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 isnt criminal. So says a New York state district attorney, who declined to press charges against a man who refused to leave a restaurants required gratuity of 18 percent for large parties.
Humberto A. Taveras arrest on Sept. 5 came under New Yorks theft of services law, which carries misdemeanor charges. With a party of eight, the Long Island man dined at Sopranos Italian and American Grill, a Lake George, N.Y., restaurant that applied the tip policy to parties of six or more.
(Ironically, The Sopranos, HBOs 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. Sopranos 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 customers 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. "Its not like they didnt leave any tip. They just left a smaller tip than you would want."
Thats 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 theyre going to leave."
Al DeNapoli, a Boston lawyer who represents the hospitality industry, says this is the first time hes heard of someone being arrested for poor tipping.
"Im 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 dont 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 its 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 Hoganherself a former waitress who always tips 20 percentthe publicity theyve 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 theyre following what obviously is the law in a federal case."
If you've the service to match your attitude, your suggestion to stay away is the best tip of the day.
Enjoy you $15.95 hamburger!
Parking?
I never go to any restaurant where I have to get out of the car.
And yall that expect great service, great entertainmanet, lot's of free stuff, low low prices and NEVER tip can stay away from my bar. The folks that do tip carry the load for all the non tipers like you. These girls LIVE ON THEIR TIPS, that is how they feed their babues and pay their bills. Unless the service was terrible there is NO EXCUSE for not tipping. Go sit at home by yourself.
"Tell that to the single moms in my restaurant who barely make ends meet."
Well Boo Hoo Hoo, they get special consideration because they managed to reproduce? "You birth it, you own it," don't come whining to me because you got knocked up or chose to procreate with a loser.
Yes, service is bad, but when I get "extra cute" AND good service, well.....Cha-CHING for the server!
Anyway...as I was saying, I always tried to be extra attentive to the larger parties as I considered the fact that if this large group had a positive experience and were happy with their service, they would return, and in turn recommend the restaurant to others. It's just good business to give extra-special service to the parties that are large enough to have the service charge added. Most of the time I ended up getting an extra 5 - 10 % on top of the service charge and when these groups returned, they'd request that I be their server. So it was very beneficial to me money-wise.
And it is true, waiting tables is NOT easy...at least not in a higher-end, busy restaurant. It's the job a a good server to make it look easy though. The best ones always make it seem simple...
If restaurants paid their employees a decent wage, they wouldn't need to beg patrons for extra cash. My wife is Japanese and when she was in school, she was a waitress in Tokyo. Back then, they got paid $9/hr and no tips. In Japan, you are paid for your work and the concept of a tip is foreign. Sometimes an American would leave a tip and no one knew what to do with it except run to the door to give it back. I think it ridiculus to have to pay extra for service in a restaurant, and even some counter staff at fast food places have tip jars (the local Subway and Starbucks come to mind).
First of all, my restaurant doesn't have busboys. We bus our own tables. Second, all I am saying is GIVE SERVERS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT SOMETIMES. We don't do it because we enjoy it, and we certainly don't enjoy waiting on pompous customers who consider us their "servants." Jeez, I hope none of you EVER come into my restaurant.
Most of the nicer restaurants I've been to have a little note on the menu that says something about parties of 6 or more will automatically have a gratuity added to the bill. If you don't like it, don't eat there. But even crappy places like Denny's have that as well.
this is a great scene from Resevoir Dogs about tipping.
NICE GUY EDDIE
C'mon, throw in a buck.
MR. WHITE
Uh-uh. I don't tip.
NICE GUY EDDIE
Whaddaya mean you don't tip?
MR. WHITE
I don't believe in it.
NICE GUY EDDIE
You don't believe in tipping?
MR. PINK
(laughing)
I love this kid, he's a madman,
this guy.
MR. BLONDE
Do you have any idea what these
ladies make? They make sh*t.
MR. WHITE
Don't give me that. She don't
make enough money, she can quit.
Everybody laughs.
NICE GUY EDDIE
I don't even know a Jew who'd have
the balls to say that. So let's
get this straight. You never ever
tip?
MR. WHITE
I don't tip because society says I
gotta. I tip when somebody
deserves a tip. When somebody
really puts forth an effort, they
deserve a little something extra.
But this tipping automatically,
that sh*t's for the birds. As far
as I'm concerned, they're just
doin their job.
