Pizza Hut rips off families with a lot of children

It says on the menu, actually. Parties of 8 or more=15% gratuity. Yeah
yeah they're young kids blah blah, bt if you've ever been a server,
you know they are the worse to clean up after. Don't take a big family
in and expect to not be charged. If you want to save money ask for a
2liter or water. No need to give kids all soda. Most servers will be
happy to give you a 2liter....much quicker and easier.

Tipping became added when people became morons. 7+ kids =
hassle...stay home and cook!!

Maybe it's different in different parts of the world... (I am in
Canada) but when did tipping become mandatory?

I've read two things here... one its part of the servers wages.... or
two its for the service. That's B.S., the server is paid wages by
their employer, if they are not enough then maybe a job change is in
order. And paying for the service is built in to the price of what
your ordering - thats the whole point of going to a restaurant.

If a server wants a tip, then they need to earn it. Provide
exceptional customer service, smile, be friendly, refill drinks,
anticipate the customers needs and provide service with a smile.

That's how you earn a tip.

Should we be tipping our doctors, or cashiers in the grocery store?
NO! they provide a service and they are paid by their wages.

Now I understand some cruise lines, and resorts and high end
restaurants have mandatory gratuity policies. Which is clearly stated
upon booking or reserving. But PIZZA HUT? thats not high end and
they enforce and double dip on a gratuity policy? That's asinine!

I am not saying don't tip. I tip when i recieve exceptional service.
and usually around 25 - 30 %. and lastly when it is deserved.

when did we become a society that feels we are owed a gratuity for
providing service that is our job description.

I run a daycare, can you imagine what a parent would say if i said
"well, your child had a bad day but i handled them very well, so
today I want a 15% more for pay" I'll tell you what would happen.
The parent would find a new daycare.

so in MHO PIZZA HUT Sucks! and a letter to the editor(s) of your
local paper and a copy to Pizza Hut location may go a long way in
changing your experience as well as changing others.

Good Luck!

I can't believe this policy isn't posted on the wall or printed on the
menu of the Pizza Hut you visited. But failing that, didn't you read
your credit card slip and notice something was seriously amiss about
the price of your ONE PRICE PACKAGE DEAL family dinner before signing
it, since you admittedly calculated a 15% gratuity to be added to the
"erroneous" amount?

While a "stupid pizza service" isn't the Ritz, it is still a place
(unlike a buffet where you'd get less personal service and therefore
tip less) where one expects full table service, so there arises the
question of whether to tip a standard gratuity.

I don't know what the case is in all states, but here state law allows
employers to pay significantly less than the minimum hourly wage to
restaurant servers on the presumption that tips earned will constitute
the larger share of the wages. I suppose tips could be eliminated
altogether from restaurant and bartending work and the minimum wage
paid, in which case diners would seen the mandatory increase passed
along in the cost of dining out. But until then...

Unfortunately, many diners are cheap, and they stiff even the most
attentive wait-servers. It's easy to walk out, tra-la, on a stranger.
Heck, they stiff each other, as anyone left holding the group check
for a multi-party lunch will tell you, since this person frequently is
left to pay for both the tip and the taxes.

Waitstaff does rely upon tips, but unfortunately they cannot rely upon
you. Large parties are messy and often demanding, whether children or
adults. I don't know why your server didn't do a better job of
attending your party, but don't those package deals also come with a
finite number of pitchers of drinks you're supposed to pour for
yourself as part of the pricing deal? Duh, and I'll bet it took more
than one trip to bring pizzas and drinks and all of the accompaniments
for eight to your table, as well as more than one trip to clean it up.
So what else did you want with the pizza deal?

Lady, you might have overpaid for reason(s) that are your own fault,
and you might have gotten mediocre service for the 15% they demanded,
but Pizza Hut did not rip you off.

I totally see the issue with having 15% added for a family of 8
(mostly toddlers). If it were 6 teenagers, I would say you don't have
much to complain about. But toddlers? Come on!
I also agree with another responder who brought up the question as to
why you tipped (an additional) 15% for such "poor service"?

A party of 8 is still a party of 8. Unless your children are the most
angelic and well-behaved beings ever born, the servers had 8 (or more)
plates, glasses, silverware, etc to clean up, not to mention the
assorted detritus that springs up around large parties. Maybe more,
since small children are not known for being epicurean diners.

Think of that extra 15% as a lesson on always checking your bill and
the small print.

I'm wondering why would you tip 15% the server didn't even refill your
drinks, just put the pizza down and left, never to return.

Most people in the situation that you described, would have tipped
much lower than 15% (If I had gotten the service that you described, I
would have probably tipped $1, and I am a former waitress.)

What I am thinking is NOT that you got charged double for the tip. But
that you were charged for a tip because of the size of your family
automatically. And since said server realized this, they didn't do
anything because they got a tip of 15% anyways. (When I was a waitress
I saw some of my coworkers taking advantage of this)

Hmmm...the restaurant I work at charges 18% for parties of 8 or
more...ADULTS. I wouldn't add gratuity to your party, since it was
mostly children. And I work at a full-service sit down restaurant, and
I agree that you don't get that kind of service at Pizza Hut!
You SHOULD have checked your bill before adding 15% yourself (which is
appropriate by the way, and shows that you aren't a cheapskate), but
with all those kids...well sometimes you forget.

