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Local couple arrested for skipping out on tip
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
Local couple arrested for skipping out on tip
Filed Under: Food and Politics | In Print
David Chang (no, not that one) writes on the NBC Philadelphia site today:
[Leslie] 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.
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.
Arresting officers charged the two with theft, since the gratuity was considered part of the actual bill. Chang opined in the piece that the charge is unlikely to hold up in court, where the couple appear next month.
Seriously though, dinner for eight people ringing up to just $73 with tax?� For that kind of deal, maybe you should be getting your own silverware and drink refills.
Well it is easy to tell the spot the waiters in the crowd. I feel an employer should pay their employee their wages not the customer directly. How would you like to see an airline pilot standing in the cockpit door demanding a minimum 15% of your airfare if you didn't crash but if you got a smooth landing he would expect 25%. Tips are a reward for good service. Average gets 15% and can easily go to ZERO. I as a customer don't care what the behind the scenes problems are. If the system isn't working and you are losing tips, go find a restaurant that runs efficently so you can earn your tips. I personally know of one waiter that worked at a restaurant with a mandatory service charge- which he got a large part of, who would tell diners that that it was not a tip and still should be added. The employees hate the system customers hate the system, the only one it works for are the employers. As a customer I usually avoid sit down restaurants. As an employee if you are unhappy with the system, go to school and get a better job.
As usual it fall on the server. It is understood that when dining in a establishment that offers table service tipping will be involved. Most people, not just graduate students, have bills and make nominal sums, however regardless of the dining experience you must leave something. Punish the restaurant by not returning.
Bradley, There is a basic minimum of service required at a restaurant in which a 15% tip is what is the norm expected. A good server who exceedes expectations may receive up to 20%. On the flip side, if the service was poor, then perhaps 10% would send a message of displeasure. HOWEVER, at no time is it appropiate to leave less than 15% for receiving the appropiate amount of service. IT IS IRRELEVANT WHAT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION IS! One should always budget 15-20% over how much the dinner will cost or one CLEARLY CANNOT AFFORD TO GO OUT TO EAT! I think everyone should work in a restaurant at one point in their lives so they will understand. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE I.R.S. ASSUMES ALL SERVERS MAKE A 15% MINIMUM ON TIPS AND WILL TAX ACCORDINGLY. IF YOU BUILD AN 'ADEQUATE' ROOF ON MY HOUSE, CAN I 'DECIDE' TO ONLY PAY YOU 50% OF YOUR QUOTED LABOR??!! Think about it....
I can say that I actually know the other people at the table, they are colleagues of mine, and they are mild and well-mannered people. Additionally, I have been to that establishment on many occasions and you can be sure that the service, especially on Sundays, can be terrible. For example, when dining at the bar (where the servers double as bartenders for a small crowd), I have found that after ordering your food, the server will not provide you with any flatware until you request it (even for dishes traditionally eaten with forks and knives such as steaks and pasta). Nor will they ask if you wanted any salt or pepper or condiments. Now it might just be that I was at the bar (talking to the server/bartender), but I think that some of their servers can be terrible. Furthermore, a few others at the table independently told me that the restaurant/bar was not busy and they were 8 of about 20 people when the 8 ordered only wings (which were on special, hence the low cost of the check) and salads. I know that wings only take a few minutes to cook and that salads are easy to make as well. I don't know what exactly happened because I wasn't there. What I do know from personal experience is that the service at that bar can be terrible; it is usually empty in there, no matter when you go; and that the owner is making the majority of his money from the hundreds of college students who come down there to dance to crappy techno music after they have pre-gamed and to drink at the bar from no earlier than 12:01 a.m. to close. And for anyone who is going to complain about the graduate students being cheap, I'd like to see you walk a mile in their shoes. With probable students loans to pay, making just a bit more than the poverty line, not to mention health/auto insurance, being frugal is an almost requirement of being a graduate student. I know. I am a graduate student.
