Ed’s Letter

Rachel Taylor - Editor of Go Local

Thank you, but no thankyou

I ate out on several occasions in early 2024. I was surprised to find that every place I visited – from a café to a fine dining restaurant – automatically added a service charge of between 10% and 12.5%. It was assumed that I was happy and wanted to pay extra.

This just doesn’t feel right. Firstly, this auto-charge takes away the satisfaction of saying ‘thank you’ for good service. Secondly, if the food or service isn’t up to standard, the onus is on the customer to have an awkward conversation and ask for it to be removed. Thirdly, it makes dining out cost-prohibitive for people on a limited income. You shouldn’t have to remember and accept that the final bill will be at least 10% more than you budgeted for.

Could you take a stand? Well, if you were going to leave 10% anyway, you will probably just pay up. But if you weren’t you could ask for the bill without service, saying, “I prefer to add my own amount” and/or “I want to pay cash for the tip.” If you forget before the bill arrives, you can say when paying.

Finally, so you know, a change in legislation due to come into force this year, means that tips have to be shared fairly with all staff, not just your server. If the service was great but the food wasn’t, that’s something to remember. We’ll be back mid- May, take care till then.

Rachel Taylor

EDITOR

The Go Local story

Independent & Proud

Go Local is an independent magazine and directory of truly local services for businesses and services covering Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, Elland, Greetland, Stainland and Outlane.

Go Local was launched in 2005. The magazine aims to promote truly local businesses to local people – like yourself!

Local Values

“The magazine is run by me, Rachel, a local resident born and bred in Ripponden with plenty of help from our small team.

Having spent the first 15 years of my career working for large blue chip companies, I now love working locally for myself and getting away from the office politics and the rat race. I enjoy using my 25 years’ of experience helping local businesses get the right message and ad for them; service, honesty and value for money are my key principles.

Go Local isn’t part of a franchise or larger group, it’s an independent business. I love running the business as I’m naturally nosey and get to find out what’s going on locally!”