One of the USA’s top-rated restaurants in California took a tumble in ratings after patrons took issue with an additional charge that came with what critics labeled as a “woke” explanation.
Burdell, a Michelin Guide establishment in Oakland, California, recently faced severe backlash online for a default 20% service charge added to every check.
The soul food restaurant was named among the best U.S. restaurants by Food & Wine last year. However, since details of its tipping policy were made public on Reddit, an ugly onslaught of negative Yelp reviews followed.
“The service did not warrant a 20% charge,” a customer wrote.
“And the condescending note claiming they add this fee because tipping culture is ugly and to help pay a livable wage? Your already high prices should provide that for your servers.”
A top US restaurant had its reputation ruined overnight over a mandatory 20% fee
Image credits: InversedSlayer/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
The original Reddit post garnered over 28,000 upvotes, with some supporting the policy and others calling for a boycott. Those who were against it did not stop at leaving negative comments and reviews; they went on to contact the diner’s owner and chef, Geoff Davis.
Davis first noticed the situation after dozens of nasty emails flooded his inbox while he was attending a charity event in New York City, according to SF Gate.
Image credits: burdell_oak/Instagram
In an Instagram post days after, Davis decided to tackle the matter front and center.
“A couple of days ago… A guest posted their receipt in Reddit claiming that we didn’t disclose our service charge beforehand. We do,” Davis wrote. He revealed that the guest “quickly admitted” that they were not being entirely honest, but the harm was already done.
“In the next couple hours that post got 1500+ responses and we received 150+ negative reviews and dozens of emails, texts, and DMs and calls with people saying horrible things about us personally, our practices, our intellect, our morality, our city, our state, our food, and so on.”
Image credits: burdell_oak/Instagram
Davis went on to describe Burdell as a “small, family-run business” that makes a conscious effort to maintain transparency and pay the staff as competitively as possible. He explains that the decision to employ a service charge model from day one was rooted in the same goal.
Burdell’s owner said tipping was a “tool of oppression” and linked it to racism
The original Reddit post that went viral included a photo of a receipt. At the bottom, a customized note explained the reason behind the policy.
“Tipping in the US has an ugly past, allowing the continuation of underpaid labor,” the receipt said.
“We don’t like that history. Included on your check is a 20% Service Charge, which we use to pay hourly staff a consistent, livable wage, not dependent on archaic tipping customs or chance. No need to add anything else. Thank you!”
Image credits: Reddit
Davis called tipping a “tool of oppression and inequality” in his post.
A June 2024 report by Nina Mast, an Economic Policy Institute analyst, states that after the Civil War, formerly enslaved workers were often relegated to service jobs, including in the food service industry, but without any fixed wage.
“This sub-minimum wage in the United States is a uniquely American institution that is rooted in the exploitation of formerly enslaved Black workers following emancipation,” Mast wrote in the report.
Image credits: burdell_oak/Instagram
Even today, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, and has been so since 2009. The tipped minimum wage is stuck at just $2.13 per hour.
Even in states set to raise the minimum wage to $15, such as Delaware, Nebraska, and Rhode Island, tipped wages still remain below $4 per hour.
California’s Labor Code Section 351 states that no “employer or agent shall collect, take, or receive any gratuity or a part thereof that is paid, given to, or left for an employee by a patron.”
However, according to Coepio Legal, service charges are not subject to the same restrictions as tips and gratuities. Therefore, technically the employers have control over the distribution of the fund received as service charges.
This wasn’t Geoff Davis’ first rodeo with guest backlash
After Burdell’s Michelin Guide win and Food & Wine mention in the past two years, Davis received emails and messages claiming that the recognition was because of “affirmative action or because we’re black-owned.”
Affirmative actions are a set of policies designed to increase representation and access for historically disadvantaged groups in employment and education.
Image credits: Google Maps
“It is what it is, and as Americans, we have to understand that racism is part of our core identity as a country,” he told SF Gate after the recent incident. “All we can do is do the best work that we can.”
He also pointed out that they are not the only ones doing this. Many others, including their competitors, employ the same model.
Image credits: burdell_oak/Instagram
Black Cat, Quince, 7 Adams, and Kusakabe are some of other San Francisco Bay Area restaurants that employ 20% or above service fee, according to a list by San Francisco Chronicle.
Yelp has been monitoring the activities on Burdell’s business page in response to the sudden surge in negative reviews.
“The irony is hilarious.” Netizens shared their thoughts on the additional service charge policy
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