Not a server: wtf is going on here?
What about it?
We went for a company dinner at Benihana in the Mall of America. We had table side service instead of eating at the hibachi table. It was clear that the morale of the waiting staff was very low.
The waitress brought the card reader. We were shocked when we saw the total on the screen at $214.92. The server quickly hit 0% tip, then began expressing her frustrations. Apparently, they no longer accept credit card tips. Instead, tips had to be either paid in cash or Venmo (!?). She said that the total includes a 6% service fee that she gets instead of tips. Nothing was making sense to us.
Then we got the itemized receipt. Aside from the $25.50 glass of wine (wtf), the subtotal + tax should come out to $181.96. Instead they somehow arrived at $214.92. What was supposed to be a 6% service fee came out to 18%. I’m not even sure if that counts as a tip because you can clearly see a line item that says 0% tip, which the waitress herself pressed.
Can someone explain what happened here? I’m not mad because the company will reimburse us. I’m just very well aware of the struggles that servers face. If Benihana is pulling something sketchy then the public should know about it before dining here again.