89% want eatery service charge removed : Survey

New Delhi: Eighty-nine percent of those surveyed in a recent survey wanted the service charge levied by restaurants to be completely removed.

The survey, conducted by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles, received over 8,000 responses from consumers in over 100 districts of India with 66 percent male and 34 percent female participation.

Only 8 percent of the participants said that they were okay with paying the service charge, while 3 percent did not have an opinion.

In a related survey done about the manner of levying the service charge, 68 percent said restaurants should give customers a Yes/No option for service charge.

Out of the 5,000 odd responses received in that poll, only 27 percent had said that they were fine with paying whatever service charges were levied by a restaurant.

It was also suggested that this be monitored thoroughly.

Many consumers believe that an advisory should be issued regarding this by the Department of Consumer Affairs to all the restaurants followed by strict implementation by the food commissioners and food inspectors, under the leadership of the District Magistrate.

The food inspectors should play a role in ensuring all restaurants receive the advisory and food inspectors should do random checks at restaurants to ensure compliance, the respondents said.

They also suggested that various media campaigns be conducted done to make consumers aware about the service charge being optional.