Surcharges

Why a surcharge, and what does it mean?

Adding a 20 percent surcharge to dine-in an takeaway orders covers the new, higher wages we pay our staff.

The Twin Cities is moving toward a $15/hr minimum wage, which we believe is the LEAST amount someone needs to earn as a livable income. We start our base pay at $15/hr. But since everyone at The Buttered Tin is paid based upon job duty/title and experience, some staff earns more than the minimum wage.

As a side note, it is true that the cost of food increases over time with inflation. We have always adjusted menu prices to reflect the cost of food and will continue to do so. But we want to be straightforward about the surcharge being separate from the cost of inflation.

Being mindful of our guest’s pocketbooks

A lot of research went into determining our surcharge so that it would not be a deterrent. Analysis of our restaurant data compiled over years of operation tells us that most guests tip between 18 and 35 percent. This means that by adding the surcharge and eliminating tips, your cost to dine with us didn’t change. But our employees’ compensation package changed significantly—for the better!

A word about the legal language we are required to use

Restaurant terminology can be confusing. You’ve probably seen restaurant bills that include fees labeled as a “surcharge,” a “service charge,” or “hospitality included.” All of these terms are regulated by law, and there is some language that we are mandated to use. In this case, we are required to state that a “surcharge is not a tip” and that a “surcharge does not include gratuity.”

It’s true that legally, a surcharge is not a tip. But The Buttered Tin also no longer accepts tips. That’s because we think expecting servers to be tipped over and above our new surcharge simply puts too much of an economic burden on you, our guests. We want anyone and EVERYONE to be able to come and eat with us! Besides, tipping over the top of our new surcharge defeats our purpose: which is to create an equitable wage amongst our staff.

Let’s talk about tipping as an expression of appreciation

Some people might feel that our servers deserve tips and that eliminating tips is a sign that we don’t appreciate servers. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we believe that our servers should be paid well whether or not guests tip generously. Our surcharge enables us to accomplish this objective and do better by all of our employees.

Another misconception addressed by the surcharge is the belief that all tips are divided equally among the restaurant staff. This is not true. Servers may choose to split tips with a busser or a bartender, but it is illegal for a restaurant owner or manager to direct a server to share their tips. As a result, most tips stay with the server. This is why servers make two to three times as much as kitchen staff when you factor in tips.

At The Buttered Tin, we want to do things differently. By instituting the surcharge and eliminating all tips, we can take the tip amount you would have left and distribute it among all of our staff—including our servers.

We depend on you to tell us how we are doing—even without a tip

Tipping has long been the diner’s language to express appreciation for food and service. But we’d rather hear from you directly. Besides, we think expectations about tipping are getting out of hand when it’s considered an insult to leave less than a 25 percent tip, regardless of the quality of the service. Our surcharge removes that tension from your dining experience.

So how do you express your satisfaction to our servers under our new surcharge system? And, just as important, what can you do if you didn’t enjoy your food or experience? Well. We have a manager in our restaurant at all times—and a website providing both our telephone number and our email address. We encourage you to reach out through any of these channels, and we deeply appreciate it when you do!

Your feedback helps us be the best we can be for our community. Part of doing our best for you is creating a lovely dining experience from beginning to end. After finishing a meal, we want you to appreciate the quality of our food and our service—not wrestle internally about whether the size of your tip was “good enough.”