MR. BLUE
Our girl was nice.
MR. WHITE
Our girl was okay. She didn't do
anything special.
MR. BLONDE
What's something special, take ya
in the kitchen and suck your d*ck?
They all laugh.
NICE GUY EDDIE
I'd go over twelve percent for
that.
MR. WRITE
Look, I ordered coffee. Now we've
been here a long f**kin time, and
she's only filled my cup three
times. When I order coffee, I
want it filled six times.
MR. BLONDE
What if she's too busy?
MR. WHITE
The words "too busy" shouldn't be
in a waitress's vocabulary.
NICE GUY EDDIE
Excuse me, Mr. White, but the last
thing you need is another cup of
coffee.
They all laugh.
MR. WHITE
These ladies aren't starvin to
death. They make minimum wage.
When I worked for minimum wage, I
wasn't lucky enough to have a job
that society deemed tipworthy.
NICE GUY EDDIE
Ahh, now we're getting down to it.
It's not just that he's a cheap
ba*tard--
MR. ORANGE
--It is that too--
NICE GUY EDDIE
--It is that too. But it's also
he couldn't get a waiter job. You
talk like a pissed off dishwasher:
"F**k those c**ts and their
f*cking tips."
MR. BLONDE
So you don't care that they're
counting on your tip to live?
Mr. White rubs two of his fingers together.
MR. WHITE
Do you know what this is? It's
the world's smallest violin,
playing just for the waitresses.
MR. BLONDE
You don't have any idea what
you're talking about. These
people bust their a*s. This
is a hard job.
MR. WHITE
So's working at McDonald's, but
you don't feel the need to tip
them. They're servin ya food, you
should tip em. But no, society
says tip these guys over here, but
not those guys over there. That's
bull*hit.
MR. ORANGE
They work harder than the kids at
McDonald's.
MR. WHITE
Oh yeah, I don't see them cleaning
fryers.
MR. BROWN
These people are taxed on the tips
they make. When you stiff 'em,
you cost them money.
MR. BLONDE
Waitressing is the number one
occupation for female non-college
graduates in this country. It's
the one jab basically any woman
can get, and make a living on.
The reason is because of tips.
MR. WHITE
F*ck all that.
They all laugh.
MR. WHITE
Hey, I'm very sorry that the
government taxes their tips.
That's f**ked up. But that ain't
my fault. it would appear that
waitresses are just one of the
many groups the government fu*ks
in the a*s on a regular basis.
You show me a paper says the
government shouldn't do that, I'll
sign it. Put it to a vote, I'll
vote for it. But what I won't do
is play ball. And this non-
college bullsh*t you're telling
me, I got two words for that:
"Learn to f*ckin type." Cause if
you're expecting me to help out
with the rent, you're in for a big
f*ckin surprise.
MR. ORANGE
He's convinced me. Give me my
dollar back.
"Don't want to tip? Don't eat out."
Don't tell me I have to pay someone something when it is not deserved. Don't hold me hostage to something that is extra and not part of my bill. If your service is good, I MAY tip you and I may not, that is my CHOICE. Last time I looked, tipping was not a requirement to eat out.
I am very friendly, and by bar is one of the most popular in my area. But as a bar owner, tipping is a pet peeve of mine. I understand being down on your luck, or not getting paid until friday, no problem. But there are some people that NEVER tip, and when I find out about it, I let them know that they are no longer welcome. Tipping is not a city in China.
I agree with you in that 15% is usually the base tip. However, if I'm by myself that goes up to 20 - 25% because it really is as easy to wait on one table of two than just me.
If they are reasonably (not bugging me every 15 seconds) attentive and, above all, friendly, I often go 30%.
"Cute" helps bump it up too.
However, if they are hanging on the bar chatting with their co-workers and I can't get my iced tea refilled? 10%.
Eating in a restaurant should not involve acquiring job responsibilities. If they want me to do personnel evaluations for them, they need to pay me.
Just pay the servers adequately, raise the prices and leave me be.
20% for a tip! I thought the max was 15%! Back in the '80's it was 10%. When will it be 25%!
"I think it ridiculus to have to pay extra for service in a restaurant"
I could not agree more. What if every business did this? You tip the car salesman because he got to you quick? They are there to serve food, that is there job. Pay them a good wage and toss the tips. It's a type of extortion in my mind.
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