Question:
Our restaurant just let us know that we’ll be instituting a 3% “kitchen appreciation fee” as a way to more fairly compensate our back-of-house staff. I’m all for people making good money, but not when it’s at my expense! I worry that this fee will piss off guests and reduce my tips. What do you think?
– Server
Answer:
As challenges with recruiting and retaining employees continue, and expectations for hourly wages rise, some foodservice operations have instituted kitchen appreciation fees like these.
The goal is to address long-standing disparities between back-of-house (BOH) staff and tipped front-of-house (FOH) employees by adding a fee that gets passed on to BOH staff who are ineligible for tips. Because the fee is structured as a percentage of sales, it is also a small recognition for kitchen staff who may be going above and beyond with insufficient staffing or after a particularly busy service.
You are right to be concerned about how guests perceive any new fees or changes to their experience, especially in this period of inflation, during which guests may be watching their pennies more than usual. Communication is key. My advice is to spell out the details of the fee on your website, being clear that it is going directly to staff and not to the owners, and that it allows the operation to forgo an additional increase in menu prices. It’s important that guest-facing staff are also well informed about the policy and its purpose, and that they communicate any complaints about it to management.
The good news for you as a server is that every operator I spoke to who has instituted this fee—with a clear explanation—has seen few, if any, complaints from guests and no reduction in FOH tips. David Melincoff, owner of Sweetwaters American Bistro in Burlington, Vt., says: “We’ve actually not had one complaint. I was shocked. No one said a word. I didn’t have to go to one table and explain it. We track everyone’s gratuity, and it hasn’t affected it at all.”
Certainly, some guests will complain about this fee. But if you decide to institute one, it is important not to let the loud voices of the few drown out the many who are supportive or at least OK with the fee before giving it a fair shot. One server I spoke with, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “Oh sure, I got some complaints, but the people who complain about the fee are the same people who complain about everything.”
More on kitchen appreciation fees here.