A tip is a gratuity, a gift. Set them free!!!

These pretzels are making me thirdsty.

A mandatory tip is not a tip, it should be built into the price of the food.

That being said, WTF is wrong with the restaurant and cops for taking it to this level?

"These kids don’t have any idea about what they’re talking about. These people bust their ass. This is a hard job."

Really, Elie? C'mon. How do you know?

Must be a slow news day.

I was always under the impression that if the restaurant calls it a 'service fee', then you've got to pay, but if they call it 'gratuity', then it's optional.

If it is statutory then it is no longer a gratuity, it is mandatory like a tax.

5, have you ever heard of this movie "Reservoir Dogs"? If not, it's expressly referenced several times in this post - you should read it.

In every situation I've encountered like this, the menu clearly states that in parties of a certain number there will be a *mandatory* gratuit added. Therefore, you know the gratuity is part of the bill and not optional before you place your order. In other words, it's a service charge. They failed to pay it.

I was a waiter in high school. I always found it incredible that I could legally be paid less than the minimum wage and have to rely on, essentially, the kindness of others and custom to make up for it. And yes, I've subsequently refused to leave a tip on a few occasions when service was atrocious.

5 = EPIC FAIL

how come black people never tip?

Gratuity can have two meanings. On the one hand, the idea of a mandatory gratuity is a complete oxymoron because gratuity can refer to an award without claim or obligation. In that sense, there should be no arbitrary line drawn between parties of 5 or 6; if the waiter didn't deserve a tip, she shouldn't be entitled to one. On the other hand, a gratuity can be an additional charge placed for services rendered. In this sense, the gratuity is a response to the additional service that the restaurant must perform for a party of 6. That being said, the mandatory service fee should equal the marginal service that's required to accomodate the large party and should be flexible (no more than 3 or 4%). In any event, I hope Larry David read this because this would make for a great Curb episode.

I can maybe understand an arrest for a required gratuity for "groups of 6 people or more" type thing, but otherwise tips should be discretionary even though cops don't treat them as such. Remeber that guy who went to a restaurant on Long Island and got arrested for not leaving a tip? Getting arrested for that is plain obnoxious and un-American.

I waited tables through college, I think I the "salary" the place paid me was something like $3.09 an hour. In other words, these cheap fuckers basically stole money.

Blame the restraurant, not the patrons.

15 - no one forced you to be a waiter

I waited tables for about 5 years before I went to law school. I have a couple of observations:

Service charges are usually reserved for parties of at least 6 or more. How on earth did 6 people eat and drink for a total bill of $73.87 (presumably post-tax)? This only leads me to conclude that these people were cheap college assholes -- the dredges of society when dining out. I have no doubt that this was a poor attempt at a quasi-dine-and-dash.

All that said, I've noticed that some restaurants with a largely African American following mandate the 18% service charge on parties of 4 or more.

Discuss.

15, don't be a fuckhead. by your logic, the restaurant owner's are equally guilty of theft from the wait staff; the failure to pay the difference b/w $3.09 and whatever you deem a reasonable salary is no different than the patron's failure to make up that same difference with a tip.

i bet you're probably puting in a BLT and soup order as i'm posting this.

Dear waiters/waitress: shut it about getting paid less than minimum wage, legally your employer must make up the difference if you end up below it.

Better yet, get a job that conveyor belt cannot do.

17: It's still robbery

- 16

Waitresses are just one of many groups the government fucks in the ass on a regular basis!

Charlie Charlie Chan?

5 - You need to immerse yourself into pop culture.

All else, these cheap a$$holes got what they deserved. I love that they will be google pwn3d for the rest of the lives. "We have rights. I am a GRADUATE student at Lehigh University officer. Do YOU know who I am?"

From the article:

"The group reportedly had to wait more than an hour for salad and wings and had to approach the bar themselves for drink refills and find their own napkins and silverware as their waitress smoked outside."

Who the french toast would leave a tip after that type of service? HOMEYDONTPLAYDAT

@12 - Good question and thats not the first time I have heard that.

I am starting a new Meme. Any time Elie says something moronic, post GDYE for God Damn You Elie.
.....
GDYE

A patron should be able to dispute a bill and not get arrested for it. Sorry. I don't care what the menu says.

i would much rather waiters/waitresses got paid minimum wage so i didn't feel guilty if i didn't tip 15-20% and my tipping percentage actually reflected how I felt about the quality of service rather than my guilt at knowing waitresses make less than minimum wage.

