Survey fuels service charge debate

Over 50% of the UK public would prefer service charges not to be added to their bill when they eat out, according to a survey of 1,011 adults by MORI.

The research, commissioned by hospitality consultancy Scher Associates, found that 32% of people believed service charges should be left to their discretion. A further 24% said there should not be a service charge at all.

Of the remainder, 24% felt service should be included in the cost of food and drink while 8% believed it should be added to the bill at 10% or less than 10%. Virtually no-one supported a 15% charge.

Scher managing director Alan Wick admitted research on such a subjective topic was unlikely to reach a sound conclusion, and that it was up to each establishment to assess its own customer profile.

He said each restaurant had to make a business decision on whether it was better to go for guaranteed income from service charges or gain customer loyalty.