Bookwarm cafe put a 20% service charge on my dinner bill the other day and said it was for CNY holidays. (Of course I wasn't informed of it before I sat down or when I was ordering)
WTF?
Is this nonsense common for the reason I was given? Anyone who's experienced this in any other restaurant?
Like to understand if there's any logic behind it.

The cafe wasn't even full - half empty, and they said the service charge was to be a 20%, instead of 10%, till the 1st of Feb.

Sounds cheeky!

We've eaten at Lancombe and Waterfront over the holiday - both very busy - and no surcharge. Both have veggy options. Also ate dimsum at Sampan and did not notice a particular spike in their bill either!

Sampan put 10% on Sunday morning dim sum(Jan 29)

La la Mamma had a 20% charge on NY Tues, but there was a clear sign up.

As long as the money is going to the staff, great. They are giving up their holiday to provide a service for me. However, people must be told before they sit down. disappointed in the bookworm for hiding something like that.

As much as I've always liked the Bookworm Cafe, I was surprised about this, too. The unusual 20% charge stays in effect till Feb 1. I got the same explanation when I queried the bill, increasing my set of soup & salad and coffee to over $100, to my surprise as a semi-regular customer.

Some Chinese restaurants we've visited seem to have not charged any service charge over CNY at all, at least not to local customers they know.

On the other hand, Concerto Inn maintained their all-year 30% off food (15% of for drinks) for Lamma VIP customers (open to all Lammaites after an initial regular-price meal) during the entire CNY period. This made my lunch, a large afternoon tea set, plus coffee and a glass of wine, well below $100.

In some local restaurants, the wait staff even turn down tips as they say it won't go to them at all, and the service charge is very often kept by the management as well.

Well, starting tomorrow all the prices and service charges will go back to normal, so it's safe to return to the Bookworm. It's still one of the best places to have a healthy bite, use their free Wifi or, even better, have a long chat with old and new friends.

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In most restaurants in HK, it doesn't, the "service charge" just goes in the till.

It's just a ruse to increase the prices.

Staff are lucky if they're allowed to keep tips.

See e.g.