George: Spoken like a true restaurant owner or cheapskate diner. You missed the whole point. It isn't always up to the server how much money is made. Great servers cannot rifle pockets of diner if stiffed, no matter how good the service was. $$$$$ may be earned but diner can leave $ or 0 on the table. This, of course, leaves a negative balance with which to pay all those people who have their hands in the servers' pockets with the blessings of the owners. If you don't want to tip, stay home or pack a lunch until someone changes the tip rules and owners pay decent wages. Everyone, remember, a great way to judge character of people is how they treat those who serve them. And then....there's karma. LE
Lynn, the only guarantee a server signs on for when taking a wait staff position is their hourly wage. That's all, nothing more. Beyond that, it's up to them how much money they make. It's no different than taking a sales position. Hustle to provide great service and you can expect to make more money. Provide lousy service, expect a rock in your trick-or-treat bag. Just as with sales, the back end of the business makes a difference in the quality of service you're able to provide. If the back end is lousy, you're always free to look for another company to work for.
If you order steak and they serve you fish, do you pay for the fish? Likewise, if you receive poor service, do you pay for good service? This company just signed their death sentence. Not only is it now common knowledge that they provide poor service, they'll have you arrested if you don't leave a tip.
Tipping is required as advertised. Period. However, this is NOT a police matter. Do you mean to say I can call the police in on a neighbor who has borrowed my ladder ($100+) and won't return it? Is this a Police State now in Bethlehem, controlled by Sands and the surrounding little businesses? The police should be prosecuted before anyone else in this situation.
The long wait could have been due to food not being ready for server. No matter, no server should be stiffed; they have to put up with a lot. Just the fact that there is a mandatory tip at that restaurant shows that the servers have been stiffed in the past. Some owners keep the tips, anyway. People don't realize that servers also have to tip bartenders in order to receive drinks to serve. Some have to tip kitchen help, all tip the bus people, sometimes have to pay off managers, also the ma�tre d� ...just for the great opportunity to work their butts off. And, some restaurants insist that the servers "split" tips, sharing all the tips...encouraging those who are honesty deprived to steal from co-workers. It's unfair that servers have to rely on generosity of diners but that's the way it is. Stay home if you don't want to tip until the world changes and owners pay living wages. Hah! P.S. In Canada, I saw hotel desk clerks post tip cups on their desks.
Bill P, the problem with your attitude boils down to your use of the word, "...the help". If you and those like you, and I know those like you, consider those serving you food or drink THE HELP, THE HELP will treat you like the asshole you are. Try treating those you feel are THE HELP with some respect and maybe you wouldn't get lousy service. Do you provide a service in your industry? Do you consider yourself THE HELP for those you serve? I hope I never have the opportunity to be The Help for you jerkoff. I wonder if the other six people, who were paying less then $10 a head to have dinner, were OK with not leaving a tip. I hope to hear the whole story.
The case Leslie Pope and John Wagner of PA being arrested for not paying a TIP is similar to a no TIP arrest that happened over five years, in Lake George NY. The Warren County DA dropped the charges because of an old federal court ruling that stated TIPs are voluntary. I believe victims then sued the restaurant or the Lake George police for false arrest. In addition the IRS audited the restaurant because a TIP that is enforced is a service charge, which is taxable to the restaurant even is the money is paid to the employees. Some of the stories about this are still on-line if you google �Lake George TIP arrest�.
How about all prices are raised so a server gets a living wage and then we don't have to worry about this little battle anymore? People who think they have an option whether to tip or not are completely insane. Do I have an option to not pay full price on my groceries if the person doesn't bag for me? No, because their wage is built into the cost. You don't like to tip 20% fine. Pay twice as much for your burger then.
