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. --------------- Source: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Time-In-Prison--70426052.html?yhp=1 ======== There's a video where the couple talks about their ordeal. I think it's ridiculous they that had to happen. A tip is voluntary and not a REQUIREMENT. Paying for bad service? I don't so. I would've done the same thing.
lol gratuity is definitely mandatory if you eat there. its pretty stupid to separate it on the bill but its the way for them to advertise the cost of each dish and shit at a lower price point i guess.
This may be a landmark case. Owners of restaurants have traditionally tacked on a mandatory "service charge" or "gratuity" onto the bill as a way of padding the final charge. Many establishments are known to then keep the actual "gratuity" which then calls into question of whether it is a gratuity or not. Legally speaking, a gratuity is something that is offered as a manner of freely given thanks. If it is not freely given, but required or mandatory, then it cannot legally be classified as a gratuity. They may get away with it by calling it a service charge (even if the service is bad), but not a gratuity. Considering the breadth of the eatery industry, a ruling on this could have class consequences, ie. it could change or affect how the entire restaurant industry is run. That said, bad service is one thing, but NO service is quite another. If the customers had to serve themselves, then they can claim no service.
If there was a place here that made you give them tips regardless then it wouldnt be a tip but rather an extra charge called a tip. anyway i would avoid such places, duno why americans put up with it.
i hope the couple wins this battle... i've had my own experiences with really bad customer service. even though i felt like i didn't need to, i still paid for the tip.
I never understood the concept of tips to begin with... Why do we only pay tips when we go to a restaurant? Why don't we pay tips when someone help us when we buy our furniture/clothes, etc? Are they less legitimate than a waiter/waitress? When we go to a fancy restaurant, you get a steak for $50, does that steak really worth $50? Probably doesn't since they profit from it, so why do we still need to tip? Aren't we expected to be served since they are obligated (in a sense), so why are we charge extra because they so call "served us"?... ------- I was actually interested on this topic and googled, "Why do we tip?", it seems like the reason behind giving tips is due to the low wages a waiter/waitress receive... But why is the burden placed on the consumer when it's clearly the restaurant's fault for eating up all the profit by jacking up the food prices and lowering the workers' salaries?
Most waiters get low wages and they need the tips and sometimes the tips are more than their wages. I feel that I should be allow to give as much as I want to since it's gratuity, we all been to some place that the service sucks, and they don't deserve any tip but we are almost force to put up that so called "tip." Some places will include the tip in the bill which is weird. It shouldn't even be called a tip. Just call it a service fee. But for them to get arrested is retarded, wonder if they can sue...lol Wasting more of tax payers money. sigh
18%?! wow....we pay 15 & i think its quite alot lol, n' waited for an hour (why would u waste ur time waiting anyways...), def dont deserve a tip
HmmmMM the Restaurant is "Lehigh Pub, Irish Pub and Grille". I believe this is ridiculous and I know I wont visit there no more. Hope the Restuarant gets shut down due to a bad reputation/services.
