Is 20% service fee the gratuity?

Cassandra999

I am going to ask the venue coordinator this but I wanted to see what others have seen first.
The venue (we are using their in house catering) has a 20% service fee on all food & drink.  Is this usually considered the gratuity or is gratuity expected on top? 
What have you girls seen around Columbus with your venues or caterers? 
I checked around on other boards and it seems to be different regionally.
Thanks!

rodgers2013

yes, the service fee means that the company takes a portion to help pay for the staff and the remaining amount goes directly to the staff. The gratuity is handled through this. You are not required to tip on top of the service charge/gratuity fee however some people do.

Cassandra999

Thanks!  I was getting worried.  Another 15-20% additional would be getting really expensive for us!

osumegs

Thanks. We were wondering the same thing!

MissOwl

i've heard it both ways. i have heard that service fee only means paying the servers and thus gratuity is expected on top of the (crazy expensive) 20%. i would definitely check.
fill us in though! it would be great to know if it's included or not.

AlliD11

Thanks for asking this, I was wondering the same thing!