Is there no bigger insult to have to pay an extra 10% on your total bill at the end of your meal?
Restaurants are using the excuse of having to pay higher wages to compensate the need of charging extra on top of your total bill. This even includes extra on alcohol. The weekend is usually the busiest time of the week where some numbers in restaurants will go from an average of 30 people per day mid-week to up to 200 over each weekend day. I know because I have worked in them.
If you go to the local pub or even a nightclub you will notice that they don't charge this extra amount. Same as if you decide to go the supermarket or clothes store so why is it necessary that restaurants charge this ridiculous fee. It is a complete rip-off in disguise.
To pay an average $20 per hour X 1.5 on Saturday equals $30. That is a total of an extra $80 over an 8 hour shift which is, at most, only 2 extra customers to cover that. For a 200 pax night spending $50 on average (that's only 1 main meal and 2 drinks) that is a profit of $1000 extra for nothing. That almost pays for the head chef's wages for the week. Now, this will be extra if the customer decides to have a bread, entree or dessert. Full-time staff such as the restaurant manager, head chef, sous chef and even some other full-timers are on a salary anyway, so working a weekend doesn't even change the wage costs.
I think that some restaurant owners need to get back to the real reason of owning a restaurant...the pure pleasure of serving a product that we are proud of and receiving the same pleasure of giving the customer a wonderful experience. Not serving a number and finding any way possible to squeeze an extra dollar out of them.
If the service and food is good enough you might even receive a tip. Chances are that you won't after a table has forked out an extra $50 for nothing.
Matt's Site