TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Service charges at restaurants. Please clarify?

Anymore I don't spend that much time worrying over things like this. I just dispute the all charge when I pay the statement then let the place worry about trying to get paid. Then maybe the will learn.

SXM??? Wendell

I hear you and I agree with you. It is very unpleasant and I hate being gouged by businesses.

I was born and raised in France so I know the Law there and I don't buy the BS given to me by some restaurants in SXM, Sol & Luna being one of them.

It is a shame because the food and service at Sol & Luna was excellent but this behavior left a very bad taste in our mouth.
Consequently, this year, we didn't return, although there's a new owner, and we went to Ocean 82 instead.

I posted a couple of weeks ago that early February, Pineapple Pete told me, after I asked specifically the question, that service was included in their bill although they are on the Dutch side. Is it because I spoke in French with the manager who is from Quebec?Apparently other people who went to Pineapple Pete were told something different.
It don't understand why it is so difficult for these businesses to have a very clear policy regarding service/gratuity and apply it consistently with all customers.
They should know that nowadays, it is very easy for people to post stuff on social medias, and it doesn't take long to seriously damage a reputation. Oh well, it's their problem, not mine.

Heaven knows this topic has been about beaten to death but I'm not sure why, on the Dutch side at PPs or anywhere else, would you NOT know the charge has been added to a check.

Generally speaking, if a s/c or whatever is added, it's usually so noted on the menus but if not, and I'm presented with my bill and noted a charge on it I couldn't identify, I'd ask to have the charge clarified.

At that point, if they tell me it's a tax, tip, gratuity, service charge or any other name they want to give it beyond something we actually consumed in the course of our meal, its a tip to me and I'm done. Am I over-simplifying this? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Pat,

Because, and I apologize for having forgotten this important detail, the bill at Pineapple Pete mentioned "15% tax".
It's only after I specifically asked the waitress what was this 15% tax about that she told me, "it's service".
Hmmm..... thanks for telling me what it actually is, but what if I didn't ask?

Like I said, businesses should be more upfront and honest about service because at the end of the day, they'll be the big losers when their patrons discover that they've been taken for a ride and they'll post about it on high traffic social media sites.

This topic always gets lots of views and emotions when it's posted. I would suggest this is one issue that could be factually summarized and saved as an FAQ which would save a lot of frustration.

For us, after a couple bad experiences, we rarely eat on the French side now because of the uncertainty of proper tipping practice and etiquette as well as questionable restaurant ethics as mentioned above. As we all know, there's some great food to enjoy and that's what I want to do, rather than spending time figuring out what each restaurant's practices really are so I can tip properly and not be taken advantage of.

As I think I've said before, if someone would like to draft some answers to some FAQ's we can look at them, but the answers need to be agreed upon and up to date. I personally just don't have the time to write and revise them. If someone wants to volunteer to write them, we can take a look at it.

Nor should you have to do it. Are there any frequent board users / SXM travelers that could take 10 minutes to write up something factual and succinct on this that could be submitted and saved as an FAQ?

Honestly, you know we had this discussion before, and so far no one has expressed any interest in doing it, to me.

I seem to recall something posted in detail a couple of years ago by Philippe, (I think that's his name, ) from Tabba Kaddy, Perhaps now at Capt Olivers.

At the time it seemed very succinct, informative to me but I never printed it out and I don't know how it could be searched for on this forum after such a long time.

Posts that are older than a year, except for trip reports, are automatically purged and deleted by the system.

Well said, and I wholeheartedly agree. If there is a 15% add on -- that's their tip plain and simple.

The problem is: What if the service is bad?

SXM??? Wendell

Recently returned from SXM, dined each night in Orient Village, prior to leaving I posted a question on this site asking if a $2-$5 gratuity would be sufficient, the moderator graciously replied with the answer that yes, $2-$5 would work. Each evening we left $5 and the waiters/waitresses seemed more than satisfied. Contrast that with a previous stay at Club O where the servers at Papagayo made dining a very uncomfortable experience if we didn't leave the obligatory $20 for typical $100-$120 meal... won't go into details because I have posted the specifics before on this site but talk about being shaken down!

What if the service was great but something else was bad? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

If the service was good then the tip amount should not be affected. This is true back in the states as well. Wait staff is not responsible for anything but service.

But what if the server had prior knowledge that the food the customer ordered has been bad and didn't tell the patron? Serving the food was done in an acceptable manor but an injustice to not warn the customer results in a not so enjoyable meal. What then?

Credit cards add 20% to all restaurant charges to cover the tip. Note you give the card to server the charge the card and leave a line for a tip. Once the tip in posted. the correct amount is posted to account. If you look online in your account prior to tip being posted all restaurant changes will have a 20% "precharge" added by the credit card company.

Just pay in cash and don't pay the added SC. What can they do? You won't want to go back anyway. Leave the money and walk out. If confronted by the waiter let them know why you didn't pay the SC. Maybe the server will get it.

I've never seen my credit card add 20%. They hold the original posted amount, then finalize based on the tip added, assuming one is added.

How could you possibly know what the server knows, unless they confess to you "Yes, I knew the meat was putrid, but I served it to you anyway, so don't leave me a tip". <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Me and a friend ordered chili in a restaurant. On both our first bite we noticed it was burnt. Mentioned this to out waitress. She said that was what the last 2 customers said and walked off. She didn't offer to give us something else OR remove the price of the chili from our bill.

SXM??? Wendell

Pardon me but I speak from experience. I have had waitstaff tell me after the fact that the meal I was served and sent back was indeed not the best. That the cook was new and there were prior complaints the same night for the same meal. A double duh to you. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Well, double duh, did you leave them a tip or did you walk out?

It's common practice for the pre-authorization to include an amount for the tip. Normally, you just don't see it on your end.

This actually happened to us on the island. The authorization was more than the restaurant charge, but when it went through, the actual charge was for the correct amount. It's not unusual anywhere, and certainly not fraudulent.

I fail to understand why a restaurant would need a CC hold for an amount higher than what the customer agrees to.
It's not like a hotel or a car rental company who requests a card at check-in and finalizes the transaction at check-out when they know the final amount.
The only time a restaurant touches a Customer CC is when he pays the bill, and whether what he pays includes a tip or not, doesn't justify a special hold, much less of an arbitrary 20% extra.

In the case of this Sol e Luna charge, the amount inflated by 20% was actually posted on my CC statement as an actual charge, not a pending transaction, for several days after we ate there, and it was adjusted 2 days after I emailed the restaurant.

Actually, I see all my charges come through right after they are posted by the store, restaurant or vendor. 'Tis the beauty of current online banking. In SXM, that does presume I'm in a wi-fi zone. All transactions over a certain value are pushed to my phone the moment they are created.

Me too. Following this episode, I asked my CC company to send me a txt message each time my CC is charged. Now I am notified immediately of any activity on my card as long as it's above $1.

The reason it's done is that the check is given to the customer for the amount of the meal, not including the tip. That's when the authorization is obtained; before the tip is added. Once the check comes back to you, you add the tip, if appropriate, and that's when YOU agree to the amount of the charge (sign the slip). It's possible, although I agree it's unlikely, that the amount of the meal might be within the card limit, but once the tip is added it could exceed the limit. That is why some banks have that policy with restaurants.

That explanation certainly doesn't explain you experience, which I agree is completely wrong.

I have the same service with my credit card, but believe me, the transaction you see is a pending transaction, and not until it's finalized at the bank is the actual amount determined, which usually takes at least a day or two.

Enough already. This one is done.