ago
Waiters, cooks and waitresses should be paid more. Business is making money and should pay their employees a fair wage not minimum wage and then expect the public to top up the wage in tips. There are lots of service jobs and these employees are paid on their skills and tips are not expected. Only restaurants and bars expect tips. These people work hard and dealing with the public is not always easy and they should receive a wage matching their experience and skills same as every other industry. 16% tip on top of a bill will certainly determine if a person eats out or not, especially in today's economy.
Larry - 8 years ago
A tip is an expression of satisfaction and thanks for the quality of experience. That includes the service and character of the server. Poor food quality, presentation of the meal and service does not deserve a tip. We have all experienced that as well as the opposite. The "tip" is my choice. If it isn't the. Don't call it a tip.
Steve H - 8 years ago
I think earls are missing the mark on a lot of points. First was the Alberta beef scandal. And now the tipping at 16 %. Trying to squeeze that extract percent out of people. I have tipped at 20% for great service 15% typical and 10% if things were not good. Anything outside of 15% I will explain why. By having this a mandated tip I will not eat at earls anymore. Looks like they need new senior management.
JP - 8 years ago
If this is a mandatory charge don't make it separate, add it to the cost of food and pay the staff a higher base wage, or give the staff a bonus based on revenue. But do not force a tip, and to say it is to cover the kitchen staff is bull because most big chain restaurants have a tip pool anyways. I think this is all a test for higher prices for when the new minimum wage begins I will bet the staff won't get it after that!
Bev - 8 years ago
I refuse to pay a mandatory tip. Will not spend my dollars at any restaurant that adds the gratuity to my bill.
Barbara - 8 years ago
In many countries in Europe you do not tip. The cost if the meal in includes the tip. This way all the service staff is paid a good wage. I think we could try this in all of Alberta
So I am speaking on my wife's behalf too. She was a bartender/waitress/manager, tips are for good food and good service. A tip is not mandatory, an is idiotic if someone thinks it is. Most service sucks these days and the food is 50/50.
You don't like what I say, than you are probably a terrible waitress, and should find yourself another job. Your looks only last so long, go get a career that pays something better than minimum wage
I get the impression that most people consider tipping to be mandatory, regardless of service, I know that I do. I would prefer that the servers be given decent wages and have the cost of those wages be reflected in the price of the meal. Tipping and hospitality tax in my opinion are basically wage subsidies. Many other jobs as well do not receive a liveable wage. How about raising the minimum wage to a realistic level for all? Let's call a spade a spade, instead of,a wage subsidy a hospitality tax. If you are concerned that your level of service will falter, and situations arise that prove this so? Those employees should be looking for another occupation anyways. And if you do feel compelled to show your appreciation for exemplary service by way of a monetary tip, feel free to do so. And maybe consider stopping by your local Wal-mart, or many other retail outlets, and showing appreciation for many outstanding employees in many other job positions as well. They are all around you, just look, and even if your pockets don't allow , maybe the occasional verbal acknowledgement couldn't hurt. Bottom line is that people need to live, and not only those in the service industries. The cost of living is going up radically, but who's wages are? Increasing the minimum wage is not the end all for sure, but we have to start somewhere. Does anybody out there have an answer, please?
I won't go there. Earls can't seem to get it through their heads that doing these dumb things drives customers away. 1st they get rid of Canadian beef now this! A tip is for the service, I will not pay a mandatory tip. There are alot of other options out there, Earls won't be one of them!!
Completely opposed to this idea. I tip what/when I feel it is deserved. The sooner restraunts start paying their staff a proper wage the better. You do not tip in New Zealand & Australia - they don't expect the customer to subsidize low wages & it works! I can't see that Earl's could actually force you to pay the 16% - as some commenters have said - be upfront & increase your meal costs by 16% because that is what this actually is and see how well your business does!
I have a better idea. Why don't all Earl's employees get organized and former a union? Unionized companies force management to actually manage because they are forced to pay their employees living wages.....then they can do away with variable tips all together and instead raise their prices slightly to accommodate the living wage.
