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Thread: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

  1. #1
    Kentuckian At Heart WVRed's Avatar
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    Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. - Humberto A. Taveras put his money where his mouth is and ended up arrested, accused of leaving an inadequate tip at a restaurant.



    Taveras, 41, faces a misdemeanor charge of theft of services after he and his fellow diners argued with Soprano's Italian and American Grill managers over the legality of requiring an 18 percent tip for large parties.


    "They chased us down like a bunch of criminals," Taveras said. "It killed our weekend."


    Taveras and eight others had pizza at the restaurant in this resort village Sunday night. He said they weren't completely satisfied with the food and left a tip of under 10 percent. Taveras said they also were not told of a mandatory 18 percent gratuity for parties of six or more and did not see notice of it on their menus.


    Restaurant owner Joe Soprano said all the menus have the notice, and the waitress informed the group. He said he did not choose to pursue charges because of the money, but because Taveras' group was obnoxious.


    "It's unfortunate it has come to this, but this guy was rude and abrasive. They practically threw food at us," Soprano said.


    Taveras plans to fight the charge. The arrest raises the issue of whether the gratuities that restaurants automatically tack on for serving large groups are legally enforceable debts.
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  3. #2
    I rig polls REDREAD's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    He said he did not choose to pursue charges because of the money, but because Taveras' group was obnoxious.
    Another reason not to annoy resturant workers :MandJ:
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    The Lineups stink. KronoRed's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    :MandJ: :MandJ:
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    Churlish Johnny Footstool's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    Taveras has some guts (but no brains) to mess with anyone named "Soprano."
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    Goober GAC's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    When we were first married, my wife was a waitress for several years. Seeing her come home every night so tired and worn out showed me just how hard waitresses work. Back then, she made $2.01/hr, and depended on tips to supplement her income.

    My wife was an excellent waitress and hard worker. And because of that, she made good money from tips.

    To this day, whenever we eat out, she makes sure that we leave a god tip (15%).

    BUT...if the waiter/waitress gives really poor service, she is not afraid to let them know she was displeased with that service by leaving them a bad tip.

    And if the customer was obnoxious, as a waitress, she wasn't afraid to let them know it either.
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Member TeamCasey's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    I tip, so don't misunderstand what I'm about to say.

    I think it's wrong that waiters/waitresses get less than minimum wage. It shouldn't be up to patrons to pay their salary. Restaurant owners really have it made. I've never really had bad service, but I certainly wouldn't feel obligated to tip in that instance.
    "Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women." - Nora Ephron

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    Glenn Braggs
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    Quote Originally Posted by TeamCasey
    I tip, so don't misunderstand what I'm about to say.

    I think it's wrong that waiters/waitresses get less than minimum wage. It shouldn't be up to patrons to pay their salary. Restaurant owners really have it made. I've never really had bad service, but I certainly wouldn't feel obligated to tip in that instance.
    Just out of curiosity (and to make sure that I don't act like a fool during my next visit to the US) ....

    How much money (%) is appropriate to give if the meal / service was fine?

    Do you also give a tip in locations like Pizza Hut? (This is not common in Germany)

    In case that you pay with a credit card, do you leave the tip as cash for the waiter/waitress?

  9. #8
    The Lineups stink. KronoRed's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    I always leave a tip, most of these servers are getting 2.15 an hour or less.

    I usually go with 15% of the bill
    Go Gators!

  10. #9
    RZ Chamber of Commerce Unassisted's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    Quote Originally Posted by Red Thunder
    Just out of curiosity (and to make sure that I don't act like a fool during my next visit to the US) ....

    How much money (%) is appropriate to give if the meal / service was fine?

    Do you also give a tip in locations like Pizza Hut? (This is not common in Germany)

    In case that you pay with a credit card, do you leave the tip as cash for the waiter/waitress?
    http://www.tipping.org has exhaustive(!) info on this topic.

    15% is a minimum restaurant tip for good service. 20% or more if the service was excellent.

    Anywhere there's a restaurant with waitstaff, it is customary to tip them here... including Pizza Hut. Those people make that $2.01 wage, so they need it.

    I use my credit card anywhere I can. (Frequent Flier miles!) In my experience, 99% of restaurants here have a line on the receipt below the total where you can write in a tip and re-total the bill. Occasionally, I encounter receipts with tip and total on the receipt at restaurants where there is counter service. (Order at the counter, bring food to the table yourself.) I rarely tip at such places, unless there is a tip jar on the counter.
    Last edited by Unassisted; 09-14-2004 at 08:48 AM.
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    This story sounds like a Seinfeld final episode.