Also, what's with tipping cab drivers? I feel like customary tipping percentages in the US are way higher than anywhere else, and I can't figure out why. Plus, I usually don't feel like tipping when I've nearly died 8 times on the way to my destination, which the cab driver missed because he was on his phone the whole time (happens more frequently than you'd think, at least to me)

15, if you don’t like it, get another job. Tipping in America has become such an obnoxious practice. It is no longer a "tip" as in a reward. No. The way these waitresses walk around, it's an entitlement. This is why I've curtailed eating out. I hate the smug attitude that waiters have these days. They make more money than so many other hard-working people and contribute shit to society. Why don’t we tip cashiers in Walmart? Or the guy behind the counter at Jack-in-the-box? He works just as hard. Another scam is tipping the bar tender for opening a bottle of beer. Jeez. These bar tenders make more money than some lawyers ITE. You stick a pair of boobs on a bartender and she'll clear $300/night. More in a nicer bar! Meanwhile what is a mail man making these days? What a banana republic this is.

LOL. Look at what the arrested loser grad student said.

'Pope and Wagner, 24, have pleaded not guilty and await a summary trial before District Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez.

“It is minorly ridiculous,” Pope, a native of Pottsville, Pa., said'

Anyone who is quoted as saying minorly ridiculous you know has to be an asshat of the highest order who went looking for trouble. Congrats. He FOUND it.

5-very well done.

Don't like it 26. Sounds too much like an Australian pleasantry.

Gdye to you.

$300 a night? That's at a shit bar. I used to pull down 10 bills on a good Saturday in the summer.

To 29's point, though -- the fact that I made $125K a year as a bartender and 3Ls are being suggested legal assistant/nanny jobs is pretty sad.

Why do black restaurant patrons always order pink lemonade?

LOL. Did all the anti-waiter/waitress trolls from XO come here today?

It is clear as a bell that these drunk losers caused a scene due to their cheapness (happy hour) and got arrested, Notice there were 8 of them, but only 2 got arrested. I'm sure the waitress was outside smoking the whole time ignoring them and they waited an hour for wings. That all sounds completely believable. LOL.

35, you know what is more believable?

you and all your black friends ate 6,000 garlic basted shrimps, 342 cheese biscuits and 234 lobsters at your local Red Lobster this past saturday, and left a single $5 bill to your server.

tell me i'm lying . . . that's right, i thought so.

Cheap assholes do this sort of thing. I waited tables the month before I started law school in a tourism location. One group refused to tip anything on like a Monday night. Then, on Friday, those sorry sacks of shit came back, and I had the privilege to serve them again. Result: shitty service. For some reason, they paid the mandatory gratuity this time around.

On another note, another server had someone try to do this to them. She shamed them publicly to everyone around that party's table. Fuckers paid up.

35,

Anyone who uses "LOL" to start and end a post is either a just-popped-his-internet-cherry noob or a bumbling asshat. Either way, please die.

@34: And orange soda? And mango martinis? And send you everywhere for everything? AGGREGATE YOUR REQUESTS, PEOPLE.

Now they have a case against the cops for abuse of process. Looks like they just got a new scholarship fund.

I'm guessing that most people who frequent this site have not waited tables. Those of us who worked through undergrad and have waited on tables of college students know that even though Daddy's platinum card pays for the meal, the tip will still be crap. It's not illegal. It's just a sad situation.

I once explicitly told our waiter that I removing the automatic (not mandatory) tip on our group of 6 because he was dismissive and borderline offensive. This also happens a lot in restaurants with celebrity other other VIP clientele (who are probably getting comped as well...the "average" diner is the one subsidizing the LiLo's of the world... I ALWAYS tip 20%, and if I can't afford that, then I'll frequent a less expensive restaurant, but there is no excuse for obnoxious service.

Before law school, I worked in a variety of restaurants as a waiter and a cook. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that waiters and waitresses of minimal competence easily make the most money of any non-salaried restaurant employees. And that statement included the assholes and cheapskates who simply won't leave a tip regardless of the level of service. If you work as a server and you can't make up the difference between your wage and minimum wage, you are clearly incompetent. The pendulum has swung so far to the other side on this arrangement that it's ridiculous. Abysmal servers regularly receive tips because people are strong-armed into leaving tips independent of the quality of the service. The only time most people refuse to leave tips are occasions of embarrassingly bad service. Mandatory grautities are bullshit because they discourage servers from actually trying to provide adequate service since they know their tip is secured. This story is confirmation of that.

Also, these kids are assholes - just pay the $16.

I had a girlfriend in college who would drive back home to work 3 night weekends in the mid-tier restaurant she worked at during highschool. She made $40k that year. This 19 year old girl made more than my father did as a highschool teacher (who, by the way, raised a family of five). Most of her pay was tax free.

This concept of the "starving waiter/waitress" is mostly fantasy. I have no problem leaving a token penny for sh**y service and applaud these two for taking a stand.

Anyone know why they were arrested, criminal trespass for causing a ruckus?

Should the failure to pay a mandatory gratuity be considered theft (criminal) or breach of contract (civil)?

