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."
Cheeeaappppp, cheap, cheap, cheap; Cheeeeaappppp, cheap, cheap, cheap.
I was recently at the local pub/restaurant down the street from my office when one of the local leftist college professors complained because the bar tender served me first even though he was there first. The bartender's response: He's a better tipper.
The bottom line is that you are free to tip 10% if you want, but I wouldn't brag about it, nor would I complain if you get lousy service the next time you go back to that place. Also, don't complain the next time you go out to eat and an illegal Mexican is waiting on you because the owner of the place can't find legals willing to work for $3.85 per hour plus tips.
They do pay you, with better service.
I guarantee you in a system where you don't tip the service will be worse.
I'm not disagreeing with you that good servers deserve tips - I don't mind 20%, 15 even for less than better service. I do take offense that because a tip is not as expected, the customer most often is the first to be "blamed".
BTW, how can someone conscienciously hire an employee for $2.15/hr and expect them to live on tips then bash a customer who's equally a tight-wad with money?
A party of eight spent only $77? Huh?
I hate to ask the obvious, but why don't you raise your prices and pay them more if you're so concerned?
If your girls have to live on tips, then why aren't yopu paying them a decent wage? Tips are not an expectation, they are a gratuity that should be earned.
My buddy J.C. was a server in college. With large parties, he always informs the party that he is waiving the "mandatory" tip.
He proceeds to reccomend that if they are happy with the service they can leave a suggested tip of 18% or 22%. He does the math for the customers, and places the "suggested tips" at the top of the bill.
He consistently got a number in between the two... around 20%.
As far as some of the other comments on the thread...
If you want your waiter/waitress to earn more tip more.
If you want to pay them a higher hourly salary... open your own restaruant.
HONEY, I'm a server, not a servant. There is a difference. I serve people food and drinks, I'm not a submissive doormat.
Spaghetti with no sauce and a side order of water?
http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/hooters2004.html
Do you have the free hooters calendar?
Ramen noodles and ketchup packets.
I have the exact same policy as you for the exact same reasons when it comes to tipping. I hate places where I am told I have to tip. Like why bother having a tipping process. It is like a hidden tax that is in the fineprint.
"Everyone should be required to hold at least one restaurant job in their lifetime."
I held a job in a restaurant. I was a busboy in high school and my first year of college. I busted my butt while the waitresses claimed the tips. I never once saw a waitress lift a finger to bus a table, they always waved us over after they took the tip off of the table. The boss had an idea to pool the tips and give the busboys a percentage and the waitresses had a cow and the idea was scrapped.
And it's not "common courtesy", the waitresses are there to do a job and they get paid to do it by the employer. It's not my fault that the employer is too cheap to pay a good wage is it?
And most of the places I go to I usually go to the all you can eat buffets. All the waitress has to do is keep my drink filled and some of them can't do that right. I'm not going to be told I have to pay something.
"Reservoir Dogs"...excellent movie - I think this thread is sounding verbatim to that very scene!
Now, that's cheeeeep!!
My daughter LOVES ramen noodles.
A guy at church who often confuses his speech said, "Anna, say you love Roman numerals?" My wife and I cracked up!
(he also says there's a "Martha Lootin King holiday in Janurary"
As someone who has been both a server and restaurant manager I said that the tips should be earned.
I simply don't subscribe to your theory that I should tip someone well when I get poor service. I don't think that a servers personal situation (single mother) or financial situation (makes $2.13 an hour) should have any bearing on how much I tip them. I tip solely on the merits of the service they provide though I do take into consideration valid extenuating circumstances.
Personally, I enjoyed waitressing and I was very good at it. I know what it takes to be a good server and I know what the excuses are of the crappy ones. I tip accordingly.
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