Bill P's response is rambling gibberish (probably due to the fact that he has no reading comprehension and couldn't figure out who actually wrote this post), and Dave, if this seriously fits with your definition of "injustice," you should go read the Wikipedia page on Sudan or something (perhaps even donate to the cause through PayPal!) because you're clearly very privileged and out of touch with reality. Oh no, that blonde grad student had to WALK UP TO THE BAR to get a soda refill? Somebody call Amnesty International! It's not so far-fetched to guess that the customers were acting like dicks, and that caused the waitstaff to act dickish right back to them. Neither party is in the right if that was the case. But all told this is less an issue about the politics of the mandatory auto-grat than it is about some most-likely-douchebaggy customers and an equally douchebaggy manager/bartender who decided to get the police involved in something that could've been settled with a simple conversation.
Hi Bill P, thanks for commenting. Just to clarify, the quoted text (behind the gray vertical bar) in this post was written by David Chang for NBC 10. The commentary, including the sarcastic last line, was written by me.
Yeah, Fela...HILARIOUS commentary. We're all real impressed. If you're ever the victim of an injustice, I hope some stranger on the internet treats you with the same respect, you jerk.
l maybe you should be getting your own silverware & drink refills" Ha-Ha David, you're right, they deserved it the cheap bastards-don't they know there is an unspoken minimum you're supposed to purchase to get "real" service? Of course they'll hit you with a guaranteed 18% gratuity even if they treat you lke the dirt you are so ha-ha jokes on you! And if you complain to the help (don't choose the bartender like they did)don't expect him to call the manager but expect the d*ck to call the police! On another site the owner said the manager offered to comp their meals (which the partons say never happened). I'm SURE that he's correct and that they turned down getting a $73 discount off of the bill but decided to pay $73 and refuse to leave the mandatory $13 tip. And when the cops got there I'm sure they reiterated their desire to NOT get their meals for free but to get arrested And expect the police to stupidly, stupidly not try to resolve it but to pick 2 of the 8 people involved and arrest them. Sounds like a good argument about mandatory tips-why bust your hump when you've got a guaranteed payout & you can spend more time sucking up to your other patrons who CAN legally stiff you (and probabaly wont leave more than 18% anyway.) And if they got some service who is to say they wouldn't have ordered more drinks, appetizers, dessert, coffee,whatever. This had better be thrown out of court & I hope everyone boycotts this lovely establishment! Explain that to David Chang-whoever the hell he is.
Frankly, I think this is outrageous. I have been treated like this before by wait staff and it is very unpleasant. You are required to pay the waitresses money even if they refuse to wait on you or are rude? This is highway robbery. And the manager and police had awful sense. Outrageous. Who would ever want to frequent this kind of establishment with this kind of treatment? http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Time-In-Prison--70426052.html?yhp=1
@Bradley, I agree with Woody. I am a college student as well. I ALWAYS leave 20% tip and if the service is exceptional 25% when eating at restaurants. I am not rich. I work two jobs on top of a pre-med career just to be able to pay my student loans. When I don't have money, I just go to McDonalds or Wendys. If I do feel like eating something nice, I go to restaurants where I always tip. Servers have to put up with a lot and I personally believe that it should be a law that you MUST must always leave at least 15% tip. If you don't tip, you are actually making the server pay for your dinner because he has to tip the bus boy, hostesses, and bartender regardless of wether you tip him or not. Is this fair? The guy who served you food has to pay for your share to meal as well? No matter how crappy the service, you can at least pay up the 15%. Also, if its already written on the menu that the gratuitiy is automatically added, you just have to take your chance. Because you are breaking the law, if you refuse to. Either pay up or don't eat. Simple as that. This is the case in almost all of the restaurants. I know this because my boyfriend has worked as a server and your $10 tip can really make a big difference in what turns out to be his "bad" days or good days.
Is the new standard to tip on pre-tax or post-tax? I have always been told and therefore practice tipping on the pre-tax amount. If the bill comes to $54 total - with $4 in taxes - I tip $10 or 20% on $50. That still means 18.5% on the total $54 bill. I feel taxes are a cost of doing business to be absorbed by the owner. Is this fair?
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