Is a 20 percent service charge normal?

Do you think it is normal to have a 20 percent service charge, or 'garsoniye', added to the bill for a meal you have eaten?

Tipping is a rule of courtesy, it is a culture.

Tipping is something that comes from the heart if you have received a service from somewhere, from the past to the present.

No one imposes on you how much to give, and they should not.

Wherever you eat in the world, you decide the tip you will give.

I spent a lovely evening at Sunset, one of Istanbul's most luxurious restaurants, famous for its view.

Anyone who goes to Sunset to eat is already familiar with its prices. They also know what kind of bill will arrive at the end of the meal.

But they only learn that they will pay a 20 percent service charge when the bill is placed in front of them.

Everywhere in the world, the service charge on the bill you pay at the end of a meal varies between 5 and 20 percent.

You decide the service charge you will pay. You can give 5 percent or 20 percent if you wish.

Or you can give nothing at all.

It has now become fashionable in our country, especially in Istanbul and holiday regions, to add a service charge directly to the bill.

We are used to 10 percent, but paying a 20 percent service charge is nothing but being ripped off.

At Sunset, the cost of a meal for 4 people, including appetizers, main courses, desserts, and 1 bottle of alcohol, is 40 thousand TL.

Doesn't paying 8 thousand TL as a 20 percent service charge on this bill seem a bit exorbitant to you too?

And what is the deal with charging a 1,000 TL cover charge on top of that, at 250 TL per person for 4 people?

Even Nusr'et, which is at the center of criticism, only takes 5 percent as a service charge.

If you ask me, I find that wrong too.

A 5 percent service charge is a very low rate.

Those who see 5 percent on the bill do not want to leave a tip, thinking that a service charge has already been taken.

In this system, you inevitably crush the waiters and let them be crushed.

By the way, the customer is not forced to pay a tip.

Even if it is written on the menu or at the entrance, this fee is not legally valid.

The whole world is now saying that we are the most expensive country in the world with these prices.

WE HAVE BECOME AN EXPENSIVE COUNTRY EVEN FOR WEALTHY ARABS

With these prices, Turkey has become a more expensive country than New York, London, and Tokyo.

Even Arab tourists are no longer coming to our country, which they find expensive.

European tourists have long since stopped visiting our country.

The meals we eat in Istanbul's few luxury restaurants are already twice the price of world-standard restaurant prices.

Turkish customers have also stopped going to many luxury restaurants.

Now it has reached the point of driving away foreign customers with these prices.

IS THERE NO INSPECTION?

I also have a word for the Ministry of Tourism.

Is there really no inspection mechanism?

Do you think these prices and these amounts taken as service charges are right?

Reports from the coasts suggest that the tourism season has not started well.

As everyone says, shall we say 'They deserve this'? Or, as the Ministry of Tourism, will you put a 'Stop' to this trend?