35,

Anyone who uses "LOL" to start and end a post is either a just-popped-his-internet-cherry noob or a bumbling asshat. Either way, please die.

I had a girlfriend in college who would drive back home to work 3 night weekends in the mid-tier restaurant she worked at during highschool. She made $40k that year. This 19 year old girl made more than my father did as a highschool teacher (who, by the way, raised a family of five). Most of her pay was tax free.

This concept of the "starving waiter/waitress" is mostly fantasy. I have no problem leaving a token penny for sh**y service and applaud these two for taking a stand.

43 = Typical Back of House asshole.

38 & 46 -

Learn how to poast before calling someone a noob.

LOL. EAT SHI*. LOL

sounds like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm

36 -

Methinks you need to re-read 35. Since the beginning is anti-cheap a$$holes - I'm pretty sure the end is sarcasm.

I think customers everywhere should refuse to pay tips of any kind. Business owners should pay their employees a decent wage, then charge the customer a fair price. This bullshit of charging for the food, but then being forced to pay extra to have it cooked and brought to you table is just so much shit. I'm not against paying good wages to the help, but I am against the bullshit idea that it's a tip for service, when it in fact is pay for their services.

I also waited tables in college and would not call them cheap. What i would call this is a broken system. Get rid of tipping, pay servers more. Everyone wins.

"I worked as a waitress in college." Oh cry me a fucking river. I worked in the Post Office stuffing mail in the mailboxes. Then I worked as a cashier in a rough part of town with black moms wanting to buy smokes with foodstamps. And then I worked as a butcher. I worked just as hard as you, if not more. And guess what, no tips for me! Our society has shamed people into believeing that certain profession are tip-worthy whereas others are not. And these distinctions are completely arbitrary. Lot of people work hard dear. But not all of us get to make money based on shaming their customers. Tipping, as practiced in the States, is idiotic and needs to be reformed.

If a gratuity is mandatory, then it is not a tip, but rather it is included in the price of the meal. If the gratuity is then a part of the meal, the restaurant needs to be taxing it as well as the food. I am sure that they are not taxing their "mandatory gratuity" and should be liable for all back-taxes associated with their failure to pay Uncle Sam his due.

If they are really going to prosecute these guys for not paying the mandatory gratuity, we may need to get the IRS involved to go after the restaurant for back-taxes.

36 - I think in your haste to impress your fellow Knights, you neglected to actually read 35's post. The person is making fun of the college students, not supporting them.

If a gratuity is mandatory, then it is not a tip, but rather it is included in the price of the meal. If the gratuity is then a part of the meal, the restaurant needs to be taxing it as well as the food. I am sure that they are not taxing their "mandatory gratuity" and should be liable for all back-taxes associated with their failure to pay Uncle Sam his due.

If they are really going to prosecute these guys for not paying the mandatory gratuity, we may need to get the IRS involved to go after the restaurant for back-taxes.

If the menu clearly states there is an 18% service charge for parties of 6 or more, then this is a simple PA theft of service case and the police handled the situation correctly.

A service charge is NOT a tip under the law in PA.

THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.

Why do black people always have to drink overly sweet and colorful beverages?

This restaurant / bar is idiotic for letting two of its customers get arrested for not tipping.

I am really excited to go there now. Apparently, the service is horrible and you will get thrown in jail if you voice your concerns.

Whose up for happy hour at this place?

49=Poastman

Why do black people have to commit such a disproportionately high number of violent crimes?

The restaurant misrepresented the fee as being an "18% service fee", when in fact the amount requested was 23%. The patrons were entirely willing to pay the appropriate service fee of 18%, or $13.30, but the restaurant insisted on its inflated figure.

In fact, the restaurant, as a routine matter of practice,. represents its service fee as being 18%, but actually levies a substantially higher fee. As a result, hundreds - if not thousands - of restaurant patrons have unknowingly paid this higher fee.

This is amenable to class treatment.

5: You will be called Mr. Pink

57:

Let's assume the gratuity is mandatory, included in the price of the meal, and thus, taxable. Considering that almost any restaurant manager that witholds gratuities from their servers has been charged with some form of theft, and that if they paid their server the gratuity to which they're entitled as part of their "pay" for the night so that salary would be deductible, the restaurant has no motivation to handle it your way.

61 -

No. It appears 54 was a Poastman.

- 49

66 - No, he was worked for the postal service. You are a poastman.

66 -

No. 61 was right.

38 & 46

If the restaurant succeeds in this case, it can set legal precedent for bonuses. Bonuses are essentially gratuity for lawyers. If a firm decides to stiff the associates by not leaving a "tip" or an excessively low one, they should cite this case as an example of how gratuity is really mandatory and failing to leave a tip is a form stealing.

