Couple arrested for refusing to tip

[Bobblehead]

Not only did they get what they called lousy service, they got handcuffed and arrested.

All over a $16.35 tip.

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.

Pope and Wagner refused to pay.

The menu clearly states, "18 percent gratuity added to check of parties of 6 of more," and a similar message is printed on receipts, a pub employee said this morning.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/br...877&70466877=Y


Should you be able to refuse to pay a mandatory tip when the service is poor?

[flylock shox]

I'm going to say yes: you should be able to refuse.

In my view, the mandatory tip is an unusual and oppressive clause being tacked on to an ordinary contract, and unless it is brought specifically to the attention of the customer prior to their placing an order, it cannot subsequently be enforced by the restaurant.

But what the hell do I know.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Should you be able to refuse to pay a mandatory tip when the service is poor?

No, but they should have cancelled the food order and walked out before the consumed any of the food. Pay for the 'soda' with the 18 percent tip onto that. Then left and never go back again.

[Dion]

If the service is bad I think the customer has a right to refuse a tip. It's clear in this case they got bad service and the pub should be asking why the tip was not paid as opposed to calling the cops.

[Swayze11]

I hate paying gratuity, I should not be forced to tip if I did not get good service. A lot of places expect you to tip AND pay gratuity as well which is garbage.

I tip 99.9% of the time reguardless but I base my tip 100% off of the experience (food, service, etc.) I get when I go to a restaurant/pub. If I get outstanding service, they get a large tip. If I get terrible service they get a terrible tip.

[Table 5]

If you can't control the amount of the tip, it's no longer a tip....it's merely the set price of eating there.

[Regorium]

If it clearly states on the menu that an 18% fee is going to be tacked onto a party of 6 or more, then no, they should not be able to refuse.

However, I've had very very poor experiences in just a group of 4 for example, and the servers that the service is so bad that we weren't going to tip, so they put it directly on our bill. I wish there was an option for us there to refuse to pay.

[Phaneuf3]

Another article about it:
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...-70426052.html

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.

The manager offers to comp the food but won't comp the mandatory 'tip'? My BS meter is going off the charts.


Also, here's the pub's Yelp:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lehigh-pub-bethlehem

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Another article about it:
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...-70426052.html
The manager offers to comp the food but won't comp the mandatory 'tip'? My BS meter is going off the charts.


Also, here's the pub's Yelp:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lehigh-pub-bethlehem

I like the part where the police say.....

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.

[Bagor]

Couldn't they just have ordered as 2 groups of 4?

[Phaneuf3]

From the Yelp link posted above:

The other day, in the mood for greasy, mundane bar food, I dropped in to the Lehigh Pub for lunch. When I walked in, a member of the pub staff said to "please seat yourself," pointing to a brown-and-light-brown sign that said the same. I politely declined, explaining that I preferred to wait near the door because my friend had yet to arrive. The next thing I knew, a Lehigh Pub assistant manager popped out of the drink station brandishing a Taser and fired two prongs into my forehead. I woke in a dark, fetid room in the Lehigh Pub basement, where someone called down from above, "Nobody breaks protocol at the LEHIGH PUB!"

[Komskies]

Queue the Mr. Pink rant from Reservoir Dogs...

[VladtheImpaler]

The first reply is the winner. I'm with flylock - this is an onerous add-on to the basic contract (food for money) and merely having it at the bottom of the menu is insufficient, especially in light of the standard practice in the industry, whereby tipping is service-dependant.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

From the Yelp link posted above:

Also from the Yelp link (maybe NSFW):

"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.

If customers can get arrested for not tipping, then shouldn't the ######ed waitress who wasn't doing her job be arrested for... not doing her job?

You guys ed up ROYALLY. I hope this business goes under, and the management staff and owners end up homeless, sucking **** in dumpsters for pesos.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Kind of glad this is getting press. The publicity will likely hurt the business more than anything the couple could have done on their own.

Having said that, I wouldn't pick a fight over $16. Not for slow service, anyway.

Lots of goofiness on both sides on this one.

[rubecube]

Not trying to be inflammatory, but what were the cops thinking on this one? This isn't something you arrest someone for.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

The first reply is the winner. I'm with flylock - this is an onerous add-on to the basic contract (food for money) and merely having it at the bottom of the menu is insufficient, especially in light of the standard practice in the industry, whereby tipping is service-dependant.

I was once in a restaurant in Edmonton that did this mandatory tip, and the server announced it as we were given menus. She simply said "blah blah Also please note on the menu that there is a mandatory gratuity charge that will be factored into your bill..." then she made a joke about us not having to tip that was actually quite funny I wish I could remember it now..

Anyway, she told us ahead of time, there was no problem paying the full bill, while I do not agree with mandatory gratuity the fact that she announced it was reason enough for me to pay it.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Also from the Yelp link (maybe NSFW):

Wow did I LOL good at that one.

[Komskies]

Somewhat NSFW:

Nice Guy Eddie: C'mon, throw in a buck!
Mr. Pink: Uh-uh, I don't tip.
Nice Guy Eddie: You don't tip?
Mr. Pink: Nah, I don't believe in it.
Nice Guy Eddie: You don't believe in tipping?
Mr. Blue: You know what these chicks make? They make .
Mr. Pink: Don't give me that. She don't make enough money that she can quit.
Nice Guy Eddie: I don't even know a ****ing Jew who'd have the balls to say that. Let me get this straight: you don't ever tip?
Mr. Pink: I don't tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I'll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doing their job.
Mr. Blue: Hey, our girl was nice.
Mr. Pink: She was okay. She wasn't anything special.
Mr. Blue: What's special? Take you in the back and suck your ****?
Nice Guy Eddie: I'd go over twelve percent for that.

[Redliner]

I think that restaurants adding mandatory gratuities to the bill is BS of the highest order and will go out of my way to avoid eating at establishments that practice this. This would be like me performing my job poorly all year and then expecting my employer to give me a performance bonus anyway.

A tip is a tip, and should be determined entirely by the quality of the food and service.