    I am usually very generous with tips. However, if a server is non-friendly and acts like my party is a pain... then I'll give them what they deserve. All I ask is for is friendliness and an explanation if there is a holdup of some sort. And try to make yourself available if I need you (do not hide in the kitchen for 20 minute stretches). I'll leave 25% if I feel the server did their job. Just do your job and I am more than happy to give. Their job includes being available and being friendly in my opinion.

    And no matter how bad service and/or food is, there is never a reason to be rude and abrasive. Two wrongs do not make a right.

  12. #11
    Member TeamCasey's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    But, don't you guys think servers should get more that $2.15 an hour?
    "Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women." - Nora Ephron

  13. #12
    Be the ball Roy Tucker's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    I usually try to leave the tip as cash. If it's on the credit card, the wait staff has to declare it as income. Cash they can just pocket (they are supposed to declare it as income but there is no paper trail).

    I wish I didn't have to tip since the waitress bears the brunt of a ill-run restaurant. If they don't have enough wait staff and service is slow/non-existent, the kitchen is slow, they haven't been trained sufficiently, tables don't get bussed, etc., I have 3 choices: 1.) go find the manager and be their QA testers and tell them what is wrong with their store (which is a large pain in the neck since I'm there to get a meal, not help them debug their store), 2.) leave a lousy tip, 3.) leave a decent tip since the waitress was trying hard, she was just in a bad situation. Unless the waitress has been a total witch, I usually chicken out and do #3 unless I'm in a mood to deal with it all.

    And a trend I've seen in restaurants is that they will charge premium prices but not give premium service. If I pay $20-30 for an entree (and do that for a family of 5), I damn well better get equivalent service.

    If I get 30 seconds of a rushed waitress who takes our order without any interaction, someone else brings our order (who doesn't know who gets what and I have to direct traffic), I have to flag someone down to get a second drink, and then they brightly bring my triple digit bill, I get a little steamed. If they charge big bucks, they better provide big buck service.
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  14. #13
    Glenn Braggs
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    Thanks for the info, Unassisted

    I just listed Pizza Hut as an example as it is sometimes the case here, that you order your meal by one waiter, another one brings it to you and after you finished again someone else is presenting you with the bill. It sounds odd, but at two places I went to this was the case.

    In contrast to the US, waitresses and waiters in Germany have a regular income which is way above ~ $ 2.00. So as the people who served you don't neccesarily rely on the tip, the extra you give mostly depends on how comfortable the place/ service actually was. I think we have in general not such a service-friendly attitude comparable to Americans. "Service-desert Germany" is unfortunately not an uncommon term over here.

    Since we gave up the "German Mark" and got the "Euro" as currency, prices in several restaurants have gone considerable up. 1 Euro is about worth as much as 2 German Marks were .... and there are still a lot of restaurants where you have the impression, that they (nearly) kept their prices the same and just changed the currency on the price list. So a lot of people are more aware when & how much they are going to tip.
    Last edited by Red Thunder; 09-14-2004 at 09:11 AM.

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    Rally Onion! Chip R's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    That's a good question, TC. I guess I don't know enough about the restaurant biz to make a decision on whether waitresses and waiters deserve more than $2 an hour. If they made minimum wage and tips would that put restaurants out of business since they would automatically be giving their wait staff about a $4 and hour raise? I don't know if these restaurants make out like bandits though since they seem to pop up and close down quite frequently.

    When I dine out I always start with a benchmark of 15%. If the waiter/waitress provides the minimum service, they get 15% regardless. But I adjust up or down depending on the service. If the food takes too long to get there even after we've made it clear we've been there for a while, the tip goes down. Same thing if we don't have a waiter/waitress come over and ask for our order within a reasonable time after we've been seated. If I need a refill for my drink and I don't get it fairly soon, I knock a percent or two off. I don't usually penalize for bad foof since I really have never been in a situation where there has been bad food and I can't fault the waiter/waitress for that. I won't penalize for a wrong order cause that's something that can be easily fixed. OTOH, if the experience was pleasant, the food was good, the wait staff was prompt and nice, I will up it a few percentage points but I won't go past 20%.
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    Churlish Johnny Footstool's Avatar
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    Re: Dont leave a large enough tip? You'll be arrested.

    I usually try to leave the tip as cash. If it's on the credit card, the wait staff has to declare it as income. Cash they can just pocket (they are supposed to declare it as income but there is no paper trail).
    I do the same thing when I have enough cash on hand.
    "I prefer books and movies where the conflict isn't of the extreme cannibal apocalypse variety I guess." Redsfaithful


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