I think you should have called the store manager right away when you
noticed this. He would have been able to fix it. Unfortuanately, I'm
sure by this time the server has already claimed the tip on their
taxes, etc., so I'd hate to see that money be taken back from them. I
hope that if you get refunded the store sucks it up and pays you back
from their own profit.And now you have learned to always check your
bill before you hand over your credit card!

Personally I do not agree with the concept of automatically charging a
tip. I was at a restaurant in Dearborn MI a couple years ago where
they automatically charged a 20% tip, and you had to beg to get a
refill, to which I actually had someone say "What do I care? I've
already got my tip..." Personally, I would like to see restaurants
pay their employees better, so that they don't have to rely so heavily
on tips for their income.

Restaurants started doing that "15% automatic on party of 8" to cover
their tails, because if an employee does not make enough in tips to be
equivalent to minimum wage, they have to pay the difference out of
their own pocket. They came up with this automatic tip thing so they
wouldn't have to make up as much. So, in effect, restaurants have
decided to start sticking it to their patrons, which is a rather
disgusting act, if you ask me.

I do see one problem, however, with your request to use DISCRETION
(not disgression) on certain parties. If they don't automatically
charge the tip to a family full of children, and then charge it
automatically to a different age group, let's say senior citizens,
they have a potential lawsuit on their hands. Or worse yet, what if
they use DISCRETION and don't automatically charge a white group the
tip, but automatically charge the black group. And let's be honest,
little kids can be messy. Would you want to clean up after a bunch of
little kids and not be guaranteed your tip? There is more to service
than just getting your pizza and drinks. They have to clean the table
up after you leave, and I doubt Pizza Hut has someone specifically on
the payroll to bus tables. My Pizza Hut doesn't anyway, but that is in
Toledo.

If they use discretion on the tip, they're opening themselves up to
lawsuit.

Personally, I think we should raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per
hour, without the exception for servers, and then they wouldn't have
to rely on tips. This way, restaurants could stop playing games like
this (or at least they would lose the excuse to.) In the meantime, not
to make light of your situation, but you could always move to Europe
where tipping is not commonplace anymore, and is NEVER required...

Good for you for being a foster mom...more people should selflessly
donate of themselves like you have. You are a wonderful person.

However, most menus will specify that gratuity is added to parties of
8 or more. You should have read the menu. You are not entitled to
have your credit card refunded, either. How would you like it if you
or your husband went to work next week and the boss said, "Sorry, we
overpaid you for last week...we are going to have to take that money
back now." That happened to me one time. A lady called and said she
didn't realize the tip was already included in the bill and demanded
her money back. This was a week later and I had to give $30 to her
out of my own pocket. You live and learn...I'm sure you made that
waiter's day.

It isn't strange that they charge a tip for parties over 8 people.
Hate when the tip is always included. At a Johnny Rockets we paid a
15% tip for one meal and two drinks. Tips are a reward for good
service, what is the service had been poor?

It was probably stated on the menu or in a sign that a gratuity
charge was added for groups over X#.
I fully understand why a server would add it on to a large family
group with many small children.
For some reason, families are more apt to leave little or no tip. The
bigger the family, the less the tip.
My coworkers and I have discussed this many times, and the prevailing
theory is that they can't afford to go out to eat AND tip.
Anyway, there was probably signage, and you should have paid closer
attention to the bill.

What's "disgression"?

I do agree that your extra 15% should be refunded.
However, it was as much a mistake on your part for not reading the
credit slip before you signed it.

One thing I always do when I dine out is I read all the smaller print
on the menu you know, at the bottom and on the back page, etc. If a
tip is going to be automatic it's generally listed somewhere on the
menu.

I have children and sorry but the rules apply to everyone whether you
have kids or not. Having children doesn't entitle you to special
treatment.

They have no right to charge you a 15% gratuity fee without informing
you when you made your order. From your letter it looks like they had
not informed you. I can understand why you would be upset about this.

I understand automatic gratuities at REGULAR restaurants (as opposed
to irregular ;) restaurants, such as pizza places). AT a regular
restaurant, eight people means eight orders, eight plates (or more),
meaning extra trips to the table. But a large family at a pizza place
shouldn't have to pay an automatic tip at all.

I agree with the person who said this might be a local policy. It's
just different with pizza places: They give you your pops, your
pizza, and their work is done until you leave (most pizza places seem
to have customer refill stations for beverages).

But huh? six foster kids 5 and under? Kids that little are taken
from their birth parents only for the most DIRE of circumstances.
You're a frickin' saint. AND you took them out for pizza? You sound
like a great mom. I hope the kids have wonderful memories of the
foster parents who took them out for pizza.

I'm not religious, but my goodness, I hope God looks out for you and
your husband and child, and those little ones. Your child is likely
gaining an amazing sense of compassion and "there but for the grace of
God go I." None of us chose our parents, so most of us are lucky
that, well, we got who we got (my parents were/are greate).

