Posted on 11/10/2004 12:29:27 PM PST by billorites
A $2 tip on a $77 restaurant bill may be cheap, but it isn’t criminal. So says a New York state district attorney, who declined to press charges against a man who refused to leave a restaurant’s required gratuity of 18 percent for large parties.
Humberto A. Taveras’ arrest on Sept. 5 came under New York’s theft of services law, which carries misdemeanor charges. With a party of eight, the Long Island man dined at Soprano’s Italian and American Grill, a Lake George, N.Y., restaurant that applied the tip policy to parties of six or more.
(Ironically, The Sopranos, HBO’s television series, had a recent episode involving a dispute over a gratuity for a large party of mobsters. That dispute ended in the macabre, with the waiter being killed in the argument.)
Ultimately, the case boiled down to language. Soprano’s restaurant described the policy on its menu as a "gratuity," which by definition means "discretion," says Kathleen B. Hogan, the district attorney of Warren County, who ultimately decided to drop charges against Taveras.
She mentions a Southern District of Indiana ruling in which a judge found that a tip or gratuity was strictly within the customer’s discretion and payment could not be forced. U.S. v. Indianapolis Athletic Club, IP90-1783C.
Had the service been written as a surcharge rather than a gratuity, Hogan probably would have prosecuted the case.
"It really did turn on the word," she says, adding that under restaurant policy, the tip should have been nearly $14. "It’s not like they didn’t leave any tip. They just left a smaller tip than you would want."
That’s for sure, say attorneys who represent the restaurant industry. On average, those interviewed for this article say they tip at least 20 percent.
"The whole reason so many restaurants do have notice is because this historically is a problem," says R. Rogge Dunn, a Dallas lawyer and former pizza restaurant assistant manager. "You get a large group that splits the tab, and some people are chintzy on the amount they’re going to leave."
Al DeNapoli, a Boston lawyer who represents the hospitality industry, says this is the first time he’s heard of someone being arrested for poor tipping.
"I’m surprised it was pushed this far, but there are people who are bad tippers all the time," he says. "Whether this is the case here, I don’t know."
Hogan says Taveras was unhappy with the service and said it did not warrant an 18 percent tip.
DeNapoli, who waited tables as a law student, says that not tipping, even when service is bad, may not be the best solution for disgruntled diners. Servers’ salaries depend on tips, he says, and they often share the money with busboys and dishwashers. Instead, DeNapoli advises you to speak with management about the situation or to "talk with your feet" and stop patronizing the restaurant.
Having someone arrested for poor tipping may also not be the best solution, even if it’s a fantasy scenario of many servers.
"You might have a decent civil suit against them, but whatever you would win in that case would be far outweighed by the adverse publicity," Dunn says. "My advice would be to look at the bottom line, and let it go."
Lake George is a resort town, and according to Hogan—herself a former waitress who always tips 20 percent—the publicity they’ve received from the incident concerns many restaurant owners there. Some of them, she says, changed their language from "mandatory gratuity" to "service charge" on large party bills.
"They want to make sure their employees are getting compensation," Hogan adds, "and make sure they’re following what obviously is the law in a federal case."
"If everyone stopped tipping the system would collapse and bartenders and waitress all over the country would be out on the street."
You couldn't simply charge $6 for the $5 beer & make a deal where they get 20% of the gross ? ( that would give them an incentive to keep up the sales, sales, sales )
( heck, they rip us off for $7.50 at the airport already )
Damn I am starting to see your side of things, 5 dollars for a beer? Where do you live? I need to open a bar there.
Any thing over 2.25 is a rip off and I am outta there after one beer.
I used to be a waiter and I understand your frustration for having the tip included. Blame the jerks who stiff waiters for the tipping policy. I always leave a good tip if the server is only as much as nice and pleasant. Often the server has very little control on what goes on in the kitchen. Be nice to me and you will be tipped well.
Amen! If you don't think you need to tip then maybe you do need to stay home and serve yourself!!!!
I'm guessing Amber gets very good tips from the male customers.
Don't ever go back to a restaurant where you have stiffed a waiter! If they recognize you, they will rub your tortillas on the employee bathroom floor before they serve them to you!!!!
Cheapist beer around Southern CA is $3 in any place worth walking into - unless you head down to TJ.
Haven't seen $1.50 beer in a looong while around here.
( best deal in the world is in Prague, about .30 a mug for one of the best drafts made - Staropramen )
""As my waitress ex-girlfriend said, a good tip and a good attitude from a customer ensures no spit or other bodily fluid in that customer's food.
Think about that the next time you decide to not tip a waitress at your regular restaurant.""
And if caught said restaurant will be out of business pronto. Not only that if the person has a communicable disease they face the possibility of criminal charges.
Yep, I vaguely remember that from a long-ago Eurail trip. My thoughts were mainly in reference to American restaurants.
What shocked me maybe most about Europe was how often I had to pay a fee to wipe my hands on some grimy towel guarded by a grumpy woman in a public restroom.
Speaking of restrooms, on a train in Italy (or was it France... I forget...) there was also that toilet fixed with a hole flap that opened to discard one's deposits onto the tracks whizzing below...
Checked your site ---
BTW - 925 Bayshore might mean something to those who know, but had to do some digging to find out you are in Texas.
Don't get down that way much, mostly connecting through Houston. Nice to know there are still places you can get a cheap buzz ...
I missed your point.
Good career choice. That explains your emotion (and lack of logic).
Still had them just a couple of years ago - The Intercities I've ridden on lately have tanks ( or at least they don't have the flap that lets you see the ground anymore ) - The locals might still be the old ones...
I am a college student, waiting tables to get through school so I can get a career. My emotion on this topic stems from the ignorance of people who have never held a job in the restaurant industry. It's easy to point fingers when you've never been in someone's shoes. Thanks, but no thanks.
I have "car hopped" and waited tables. I have cooked and washed dishes. I moved on. Hopefully you will.
I'm 20, I'll get a career when I'm done with college. When I graduate, I'll move on. In the meantime, don't patronize me and I hope I never have to wait on you.
San Leon is kinda stuck in time, but Houston is quickly growing towards us. The buck-fifty beer won't last much longer . Just about ever other place around went to 1.75 or 2.00. I'd hold at 1.50 for a while longer and then go to 2.00 so you better hurry up. I hate 1.75, cuts the girls tips from 50 cents to 25 cents.
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