I was in a restaurant a week ago (in Avon, England) and had 10% option gratuity added to the bill. How the hell is it optional - they added the bloody thing to the bill. Am I now going to make a fuss and put a damper on the evening by asking them to take it off? It's my money, I decide if I want to tip, bloody cheek.
If I see a line item like that on a bill I don't ASK to have it taken off, I take a pen and strike it out, calculate a new total without the item, and pay that.
The restaurant (only place I've ever seen in) can also forget about me leaving a tip on the table (though I might give something to the waiter who helped me directly).
And no, I'm no cheapskate.
If warranted, I'll tip anyone whose service I enjoyed individually resulting in a total tip far higher than the "required amount".
But I won't be bullied into tipping any set percentage or amount determined by someone else, instead always letting the service provided determine what if anything the person gets.
Last Christmas, we tipped the musician in the restaurant €10 (in addition to something like €50+ for the waiters and cooks). Guy was astounded to get anything at all, NOONE in 2 days had thought of doing that (and I doubt he'd get anything from the communal pot of tip money as he was not an employee of the restaurant).