According to this article in the Philadelphia Enquirer, two college students in Pennsylvania were arrested after they refused to pay a restaurant mandated $16+ tip on a $73 bill.
They were with a half-dozen friends at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem last month, so the establishment tacked what it called a mandatory 18 percent gratuity onto the bill of about $73, according to reports.
[...]
They had to find their own napkins and cutlery while their waitress caught a smoke, had to ask the bar for soda refills, and had to wait over an hour for salad and wings, they told NBC10.
After refusing to pay the additional gratuity, the restaurant called the police who then arrested the two for theft. When asked if they would do it all again in the future, one of those involved said that they’d pay the tip next time.
I personally would *never* pay an 18% gratuity if it wasn’t deserved–mandatory or not and would be more than happy to call the police for not getting what I was paying to receive. But in the end I’m sure that a lot is missing from the story (from both sides) but it would seem to me that three things are at play here:
1. The waitstaff knew they’d get 18% regardless of how they performed.
2. Those that were arrested aren’t telling the whole truth.
3. Both the restaurant and police overreacted.
So what do you think about this one? Is it right for a restaurant to tack on an 18% gratuity and then call the cops when it’s not paid? Do you believe the stories on both sides? Were the cops a little ridiculous in their arresting the pair? Whatever you think about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you think.
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November 20th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Not Tipping After Poor Service Leads to Arrest?! http://tinyurl.com/yklbo3s
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
November 20th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Well, in my mind, an 18% mandatory gratuity is not really a tip, but is a part price of the meal. Since it’s mandatory, I guess I’ll just pay it and not visit the business ever again. It’s more or less along the lines of not agreeing with the law, but still having to follow it.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I dunno. Depends on how it is setup. If its just an automatic gratuity added due to the size of the group. Then I guess I pay it and then chew the living shit out of the manager if I feel the service is sub par. If it was mandatory I’d also not wait till the end to start bitching. I’d start right away.
Now if it was not known up front (i.e. not printed on the menu, or made clear when being seated) and they just tack it on the bill at the end. I wouldn’t be afraid to get cops involved if that’s how the restaurant wants to play it.
Personally for great service I tip 20% and just move down from there to good at 15%. Less than good 10%.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:14 am
A mandatory gratuity is nothing short of demanding and rarely do places who have that policy meet my standards. I’d much rather the tip be at the discretion of the diner. A friend of mine tips a dollar for each soda refill regardless of his total bill. It’s a unique way to handle it. Just like any job, if you do well people will notice. Take care of the customers and earn your tips and don’t rely on mandatory gratuities.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I hate mandatory tips, I don’t feel like servers are entitled to their tips, they need to give good service to get it. Going out to eat isn’t a charity drive.
What I don’t get about this story is why were they still there when the cops showed up? Didn’t they pay the tab and leave? I sure would have.
Anyways, like you said, there are certainly details we’re missing here, but I think the restaurant and the police overreacted for sure.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:28 am
This is a catch 22. Restaurants have trained us to subsidize the salaries of their wait staff. Lets call tipping what it is, a bribe. You’re giving someone some jing to give you a bit better service than you would have gotten otherwise, be it lose your luggage, help your golf game, or get you seated at the table you want. Unfortunately for waiters and such, the transaction doesn’t occur until the end of the meal, so for them it’s something they have to earn. I wonder what would happen of you slipped a waiter a fiver or a twenty as you were sitting down, “make sure our water glasses stay full” or something like that. Hmm sort of roll mafia style.. like it.
I digress. Restaurants underpay, servers have to make it up in
tips. The unwritten rules of tipping in America is 15% to 20%, gives folk a guideline of what to do, and has evolved into giving waiters an expectation. And, when they get stiffed for poor service.. they get pissed. Mandatory gratuity is supposed to address that when you have 20 people at a table it might take two or three waiters or busboys to handle the crowd. It’s not fair that the tip just go to the person who picks up the check..so they include it and, hopefully are honest enough, to distribute the balance accordingly.
But, is it mandatory? If it’s on the bill, as a line item charge.. I think the tip changes from true “gratuity” meaning pay what you think is right. It’s now become a labor charge in my mind, just like the autoshop, where, if you lined out the labor charge and drove off they find you, beat your ass and then have your mangled face arrested. So.. interesting case. I ‘m leaning on the idea that the kids, and since they were under 40 are dumbasses anyway and are liable for the charge and should be put in prison.
(Oh and BTW, NOHTING drives me crazier than when I ask someone in a service role, where I don’t know the custom, like fishing guide, barber, hooker, what do people tip and the answer is always “what ever you feel your experience/time/whatever was worth”. Fuck you folks. If you can’t help, you lose)
November 20th, 2009 at 11:28 am
if they got as shitty service as they said, they should have bailed after the water didn’t show up!
bb
November 20th, 2009 at 11:28 am
If a tip is mandatory and listed as such, I agree that it becomes a “service charge” and it is not optional. Calling the cops is insane, of course.
