The Cheesecake Factory accused of duping diners
Suggested gratuity on split checks has led to massive tips
Customers who split the bill at The Cheesecake Factory and paid the restaurant’s suggested gratuity may have been duped into massively overpaying on the tip.
That’s according to a new classaction lawsuit against the California-based restaurant chain, which also alleges that an untold number of diners have no doubt left a lot more on the table than they should have for a tip at one of the chain’s more than 200 locations. That is, unless they did the math themselves.
As reported by BuzzFeed News, the restaurant chain bases its suggested tips on the total bill, not each diner’s share. Many customers are too distracted, drunk or indifferent to do the math themselves and instead used the suggestions as a references, unintentionally leaving tips that were a much greater percentage of their check than they believed.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit claims her share of the bill was $38.50, and the recommended tips ranged from $11.50 to $16.94 — which far surpassed the 15 percent to 18 percent standards. These recommendations were based on the total bill before splitting, so $11.50 is in fact about 30 percent of $38.50, and $16.94 is 44 percent — not 15 and 22 percent as printed on the split bill.
The plaintiff, Marcel Goldman, left a $15.40 tip, which is suggested on the receipt as a 20 percent tip, but is actually 40 percent of the split bill, BuzzFeed News reported.
Although Goldman later sent a letter about the “billing error” to The Cheesecake Factory’s headquarters, she said that the error was not corrected.
“Consumers should be aware,” Goldman’s attorney Julian Hammond told BuzzFeed News. “Why are we left to our own devices to do arithmetic acrobatics when the suggested gratuity represented is not true? The mathematic calculation is misleading. It must end; it needs to change.”
The suit further claims that the practice has been going on for at least four years at more than 200 locations operating under The Cheesecake Factory name and 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe name. At least 10 percent of bills paid by credit card are split, the suit says.
A The Cheesecake Factory spokesperson quoted by BuzzFeed News said the chain’s gratuity ranges are simply suggestions and it’s up to consumers to decide how much to tip.
“Guests are free to tip as they please,” Alethea Rowe said. “We believe our guests appreciate the service provided by our hardworking staff and tip accordingly.” Contact Martha Ross at 925-9438254.