Crapshoot, but it's stronger than a Restatement 90 claim.

Cravath better send some lawyers to defend those patrons if it knows what's good for them!

63 -

That is the cheap lying kids story. I don't necessarily believe that. I'd like to see the police report.

47: did she have big fun ones?

13 and 50 - It was an episode, maybe 3 weeks ago.

Deferred Secure (in my pop culture exposure)

i have a friend who waits tables. he says even the black waiters feel sad when they have to wait on black eaters.

I love the service fee because it gives me an excuse not to leave 20%, LOL. However, it pisses me off when they charge this fee onto the charge with tax included...I'm sorry, but you do not pay tip on tax!

58 wins for biggest dork of the year (saying a lot on this board). You really had to end your post with "this is not legal advice"? Thanks. I wasn't sure. I usually get all my legal advice from a blog that has people calling each other "asshats." Who was going to mistake your advice for sound legal advice? And then who was going to sue you if you were wrong? And then who was going to subpoena ATL to get your info to track you down to get the 5 bucks that you have in your pocket?
Walk away. Just walk away.

My wife waited tables in college. If someone left a shitty tip (usually a black table), she would follow them out and return the money, explaining that they need it more than she does. Kind of fucked up, but the boss liked it.

75-

It is Interwebs meme from XO. Get over urself.

58

PS Dork is so 80s.

72 - touche, it was similar enough to the tip situation in the black swan episode. come to think of it, tipping seems to be one of LD's favorite topics. i can think of three different tip plots this season alone (space for additional gratuity, tip coordination, greasing the table seater). in any event, I DON'T WATCH WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE I'M AN ADULT!!!!!!

@76 - That's hilarious.

There is this BBQ joint in nyc with mandatory 18% gratuity for parties of 2 or more. I usually tip 20%, but didn't because of this insulting policy.

78 -

I have a rash on my pussy, it's pretty unpleasant.

The only thing that really bothers me is when i get the check and it isn't itemized; just a dollar amount at the bottom. So then I roll in a 20% tip. Only to find out, sometime later, that the bill already included an 18% gratuity.

But when we're talking $70... and you've got a party of 6+.. just pay the check then complain to the manager.

81 - if only i could think of a really horrible name to call you, i would

78, I just Dubertsteined all over your shit

Tipping in America is ridiculous. 29 and 44 about sum it up.

18 -- the answer to your question is "Yuengling." 6 people could have four glasses of that delicious, delicious lager, and the bill would come out to $48 before tax.

I went to visit a friend in Australia recently and no matter how much she insisted that tipping was not customary there I had trouble believing her and paying the restaurant bill without leaving a tip, but apparently it is true that there is no tipping there. Also, the service was consistently awful.

Bullshit fatass--Some of these joints hide the admonition as to the 18% mandatory tip tucked way inside their 8 page menu.

I will say that when multi party tables are involved there is much more chance for error, but I've been the vistim of shit service numerous times here in NYC where service is a dirty word.

Bad service=no tip. Period.

btw, Elie, we all know blacks don't tip so come off it.

18 -- the answer to your question is "Yuengling." 6 people could have four glasses of that delicious, delicious lager, and the bill would come out to $48 before tax.

63 - Win.

someone needs to create a Leon from Curb avatar

This whole idea about tipping is rediculous. I do believe in tipping (generally I am a very generous tipper when the server deserves it.) Here are some problems. Why use a percentage? Is it that much harder to carry a lobster than it is to carry a salad? Lets just do a flat fee. Every table includes a 5 dollar service fee (the tip) whenever you eat out. This eliminates the gift idea, we get to tax the hell out of the wait staff now (since we know what they are taking home at the end of the day (number of tables served times whatever the flat fee is) Plus now all the cry babies on this board will be happy because the wait staff is not getting paid minimum wage anymore.

for some reason, every restaurant i know that serves fried chicken, bbq, collard greens, cornbread, and/or catfish always imposes an obligatory, built in gratituity . . . . weird.

The DA should advise the restaurant that there are 3 options: (1) Investigate the case further and prosecute the cheapos if the restaurant's version is correct; (2) drop the case now at the request of the restaurant; or (3) drop the case later if the students version of the level of service is substantially correct, with the DA releasing a statement that the case is not being prosecuted because the restaurant failed to provide the level of service a patron should reasonably expect.

11,

Many thanks for posting the identical comment I was going to.

5,

Seriously?! There is so much ammo to insult Elie with (race, obesity, grammar, spelling, redact fails (Elie please moderate if I am missing any)), and then you go and pull an "Elie."

Keep up the good work Elie. You're always a good sport, and it's appreciated.

In college I was a waiter and when black people came into the restaurant the other waiters and I would always do rock-paper-scissors to see who would get their table.

Uh, Elie, in what universe can you file a counterclaim to CRIMINAL CHARGES in criminal court?