Best of luck to you. I hope Pizza Hut sends some coupons for free 'za
for your large family!!

Did you contact the manager of this store to correct the fact that you
added an extra 15%? If not then you should....maybe it was a bunch of
teenagers working and didn't comprehend the fact that you had already
added 15%..? I also wanted to say HURRAY to you for being a foster
mom..... YOU deserve tips for that!!
Also...would you mind emailing me?
kirstenaue@netscape.net

some "stupid pizza service"? dont go there then... if u were to go to
a restaurant and they charged you but the waiter/ess hardly did
anything.. would you have bitched about that? DEAL

I'd like to add something, that others may have overlooked.

Kudos to you for being a foster mom. We need more families like
yourself to help our nation's struggling system.

The gratuity charge when the party consists of numerous individuals
who may or may not discuss the total bill and tip appropriately is
necessary to protect the interest of those serving the party.
However, when it is clearly a family (as in this case) in which one of
two responsible adults will be paying the bill and will, hopefully,
make an appropriate tip, it is ridiculous that they would charge a set
gratuity.

More concerning is the fact that they did not tell you they were going
to charge a set gratuity - had you known, you might have left it as it
was equal to what you would have tipped anyway. But 30% is excessive,
and I imagine in a family of 8, money is a precious commodity.

I hope that Pizza Hut responds to your complaint, and that the
management of this branch specifically will be addressed.

I agree that the charge should have been stated up front. I would
check to make sure it isn't listed on the menu somewhere. I have been
to restaurants that say "A 15% gratuity will be added to the bill for
parties of xx or larger", or sometimes, they go by the amount of the
bill, and say they'll add the gratuity if the bill reaches a certain
amount.

Having worked at Pizza Hut in the past as a waitress, cook, and shift
supervisor, I can tell you Pizza Hut customers don't always tip well
at all.

And my final questions to the original poster:

1) Didn't you check your bill before you put it on your credit card?
If so, wouldn't you have noticed the amount (which included the 15%
they added) was kind of high? They would not have given you your bill
without that 15% added on, then ran your charge through, then added it
afterwards, that would be illegal. If you didn't check your bill
cloesly enough before adding another 15%, that's partly your fault.
And if the service wasn't that great, why add your own 15% at all?

i dont know about this particular store but the one my husband works
at and all others ive been to have a plaque on the wall near the front
doors stating this charge. pizza huts here have been doing this for
years.

basically it goes hand in hand with people stiffing the
waitresses/waiters out of tips, breaking the bill up into seperate
bills and the mess a larger party makes. having my husband work for
pizza hut as a delivery driver, waiter and manager i see no issue with
this charge, as long as it is stated upfront. whether it be told by
the staff or posted (which is the case most of the time). on that
note, the 15% tip they added is a completely optional charge. at
least here it is. i definatly hope you get some sort of reimbursement
for that.

maybe you should rewrite your letter. i dont see how the ages of the
children are needed, only goes towards the mess issue. also use of
the term "stupid pizza service" is childish in itself and totally not
needed.

The first thing I would have left out of your letter, Sheryl, is the
line "We refuse to pay 30% for some stupid pizza service." You don't
have the ability to refuse payment at this time, so I wouldn't have
worded it as such. And saying "stupid pizza service" sounds poor at
best. You admit you thought the service was good enough to tip the
15%.

The other part of your letter that does not make sense is stating that
you were not told, but then suggesting that they should not
automatically charge a gratuity when the party is a bunch of kids.
Does this mean that there was a notice that parties of xx or more will
be automatically charged a 15% gratuity? If so, then you would have
been told. Correct? And why wouldn't you automatically charge, in
this case, for "a bunch of little kids"? I would think children would
be worse to deal with then a party of adults.

I, personally, do not agree with the concept of automatically charging
for a "gratuity". Therefore, I avoid any place that does.

I agree with you. There should be no gratuity on a bill. Maybe it got
started because of people stiffing waitresses and waiters who deserved
it. Still, it's not right.

That must be a local store policy, because I have been to Pizza Hut
many times with large groups and have never been charged a gratuity.
We even had some birthday parties there with no extra charge.

You're right, they really don't cater too much to the customer at
Pizza Hut, as it usually isn't necessary. It's too bad you didn't
notice the gratuity before you paid the bill. Maybe they'll send you
some coupons.

As a foster Mom, I want to say thanks, Mr. Mafia, for pointing out
that side of the situation.
Sure, the food could be ordered in, but sometimes, going out to eat is
a treat that these kids don't get very often.
Sheryl, it's unfortunate that you didn't read through the bill
carefully, or see the sign advising you of the automatic gratuity.
Again, as a foster mom, I know that budgeting is very important, in
order to make the dollars stretch.
A 30% gratuity is extreme, and I know you were upset, but your letter
was still very poorly worded.
It demeans the waiting staff to say "stupid pizza service".

It would be nice if they did send you some coupons to make up for the
situation, but if not, then I guess it needs to be chalked up to a
lesson learned.