Recently, I took one of my twin boys to his first concert in downtown Nashville. As part of the pre-show festivities, I asked him to pick any restaurant in which to dine. Being the seafood lover that he is, he chose Joe’s Crab Shack and over the course of 90 minutes, we ate clams, snow crab, shrimp, and even a little bit of lobster. Most importantly, neither one of us looked at our phones which allowed us to truly connect – which is challenging for a father and a 14-year-old boy.
My smile retreated slightly after I received the check. As I pulled out my credit card I noticed a line item that stated “18% gratuity.” Even more interesting, there was a blank line below for an “additional tip.”
Knowing that automatic gratuity is usually added for larger groups to help ensure that the server is properly compensated, I looked at the bottom of the check and read the following:
“For your convenience, 18% gratuity has been added to your check.”
As I read this, two thoughts immediately flooded my head:
1) I’m quite capable of calculating my own tip based on the service provided
2) Automatically adding the gratuity for “my convenience” was a lie. It was solely for the benefit of the restaurant and server.
How many times in our own businesses do we make decisions or implement policies proclaiming that they are done for the benefit of the customer when the reality is they are self-serving? For example, many distributors will quote a fully landed price on a product under the guise of simplicity so the inflated cost of shipping can be hidden and potentially increase profit. It’s a policy that may make sense, but it’s also a policy that really only serves the distributor.
In business, one of the keys to fostering long lasting relationships is transparency. People may not like specific policies or decisions, but when they are carried out openly and honestly, they will be accepted.
I really don’t mind that the 18% gratuity was added to my bill; I just didn’t care for the lie of “my convenience” that came along with it. Typically, I tip 20% of the bill but the fact that my intelligence was insulted ended up costing the waitress the additional 2%. That probably wasn’t fair to the waitress, but I reacted emotionally to how the policy was packaged to me and I doubt I’m the only one.
My sense is the policy at this particular Joe’s Crab Shack was implemented due to the fact too many patrons didn’t tip appropriately – and I understand that. Assuming that was the case, the restaurant shouldn’t soft shoe it; simply implement the policy and move on. Telling the customer that the policy was for their convenience, however, is completely disingenuous and unnecessary.
If a policy is implemented that is truly for the benefit of the client, shout it from the highest rooftop. If, however, a necessary policy is implemented that is solely for the benefit of the organization or employees, put it in place and don’t mask it as client-friendly.
Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 17 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. In 2014, he launched brandivate – the first executive outsourcing company solely focused on helping small and medium sized-promotional products enterprises responsibly grow their business. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, developing operational policies and procedures, creating and developing winning RFP responses, and presenting winning promotional products solutions to Fortune 500 clients. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.