Also, for all of those bitching about "oh I was a waiter and it's tough," then (a) don't be a waiter, or (b) clean yourself up and be a waiter at a higher-class place where tipping is de rigeur,

Elie--Seriously, can you do an expose on why blacks, culturally, do not tip, or at least provide a cognizable framework as to why you believe they don't believe in the practice?

I suppose it ties in to socialistic attitudes shared by europeans (i.e. that waiters get paid so why tip them) but perhaps it involves a misunderstanding/acknowledgment refusal as to the compensation scheme attendant with the waiting profession. Perplexing.

- Sho 'nuff.

all these racist comments are disgusting. all of you should be ashamed of yourselves. black people are just bad at math. it's intimidating and easier to just leave.

CHECK YOU MATH

18%? What the fuck! If they waitress wants over 15%, I better be getting a blowjob with my meal.

I think Partner Emeritus really left. Please stop publishing the murder novel.

45 - Can you describe the ruckus?

@1. No. First was on reddit 6 hours ago. You may have trouble there though -- their site, which looks like it was designed in 1998, still seems to have a better commenting platform and culture than this site.

76 --> every waitress does this, or at least every waitress says she does. I've always thought it was funny how everyone personalizes that bit of snark as if they thought of it first.

- waiter in high school/college

105

Crap, I suppose I have to get a divorce now.

- 76

What I want to know is when the hell 15% became 18-20%.

CHECK YOU PINK LEMONADE

Something like that happened at Le Circe in NY a couple of years back. The patrons made a reservation, had to wait, and then the group was split between 2 tables. They were willing to tip the waitress, tho. The restaurant refused to let them leave. The bad thing is, the patrons were lawyers and they sued the restaurant for false imprisonment.

THey should just put a mandatory service charge, or fold it into the price, and get rid of tipping altogether. In every other situation, if I'm underpaid, I go to my boss, not her customers for a pay raise.

Wouldn't this be a contract matter? Why bring this into the criminal court system?

92 is right. The sixty year old diner waitress that busts her ass to take your order, deliver your food, and check on you twice deserves WAY more than the pouty, eye-rolling bitch in an overpriced establishment that you see once to take the order and once to drop off the check.

@72: yep, saw it a couple weeks back, hence the comment.

Why do black people always hang out in check cashing places?

Does anyone tip for takeout? Thoughts? I don't and I've gotten a couple of dirtly looks for it. But then one time I left a couple bucks and the hostess looked so pleasantly surprised that I felt like a sucker

114 - yeah, just a couple of dollars.

Unless you are visiting a new town and will never return to the joint, I strongly advise tipping and not making a scene. Otherwise, the next time you return, you will have your own shiny gratuity intermingled into your food.

Is it cool to not tip a barber when he's the owner of the place?

do black people tip at barbershops? i've heard they go frequently. can someone clear this up?

As a food service industry worker, I can unfortunately confirm that waitresses do draw straws to see who will wait on blacks, really old people, and European tourists.

107. You must not be a new yorker. 20% is the standard here, which I don't understand, because the food already costs more, so I don't understand the need for a higher percentage. I miss the midwest.

I like to play just the tip with my waitresses.

Big Ern

Let is also be said:

TIPPING BARTENDERS IS A LAUGHABLE PRACTICE. These people barely hustle (compared to most food servers), barely interact with the customer (aside from pouring it fast and strong), possess zero customer service skills (think of the last time a bartender resolved an issue for you vs. the last time you thought to yourself that you were being overcharged?), think they're entitled to 20% on OVERPRICED drinks, and probably still have to look up how to make a proper Manhattan on their mixology.com iPhone app.

Fuck these bitches.

Second note: Elie, good work roping in Reservoir Dogs today and Glengarry Glen Ross on another post. I don't think I could've stomached another "there is no spoon" or "bring out the gimp" reference.

I once stiffed a waitress in Boston. We'd been there all day, and I'd paid up twice before as other waitresses went off shift. Both times I added an appropriate tip.

The third waitress was different. Three times when I ordered another beer the beer never showed up. Then, surprise surprise, the phantom beers ended up on my tab. I began to query the bill, but she cut me off, and I quote: "Just pay the f*cking bill."

So I paid it, and wrote $0 on the tip line.

I had to hang around for a little while waiting for friends, and I saw her come out and sit down at a table. She sat at a table stared at me like I'd just stomped her pet kitten to death.

And people say law students have a sense of entitlement.

If there was a ranking of school's in the area, Lehigh would certainly end up as TTTT

ELIE ate the tip.

