British restaurants need a common standard for service charges, said the publisher of the AA Restaurant Guide this week after it branded current practices as
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Most London restaurants surveyed
add an automatic charge to the bill
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"inconsistent" and "confusing".
A survey of the 1,800 entries in the new 2005 guide found that, while 63% of restaurants treated the service charge as optional and did not automatically add it to the bill, 18% did.
"Many establishments automatically add a service charge to the bill, but tell the customer it is optional," said Albert Hampson, business manager of AA Hotel Services. "Diners find it hard to complain, and once a charge is on the bill many prefer just to pay up and not make a fuss."
This approach was favoured by London restaurants, where 62% added charges of 10-15%. In contrast, only 3% of restaurants in Scotland, 4% in Wales and none in Northern Ireland automatically added a service charge.
Another 19% of restaurants included service in the price on the menu, most commonly in the Republic of Ireland (32%), followed by Wales (28%) and England (20%).
Hampson argued that a standard approach would "provide clarity and transparency for the customer and present the industry in a better light".
"Everybody would love to have a common approach, but nobody knows how to do it," commented Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association.
Past attempts had failed, he said, because different restaurant formats dictated different approaches. For example, tip giving was commoner in restaurants offering table service than in those where customers pay as they order.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 30 September 2004