Survey: Here's what Mumbaikars have to say about service charge

GraphicRavi JadhavAfter assessing consumer attitudes towards the controversial service charge over two weeks in an online survey the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat MGP has observed that the scales arent tipping in favour of the levy on restaurant bills Ninetythree per cent of the 2290 respondents said the government should scrap it while 71 per cent said they were even willing to boycott establishments that levied such charges MGP is now all set to take the results of its survey as proof to the department of consumer affairs next weekRiding the waiveNearly 95 per cent of the surveys respondents are from Mumbai Mira Road Thane Navi Mumbai Vasai Virar and Pune Of them only 12 per cent 276 out of 2290 felt that the restaurant would grant them a waiver if they were dissatisfied with the quality of service while 37 per cent were sure that the management wouldnt write off the charge even if the customers asked to do soWhen respondents were asked if they had tried asking for such a waiver only 3 per cent 60 respondents reported success in getting their service charges waived while 87 per cent said theyd never tried for such a waiver while 11 per cent tried and did not succeed However 64 per cent 1475 respondents said they would pay reluctantly when confronted with a mandatory service charge on the bill while 36 per cent said they would demand for a waiverThe involuntary tipWe will approach the department of consumer affairs next week with a presentation said advocate Shirish Deshpande president MGP The findings will be used as a sort of evidencerepresentation for the government and will reflect the sentiments of the consumersShirish Deshpande president MGP and Adarsh Shetty chairman AHARDeshpande added The main question that arises is if service charges are voluntary in nature mdash as stated by the department of consumer affairs mdash then what gives hoteliers the right to include it in their bills He also pointed out that with the Parliament session just around the corner one wherein the GST would be rolled out in all likelihood MGP is in a promising place with the findings of their surveyWe are looking at a policy guideline or change to be implemented against the mandatory levying of such service charges he said We are very positive on that front primarily for two reasons The government has itself said that service charges are voluntary and one can ask for a waiver on the charge if they are not happy with the quality of service Respondents of the survey show us exactly how difficult it is to get a waiver for service charges Therefore we want no question of a waiver mdash we want this service charge out of the billResponding to the findings of the survey Adarsh Shetty chairman Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association AHAR said As of today there is no law preventing management from levying service charges Whether service charge is to be levied or not is entirely the call of the management mdash the customer or government do not come into playAccording to him the first right of refusal lies with the consumer at all times It is clearly mentioned on the menu cards of restaurants that they levy a service charge So if a customer does not want to pay it its very clear to him that he can walk out Besides we have told our members to put up this message at the entrance of restaurantshotels so that the customer is aware of service charge being levied In the service industry you will never have 100 per cent service satisfaction