From ABA Journal eReport

HERE'S A TIP: NOT LEAVING ONE IS LEGAL
N.Y. Prosecutor Finds a Difference Between Surcharge and Gratuity
BY STEPHANIE FRANCIS WARD

A $2 tip on a $77 restaurant bill may be cheap, but it isn't
criminal. So says a New York state district attorney, who declined
to press charges against a man who refused to leave a restaurant's
required gratuity of 18 percent for large parties.

Humberto A. Taveras' arrest on Sept. 5 came under New York's theft of
services law, which carries misdemeanor charges. With a party of
eight, the Long Island man dined at Soprano's Italian and American
Grill, a Lake George, N.Y., restaurant that applied the tip policy to
parties of six or more.

(Ironically, The Sopranos, HBO's television series, had a recent
episode involving a dispute over a gratuity for a large party of
mobsters. That dispute ended in the macabre, with the waiter being
killed in the argument.)

Ultimately, the case boiled down to language. Soprano's restaurant
described the policy on its menu as a "gratuity," which by definition
means "discretion," says Kathleen B. Hogan, the district attorney of
Warren County, who ultimately decided to drop charges against Taveras.

She mentions a Southern District of Indiana ruling in which a judge
found that a tip or gratuity was strictly within the customer's
discretion and payment could not be forced. U.S. v. Indianapolis
Athletic Club, IP90-1783C.

Had the service been written as a surcharge rather than a gratuity,
Hogan probably would have prosecuted the case.

"It really did turn on the word," she says, adding that under
restaurant policy, the tip should have been nearly $14. "It's not like
they didn't leave any tip. They just left a smaller tip than you would
want."

That's for sure, say attorneys who represent the restaurant industry.
On average, those interviewed for this article say they tip at least
20 percent.

"The whole reason so many restaurants do have notice is because this
historically is a problem," says R. Rogge Dunn, a Dallas lawyer and
former pizza restaurant assistant manager. "You get a large group
that splits the tab, and some people are chintzy on the amount
they're going to leave."

Al DeNapoli, a Boston lawyer who represents the hospitality industry,
says this is the first time he's heard of someone being arrested for
poor tipping.

"I'm surprised it was pushed this far, but there are people who are
bad tippers all the time," he says. "Whether this is the case here, I
don't know."

Hogan says Taveras was unhappy with the service and said it did not
warrant an 18 percent tip.

DeNapoli, who waited tables as a law student, says that not tipping,
even when service is bad, may not be the best solution for disgruntled
diners. Servers' salaries depend on tips, he says, and they often
share the money with busboys and dishwashers. Instead, DeNapoli
advises you to speak with management about the situation or to "talk
with your feet" and stop patronizing the restaurant.

Having someone arrested for poor tipping may also not be the best
solution, even if it's a fantasy scenario of many servers.

"You might have a decent civil suit against them, but whatever you
would win in that case would be far outweighed by the adverse
publicity," Dunn says. "My advice would be to look at the bottom
line, and let it go."

Lake George is a resort town, and according to Hogan-herself a former
waitress who always tips 20 percent-the publicity they've received
from the incident concerns many restaurant owners there. Some of
them, she says, changed their language from "mandatory gratuity" to
"service charge" on large party bills.

"They want to make sure their employees are getting compensation,"
Hogan adds, "and make sure they're following what obviously is the
law in a federal case."

service charges are theft/extortion.

126, thanks for the article. What a ripe, untapped market of restaurant law!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gratuity vs. surcharge, I'm going to make a killing!

123 - What was the restaurant?

126 - as a native upstate New Yorker who waited tables, I can say with certainty that the fucking Long Islanders who go up there during the summer have to be the trashiest-yet-cockiest people on earth. Being stiffed on tips and treated like shit by foul-mouthed douches in wife beaters was a regular occurrence.

111 FTW.
I generally tip 18-20% on restaurant bills, but I refuse to do so in two instances: 1) shitty service, and 2) overpriced wine. For a bottle of wine, you can kiss my ass if you think I should tip $4 more because you inflated the bottle price. I tip $3-5 for popping a cork. Not $20, even if the bottle was $100.

We need to switch to a European tip system: cover charge to eat at a restaurant, small extra tip if server went above and beyond average service. Let the restaurant pay the server and hire professionals, not the bitchy high school and college chicks who don't know what they're doing.

I am betting the Boston restaurant was the Cactus Club.

47,

She may have evaded tax... but tips are not inherently "tax free."

-Bored Tax LL.M.

47,

She may have evaded tax... but tips are not inherently "tax free."

-Bored Tax LL.M.

47,

She may have evaded tax... but tips are not inherently "tax free."

-Bored Tax LL.M.

The Express-Times story did provide the charges: theft of service

47,

She may have evaded tax... but tips are not inherently "tax free."

-Bored Tax LL.M.

129 - Some Irish bar. I forget. I know that narrows it down. - 123

young michael madsen is HOTT.

