Why do some restaurants add a gratuity to the bill without asking you?

I always thought you leave a tip commensurate with the service you receive. Where do restaurants get off assuming you'll get good service and deciding how much that service is worth? We're already expected to subsidize their employees voluntarily, now they're forcing it on us?Why do some restaurants add a gratuity to the bill without asking you?
i have worked in restaurants my whole life and i agree with you

the reason is because waiters go to their bosses and whine about how people stiff them of their tip and they be;believe them and enforce a tip

if you are a good waiter you will get a good tip if not you get what you deserve .now of course some people can get the best service and still be stiffed out of a tip but in the most part waiters get what they deserve
As a server, I know that a lot of times gratuity is added to parties of 6 or more (8 at some restaurants) because a lot of people don't know how to tip and taking care of a party is often considered 2 - 4 tables and holds the server from getting other tables.. Since servers make 2 - 3 dollars an hour, tips are very important to them. Also, in most restaurance a server has to tip out part of their tips to other employees. For instance, where I work. If I SELL 800 dollars in food, the company automatically assumes I am recieving 18% of the total sales as tips. That being 144 dollars. Out of the 18% that I am ASSUMED to make, whether i make it or not, i have to tip out 6 - 8 percent to the busser, host, bar tender and food runner.

If you are not in a large party and the restaurant adds gratuity to the check, they are doing so to safe guard the server. If a restaurants servers often do not recieve the 15 - 20 percent tips per table, they still have to tip out reguardless. By adding gratuity its just guaranteeing that the server is not walking home with No money..



A server can give the best service and still recieve a poor tip. Alot of people in America do not know how to tip accordingly.Why do some restaurants add a gratuity to the bill without asking you?
I can tell you. When I was a server and got tables of 6-8 or more, everyone thought everyone else was taking care of the tip, so I'd get maybe a dollar. Even though they raved about the food and service. I actually heard that from the last customer leaving one time. He thought it was on the whole bill and the host of the party had taken care of it. I had to tell him it wasn't. He ended up giving me $40 to make up for his friends. So the majority of the time it's just that everyone assumed someone else was the tipper. I rewrote my menu and added the gratuity on parties in bold letters. Then there's people who don't READ the menu and leave you a ton of money on the table not realizing (because they didn't READ) that they'd already paid it. It's frustrating from our end too.
I know how to tip. I was raised with the principle that if someone is being kind to you, you should return the favor as appropriate. The problem with HAVING to pay a certain amount keeps anyone away from eating at those restaurants. No customers = less money in tips. I agree with you and the others: the reason is hidden from what we are told. The people who dine out are in the same SES as the waiters, so the only people who get the raw deal are, us, the little guys.
It's just another way they're trying to cheat you. Pay attention and read the bill. You don't have to pay the added gratuity. In fact, it angers me so much that I draw a line through it and write the total that was before it. And , no tip at all~!!
yep cause alot of people weren't getting their tip and prolly so the government can tax it easier!