I will gladly frequent a restaurant that financially supports it's employees than one that pays it's employees tips after the restaurant management had taken their skim off the top of the tips first.
All privately owned Earl's restaurants do this that I've worked at, and it's illegal.
Clean up your message Earl's.
I am open to the idea of a gratuity being added to the bill, in place of tipping, but why 16%? Why not 10% or 12% or 15%? I have just been to some countries in Eastern Europe where all food and drinking establishments automatically added a gratuity charge (usually 10-15%). While it was nice not to have to figure out what would be an appropriate tip, the policy did not seem to have an influence on the service - sometimes it was great, sometimes it was awful, but mostly it was just okay.
Julie
being forced to leave a tip whether service and food was good or not, what a crock, they wont see me, if wages are so low that we need to be forced to leave a tip, perhaps they should pay workers more and cut into their profits not force me to subsidize their workers regardless of service, and people who work their know the wages when theykevin take the job, plenty of us work and do not get tips no matter how good the job
At a meal at Earl's Banff once and my wife and I waited 15 minutes after being seated before anyone even asked if we wanted a drink. I made sure I used my outside voice to say to my wife that we were down to 10% and would go down 1% for every minute after. Seconds later they came sniffing....but until then I wasn't worth the effort??
Sorry Earls. Your food is over-priced, your establishments are over-rated and the experience you expect me to now be "surcharged" for....COMPLETELY underwhelming.
Will do everything in my power to tell the public to not enter EARL'S. What a sad way to pay their employees. The public pays all of EARL'S wages. Obviously just a money grab.
No surprise when you look at what there idea of good service is
I always tip before my meal or coffee. Have ALWAYS received great service, but then again would never tip at EARL'S as I don't believe that earn one.
Was forced to have a meal there a couple years ago and only received poor service.
So EARL'S why should we enter your business when your restaurant is no different than any other.
Never believed in shared tips, quit one job because of it. If the waitresses want tips they should earn it, because they are willing to work for it. (Earning their own tips)
Bad practice for a business. Tired of pathetic service from girls who stand around socializing expecting tips because they think their cute.
Earl's lost me as a customer after the out-sourced beef... AND now this? All this does is force people to pay for mediocre service AND over-priced meals. Because the serving staff now knows no matter what kind of service they provide, they are getting a 16% tip anyway. Earl's is making the consumer pay their employees wages in many ways here. How about man-up and pay your own employees and give them a tip out of your over-priced food profits as an incentive to provide quality service and do their job? And yes it is their job! If they aren't happy with their pay, get educated and get a better paying job. I never get a tip for great service... sometimes not even a thank you and I still do the job because I chose this profession!!!
It will always be my choice to tip including the amount based on my overall dining experience. Another bad move by Earls in the service business.
At least the leftist socialists who usually work at this establishment would finally be forced to pay taxes on their forced gratuities and thus actually contribute to the society they make so many demands on.
As a consumer, I have encountered this 'model' a few times here in Edmonton; and it strikes me that there is only one flaw in the implementations I have seen. The flaw I see in the currently implemented model is the removal of the possibility for the customer to exercise his own volition as to whether a tip is to be paid. With the system as implemented at earls67 and other places I have encountered it, the customer is not given the choice of whether or not to tip. The only choice the customer has is whether or not to (ever) return to the establishment. IF he chooses never to come back, there is never any feedback to the establishment. If one is already dissatisfied with the encounter, the last thing most people would feel inclined to do is to take even more time to explain the issue to a manager (this was suggested in the news story by the manager of earls67). However, if there was also a checkbox as to whether or not the 'tip' is to be paid, then the customer would be able to exercise some choice. By making the 'tip/gratuity' compulsory, it moves from the category of a 'gratuity' to that of an 'overall price increase'. If a company is going to implement such a process, they should be required By Law to publish it prominently on all of their Menus and Signs so that the consuming public may include that consideration in choosing a place to go. One place I encountered it in Edmonton was a typical example of a place that if they didn't automatically put the tip on the bill, they wouldn't have got anything, as they totally screwed up the order. And the first indication was the 15% 'gratuity' on the bill. As we were the only group and customers in the restaurant, there can be no excuse for bad service except incompetence... Rather than stay and complain, we left (after paying the bill), but I am not going back there again...