When I was a waitress at an Applebee's in Houston, no matter what they ordered, I would always bring black people a plate of chicken.

A big anti-waitstaff crowd here today.

Yes, I get it -- servers don't necessarily work harder than (laundry list of blue collar workers). The difference is that (laundry list of blue collar jobs) get paid a lot more -- $6 to $8 an hour more. So sure, rail against the system and refuse to tip because god damn it, that server was fine but she did not work any harder than (laundry list of blue collar workers). All you've done is punished a person who works hard and gets paid very little. You have done nothing to actually change anything. You just stiffed someone who makes at least 100k less than you do.

No, I am not a server. But I don't blame the server for needing the tip to pay her grocery bill or rent. Stiffing her does not transform her $2/hour job into one with a living wage. If the service is really bad, I do not tip. If the server does her job, I do. Simple, and does not break the bank.

The European tourist thing is usually BS, especially when it's some diplomat who has lived in the U.S. for years. They just don't want to tip and feign ignorance of the local customs.

you know who tips less than african americans? asians or asian americans. 10% is a lot to them, it's a cultural thing.

"Bitch, I aint tipping you shit because my ancestors were slaves!"

Overheard one night at a family style bbq restaurant in Jacksonville, Fl

141 - So a waitress can give poor service, charge me for items i did not receive, swear at me when I query said charges, and I'm supposed to reward her for it?

-123

I don't tip folks of the NAACP flavor. Is that racist?

eek. . . meep.

Here is the world's smallest violin, playing just for 141.

Tips go to the waitstaff, not the restaurant. How is it that they restaurant feels that it was stolen from? It is the waitstaff that would have "standing" to feel stolen from, not the restaurant.

Putting that aside, I can't believe the Lehigh cops were dumb enough to take a police report and bring theft charges.

Ditto 149. I hope these cops get formally chewed out by their superiors, at least.

cosign 107.

15% for average service
18-20% for outstanding service
10-12% for substandard, but nonoffensive service.

offensive or nonexistent service gets 0% and an explanation for why I'm leaving no tip. and don't you try any of your turn-the-tables-and-shame-me crap, because I will bawl you out. After that, I get to leave the restaurant and you're the one who has to stay there looking like an ass. I'm looking at you 37/76.

also, mandatory service charges are stated up-front. if the kids in the posted story felt they were getting bad service, they should have talked to the manager or waitstaff as soon as they felt it was necessary. they took the pussy way out.

Take gf out! Get 2 orders of wings and 4 beers total! Bill comes out to $42!Tax is $5 on top of that and tip another $6! Total=$53

For 2 orders of wings $53 ?

If you pick up the wings take home and buy a 40oz it is $20! That is why I like take out instead of eating out!

I tip EVERYBODY. That's my philosophy. You see, actually it's not tipping I believe in, it's over-tipping.

153: 6 bucks is a pretty small tip on 42

If they asked for two checks would this still be considered a party of 8? Should they come in separately next time?

I had a large ($450) bill for two at a restaurant that included two expensive bottles of wine (about $100 each). I tipped $50 based on the $250 meal and some for the wine. When I get my credit card statement they had changed the tip to 20% of the total or $90. For $40 I did not make a big stink but I never went back. Watch your credit card statements.

The Boston restaurant was probably the Cheesecake Factory.

Look, I wouldn't mind tipping if I could fuck my waitress in the ass, at least a quickie. That's worth about 15% of the tab, assuming no expensive wine was ordered.

In my state it's called theft of services. I think the defense could be, "I didn't pay for it because I didn't get it." In any event, it is ridiculous to use the justice system in this manner. This is a civil issue, not a criminal one, and I hope the DA's office doesn't prosecute or the judge throws it out.

156 - you can at least name the restaurant.

141 - solution --> give the waitresses an extra 8 dollars an hour and abolish tipping.

In fact, waitresses would rebel at this concept because they regularly make $20-25 hour (and upwards of 50 at some places) - not much, but almost twice what the back of the house staff makes.

29 - "Mail men" make around $50-60k plus great benefits with a high school education. Federal employees don't need your pity, save it for state prosecutors.

Wait-staff are the most entitled people on earth. Just like 161 said, these kids pull down 2-3 times what their hourly job compatriots get per hour. If you treat me like shit I still tip, but it won't exceed 15% and I won't go back to your restaurant. The sense of entitlement that wait-staff have is unreal--perhaps matched only by the sense of entitlement possessed by recent JD grads with no meaningful skills.

160 - Strega on Hanover St in Boston (156).

131: Making the restaurant pay the server and hire professionals means food prices go up 15%-20% to cover the tip. In other words, you're paying the tip, and then some if you got good service. The current system works better where you get everything slightly cheaper and you can tip if you receive good service, but withhold the tip if you don't. It's called incentives. Do you think waitstaff will be any nicer if they already have your tip in their pocket? If anything, that'll make them even less customer-oriented, since they're no longer working for a discretionary tip and sans complaining to management, you have no way of indicating displeasure with the service you received.

