New Steak House in Town

[Dave Hounddriver]

On 5/15/2016 at 5:15 PM, Dave Hounddriver said:

it would only change if people stopped going to places that add a mandatory service charge.  I can tell you that I cut my visits to such places by about half what I would if there were no such policy but I still go to them if I like the food, ambiance and service.  I also notice that places which add a mandatory service charge are often quite busy which leads me to believe they do it simply because they can get away with it.

And here is something decidedly different.  Question:  Is it good or bad and do you now leave a tip?

Shakeys Pizza at Robinson's Mall in Dumaguete:  Until just recently they added 15% service charge to the bill.  Yesterday I saw a sign as I walked in "NO SERVICE CHARGE" and thought that was a nice change.

We sat down to order the same thing we always do, a large manager's special with hand tossed crust and a pitcher of Coke.  First thing I noted:  The pizza is now 499 which is up from 425 before the "no service charge" and the total bill is 692 which is up about 30 pesos from our past visits when there used to be a service charge added.

So did Shakeys do a good thing?  And now that there is no service charge it answers the question of who was getting that 15% before.  Obviously the boss.  So now are we supposed to tip more?  Want my answer?  I used to give a 20 peso tip before and I give a 20 peso tip now and the service has not changed.  Hard to complain about the service when there isn't any.  But the still come to the table when "Y" hollers out "MISS . .  BILL NA LANG"

[davewe]

On 5/17/2016 at 5:02 AM, Sander Martin said:

Well said mate, well said! The thing with alot of the Americans (no offence guys) is that they forget where they are. You have to act accordingly. Now if you want to give a 10-20% tip, then its your free will. Its not a custome here and i think most of the tip you give will not end up to the people it was intended to here. When i am in the US, i will give atleast a 10% if the service was good. I know that the majority of their wage comes from tips. We are not in the US right now guys.

A story about one of my best friends (I fixed him up with his Pinay wife) and I am sure it is about some of us Americans in general, though not me, since I am fundamentally cheap The 1st time he was in the Philippines meeting the wife to be he got the money confused (we've all done that) and accidentally left a 1k peso tip. The next day they returned to the same hotel restaurant and everyone, including the manager practically tackled them to give them service. Another 1k tip was given and now my buddy thinks he owns the Philippines 

They are in PI right now on vacation and my friend made a bit of a show on Facebook about the great service they get by wildly over-tipping. We like him but my wife laughs at these antics. He genuinely believes he gets great service based on this behavior. My wife and I often go to the same places when we are in the Philippines. They always remember us and give good service, despite my 20-50p tips.

Edited September 22, 2016 by davewe

[Gerald Glatt]

To my cheap freinds, as my brother stated if they talk funny they leave no money, meaning European and Australian. If I am able I leave more then 20 percent.  If I can't I will apologize to the server.  Silly me I do this even though I know I won't be back soon, consider this the cost of dinning out.  It makes me feel good to make someone's day