Is this the same company that tried to replace Canadian Beef. If those Chief`s are so hot shot then pay them more let the server`s get the tip`s sound`s like another Dumm Yankee move.
Servers in Alberta do not have to be paid the minimum wage; and they struggle especially during times economy is slow., then they must share their tips with cooks, and door men etc. Is that even enough, 16% I won't eat out unless I can afford to tip, 30%
Hospitality employers should just pay their employees a decent wage. It is not my responsibility as a customer to pay for wages an employer should be paying. In Australia there is no tipping. Employers pay their employees a decent salary . North America could learn from the Australians. Service everywhere was awesome and friendly.. No extra taxes and no tipping.
I will never eat at this Franchise again. It is not my obligation to fulfill your managers duty! Pay your staff!
Tipping has been used as a wage replacement by employers not willing to pay people a living wage. So yes on the one hand, tipping gives incentive to improve service, but not necessarily respect for the job itself. People try hard, because they love their job and take pride in what they do. In North America the hospitality industry is scene as a means to an end, not a real profession.
I am a high tipper but that's only if I have great service if I have bad service I do not tip at all. It is not up to patrons to pay the rest of servers wages I tip according to the service I receive I will not eat at restaurants that decide how much I tip. Bad move earls
It is a mandatory 16% surcharge, not a discretionary gratuity. Let Earls change their menu prices by 16% and a notice "no tipping allowed"; then let their customers decide if Earls is their restaurant of choice. It will not be mine anymore with prices 16% higher than similar establishments. The argument that the surcharge will be equally distributed is a sign management do not have staff bought into a sharing model anyway.
Earl's lost me as a customer long ago.
The outsourced beef, and now the self-entitled tip is just a couple more nails in the coffin.
I will not be tempted to give them another chance.
A tip is a gratuitous present - I think this forceful tip is an act of ingrates.
rampant culture of self-entitlement in the business world.
I would like to reply to Cecile... Open your eyes when you go out. You will begin to notice that there are servers that work much harder than others, if a server is already sure they will be getting a tip there is no incentive to improve on service. There are many absentee owners in the industry and managers have their favorites, as in any business, so the truly lazy still have jobs.
I do not agree with every server getting a tip, they need to work for it! Putting a mandatory gratuity on a bill is not the answer for the consumer, they need to decide with personal choice (and yes there are people who do not believe in tipping) and the level of service. Pay the back of house a higher wage if they are not being treated fairly, because they do work very hard, but it still should be the choice of the consumer, not the business.
SO if I get crappy service, I STILL have to pay 16% no matter what? Sorry Earl's, I have left 2 CENT tips for shite service before from one of your locations. Tipping is MY OPTION based on MY perception of the service/server. First it was the outsourced Beef, and now this?? You have lost another customer.
I don't feel that it is right for me to be told that 16% gratuity is required in place of a tip. Giving a tip is my choice. To me this is inappropriate. I will not be eating at your restaurant again if this comes into effect.
It seems to me that a potential tip is incentive for good service. Removing that to give everyone an automatic cut no matter what could lower quality of service. It's similar to everyone getting a trophy. In Australia minimum wage is $17.29/hr, and tips are not mandatory and are considered a bonus.