162: Also, when you control the mail, you control information.

But it can be a stressful job too.

Because the mail never stops. It just keeps coming and coming and coming. There's never a letup, It's relentless. Every day it piles up more and more, but the more you get out, the more it keeps coming. And then the bar code reader breaks. And then it's Publisher's Clearinghouse day.

161, agreed. To add to your comment, they generally pay tax on only the minimum wage (or whatever shows up on credit card slips and is thus indisputable), so compared to the rest of the working stiffs, add 20% to the waiter's salary.

@165 - Yes, but it's NOT really discretionary, is it? As waitstaff sense of entitlement, their shaming of patrons whose tipping do not satisfy that sense of entitlement, and the Bethlehem police department demonstrate.

And food prices clearly would not go up 15-20%. They would go up only enough to cover a minimum wage payment to the waitstaff. If a waitress serves only three or four tables at a time, that's a couple of bucks per hour on your entertainment bill.

"I can maybe understand an arrest for a required gratuity for "groups of 6 people or more" type thing, but otherwise tips should be discretionary even though cops don't treat them as such."

Hey 14, this couple was paying for a party of 8.

"141 - solution --> give the waitresses an extra 8 dollars an hour and abolish tipping.

In fact, waitresses would rebel at this concept because they regularly make $20-25 hour (and upwards of 50 at some places) - not much, but almost twice what the back of the house staff makes.
"

Exactly waitstaff would hate to abolish tipping and have waiters simply paid a fair hourly wage for work. But then you have waitstaff quip back that if they wanted to make 8-10/hour, they'd work in fast food. If that's the case, QUIT YER GRIPING ABOUT THE TIPPING SYSTEM WAITERS!!

Eat at Eppies!

Undertipping based on bad service makes sense. Yes, waitstaff don't make shit without tips, but that's the WHOLE POINT. If they deliver pisspoor service and are consistently undertipped, they will quit and take their shitty talents elsewhere. Good servers can remain in the game and make decent coin. Reward excellence on delivering that Poo Poo Platter with confidence.

Why did God burn black people?

38 and 46

LOL

what's the difference between a jew and a canoe?

124, you are a retard. Lehigh is ranked 35th in the nation.

That reminds me. These waitresses need to "spread the wealth"....

Where's Geitner?

154 = win

more my blue heaven references please

Why do we have to tip at Starbucks? (ok, I know we don't have to, but those tip buckets are out there for a reason).

It's not like they are serving me at a table. It's almost like tipping the guy at 7-1.

enough is enough, no more tipping

I'd rather tip at Starbucks for them making me up a decent coffee (rare), than tip the guy behind the bar a dollar for cracking the top off a bottle of beer. Of course, the tip jar at Starbucks is at the register, and I don't know if my coffee will warrant a tip at that point, so the baristas are invariably SOL.

Just another reason Lehigh grads suck at life. At least this time one of their class presidents wasn't caught trying to rob a bank to pay off a gambling debt.

see http://thegoodreverend.blogspot.com/2005/12/lehigh-sophomore-class-president.html

Lehigh sucks even more at football and will get dominated by Lafayette this weekend.

171

Only when in VA visiting UVA

I hope this couple gets ten years. How dare they not pay their "fair share". A tip is a "Govment" (deliberate misspelling) entitlement. Obviously this resturant reports that "tip" as income and pays taxes on it. In addition, the server has to report that income and pay taxes on it. Basically by not paying the tip...they are not paying the tax on that tip, that makes them guilty of tax evasion. If we let this go, pretty soon we won't bother with collecting the taxes on those scumbags that drop a buck in the red kettle and refuse to pay the nickle they obviously owe to the govment.

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168 - You have discretion with regards to the amount of your tip. You don't have the right to insulate yourself from the disapproval of others if your discretionary decisions are contrary to conventional practice, etiquette, or morals.

Faced with a waitstaff who thinks you're a prick, you have the options of either adjusting your behavior so as to bring it back within the range of the socially acceptable, or you can ignore their censure and go about your life.

This is how social sanctions create incentives.

@185 - Maybe.

But there's always the third option - if a waitress tries to make you feel embarrassed for not leaving a tip, simply massively escalate the situation and start screaming at her in the middle of the busy restaurant. Get all up in her grill. Mention something about having seen her spit in your soup, or having sent the food back because there was a pubic hair in your salad. Obviously, make sure you scream clearly enough for every other patron to hear the details.

That usually gets them to back off in my experience, with the added bonus of making them feel really, really uncomfortable, and possibly jeopardizing her tips from other parties.