Philippe Restaurant

Thank you for the opportunity to reply to the complaint of *** *** ***. I am sorry she did not have an excellent experience at our Philippe restaurant. On her *** Review she stated *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***. We have
investigated the matter and it appears that there was a misunderstanding between *** *** and our service staff Given it was Easter weekend and many tourists from foreign countries with inclusive tipping policies in these countries were visiting the restaurant, the wait staff had put on a suggested 20% gratuity and dropped the check on the table. The customer reviewed the check, and handed the server her credit card for processing and did not say anything at that time After the check and credit card receipt was signed, the server noticed that they had altered and lowered the gratuity that was already on the check and processed. At that point the server informed them that the amount they paid was not the same amount that was on the checkThe customer explained that they wanted to decide what they felt was an appropriate tip & pointed out that our menu stated the a gratuity of 20% would be added for parties of and moreSince they were a party of 3, they asked why the 20% gratuity was added to the checkThe server responded that because it is Easter weekend & there are many tourists visiting from countries that have different tipping policies than the U.S., we put the suggested gratuity on the check as a convenienceNowhere on the menu, check or did the waiter state, that the suggested gratuity was "mandatory"If the customer wasn't happy with the service & the felt the suggested gratuity was too much, we would have been happy to adjust the gratuity to whatever they were comfortable withHowever, when they altered the credit card slip with a lesser amount, we had to question it, as the credit card processing company may reject it as well Perhaps our staff did not explain it properly and for that we apologize. Please have *** *** contact me directly next time she is in town and we would be happy to give her a 20% discount off of her next meal at Philippe Best, *** *** Merchants Hospitality *** *** *** ***
*** *** ** *** *** Tel: ###-###-#### Fax: ###-###-#### ***
***

Review: After dinning at this establishment with a party of 3 on April *, 2015, we were presented with our check. Upon reviewing we noticed that a 20% gratuity charge was added to our bill. After reading the menu that states at the bottom of each page "mandatory 20% gratuity added to parties of 6 or more" we assumed that the 20% was just a recommendation and proceeded to pay our bill and add our gratuity that we thought was appropriate for the service which we received. Within a few moments our waiter returned to our table informing us that we hadn't paid enough for our bill to be covered. At which point we pointed out what the menu said that informed him that we were a party of 3 so we shouldn't be forced to pay this gratuity and we asked the reasoning behind it. His response was "because we have been busy and there have been more tourists coming to the restaurant". At this point I felt offended because 1. I was a tourist visiting from Chicago and 2. the reasoning didn't make sense being and I felt like I was being taken advantage of. In an effort to not be embarrassed because the restaurant is small and the tables are close we gave in and paid the extra money and left feeling humiliated and degraded.Desired Settlement: I think the business has the responsibility to issue an apology and to offer me and my guest a complimentary dinner when we visit their location again.

Business

Response:

Thank you for the opportunity to reply to the complaint of [redacted]. I am sorry she did not have an excellent experience at our Philippe restaurant. On her [redacted] Review she stated [redacted]. We have investigated the matter and it appears that there was a misunderstanding between [redacted] and our service staff. Given it was Easter weekend and many tourists from foreign countries with inclusive tipping policies in these countries were visiting the restaurant, the wait staff had put on a suggested 20% gratuity and dropped the check on the table. The customer reviewed the check, and handed the server her credit card for processing and did not say anything at that time. After the check and credit card receipt was signed, the server noticed that they had altered and lowered the gratuity that was already on the check and processed. At that point the server informed them that the amount they paid was not the same amount that was on the check. The customer explained that they wanted to decide what they felt was an appropriate tip & pointed out that our menu stated the a gratuity of 20% would be added for parties of 6 and more. Since they were a party of 3, they asked why the 20% gratuity was added to the check. The server responded that because it is Easter weekend & there are many tourists visiting from countries that have different tipping policies than the U.S., we put the suggested gratuity on the check as a convenience. Nowhere on the menu, check or did the waiter state, that the suggested gratuity was "mandatory". If the customer wasn't happy with the service & the felt the suggested gratuity was too much, we would have been happy to adjust the gratuity to whatever they were comfortable with. However, when they altered the credit card slip with a lesser amount, we had to question it, as the credit card processing company may reject it as well. Perhaps our staff did not explain it properly and for that we apologize. Please have [redacted] contact me directly next time she is in town and we would be happy to give her a 20% discount off of her next meal at Philippe. Best, [redacted] Merchants Hospitality [redacted]

[redacted] Tel: ###-###-#### Fax: ###-###-#### [redacted]