I hate mandatory 18% tips. First: I typically tip 20%. If it’s mandatory, I’m not going to add a buck to make up the 2%. I believe the Graves Hotel has a mandatory tip at Bradstreet Crafthouse – which annoys me.
Also: the mandatory tip robs me of the opportunity to reward good service. Instead, I just pay the charge, and move on.
If you have bad service and want to make a point, you should speak to a manager and explain why you refuse to pay the 18% service charge. Also, these guys are 22-year-old college kids and I suspect they were just being D-bags.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
If it clearly stated on the menu that for a party of their size, that’s what they would be charged at the end of their meal, then yes, they should have paid it. And if they were truly sitting there for an hour waiting for their food, then they should have spoken to the manager. He probably would have comped something for them.
However, I do wish we operated like other countries where servers are paid a reasonable wage and tipping is a “bonus” above and beyond it rather than an expectation.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
The kids should have either spoken to a manager about the poor service or just paid the 18% (assuming the menu clearly stated there would be such a fee…). If at the end of the experience, they felt like they were dealt with unfairly, they should simply never return, tell all their friends about their poor experience, and discourage anyone else from going there.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:30 am
One thing that is interesting: $73 * .18 = 13.14. $16.35 would actually be a very hefty 23% or so tip. I wonder if the incident arose because of some fuzzy math on the part of the wait staff? Or maybe the newspaper reports have the number wrong. Hard to tell. My guess is alcohol was involved and things got heated.
I think a mandatory gratuity is ridiculous in most cases. Call it a “service charge” or build it in to the prices, but it’s an oxymoron to have a mandatory gratuity. That said… I know many restaurants charge a mandatory gratuity for large groups (e.g. 8 or more). This seems okay to me, because (1) I imagine dealing with large groups is difficult and demanding and that the hard work of the server in such a situation may be difficult for the group to perceive, (2) tips often get lost in the fray when large groups are dividing up the bill, leaving the server shafted too often.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Woah, wait a minute, you’re supposed to tip hookers?! Nobody told me….
November 20th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Mrs Marcos,
Either the tip or the whole thing will suffice.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Bahahahaha, classic joke, TDevils!
November 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
AT some point or other in the past few years i read an economists article on the actual impact of tipping on service. Basically that economist said it really has no bearing on the level of service that waitstaff give diners. Tipping therefore has no long term effect on the quality of service accdg to the study.
I tip 20% for good service, 15% for adequate service.
Most servers are paid subhuman wages, I dont mind paying the tip.
Mandatory service charges… the comments given are all correct, complain about it if the service was not good. But usually most restaurants state this on their menu… in the USA usually for a party of 8 or more is my experience. In Europe it is always on it.. except for standup counter service.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I always tip hookers.. we’re talking fishing guides right?
November 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I expected fishing guides to help you hook fish. Unfortunately I took my father fishing with this one guide in WI and my dad didn’t catch shit.
I didn’t tip that guy at all.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Just to put some perspective on this all. While some of us may understand our responsibility in tipping for good service, there are many that either don’t, or simply do not care. The mandatory 18% gratuity wouldn’t be implemented if at some time in the past some schmuck expected the world, and got it, and left a $1.00 or $0.00 tip.
There are lots of people out there like that. When my wife was in school she was a waitress and has lots of stories of dead beats. Many of them business people who would have a big lunch with a large group and then when it came time to pay, would leave a tip barely 5%, even though two waitresses were at their beck and call the whole time.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I’m one of those people who starts tipping at $0 and goes up from there depending on how good the service was. I’m fair–nearly all of the time I tip 15-18% (even at counter service like Satay2Go!) but fairness goes both ways. I have been known to tip $0 and leave a note that said, “Next time don’t talk on your cell phone in the foyer for 20 minutes while my beer sits empty.”
November 20th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Actually i did leave technically nothing at a lunch at Meritage in downtown St Paul once, the server seemed to not have taken her meds or had a bad hangover…it was sunday about noon… spent 5 minutes arguing with the table next to us, made mistakes on our order, then came back and spent 10 minutes talking to the table behind us about her neuroses. We had to leave to see a play and I finally had to flag a busboy who had been busting his ass and apologizing… i gave him a $5 bill on a $25 tab and left nothing for the server and told the guy not to share it with her.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
As a former server, I usually hated mandatory gratuity, it left me shorted in many cases, and almost felt like stealing when I had an off night and didn’t do the job I should have.
