New Delhi: In what could go against hotels and restaurants, sixty eight percent of respondents in a nation-wide survey has said that it should be optional while 27 percent of them were against it.
A survey by LocalCircles citizen engagement platform found that of the 26,000 respondents, 68 percent said service charge should be optional while 27 percent opposed.
Five percent of the respondents did not, however, respond to it or were neutral.
This survey come in view of the recent statement by the government that service charge on bill in hotels and restaurants were not compulsory.
The government stated that customers who are not satisfied with services in any hotel or restaurant need not pay the service charges.
Where 61 percent supported the changing the name of service charge to service tip, 33 percent did not agree to this and 6 percent did not comment.
The survey also found that 68 percent people were willing to pay a tip for good service if it goes to the restaurant staff, 26 percent were not willing to pay the tip, while 6 percent chose can`t say as their answer.
This implies that a majority of people are in favour of paying tips.
This exercise was conducted after the Ministry of Consumer Affairs issued a notification on Jan 2 stating that the service charge is completely discretionary and a customer, dissatisfied with the dining experience, can have it waived off.
Almost 42 percent of respondents believed that the service charge goes to the management, 26 percent felt that some part of it was shared with the staff, while only 5 percent of consumers believed that the whole of it was shared by the staff.
This means that distrust with the collection and utilisation of this charge is very high among consumers.
The rationale offered by restaurants for levying a compulsory service charge on all consumers is that it ensures tips to their serving staff.
People were also asked if they wanted the whole of the service cost to be incorporated in the main bill and wanted the tip to be made a completely voluntary thing. To this, 59 percent said yes, while 37 percent said no and 4 percent were non-committal.
With IANS Inputs
