In January I took my family to the German Gymnasium restaurant at King’s Cross, London. The food was good and the service excellent. The bill came to £336.43 including a discretionary 12.5% service charge, which I paid happily. But when I asked a waiter how it was shared, I was told none of it reached the staff, which I found disappointing. I have tried to make contact (by email) with CEO Des Gunewardena, but have had no response. I would have given the gratuity in cash if I had known none of it reached the staff. JH, Cambridge
D&D runs 40 restaurants and bars in London, including upmarket venues such as Quaglino’s, Le Pont de la Tour and Skylon. We can understand your concern, given the huge press coverage about unfair tipping practices in restaurant chains.
It seems you were misinformed – and it’s a shame the company did not feel it important to let you know. It told us that its restaurants “collect and distribute service charges via an independently managed central pool called tronc. This is commonplace within the industry. Staff receive their share with tax deducted through the payroll in line with HMRC guidelines.”
The Unite union has been critical of what it calls “bogus” tronc schemes that do not give staff a proper say.
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