Family locked in restaurant after refusing to pay tip

Yahoo News ^ | 5/3/2012 | Yahoo news

[Morgana]

A family says that a Houston seafood restaurant locked them inside and called the police after they refused to pay a gratuity.

[Responsibility2nd]

Jasmine Marks said she was trying to enjoy dinner recently with several friends at La Fisherman, located at 1935 Highway 6 South. She said the service was less than stellar; the wait staff was rude, their drinks didn’t get refilled and they didn’t receive their entire order.

 

 

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If this had happend to me, there would have been serious trouble DURING the meal. Not after. My wife has been known to get up herself and go wandering around the restaraunt asking the waitstaff if they know where the maganger is, because there is a serious problem with bad service over here.

 

Drinks aren't being refilled? Get up - go get the tea pitcher and fill it yourself. Complain loudly to anyone and everyone.

 

Now while some may think I'm a jerk, I'll let you know that we rarely have bad service. I know a secret to preventing it: The time to cure bad service is before it even begins. As soon as your waiter appears - stop what you're doing, make eye contact with him/her. Smile. A few seconds of chit-chat. Flirt even. Set the tone for a great meal from the get go. And you won't be disappointed.

[dmz]

Do you consider it kidnapping if one is cuffed and detained by store security if one has shoplifted?

Not really seeing a difference here.

[3rdcoastislander]

I disagree, I used to fight for large parties when waiting tables because I knew if I did good job I would usually get a larger tip then the 15-20%. Now some people can't handle waiting on that many people, they should find another line of work. Generally all the people I ever worked with tried harder to satisfy the customer with large parties because of the reason I mentioned.

[1rudeboy]

I don’t have time to look up the Texas law right now, but I’m pretty sure that Texas allows the “reasonable” detention of someone suspected of theft until a law enforcement officer arrives.

[MtBaldy]

Maybe. I would have just payed it and never gone back anyway.

[NCLaw441]

Pet peeve of mine: trying to make a place sound French by adding “La” to the name. And at LEAST get the gender right, if you have to do this, could you use “Le” Fisherman, or better yet, “Le Pecheur” or maybe “L’Homme de Poisson”? This stuff gives me “le headache”!

[cuban leaf]

At least bash down the door in an “attempt to escape a kidnapping.”

[SkyDancer]

Several times I’ve shown up with a party of more than eight where the policy was an automatic gratuity. We simply occupied two separate tables but next to each other. No extra “service charge”

[Altariel]

You believe it is acceptable to steal from a restaurant when you have a large (by that restaurants’s definition) party and there is a mandatory gratuity for your party which is spelled out on the menus?

[Darren McCarty]

When I was in law school, it was right across the street from an Applebees. Sometimes I had a night class and 90 minute or two hour break between the day and night class. They knew that and they were quick. I remember that they were quick didn’t neglect the tip.

[1rudeboy]

Wow, this thread is turning into a competition between FReepers to see how many additional charges would be filed.

[July4]

Apparently the tip policy for this restaurant was posted. If patrons don’t agree with posted policies, they should eat elsewhere.

If you can’t afford to tip graciously, you can’t afford to eat out.

Of course, you are not obliged to reward poor service, but please be sure that you are not punishing the wrong party. Busboys, waiters, dishwashers, cooks, hosts, and managers all have their own responsibilities and problems; sometimes it’s hard to figure out who fell down on the job. It’s a good idea to put yourself in their shoes, too, and remember that even the best of us occasionally has an “off” day. Forgive a little and tip generously, especially if you plan to eat there again.

[Autonomous User]

A fellow “Dogs” fan! I commend you sir.

There were several quotes worthy of posting however decorum prohibits listing them here.

[cuban leaf]

YEAH! BRING IT!

;-)

[cuban leaf]

To be fair, if the family really was refusing to pay the bill as noted in the menu, they were not being "kidnapped" by the owners. Rather, the owners could say they were doing a

[CodeToad]

Nice leap of stupidity have there. I never said it was OK to walk out, I said you are screwed in the for thinking because someone owes you money that you have the right to kidnap them.

[CodeToad]

Nice leap of stupidity have there. I never said it was OK to walk out, I said you are screwed in the head for thinking because someone owes you money that you have the right to kidnap them.

[cuban leaf]

Love that movie, and completely agreed with him. FWIW.

[cuban leaf]

—If they didn’t want to pay it, they could have left and gone to another restaurant.—

Or sat at two different tables. ;-)

[1rudeboy]

Well, in that case—I suggest refusing to pay, brandishing the gun, pistol-whipping the chef, and exposing myself to the patrons, before kicking out the door and escaping.