Brisbane diners rage over ‘scummy’ automatic tipping system at restaurants

Frustrated Brisbane diners have taken to social media to complain about the ‘scummy’ tipping behaviours at certain venues throughout the city.

Reports of “forced” tipping have seen a number of frustrated Brisbane diners take to social media to name and shame restaurants for the “scummy” behaviour.

A recent Reddit thread posted a “s**tlist” of restaurants that charge tips automatically around Brisbane.

“Think it’s time to make a list so we can start boycotting certain restaurants/cafes that force tipping on its customers,” the caption on the post said.

On the list was The Bavarian and El Camino Cantina, both of which run under the Pacific Concepts group.

One commenter said that when dining at El Camino, they received the bill and refused to pay until they removed the tip.

“Worked for me but won’t be going back,” the poster said.

Another said the Bavarian and El Camino have an automatic tipping system when ordering through the QR code that requires the diner to “opt-out” otherwise a charge would be made.

“They default the tip to 5-10% when you place the order via a table order app. It’s f**king scummy because sometimes you don’t notice, especially if you are a few deep, but you can remove it before placing the order. It doesn’t encourage extra service, which is precisely what tipping is designed to do,” another poster wrote.

Last month, a Reddit poster shared a photo of El Camino’s menu from the Southbank venue which showed the fine print on the bottom of the menu.

“Additional service fees every day of the week,” the post said.

The fine print on the bottom of the El Camino menu that was posted to Reddit last month. Picture: Reddit.

The fine print, which also appears on the online menus on the website, stated there was be a 10 per cent surcharge on Sundays and a 5 per cent “service fee” from Monday to Saturday.

There were also credit card fees, a 10 per cent service charge for groups of more than 10 and a 15 per cent public holiday surcharge.

A company spokeswoman for Pacific Concepts said leaving a tip for workers was up to the customer.

“It is entirely the choice of our customers whether to leave a tip. Our QR code payment system requires customers to follow prompts and select whether to leave a tip, or not,” she said.

“Similarly, the EFTPOS payment process requires customers to select if they wish to leave a tip. This is standard practice across the hospitality sector where QR code and EFTPOS systems are used. It’s how the technology works.

“Tips cannot be processed without the customer selecting this option, and the amount they wish to leave.”

The spokeswoman said the tips were received by the team members.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, businesses shouldn’t mislead consumers on the price of goods and services under Australian consumer law.

“Any unavoidable or preselected additional fees or charges should be disclosed upfront, this includes any surcharges or taxes that might apply to the transaction,” an ACCC spokeswoman said.