A London pub has now added a four per cent ‘optional charge’ to any drinks customers order at the bar.
Patrons at The Well and Boot located in Waterloo station have encountered an automatic fee, applicable to all food and beverages, as reported by The Telegraph.
The boozer, which is owned by hospitality firm Glendola Leisure, has a small sign on the bar informing customers of the service charge.
It notes, ‘100 per cent of all tips go to our staff’ – and, in another blow, that the venue is cashless, accepting card and contactless only.
Cash acceptance advocate Martin Quinn remarked: ‘It makes sense if you’re receiving table service, but not when you’re ordering at the bar.’
‘Where’s the service in that?’
During his visit to the pub, Mr. Quinn purchased a half pint of cider for £3.90, roughly 15p more than the menu price due to the surcharge, which he settled.
This could serve as a significant revenue source for the establishment in the bustling London station, where over 60 million people pass yearly.
A London pub has now begun implementing a four percent ‘optional charge’ on any drinks ordered at the bar. Pictured: A sign advertising the bar service charge in the pub.
Patrons at The Well and Boot in Waterloo station (illustrated in a file photo) are now subject to an automatic fee, applicable to all food and drink.
It notes, ‘100 per cent of all tips go to our staff’ – and, in another blow, that the venue is cashless, accepting card and contactless only. Pictured: File photo
Pubs and restaurants normally add a service charge of roughly 12.5 per cent to the bill for customers seated at a table and attended to by a waiter.
It means extra tipping on top of this is not usually expected in the UK – in contrast with the US and some other European countries.
But sadly, conventions are changing, consumer expert Martyn James said, as he is seeing more and more a service charge on drinks bought at the bar in pubs.
He called it ‘insidious’, adding there are few regulations to stop it, with the only real definitive rule on tipping being that the house is not supposed to keep tips.
And signs advertising a bar service charge can sometimes be hard to spot, with news of the levy often written in small print.
Mr James reminded punters it is optional, recognising they might feel too awkward to say no to it as it goes against ‘our British sensibilities’.
At The Well and Boot, an Aspall cider or Guinness sets you back £7.45 – while customers have to cough up £7.65 for a pint of Camden IPA.
A glass of sauvignon blanc costs £8.50 while cocktails come in at £12.50 apiece.
Pubs and restaurants normally add a service charge of roughly 12.5 per cent to the bill for customers seated at a table and attended to by a waiter. Pictured: File photo
Prices look only set to rise further, with ballooning overheads for licenced venues expected to see the cost of the average pint in the UK rise to £5.
Things look even worse in London, where the standard price of a pint is set to bed in at £7.
It is a marked increase even on March this year, when the average pint cost £4.80 across the country and £6.75 in the capital.
Struggling venues have taken increasingly extreme measures to stay afloat, with one major pub chain increasing the pint of 15p after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s tax raid.
Fuller’s said in June the rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) from last October’s Budget and the higher minimum wage from April has left the firm badly hit.
The Chiswick-based company – which has 5,500 staff members – warned back in November last year the financial measures would cause the price of its pints to rise.
It came after hospitality bosses warned in April the industry faces a £3.4billion hit over the next year from the measures in the autumn Budget.
Rises in the national minimum wage and employer NICs, and cuts to business rate relief announced last October all kicked in during the first week of April.
Struggling venues have taken increasingly extreme measures to stay afloat, with one major pub chain increasing the pint of 15p after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s tax raid. Pictured: Ms Reeves displaying the red budget briefcase last October
The triple-whammy means individual businesses face tens of thousands of pounds in extra costs – and prices have already soared in pubs, restaurants and hotels.
UK Hospitality – representing 130,000 venues – has said across the sector, the minimum wage rise will add a £1.9billion burden.
It added an extra £1billion will have to be paid in NICs after the tax was expanded to take in more part-time workers.
Meanwhile, a further £500million of costs will come from business rate relief being lowered from 75 per cent to 40 per cent.
The Institute of Directors also revealed business leaders are ‘highly concerned’ about the extra costs – with a monthly study of bosses’ confidence showing levels as low as during the pandemic.
Glendola Leisure was approached for comment.