In this case, as long as it was stated on the menu, I would have asked to speak to the manager. If they weren’t willing to help me out I would have just paid it and never gone back, and probably told everyone I could about the poor service.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Somehow I got left behind. I still live in the 10% tip for normal service, 15% for good service world.
/shrug
November 20th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Speaking of gratuity stories. This one occurred at the Apple Valley Red Robin, on a Saturday afternoon, approximately three years ago.This was the first time that I had experienced this establishment. My wife and I met our son and his family for lunch. The bill for eight came to approximately $80. I put a “0″ in the tip portion of the bill. I used my debit card BUT left 15+% “cash” on the table for the tip. Sunday morning, I was “on line” checking my bank statement, noticed that my Red Robin bill was 15% over the amount that I had signed which appeared in the “pending” portion of my checking account. I immediately called the “manager on duty” and informed him that our server had stolen cash from me. He stated that, that is what there CPA firm does for the individual server’s paperwork to SHOW that they, the serve, receive 15% gratuity. I then went ballistic, stating that, “You had made an “unauthorized” withdrawal from my checking account. AND that you are using MY checking account for your own personal tracking of your employees. Suffice it to say, the 15% gratuity was returned to my checking account three days later. NOW, you must understand that “pending” on your account MEANS that this is money available NOT to you BUT to the bank. In my case, this money was used in a 24 hour world money market fund. Bottom line? Don’t use your debit card until it becomes as safe as writing a check………. Those college kids DID the right thing!!!!
November 21st, 2009 at 8:11 am
If the required gratuity was clearly stated up front, then those guys needed to pay it, bad service or not. They can then just not go there again; no need for the drama. But I also think it was excessive for the restaurant to call the police, even if they technically had the right to do it. Just solve the dispute like grownups and move on.
My standard for tipping is 20%, with 25% if the service is good and 10-15% or less if it isn’t (and it was something the server had control over). Sometimes this changes; for example at bars, I usually tip a buck per drink unless I’m getting food too.
But I agree with Emily that other countries do this more sensibly. It was nice when I went to Japan to know that whatever it said on the menu was exactly what I would pay — no tip because the staff is paid better from the get-go, and taxes were already factored into the price.
November 21st, 2009 at 10:17 pm
ok. i want to start with the fact that I am a waitress, and have been since i was 16, so almost eight years. (ive had jobs in other industries and retail as well).
the whole mandatory gratuity bit is a double edged blade. you could leave it off and get more, or less. with it on there, its an assurance that you are going to get that much.
our establishment has it printed in the menu that with groups of 6 or more an 18% gratuity will be added. 15% on sunday brunch. and while i know most places have the groups at 8, there is a circumstance that i think warrants the 6.
we are a participating location for the diner of the month club cards, the little box full of white punch cards, and also the happenings/entertainment books. and you can use up to three of them at a table. so a group of 6 eats for the price of 3. and while in their guidelines they do say to tip before the discount. so few people actually do that. so say everyones meal is $18 and they just get food, one card requires beverage purchase and one does not (the cards are good for, 17 or 18$ buy one get one) 6 people thats $108. thats an $18 – 18% tip. but instead they tip after the discount, and you get $9. for a group of 6 with a $100+ tab. really?! awesome.
that is the only case where i feel justified using the “mandatory” gratuity, which it definitely isnt mandatory because i leave it off all the time and get tipped crazy better. there are times when people think i was silly to not add the gratuity and then when the checks closed out, i’ve made 30% on a large party instead of 18%.
i feel that i am a pretty good server (bill, how was your first time with me, and your second) and i feel that i work hard for whatever i get, which is generally above 18%. but i also put in five years at Dennys, where you get the lowest of the lows, stiffed on a regular basis, people walk out on their checks all together. and i think that has given me an appreciation for my job and the money that people CHOOSE to give me. i am the same happy go lucky-try my best to remember your face/name/order-give 110% of myself to every table, whether they leave me 10% or 20%.
i love my job. waitressing. not many people can say that as honestly and as whole-heartedly as i do. but i do. if i didnt love it i would not stay in the industry because it is amazing how hard it can be. i think there are people who do not love their job and are just there for the money and thats where bad service comes from. and it does suck to be ‘forced’ to reward the bad server with a ‘mandatory’ tip. i think if there is a problem with something, address it while it can still be fixed. dont wait until the end. if its with the food, let the server know before youve eaten it all, if its the server, somehow get to a manager to talk about it. we cant help you if you dont tell us somethings wrong.
okay, wow this post is a lot longer than i intended. did i mention i love my job and get kind of passionate about it?
November 21st, 2009 at 10:40 pm
You’ll have to refresh my memory.
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Found through my apts @BurlingtonApts twitter feed @garciasn “Not tipping after poor service leads to arrest” http://bit.ly/6huc3F
This comment was originally posted on Twitter