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Couple Busted for Refusing to Pay Tip

You get into some of the truckstops, particularly the western part of the country and the waitresses get to know you’re a good tipper, you get some of the best services around if it is some of the older, more experienced waitresses.

For example, never having to worry about the coffee cup going empty, regardless of how busy the place is, or getting a crappy table/booth, or if they know that you and a few few of your buds that you run with will be coming in at a certain time; viola, the reserved sign on that back table disappears as four truckers set down. Did I say that at these stops my tips start at 25%? Well worth it, when the wheels are moving that’s when the meter is ticking. :2wave:
 
If you are a frequent customer, being memorable can really work in your favor. As part of the tip I always leave a dollar coin as it is one more way to stand out from the crowd. Some places, I leave a note of thanks as well. One woman told me that the notes were very helpful when she was being considered for a pay raise and better hours.

Being nice to service personnel doesn't take much effort and can go a long way to making that persons day more pleasant. It seldom makes yours less so.
 
vauge said:
Is a "gratuity" required?

I've always thought the extra added gratuity for groups of 6 or more are actually part of the bill and I *never* tip above that.

LOL, they should have forced the bar to split the ticket....no we are not a 'party/group' we just want to sit together. :)


More, plus a vid: Couple Busted for Refusing to Pay Tip | NBC Philadelphia

What do you think?
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I tip five bucks minimum and that's if the service is AWFUL and there's no excuse for it. I've had a waiter spill my order in my lap (wasn't her fault, one of the other waiters ran into her) and I still tipped 22% of the bill.

When I go out to dinner, I take into account that my bill is going to be 22-30% higher than what it says on the check. If I get really bad service, then I still tip something. These people deal with horrible, rude assholes all day and night. Many are college educated and do this as a second job or are paying their way through school. Some are teachers who have the second job to make ends meet, etc. When you go out to dinner and served by another human being, you plan to reward them for it or you don't go out.

And besides, 16% referenced in the OP is shamefully low to start with. Gratuity should be 10% for acceptable service, 22-25% for good service, and 25-30% for great service.
 
jallman said:
And besides, 16% referenced in the OP is shamefully low to start with. Gratuity should be 10% for acceptable service, 22-25% for good service, and 25-30% for great service.
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Depends on the restaurant and the waiter. I have been in a really expensive place where 3 of us spent 1.5 hours, $400 on food and saw the waiter exactly 4 times and never when we were trying to get his attention. There was no way that he had earned a $100 tip. He got $15 and an explanation to the manager as to why. The manager agreed.

A place like this a good waiter can take home $1500 per night. And if management is paying attention, only good waiters will get hired there.

Had these people talked to the manager and explained why they felt the staff didn't earn a tip, then the situation may have turned out differently.
 
winston53660 said:
So the chef a higher paid person screws up your order. Should the service person have to pay for that?
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Depends if the food is crap or the service is crap. I had two situations.

One where the food was bad, the waitress was really good about getting the order replaced.

The second situation with the food being bad, the waitress was a bitch about it and acted like I was just an inconvenience to her.

The woman in the first case got an excellent tip, the woman in the second case did not get a good tip.

I don't hold the waitress/waiter responsible for the bad food, but if her/his service is bad in getting it replaced (i.e. they have an attitude about it), then it is on her/him.
 
What cop in their right mind would actually do this?

The police department in question is running a giant risk here of a lawsuit. If the couple play their cards right, they could walk away with a fair sum of money. If this ever goes to court, a half decent judge is going to dismiss the case against the couple immediately. I bet right now that the top cop in the area is sweating over this.
 
obvious Child said:
What cop in their right mind would actually do this?

The police department in question is running a giant risk here of a lawsuit. If the couple play their cards right, they could walk away with a fair sum of money. If this ever goes to court, a half decent judge is going to dismiss the case against the couple immediately. I bet right now that the top cop in the area is sweating over this.
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Oh I doubt it. Theft of service is a real crime and not taken lightly.
 
aps said:
I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut if I had a friend that did this.
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I'm not sure we're really friends, but I worked with her and we still communicate. I keep my mouth shut cause she is on the poor side, but as someone said, if you can't afford to tip, go to Mickey D's. I think she's used to her fellow diner's leaving the rest of the tip for her. I don't think she's alone in the tipping world, either. There are a lot of tightwads. :3oops:
 
Travelsonic said:
Except you'd have to prove theft of services applies here.
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If it is posted in that restaurant that a 16% gratuity is attached to parties of 6 or more or whatever the sign says, then the only defense for not paying the bill as presented is to prove that the signage was not clearly visible to the customer.

