couple arrested for not paying mandatory 18% gratuity

I saw that on another site. Wow. I have a feeling the publicity won't be good for them. Hopefully!

They should drop a dime on the place with the IRS and see if they are charging tax on the mandatory gratuity. Also, to see if the servers are declaring the tips.

I don't buy the manager's statement that they offered to comp the meal either. Why would you have someone arrested for not paying for something you just comped? This restaurant is done.

I saw this story on the Today show! I don't blame the couple and the cops were actually quoted as stating it most likely won't stand up in court. I hope the place realizes their mistake.

Why would you have someone arrested for not paying for something you just comped?

Because they refused the offer of a comp. Yes, I've seen it from parties so annoyed with a place they just want to leave. I hope BOTH PARTIES recognize their mistake and move on.

Why would you have someone arrested for not paying for something you just comped?

Because they refused the offer of a comp.

So they refused to not pay anything. So that means they paid the menu prices for the food? Then why have them arrested for an additional 18% instead of just letting them go on their way? How do you imagine the conversation went? Like this?

Diners: We were very unhappy with our service and won't pay an additional 18% tip.

Manager: I'm sorry we didn't give you very good service. I'll comp your meal

D: No. We want to pay for the food we ate but feel it's improper to pay extra for service when that service was bad to non-existant.

M: I won't let you only pay for the food. It's either 1. Pay for the food AND the tip or 2. Pay nothing or 3. Pay for just the food and go to jail.

D: We'll pay for just the food then go to jail, please.

Also, I'm seeing this on so many different sites and people keep talking about a large group and mandatory 18% added on. Is there another article that talks about how large the group was? From this, it looks like 2 people so I hardly see why there would be and automatic 18% "gratuity."

Edit: Nevermind. I found an article that says they were there with a group of 6.

Be curious to follow how this one plays out.

How can a tip be mandatory? Do different States have different laws on this?

How can a tip be mandatory? Do different States have different laws on this?

Maybe different states have different laws but they all have to comply with the IRS. IRS regulations state that if it's mandatory it is taxable! It become a fee instead of a tip and as such is subject to sales tax.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/nyreg ... ref=slogin

As it turns out, a tip is just a tip, even if you put "mandatory" in front of it.

Charges were dropped yesterday(2004) against a Long Island man who was arrested last week for failing to leave a required 18 percent gratuity at Soprano's Italian and American Grill in Lake George, N.Y

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/nyregion/15tipper.html?_r=2&oref=slogin

As it turns out, a tip is just a tip, even if you put "mandatory" in front of it.

Charges were dropped yesterday(2004) against a Long Island man who was arrested last week for failing to leave a required 18 percent gratuity at Soprano's Italian and American Grill in Lake George, N.Y

I know if I was at a place called Soprano's, I'd make sure to pay everything on the bill. Long walks off short piers are not my idea of a good time

T I P S.........

To Insure Proper Service.........

How did we evolve into recent habits..............

Nothing about this situation screams "good business sense" at me. If I was the owner of the restaurant, I think my first response would be to drop the charges and then fire whoever called the cops in the first place. However if their goal is to sink the business, then nothing works better than wanton incarceration.

Urban Legends Reference Pages : Etymology of the word Tip
http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

There seems to be a detail or two missing from this "news."
I am very skeptical of most local TV "Action McNews" stories since some of them tend to manufacture the latest outrage, sensationalize it and dumb it down at the same time.

The restaurant is at fault. The guests' entire tab should have been comped. The fact that this wasn't done shows that the management is garbage. It is stated in the article that the comp was offered, but I see that as suspect.

The guests' complaints were that their food took an hour, they had to get their own silverware, and a refill. The hour ticket times almost always are the fault of the kitchen, unless the server forgets to ring the order in. The silverware thing can be excused if the restaurant has dependable bussers/SAs, and the server just expects that the new table is reset correctly. The refill thing is unfortunate.

So why refuse to pay the gratuity? The whole experience was crap. If it had happened to me, I would expect to pay for nothing. I can't see making the gratuity a big deal but still be willing to pay the bill. Either way, the management should never have put them in the position to make that decision.

The other thing that rubs me the wrong way about this article is that it only works if you assume cops are stupid. There is no way that any officer involved in this situation didn't try to reach some sort of peaceful accord. The fact that an arrest was made tells me that the guests were either drunk, belligerent, or both. No one is willing to go to jail for something this stupid, and cops are usually pretty reluctant to arrest people for exactly the same reason.

***Edited to remove comment that was meant as humorous, but might not have been taken that way.