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."
In the interest of fact-checking, I just went to my local bar/poolroom ( haven't been there in about 8 months )
$3.50 bottle of Heineken at the bar and she never offered me a glass. But the juebox now takes mastercard...
Monday night football special - MGD at $3... and you get to keep the glass ! ( refills only $2.50 )
Good day.
My attitude at work is as sweet as can be, because I rely on the customers for my money (and my tips reflect accordingly). But when I get on a discussion board with people who don't understand the nature of the tipping process and who have a seemingly general disdain for servers, I tend to get a bit hostile.
"As for the glass, you have to ask at my place too. Few of my customer want or expect a glass."
Sure, but its a little courtesy to ask if I wanted one since I'm not a regular, I guess she wanted to get back to her video game on the other side of the bar ... but since she didn't recognize me as a regular big tipper I should expect crummy service ...
>Don't want to tip? Don't eat out.<
I once had an experience that was so bad, when my sister in-law slipped money for a tip under her plate (I was paying) I took it out and gave it back to her once we were 50 miles away.
I also had service that was so good (Large group / Difficult requests by people in the party), that I left a 50% tip.
If you waitress for a living be good at it, or don’t complain about tips.
IMHO: Tips as part of salary is a bad thing.
If you go back and read my previous posts, I am not advocating tipping bad servers!!! Read my previous posts and I think you might understand where I'm coming from.
Don't let the cheap SOBs get you down. I toss cheap SOB out of my place.
Well I am a good tipper and I have never been offer a glass with my beer. Maybe it just a Texas thing to drink beer out of the bottle. The only time I use or offer a glass is if I am trying to get into some babe's pants.
How often do you think people get caught for this type of behavior?
Just off on a tangent, but I've started seeing internet jukeboxes that let you play pretty much any song in existence. The jukebox downloads the song. You can also pay extra to have your song moved to the front of the line. Pretty cool.
>If you go back and read my previous posts, I am not advocating tipping bad servers!!!
>Read my previous posts and I think you might understand where I'm coming from.
Read your posts, and they all say BAD ATITUDE, Sorry (In a George bush "Golly I'm sorry my prop plane ran over your jet" kind of sorry).
The policy of mandatory tipping is in place in many fine restaurants; it's part of the package, and I just accept it.
I think that's a standard thing, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it. I remember riding a few trains around Texas when I was a kid and the toilet emptied out onto the rails at some point or anotyher.
Not as often as it should be. There was one restaurant here that was caught and they were shut down immediately.
Paridel, I couldn't have said it better myself. I have a great attitude in general. I'm easy-going, happy, upbeat (why wouldn't I be, I'm a republican!)But when people lash out at me or condescend to me about something in which they don't really have a clue, it makes me mad. Thank you for your kind words.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.