Tourism and business officials gave mixed reactions to a suggestion by researchers at the Ministry of Tourism for a thorough study of the automatic 15 percent gratuity that is charged for sit-down service at local restaurants and its relationship to the quality of service delivered.
The input ranged from staunch objection to the elimination of the tax to support for a proper review of the correlation between the two elements.
“What we ought to do is appreciate that if we want to better the service then we have to work harder,” said Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe as he expressed objections to the recommendation that a study be undertaken. “I don’t think that we have to go back. I don’t think that we have to review history.”
“We have put it on the books and it is going to remain. It would be even more difficult to take it off the book because by and large our service is excellent. What I discovered with the visitors is that visitors pay the largest amount of money for the greatest amount of service,” he added.
He maintained that for the most part, visitors are not opposed to paying for the service. But he did point out that they typically want to be assured that they are getting value for money.
His sentiments differed from those expressed by the Executive Director of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Philip Simon, who agreed that further studies should be undertaken.
In the 2005 Recommendations Paper that was compiled by the Research Department of the Ministry of Tourism as a result of the Bahamian Residents General Public Survey this year, the majority of Bahamians surveyed remained opposed to the elimination of the 15 percent gratuity.
But the rationale expressed was that there is a need for further studies that would attempt to bridge the gap between the views of Bahamians and the views of tourists as noted in the Tourist Exit Surveys.
“A study of the automatic 15 percent gratuity and its relationship to the quality of service delivered should be conducted,” the report noted.
Mr. Simon said quite simply that gratuity should reflect service.
“If we are talking just service,” he said, “then I do not believe and I reckon that my entire membership that represents significant business owners would also justify that if the level of service provided by a particular institution does not meet the expectations of the reasonable customer, then that customer should not be penalized by paying the mandatory gratuity.”
“The penalty should not be imposed on the person that is consuming that service,” Mr. Simon added.
Earl Bethel, president of the Bahamas Hotel Association offered another view. He acknowledged that it would be interesting to see the results of a survey into that issue.
“I do think that this issue is one in which the government would have to put a measure in place but I think that the opportunity needs to be given, by all the different outlets, that if the customer feels that they did not receive the type of service that warrants the 15 percent, then they should be able to express their concerns to the proper authorities,” Mr. Bethel said.
“Once the staff of various resorts and restaurants are sensitized to that issue then they would know that they would have to provide proper service,” he said.
Mr. Bethel conceded that in some instances the service rendered is deserving of the gratuity. But, he said, there are other cases where servers take it for granted.
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