Being in the industry for a long time I believe that it will hurt the great servers and reward the weak ones. I typically leave 20% as a standard. My question is if someone orders a bottle of wine for 100 a btl are they still tipping the 16% I'm sorry but when you have a item that is marked up min. 100% forcing a grat is unacceptable and will end up costing Earls business. That's just my opinion. I will still go as I think 9/10 the service is great and so is the food! Good luck
All these so called restaurants and bars should not be relying on me to top up your employee wages, instead quit being so greedy with your profits and pay your staff better wages. Tipping is an optional extra, NOT a forced extra. Wont eat anywhere that tipping is mandatory
Fire the management that is making these2 decisions.get real ,put a price on your menu and pay your employees yourself.i thought your beef idea was stupid but you have outdone yourselves
I guess Earls is bound and determined to lose business?!? First out sourcing beef, now this!
Know your customer Earls! Imposing a mandatory tip is ludicrous at a time when we as Albertans are in an economic downfall. Cashing in on the stampede?? Way to alienate your customer, was it ever considered that perhaps some of your consumers went to the stampede on a budget? And won't be eating at your establishment because of the forced tip? I for one WAS willing to give Earls another chance after the whole out sourcing beef....but after this?? Not a chance
I refuse.
I'd rather tip what I thought the food and service was worth. or have an option to "TIP kitchen" and "tip wait staff"
I won't be forced to pay 16% extra if my food/service sucks
When min wage goes to 15 dollars an hour full time waiter will earn close to 30 k a year in wages before tips
If they ring out $800-1000 a night which is average for a waiter they will earn an additional $120-160 a night
I did that 25 years ago and would make 100-150 min a night in tips and the avergage ticket meal was 12 dollars ,so that has to be the case now a days when a steak is 40 dollars
Really?????
why go to university get educated and try to lift yourself to a stronger paying careers when you can earn 75k as a waiter at earls
What a joke this country is now becoming socialist movement that is going to make people with little education or motivation live in the top tax brackets
And please don't tell me or anyone else a waiter should make 75k a year in wages
A good cook should make more than the servers with his/her salary. This equality should be handled by the restaurant owner
I don't think that a mandatory tip is appropriate.
It is my decision on how much of a tip I give on how the food was or how my server did.
Employees should be payed according to how well they do their job. It is not my responsibility to add to their wages.
I always tip very well for good service and good food.
I will no longer eat at this establishment any longer if the choice of how I choose to tip is taken away from me.
I see all the comments are focused on the servers. I go to a restaurant for the food, not the lack of clothing the servers are wearing. Give the cooks some credit and pay them more. Without cooked food, there is no restaurant, let alone tips. If Earl's means what it says, set the cook's minimum wage at $25 per hour.
Not only is it inappropriate for any restaurant to mandate how much I tip, but we will now see the server hinting for a tip directly. It wont be long before the 16% is buried somewhere in the bill and we will be expected to tip on top of it all over again. Very clever marketing.
Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Tim Hortons staff work much harder than those at Earl's, except Earl's servers wear shorter skirts. I think I'll skip Earl's, save the 16% and spend the money in a gentleman's club and get my money's worth.
Okay. People comment on the lazy servers and how they will benefit, just as the strong servers would or do. C'mon! Do you not think a resteraunt like that would keep the servers who could only handle two tables? ( maybe training! but unlikely! ) and really...on their phone? That's just dumb. That person won't last for very long.
You really see servers on their phone in the middle of the lunch rush or dinner rush? Doubt it.you can't just look and assume the negatives. But... I would think it could effect the servers out there that average 20-25% gratuity!
And yes they're are some that do. We also don't know the details and how their tip out system works at the time of a cash out. Hey.. I know if I'm a server on the floor with a 16% auto grat, I would be on my toes at all times! We all complain about poor service everywhere. Maybe this will change things!
Okay. People comment on the lazy servers and how they will benefit, just as the strong servers would or do. C'mon! Do you not think a resteraunt like that would keep the servers who could only handle two tables? ( maybe training! but unlikely! ) and really...on their phone? That's just dumb. That person won't last for very long.
You really see servers on their phone in the middle of the lunch rush or dinner rush? Doubt it.you can't just look and assume the negatives. But... I would think it could effect the servers out there that average 20-25% gratuity!
