Couple Busted for Refusing to Pay Tip

[Biotoxic_hazard_835]

This is just outrageous. I smell lawsuit.

Updated 12:20 PM EST, Thu, Nov 19, 2009

If you?re frustrated by poor service at a restaurant, think twice before you decide to not tip. You may be in for a bit more than just a dirty look from the waiter.

"Nobody, nobody wants to be forced to pay a tip or be arrested for terrible service," Leslie Pope said when her happy hour ended in handcuffs.

Pope and John Wagner were hauled away by police and charged with theft for not paying the mandatory 18 percent gratuity totaling $16 after eating at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem, Pa. with six friends.

Pope claimed that they had to wait nearly an hour for their order and that she had to get napkins and silverware for the table herself.

Source

[Berserk87]

mandatory tip? what.....

[jonhapimp]

SUE!!

[webeagle12]

SUE!!

hell yes, I would too.

Edited November 20, 2009 by webeagle12

[Liana]

I think mandatory tips defeat the whole purpose, but it's also something that needs to be clearly disclosed BEFORE the bill arrives. You can't tack on hidden charges and demand people pay them; this isn't telephone service. :p

[strekship]

Mandatory tip? I have never heard of any place imposing mandatory gratuity for groups smaller than 6 or 8.

[Mr. Gibs]

Mandatory tip? That's bs.

[FloatingFatMan]

I never tip in restaurants or bars, or anywhere else for that matter. Why the hell should I? I'm paying for my meal, and the service staff are paid to serve people. Why should *I* pay them for doing what they're already paid to do?

If they don't earn enough money from waiting tables, that's not MY problem.

[TrueMonolith]

I never tip in restaurants or bars, or anywhere else for that matter. Why the hell should I? I'm paying for my meal, and the service staff are paid to serve people. Why should *I* pay them for doing what they're already paid to do?

If they don't earn enough money from waiting tables, that's not MY problem.

Its incentive for them to be nicer to you.

I leave tips if they're really good.

When they suck, i dont bother (except in the US where most places have a service charge anyway).

[FloatingFatMan]

Its incentive for them to be nicer to you.

I leave tips if they're really good.

When they suck, i dont bother (except in the US where most places have a service charge anyway).

Pfff. If staff need a gratuity to do their jobs and be nice to customers, then they should be fired and the job given to someone who WILL do it properly.

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

I generally don't tip because I expect good service, I expect anyone doing a job to do it well.

I also have no desire to assist restaurants in screwing over their workforce and the taxman by paying them less on the basis that they get tips.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

It's a bit weird. The very definition of gratuity goes against forced payments. It's a shame that it became a de facto standard for restaurants and bars. Thankfully, it's usually tacked on for groups of 6 or more. Of course, it varies from place to place. And most places inform you of whatever the fee is as soon as they find out the number of people that'll be served.

[splur]

Sometimes they include gratuity automatically in the bill, in which case I think you have no choice but to pay it. Not that I've ever tried returning the bill and asking them to take the charge off, but I'm assuming that's what happened here and I'm not keen on getting arrested. Mandatory tip is usually for groups larger than a certain number anyways, it'd be stupid to include it in small groups.

The only time I've ever seen gratuity automatically included in the bill with a group smaller than 4 was in the US. They included it in the diner bill and we didn't even notice, we ended up tipping them again on top of it which we only noticed after we had walked out. Tricky Americans.

[HawkMan]

So pretty much NOONE who replied even read the quoted text then ? just the title ?

with six friends.

that by the way, ads up to a group of 8.

and btw, I still don't think tips should be mandatory, people with too much money and a need to feel better than others can tip. and us regular people can just get the service we damn well already pay for.

[Athlonite]

when it's mandatory it's no longer a tip for good service as the person serving you has no real incentive to be a good service person as they know they'll get the tip regardless

if it's for a group then call it what it is a SURCHARGE not a tip

[Mr. Gibs]

Well you see in america tips are quite normal because waiters/waitresses are paid below minimum wage, so they make up the difference in tips

[FloatingFatMan]

Well you see in america tips are quite normal because waiters/waitresses are paid below minimum wage, so they make up the difference in tips

How come someone be paid below minimum wage, when that's meant to be the legal minimum that someone can be paid?

[Mr. Gibs]

How come someone be paid below minimum wage, when that's meant to be the legal minimum that someone can be paid?

http://www.dol.gov/wb/faq26.htm

[FloatingFatMan]

http://www.dol.gov/wb/faq26.htm

How dumb. That's certainly not legal in the UK. Minimum wage is exactly that, the minimum the employer must pay. Tips are purely in addition to that.

[Mr. Gibs]

How dumb. That's certainly not legal in the UK. Minimum wage is exactly that, the minimum the employer must pay. Tips are purely in addition to that.

Yeh I agree its dumb but oh well =/

[fhertlein]

Source

Patrons claim service was so bad, they had to get napkins and silverware for themselves

If you?re frustrated by poor service at a restaurant, think twice before you decide to not tip. You may be in for a bit more than just a dirty look from the waiter.

"Nobody, nobody wants to be forced to pay a tip or be arrested for terrible service," Leslie Pope said when her happy hour ended in handcuffs.

Pope and John Wagner were hauled away by police and charged with theft for not paying the mandatory 18 percent gratuity totaling $16 after eating at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem, Pa. with six friends.

Pope claimed that they had to wait nearly an hour for their order and that she had to get napkins and silverware for the table herself.

?At this point I became very annoyed because I had already gone up to the bar myself to have my soda refilled because the waitress never came back,? Pope said.

After the $73 bill came, the group paid for food, drinks, and tax but refused to pay the tip. After explaining the bad service to the bartender in charge, Pope claimed he took their money and called police. The couple was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car.

?I understand that, you know, we didn?t pay the gratuity, but it was a gratuity, it wasn?t something that was required,? said Wagner.

The owner admitted that the group waited unusually long for their food, but said the pub was extremely busy that night. He said managers offered to comp the food, a claim the couple denies ever happened.

?Obviously we would have liked for the patron and the establishment to have worked this out without getting the police involved,? said Deputy Police Commissioner Stuart Bedics.

Police charged them with theft since the gratuity was part of the actual bill. However, it is doubtful that the charges will hold up in front of a judge. The couple is scheduled to appear in court next month.

When I first saw this I thought I was watching something from the Onion.

[Starcom826]

Uh, if you're going to charge for theft then don't take the money. This should case should already be decided.

[Richard Hammond]

That is ridiculous tips are there to reward great service, they shouldnt be obligated to pay it if they dont want to pay it let alone after recieving bad service.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Why would the police bother to handcuff and arrest them if they knew there was no chance of a conviction for theft? Was the humiliation of the arrest supposed to be the punishment itself? If so, that's an abuse of power.

[obiwong]

lol what?

they paid for their food. what did they steal?