Michael Recently, we had lunch at the restaurant "MoMo's" in San Francisco's Soma District and, to our surprise, found a note in small print at the bottom of the menu: It read that the place simply adds 3.5% to every bill without asking, a so-called "San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance Service Charge" (Figure 1).
In fact, there has been a law in San Francisco since January 8, 2008, the so-called "Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO)" which requires employers to provide health insurance for their employees if the establishment employs more than 20 people. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with the restaurants, and they have not only filed a lawsuit against the city but also seem to be ripping off unsuspecting guests. The waiter working at the restaurant in question only knew that it was a "New San Francisco Thing" and that he hadn't seen any of the money yet.
There is certainly nothing wrong with health insurance for employees, but it's simply wrong to surreptitiously add this amount to the bill. In that case, the restaurant should simply raise the prices on the menu! However, it seems that some prefer to lead their guests by the nose instead.
And, a few days later, at the "Incanto" restaurant in our neighborhood, we noticed a "Service Charge" of 5%, supposedly to cover the tip for the kitchen staff. In theory, as a guest, you could deduct this amount from the waiter's tip, but who really does that? The waiter isn't responsible for the greedy management's schemes. The only solution is to boycott these places for the time being; if the guests stay away, maybe they'll get the message.
Let's face the facts: On a $50 bill, not only do you have an 8.5% sales tax (which is $4.25) and an additional 15-20% tip for the waiter on the total amount ($8.14 - $10.85), but also a new restaurant fantasy tax of 3-5% ($1.50 - $2.50)? So, the $50 on the menu becomes $67.60? Where are you going with this, San Francisco?