The tipping point! Behind the scenes to know how money travels

A server gets the swiping machine at a table at Woodside Inn Colaba Cash tips have taken a nosedive since demonetisationIts 8 oclock on a Thursday evening at Woodside Inn Colabas friendly neighbourhood bar that opened its doors to patrons in 2007 Nestled in the 120yearold Indian Mercantile Building on Wodehouse Road this place offers an escape to both locals and travellers who come here to sample the craft beer while nibbling on its modern European fare The dimly lit ambience is an apt match to the peppy music which makes the place come alive without deafening you The Happy Hours revellers have just left so theres a slight breather especially at the bar Around 20 diners are scattered around its compact interiors wellsettled into their dining experience Four to five servers go about their business as the shift manager keeps an eye on the workingsCard payment receipts sans tipOn an average here a meal for two with alcohol would cost nearly Rs 2500 on which a service charge of 10 per cent is levied as is the norm at most restaurants Typically a service charge ranges from 5 per cent to 20 per cent with most restaurants preferring to stick to 10 per cent of the grand total It is this percentage that has been a talking point both online and offline following the Department of Consumer Affairs clarification on January 2 stating that service charge is subject to discretion of the customer and not compulsoryMoney for smilesWhat exactly is the service charge for we ask Sean Perreira who has been managing this outlet for over five years Right from the second you step through the door to the time the valet shows you out its an assembly line that ensures a quality experience The livelihood of all these people depends on the service charge And for the long hours they put in their take home is not much he says The minimum take home for an apprentice at a restaurant and bar of this kind would be around R8000 which can go up to Rs 35000 for the managerial level Also in no other industry does the management look after the food travel uniform and the general upkeep of the staff on a daily basis So we wont shy away from taking service charge he addsSean PerreiraWhile to most customers it may seem that the tip or service charge he pays goes to the server directly thats not case at least not at Woodside It trickles down to every member of their staff of about 70 right from the face at the door Sunny Anthony DCruz who greets you The 36yearold has been strategically positioned at the door as hes the one the staff relies on to read the customer His 14year stint at Athena Colabas erstwhile buzzing nightclub where he encountered everyone from politicos and celebrities to even gangsters has taught him a thing or two about human behaviour Sunny gets the pulse of a guest he alerts us that perhaps wed want to keep their card should they escape without footing the bill or create a fuss over the service We suffer if we dont pay heed to him Perreira smiles adding that such incidents occur once a monthDCruzs soothsaying powers as Perreira puts it comes in handy for head bartender Thadaeus Raja especially Sometimes there are guests who especially during happy hours lose count of how much alcohol they have consumed mdash could be by mistake or on purpose Sunny gives us a headsup to keep an eye if he finds anyone suspicious That helps Raja says adding that on a couple of occasions he has had to pay for the drinks when his customers escaped without footing the billRahul Jadhav one of the head servers is a soughtafter name among regulars In between catering to the regulars right next to the entrance he tells us how they always look to him for recommendations sometimes without even looking at the menu However not everyone is easy and the more discerning and difficult a customer is Jadhav smiles harder He too gets his share of troublemakers It happens mostly during happy hours Say I serve a guest his free drink and move to the next table He quietly mixes that drink into his first glass and then demands his free top up with a straight face Thats when you need to handle it delicately with patience Sometimes we need to show him the CCTV footage and then they accept it Rahul says adding he has even paid the bill for walkouts twice It was deducted from my salary But they take care not to be too harsh with a guest Perreira says Most times its the regulars who do this and we dont want to lose them So we coolly say its okay happens and move on But we take note and exercise caution the next timeNot about happinessCash tipping has been at an alltime low at Woodside where the wooden box that stores the monetary appreciation has been ringing empty Jay Javeri citybased entrepreneur who dines out regularly and frequents Woodside Inn too says I always check the bill if there is a service charge I wont add a tip But if the service has been exceptional Ill add a little Like say if there was something complimentary or if the waiter went out of his way with the service Yes one can say they are just doing their job but its a way to let them know they are appreciated Overall I think its better to let the customer decide but in a country like India where people generally under tip I dont think its wrong for a restaurant to include a service charge What they might be doing wrong is not passing that on to the staffJadhav left and Raja take a breather between servings Both have had their salaries deducted to foot the bills of defaulting customers PicSatej shindeAt Woodside though the process is transparent The cash tips here typically range from anywhere between Rs 20 to Rs 500 Usually they collect around Rs 800014000 a week but post demonetisation we are told the number has taken a nosedive Its around Rs 4 0006000 nowadays which gets divided on a weekly basis among the entire staff of around 70 This includes kitchen servers housekeeping valet security and the central kitchen Whatever is the slice of that pie it is handed to the staff on Monday and helps them take care of their weeks travel knickknacks etc Perreira says The service charge collected gets credited to the staffs salary according to a point basis based on their designation The service charge is 10 per cent on the grand total to which the government tax is added Once a group of foreigners did not want to pay all the taxes They said they didnt get why they had to pay our government if they were pleased with the service the restaurant provided We told them we could waive off the service charge but the taxes are not in our control They understood and paid Pereira said He recalls another incident narrated to him by his former staff member who works for a big restaurant chain now He called to check how we were doing post the declaration Last evening it seems all customers there walked away without paying the service charge It started with one customer arguing and when it was waived for him others demanded the same for themselves tooOn Thursday evening at Woodside we waited around to see if at all a guest adds a cash tip The wait never ended From morning till about 11 pm not one guest had offered a cash tip we were toldShould service charge be replaced with a cash tipPerreira says A service charge not only helps the staff but also the guests They know what they need to pay and removing it will create confusion Theres no regularising a cash tip The business of hospitality is built on service charge since centuries And since the service charge becomes a part of my salary I am being taxed on it Once that goes my tax bracket changes I might not be eligible for the loans Ive applied for The government doesnt want to waive their taxes on the bill which is about 5 per cent but wants to eat into poor peoples incomes he addsMoreover a tip is not necessarily a sign of a happy customer points out Perreira He may be happy he may not have the cash to show it