College students arrested for not paying tip

[Sheldonrs]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/br...aying_tip.html

[draggar]

Wait a minute...

The pub, which was very busy that night, took the $73, but then called the cops, who treated the matter as a theft.

They called the police AFTER they paid and they got arrested for that? What is this world coming to!

[Sliceanddice]

i just read this article and i actually think the fact that instead of getting a manager they called the cops means the place deserves to lose.

[Mnemjian]

If they thought the service was bad before, I wonder what they thought about it when the cops showed up

Why do some places insist on mandatory gratuity for large parties? I always thought that was a little weird. I thought gratuity was always at the discretion of the customer. Can someone in the food service industry maybe explain that for me?

[Immortal1982]

As someone who was a waiter, i can shed a little on the idea. The only times we added gratuity to a party was if there was at least 15 people or more, and under the circumstances that This was the servers only table for a time.

But I would have not tipped the waitress either in these circumstances.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

As someone who was a waiter, i can shed a little on the idea. The only times we added gratuity to a party was if there was at least 15 people or more, and under the circumstances that This was the servers only table for a time.

But I would have not tipped the waitress either in these circumstances.

I am not, nor have I ever been a server, but I've also heard the theory that larger groups tend to tip less since everyone assumes someone else will be getting the tip and of course if everyone makes that same assumption the server, who has just spend a long time with one table, loses out on a significant tip.

[It's me]

Wait a minute...



They called the police AFTER they paid and they got arrested for that? What is this world coming to!

The PUB called the police.......

[draggar]

The PUB called the police.......

Yeah, that's what I meant - the pub called the police after they paid their bill.

Sooooooo what are they accused of stealing (the charge was theft).

[Broomjockey]

(the charge was theft).

Likely theft of services.

[Anthony K. S.]

The standard argument that will be made . . . In fact, I've noticed that it already has . . . in defense of the two students is "Tipping is ALWAYS optional."

Uh, no. Actually, in this case, it is not.

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.

When you choose to patronize a business, you agree to abide by the business's rules. You don't get to pick and choose which rules you're going to follow, and which ones you're not.

If these students had a problem with an automatic 18% gratuity being placed on their check, they should have gone somewhere else.

Did they not realize that they would be required to pay the gratuity? Then they should have asked. Not knowing what the rules are is not a defense to breaking the rules.

As it is, they agreed to pay that 18% when they chose to sit down to eat.

End of story.

[gremcint]

Likely theft of services.

What service though, if the tip is for the service and they had to get their own refill, napkins, silverware and waited that long for food then they didn't get the service they were being asked to pay for.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Why do some places insist on mandatory gratuity for large parties? I always thought that was a little weird. I thought gratuity was always at the discretion of the customer. Can someone in the food service industry maybe explain that for me?

So that a server working a table occupied by a large party doesn't get stiffed on a tip. I've seen plenty of stories here about that happening.

This is as open and shut as they come. The service may have sucked, but the gratuity policy is clearly disclosed to customers in the menu and on the receipts. They agreed to that when they decided to eat there. It's not the same as a tip since it's automatically added to your bill.

[Broomjockey]

What service though,

Doesn't matter. Anything stolen that's not strictly a physical good usually goes under theft of services. And if you want to get technical, then we go "provision of napkins to get for themselves, cooking the food, bussing the table, having lights, chairs, heating," I could probably go on. While cost of food is supposed to cover most of those, since servers wages in the US are supposed to be made up for by the tip, it's easily argued that the cost of the food isn't truly reflective of the cost of running a restaurant.

[Anthony K. S.]

What service though, if the tip is for the service and they had to get their own refill, napkins, silverware and waited that long for food then they didn't get the service they were being asked to pay for.

I agree. They didn't get the service that they were being expected to pay for.

And somebody else might argue that as long as they did get their food eventually, the minimum requirements of service were fulfilled. Hence, they are expected to pay for it.

However, as I've said on the Fratching thread regarding this subject . . . Our opinions do not carry the force of law.

As I see it . . . If these students felt that an automatic 18% gratuity was unacceptable, they should have gone somewhere else.

If they felt that the level of service they were receiving was unacceptable, they should have gotten up and left - after paying for their drinks and whatever else they had already consumed.

But when they chose to sit down to eat, they agreed to abide by the restaurant's terms.

And when they chose to remain at the restaurant table for the entire length of time required to receive and consume their meal, they agreed to pay for it. And, per the terms stated in their menus, they also agreed to pay the 18% gratuity.

As I've said . . . They agreed to the restaurant's terms. They don't get to change the terms afterward just because they think they should be able to.

[Sliceanddice]

it was either leave after waiting an hour all ready for their food or refusing to tip because of poor service because they they would be tipping is what they had to do for their selves I.E. get refills, get silver wear and a get napkins
all the waiter did was bring out food, and most likely the intial drink.
i would have left after 30 minutes and only paid for my drinks, and still got arrested because i wouldnt tip becaus ei would have had to get the refills myself.