I highly doubt that's the case.
 
jallman said:
If it is posted in that restaurant that a 16% gratuity is attached to parties of 6 or more or whatever the sign says, then the only defense for not paying the bill as presented is to prove that the signage was not clearly visible to the customer.

I highly doubt that's the case.
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It's probably printed on the menus too.
 
jallman said:
Oh I doubt it. Theft of service is a real crime and not taken lightly.
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When is gratuity legally mandatory?

As long as it's not a mandatory service charge, then gratuity is not legally required to be paid.

Foobooz Tip Log: The Legality of Auto-Gratuity

And as I expected, the case is being dropped:
Update: Case Tips Over - Police Drop Tipping Charges - Strange Crime - Legally Weird

And even worse, apparently the charged gratuity was more then explicitly stated:

Police Drop Theft Charges Against Pub Non-Tippers - The Consumerist

jallman said:
If it is posted in that restaurant that a 16% gratuity is attached to parties of 6 or more or whatever the sign says, then the only defense for not paying the bill as presented is to prove that the signage was not clearly visible to the customer.
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That actually only applies if the gratuity is stated as a mandatory service charge. Otherwise, there's no clear law on that.
 
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Hurray!

Oh and the article says they overcharged the added gratuity on the bill. I hope other people keep their receipts and they start a class action lawsuit and put this guy out of business.
 
Tsunami said:
Hurray!

Oh and the article says they overcharged the added gratuity on the bill. I hope other people keep their receipts and they start a class action lawsuit and put this guy out of business.
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Why does everything need to end up in court?

How about, instead of clogging up the courts with a lawsuit, everyone who's unhappy with the restaurant can stop going there? :2razz:
 
When I had a restaurant we didn't pay half the minimum wage, we paid over the minimum wage.

The profit margin in restaurants is very slim, btw. It's a very labor intensive industry. I'm glad I no longer am involved with the restaurant business.

In our place the prep cook and diswasher got a percentage of the tips.
 
Does no one know that you tip 1 penny if the service is awful??? At least that way they can't reason that you forgot to tip or something. Then...they know...
 
A good lawyer could get this tossed, I could. While a gratuity may very well be posted, you are only obligated to pay for what you have received, nothing more. This establishment cannot tax a customer anything other then the state tax that is lawful, one could certainly fight this forced gratuity. The question is, what kind of a-hole is going to make a scene like this, I think this is why they were probably charged with a crime.
 
I avoid all situations where this type of "tip" is in effect.

I also don't tip, because it's not my job to subsidize an employees wages. Owners take advantage of tips by paying lower wages.
 
CrusaderRabbit08 said:
I avoid all situations where this type of "tip" is in effect.

I also don't tip, because it's not my job to subsidize an employees wages. Owners take advantage of tips by paying lower wages.
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Cheapskate.:lol:

I tip 20%, if the service is good, if not, I might leave a few dollars, I think people get the message.
 
Jackboot said:
Cheapskate.:lol:

I tip 20%, if the service is good, if not, I might leave a few dollars, I think people get the message.
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:mrgreen:

Do you tip store employees if they help you find the product you're looking for by taking you directly to it? ;)
 
Jackboot said:
No, but they do not make 2 dollars an hour.;)
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Like I said, it's not my job to subsidize their wages. As long as people continue tipping, employers will continue to take advantage of it by paying lower wages.
 
CrusaderRabbit08 said:
Like I said, it's not my job to subsidize their wages. As long as people continue tipping, employers will continue to take advantage of it by paying lower wages.
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I think that most of these people appreciate their situation, as they can screw the government, I happen to respect that, last of the free market!
 
Jackboot said:
I think that most of these people appreciate their situation, as they can screw the government, I happen to respect that, last of the free market!
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By not reporting their supplemental wages? ;)
 
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