And yes they're are some that do. We also don't know the details and how their tip out system works at the time of a cash out. Hey.. I know if I'm a server on the floor with a 16% auto grat, I would be on my toes at all times! We all complain about poor service everywhere. Maybe this will change things!
Sure it may work at the corporate owned Earls restaurants, but the privately owned Earl's restaurants are another story. The owners and restaurant managers skim the tips and leave peanuts for their serving, hosting and cooking staff. And yes, it is illegal but Earl's corporate turns a blind eye to the skimming because the privately owned restaurants provide corporate the required returns.
I don't mind to pay and it is a good idea. BUT I don't want to pay if food is not good or get a lousy service from the server. I also don't want to pay tax on the top of tip amount.
Is it being divided equally? What about the server who is capable of taking 10 tables, compared to the server who is only able to handle 2 (for whatever reason) Are both those servers getting equal tips? What about the server who spends more time on their phone or gossiping than looking after the clients? Do they deserve the same as the server who is focused on their tables? This is a ridiculous policy! I tip for the service I receive, not what the restaurant determines is fair. As a server in the past, I worked hard and my tips reflected that. I worked with people who did nothing but complain about how little they made, If you work for the money you deserve to keep it. Any restaurant or bar that I have ever worked had a tip out policy to cover the back of house, a percentage based on sales.
The premise of a patrons tip is a thank you to exceptional service - nothing more. Restauranteurs forcing service tips to be divided amongst line cooks, etc. is utterly inappropriate. Compensation for staff should be derived by their wages (as their wage should already incorporate their certification and excellence in food preparation). If Earls isn't paying their cooks appropriately, it should not be subsidized by a hospitality fee or taken from tips; perhaps a review of their operational costs needs to be reviewed.
I think if it's poor service and poor food qualiry, I should not have to tip. If it's good service than its my decision to pay or not to pay. If I'm forced to pay a 16% hospitality fee, than I refuse to go or eat there.
Why would a restaurant mandate me to how much I want to tip. I should be able to tip based on the kind of service I get and the quality of food. Restaurant owners should pay staff a fair wage and stop charging customers with mandatory fees. Earls not only took their beef business from Alberta but now they want to impose more payments from Calgarians? I wont eat at Earls anymore.
This is just another tactic of Earl's marketing department to get free advertising and all the media outlets are taking the bait. Earl's will change policy in a couple of weeks and the media will be there to give them more free press. No company can tell me how to tip.
Waiters, cooks and waitresses should be paid more. Business is making money and should pay their employees a fair wage not minimum wage and then expect the public to top up the wage in tips. There are lots of service jobs and these employees are paid on their skills and tips are not expected. Only restaurants and bars expect tips. These people work hard and dealing with the public is not always easy and they should receive a wage matching their experience and skills same as every other industry. 16% tip on top of a bill will certainly determine if a person eats out or not, especially in today's economy.
A tip is an expression of satisfaction and thanks for the quality of experience. That includes the service and character of the server. Poor food quality, presentation of the meal and service does not deserve a tip. We have all experienced that as well as the opposite. The "tip" is my choice. If it isn't the. Don't call it a tip.
I think earls are missing the mark on a lot of points. First was the Alberta beef scandal. And now the tipping at 16 %. Trying to squeeze that extract percent out of people. I have tipped at 20% for great service 15% typical and 10% if things were not good. Anything outside of 15% I will explain why. By having this a mandated tip I will not eat at earls anymore. Looks like they need new senior management.
If this is a mandatory charge don't make it separate, add it to the cost of food and pay the staff a higher base wage, or give the staff a bonus based on revenue. But do not force a tip, and to say it is to cover the kitchen staff is bull because most big chain restaurants have a tip pool anyways. I think this is all a test for higher prices for when the new minimum wage begins I will bet the staff won't get it after that!
I refuse to pay a mandatory tip. Will not spend my dollars at any restaurant that adds the gratuity to my bill.
In many countries in Europe you do not tip. The cost if the meal in includes the tip. This way all the service staff is paid a good wage. I think we could try this in all of Alberta