The sweet aroma of consent

A Sunday family lunch at a popular mall restaurant in Pune turned out to be quite a treat — and not just because of the food. After savouring dim sums, salmon sushi, and rice cakes, we braced ourselves for the usual post-meal ritual: waiting for the bill while doing an anxious mental math check for hidden service charges.

Instead, the waiter brought us a pleasant surprise: a small card.

Before the actual bill was generated, we were asked to fill out a quick consent form. It asked if we were comfortable paying a service charge based on our experience, offering three varying percentage boxes to tick. Voila! A restaurant asking for permission before altering the digits. It was elegant, polite, and entirely optional.

The debate over compulsory service charges at Indian eateries has been simmering for years. While the Department of Consumer Affairs has clarified that these charges are entirely voluntary, hospitality bodies like the FHRAI maintain that they are simply collected to benefit the back-of-house staff — everyone from the kitchen line to the cleaning crew who serve us indirectly.

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When you look at the larger picture, most of us want to tip. We voluntarily leave a little extra behind when we walk out of a café or fine-dining spot satiated and content. The friction only arises when that tip is forced upon us as a fixed line item. The psychology is simple: We are paying for what we eat, and the tip cannot be mandated.

But when a restaurant hands you a consent form before the bill arrives, the entire dining psychology shifts. Consent turns a transactional charge into a sweet gesture. According to 2025 data from the Economic Times, Indians spent an average of ₹1,056 crore daily on eating out in the first half of the financial year. Food is our ultimate emotional currency; it’s how we celebrate, build a community, and connect. Because eating out makes us fundamentally happy, tipping shouldn't cause a daily brouhaha — provided the intent is right.

As the late Anthony Bourdain, famously noted in Kitchen Confidential, treating your waiter well isn't just a moral obligation; it’s a modern survival tool, and tipping is common advice. Bourdain famously warned that your waiter always knows your type, and if he likes you, he might just stop you from ordering the day-old fish that's bound to ruin your week.