Watch: Customers And Restaurant Employees In Tussle Over Service Charge In Noida

The service charge debate has been going on for quite some time. In June 2022, the government of India asked restaurants to remove the service charge from their bills as it was completely voluntary. While some restaurants followed suit, others continued to levy this contentious charge. And now, another video has surfaced that has started this debate afresh. On Twitter, a video showed a tussle between customers and staff outside at a Noida restaurant reportedly over a service charge issue Originally shared by a user named @ShaanKh78682118, it was reshared and retweeted many times. Take a look:

@gharkekalesh Kalesh b/w Bouncers and Family over service charge at spectrum mall sector 50 pic.twitter.com/K3on2TOMx8— Shaan خان (@ShaanKh78682118) June 18, 2023

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The incident happened on Sunday night at Noida’s Spectrum Mall in Sector 75. As per reports, the restaurant where it occurred was ‘Float by Duty-Free’. The customers had allegedly asked for the service charge on the bill to be removed, but the restaurant staff refused and argued with them. A verbal tussle began and soon became physical, as per Twitter user @Sunita57356474 who narrated her experience in a thread.
“Today we[sic] have visited your restaurant Float by Dutyfree located at Spectrum Mall, Sector-75, Noida with my family. First of all your staff declined us to serve certain food items post and we said okay. Post that we asked for the bill and they handed over the bills to us and we asked them to remove the service charge but they were adamant not to remove and start abusing my brother and assaulted me,” she wrote on her handle.
This was not the end, as the situation progressively got worse from there. “Post that your staff started beating my brother, me my mother and Maasi. 30 people started beating my family and grab my brother by the neck and try to strangle him. Sir, we don’t expect this kind of behaviour from anyone. We go to many restaurants but no one behaves like your staff behaved today,” she concluded. She also shared some pictures from the incident on her handle. Take a look:

https://t.co/MTTHCpOT2Fpic.twitter.com/6HCUpzWHat— Sunita (@Sunita57356474) June 18, 2023

Also Read: Service Charge To Be Removed From Restaurant Bills As Per New Guidelines
As per Indian Express, an FIR has been registered and investigations into the incident are underway. “Necessary legal action is being taken after registering the charges. Those who have been assaulted, their arrest will be ensured,” said Harish Chander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida.

In May 2023, NDTV Food team had also visited the same restaurant ‘Float by Duty-Free’. Our experience left us quite disappointed with the service and food. Click here to read more about it.