A bar customer is airing his outrage on Reddit over an auto gratuity.
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customer → air → gratuity
According to the offended imbiber, The Corner Pocket in Williamsburg, Virginia, charged him a 20% late-night gratuity for ordering drinks after 10 p.m.
The Corner Pocket, which has operated for three decades, bills itself as a “staple” in the historic community with “13 pool tables, darts, a full-service bar, a dining room and a spacious outdoor patio.
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which → accord → tables
It was just after 10 p.m. when we got in, and my wife and I were staying for exactly one drink,” shared the original poster.
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poster → get → drink
“We only came here because it was one of the few places still open at 10 p.m. on a Wednesday,” he added.
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he → come → Wednesday
He posted his receipt from the evening, which showed he ordered two Guinnesses at $8.50 each at 10:40 PM and was later charged $1.87 in tax and an additional $3.40 “late night auto gratuity.”
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he → post → tax
A footnote at the bottom of the receipt explained, ‘Auto gratuity is added to groups of 6+ and after 10 PM.
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gratuity → explain → PM
Anything written will be added to the auto gratuity.’
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Anything → write → gratuity
According to the post, the couple sat at a high top by the bar:
“The bartender came over to take our order.
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bartender → accord → order
She didn’t offer us a drink menu, so I saw a Guinness tap and just got that.
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I → offer → that
My wife did the same.
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wife → do → same
Again, just here for one,” he explained, adding that their beer arrived in plastic cups rather than a traditional glass pint.
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beer → explain → pint
After a bit of talk, the couple finished their beers and asked for the bill.
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couple → finish → bill
“I go to pay, and then I see it,” he said.
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he → go → it
“I looked around, and there’s literally nothing that says this before the fact.
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that → look → fact
If there was, we would have gone somewhere else.”
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we → be → ?
“Ridiculousness,” he emphasized.
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he → emphasize → Ridiculousness
Many commenters quickly echoed his sentiments.
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commenters → echo → sentiments
Pay cash and don’t include the tip,” reasoned another.
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another → pay → tip
“‘If more people question these forced tips, they will eventually go away,” offered a third.
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third → question → tips
“Probably due to the high number of tipsy people forgetting to close their tab,” speculated another.
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another → forget → tab
The original poster replied that he had already done so and a recent Yelp review is consistent with his experience.
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review → reply → experience
The owner of The Corner Pocket responded with the following statement:
“Thank you for sharing your experience.
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owner → respond → experience
We never want any guest to leave dissatisfied, and it appears we fell short last night…
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we → want → ?
The auto gratuity policy is posted on signs and noted on our menus and online.
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policy → post → menus
We work to communicate it clearly, but we understand it can be missed,” they wrote, urging the customer to reach out via email to continue the conversation.
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they → work → conversation
Tipping culture has become increasingly contentious.
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culture → become → ?
William Michael Lynn, professor emeritus of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University, previously told The Post that the country’s anti-tipping sentiment is growing.
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sentiment → tell → Post
“People’s attitudes towards tipping have gotten worse,” said Lynn, who has been studying tipping for over 40 years.
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who → get → years
“They’ve started to dislike it more and more.”
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They → start → it
According to Lynn’s research, 32% of people said they wanted tipping abolished in 2016.
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tipping → accord → 2016
That number climbed to 52% by 2022.
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number → climb → 2022
As for restaurants like The Corner Pocket that automatically include gratuity on bills, Lynn says don’t be afraid to ask servers for clarity.
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Lynn → include → clarity
“It’s perfectly acceptable to say, ‘Is a tip included?
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tip → ’ → ?
Is a service charge included?’
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charge → include → ?
And if it is, then if you feel like giving $1 or two more, that’s completely up to you.”
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that → feel → you
The Aporia
