Couple Busted for Refusing to Pay Tip :blink:

[lyekka 5]

Having been a server for 20 years there has been plenty of times i wanted to have my customers arrested for not tipping lol. But Im good at my job. The worst thing I can be told by someone at my table is," youre the best server we have ever had!" Thats like the kiss of death, every time im told that i either get stiffed or get a really low tip. lol. Love that people are nice, but i have 3 kids to feed rofl. Being nice to me does not put food on my table even though you got plenty on yours.

[SunDrop 59]

Something about this story bothers me.

They said the bill was $73 and there was a mandatory tip of 18%, right? 18% of $73 works out to be $13.14, not $16. Even a 20% tip on $73 wouldn't be high enough as that'd come out to $14.60. You'd need to tip 22% in order to get $16.06 (and that's six cents over the amount claimed).

Unless there's some "hidden tax" the article isn't explaining, the numbers simply don't make sense. Of course... this entire story doesn't make sense.

Food bill, wasn't it? That wouldn't include drinks. Most restaurants will comp food but not drinks.

And I agree with the PP about waiting staff stiffing themselves out of larger gratuities by adding the 'group charge'.

Christmas party bookings where I once worked always attracted this charge, but it was easy for us servers to 'forget' to add it at billing, but be sure to let the group know: "Thanks for eating with us, hope you found everything satisfactory. Oh, and I didn't add the group charge to your bill, I don't agree with charging people for being sociable!' It always got a laugh and I always got more than the 15% charge. The only exception being when large groups were splitting the bill individually. It's rare that everyone chips in their share of the tip (at least in the UK) so you inevitably 'lose' some of the percentage. And, for the sake of honesty, when there was a group who were particularly obnoxious and I knew it was one person paying on behalf of the company, I'd add the charge and more often than not would get tipped on top of that (incl. 10-15% of the charge! lol) Moral of that story is, make sure whoever is holding the corporate credit card is as drunk as the rest of their party!

It was incredibly physically demanding work but by heck, it paid off. I walked out with an average of £2-300 ($3-450) per night in gratuities alone.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

No one should have been arrested, but why wasn't the whole party arrested with the couple?

[The_Dude 1,142]

No one should have been arrested, but why wasn't the whole party arrested with the couple?

Because they weren't the ones refusing to pay. Seems quite clear.

I dislike how some servers seem to think that no matter what, people are beholden to leave a 15% tip. ** that. If I get crappy service, I leave 0% tip, If I get great service, I'll leave 30-35% tip. I think the nature of the job is quite self-evident.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Apparently the numbers not adding up is a part of the problem.

Pope and Wagner, members of a party of eight during happy hour, refused to pay a $16.35 service charge on top of their $73.87 tab because of what they say was shoddy service as well as a surcharge that was nearly 5 percent higher than the 18 percent listed on the menu.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/today/inde...lice_cruis.html

So not only were they arrested for not tipping, but they were arguing over a bill that was wrong! Next time you order and are overcharged beware! Its a crime to argue about the bill!

[Chica Yeyé 41]

No one should have been arrested, but why wasn't the whole party arrested with the couple?

Because they weren't the ones refusing to pay. Seems quite clear.

I dislike how some servers seem to think that no matter what, people are beholden to leave a 15% tip. ** that. If I get crappy service, I leave 0% tip, If I get great service, I'll leave 30-35% tip. I think the nature of the job is quite self-evident.

Hey, drop by my cafe, I could use a 35% tip

[HAL 9000 96]

[bayoisa 0]

I was shocked at the story. I also think that tips shouldn't be mandatory, especially in restaurants that don't offer good service. But I know that the service charge is something that you have to pay, regardless of the service.

[NickD 203]

Wife and I ate at a restaurant that on the menu said that no extra gratuities are necessary as they are ADDED to the bill. When I got the bill and recalled the prices on their menu, they were very generous with themselves, practically twice the price. I paid it with a smile and just said, you will never ever see us here again, nor will you see our friends.

Can say I wasn't warned so didn't have an argument, some restaurants use the word, gratuities are INCLUDED with the bill so you know in advance what you are paying for.

We happened to go to another restaurant that used the word, ADDED to the bill, but didn't know that until we were seated, served water and some snacks, we got up and left. That we could do.

We live in a world today where you have to read the fine print.

[HAL 9000 96]

What wonderful place was this Nick? Seems a little fishy to me.

[NickD 203]

Wife and I ate at a restaurant that on the menu said that no extra gratuities are necessary as they are ADDED to the bill. When I got the bill and recalled the prices on their menu, they were very generous with themselves, practically twice the price. I paid it with a smile and just said, you will never ever see us here again, nor will you see our friends.

Can say I wasn't warned so didn't have an argument, some restaurants use the word, gratuities are INCLUDED with the bill so you know in advance what you are paying for.

We happened to go to another restaurant that used the word, ADDED to the bill, but didn't know that until we were seated, served water and some snacks, we got up and left. That we could do.

We live in a world today where you have to read the fine print.

Oh gosh, a couple of years ago in some small town about 30 miles south of the Wisconsin Dells, took the scenic route home. Can't even recall the name of the town. We normally don't stop at fast food places. Second restaurant was in Venezuela, good thing my wife and read and speak Spanish, she said, let's leave.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

The thing that I find amusing is that the owners of the restaurant didn't foresee how arresting customers could have a profoundly negative effect on their business. Their bottom line may severely suffer now, all for the sake of a lousy $16.

They fail at capitalism.

[Niels Bohr 72]

At the spur of the moment that probably never crossed the owner's mind. Probably was having a bad day or something. And, probably never thought anyone would even listen to the customer's stories.

The thing that I find amusing is that the owners of the restaurant didn't foresee how arresting customers could have a profoundly negative effect on their business. Their bottom line may severely suffer now, all for the sake of a lousy $16.

They fail at capitalism.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

No one should have been arrested, but why wasn't the whole party arrested with the couple?

Because they weren't the ones refusing to pay. Seems quite clear.

I dislike how some servers seem to think that no matter what, people are beholden to leave a 15% tip. ** that. If I get crappy service, I leave 0% tip, If I get great service, I'll leave 30-35% tip. I think the nature of the job is quite self-evident.

same here. I do have a couple chronically cheap friends. I point it out to them, it's embarrassing.

[MrsCat 6]

Why is there a mandatory gratuity for tables of 6+?