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I know that The menu clearly states, "18 percent gratuity added to check of parties of 6 of more," and a similar message is printed on receipts....

However, if the customer is not receiving the the proper service service they should speak to the Manager of the restaurant to discuss the situation. Where was the manager in all of this? The Manager should have taken care of this (if the server was in the wrong).

I am wondering if there is much more to this?...


Here is the story below:

It was an evening out that college students Leslie Pope and John Wagner will long remember.

Not only did they get what they called lousy service, they got handcuffed and arrested.

All over a $16.35 tip.

They were with a half-dozen friends at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem last month, so the establishment tacked what it called a mandatory 18 percent gratuity onto the bill of about $73, according to reports.

Pope and Wagner refused to pay.

"You can't give us terrible, terrible service and expect a tip," said Pope, a 22-year-old Moravian College senior who's a Pottsville native, according to the Lehigh Valley Express-Times.

They had to find their own napkins and cutlery while their waitress caught a smoke, had to ask the bar for soda refills, and had to wait over an hour for salad and wings, they told NBC10.

The pub, which was very busy that night, took the $73, but then called the cops, who treated the matter as a theft.

The menu clearly states, "18 percent gratuity added to check of parties of 6 of more," and a similar message is printed on receipts, a pub employee said this morning.

A court date is scheduled for next month.

What would they do if it happened again? a reporter asked.

"Honestly, probably gonna pay the tip anyway," said Pope, prompting Wagner, 24, a Lehigh University grad student, to laugh.

Informed Consent- they tell you the rules up from and if you continue its understood you agreed with the rules.

Zee wrote:Informed Consent- they tell you the rules up from and if you continue its understood you agreed with the rules.

I agree... and yet, I respectfully disagree.

I fully respect the 6 or more gratuity and will gladly pay for it.

However, if the server does take advantage of the automatic gratuity and gives lousy service then I have a problem with that. I have even given more that the automatic gratuity due to superior service. When a server gives lousy service - I will go to the manager and calmly explain the situation and I would expect the manager to handle this. I will not be taken advantage either.

Why should someone have to pay for a service that they did not get? Then for the cops to be called out for theft? That is extreme.

Unless the customer got out of hand - but I do not see them for arresting the customer for disorderly conduct.

Why should I have to pay for that service in the first place? Should the restaurant be paying the waiter/waitress enough in the first place? I have a big problem with people EXPECTING a tip. Tips are NOT automatic, they are based on good service BEYOND the customer service an employee should give in the first place. If I only get mediocre service, you better believe that I won't tip. If I get great service, then I tip very well.

If a waitperson doesn't understand this that's just tough. If they are upset by that, that's also tough. I have zero sympathy for a waitperson who gives lousy service and is upset they got no tip. Maybe they will learn from it, improve their CS skills, and get better tips in the future.

gratuity |grəˈt(y)oōitē|
noun ( pl. -ties)
money given in return for some service or favor, in particular See note at present .
• formal a tip given to a waiter, taxicab driver, etc.

longhorn_92 wrote:Unless the customer got out of hand - but I do not see them for arresting the customer for disorderly conduct.

IMO, the mandatory tip should be seen as prior consent by the manager to a serious chewing-out over even the smallest issues - especially when the tip exceeds the typical 15% for good service.

The real thief here is the restaurant.

longhorn_92 wrote:They were with a half-dozen friends at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem last month, so the establishment tacked what it called a mandatory 18 percent gratuity onto the bill of about $73, according to reports.

Pope and Wagner refused to pay.

"You can't give us terrible, terrible service and expect a tip," said Pope, a 22-year-old Moravian College senior who's a Pottsville native, according to the Lehigh Valley Express-Times.

They had to find their own napkins and cutlery while their waitress caught a smoke, had to ask the bar for soda refills, and had to wait over an hour for salad and wings, they told NBC10.

Obviously a union shop.

OTH, we all know now not to eat there. Hopefully the word will get out, and it will be an object lesson to the establishment's owners that you don't tack on gratuities if you can't guarantee the quality of the service.

Now, I have been a waiter in pricey restaurants before when I was a kid, and I've had customers run up large bills, keep you running to the point where it was impacting your ability to serve other customers, be loud and boisterously drunk about it, and then refuse to leave you a tip. A famous comedian did that to me once in NYC. On his way out the door, he gave the manager a dime soldered to a safety pin and made a joke about giving her a "dime 'nd pin." That's right, it was Henney Youngman. A rich man, and and obnoxious customer, but he couldn't leave me a tip. And I worked my tail off for him. All of that is to say that I understand why some restaurants automatically append a gratuity onto bills that are over a given amount.

But that said, if the service is really terrible, and you make a point of complaining to the manager about it, then any right thinking manager would deduct that gratuity from the total bill.

First off, this gratuity for 6 people is nonsense. I understand this was in a pub, but had it been in a regular resutrant there are some families of 6 who would be stuck paying an automatic gratuity every time. So to me, the number needs to be a little bigger, I think 8 is more common and practical. Not too many families now-a-days with 8 members. I don't vist pubs/bars/clubs, so maybe for a pub/bar/club 6 is an acceptable number. Secondly, I have no issue with automatic gratuity. If there was a big group of people (read 8+) and the bill was split several different ways, one person may assume that the other left enough tip and not leave anything or a smaller than usual tip because the other guy is leaving one too. The other person may be thinking the same thing. So it makes it easier in a big group when the gratuity is included. I've never been out to eat with a big group and everyone start discussing how much each other is leaving so as not to stick it to the wait staff. Third, it does seem that more often than not when gratuity is included the service is a bit poorer. No incenitive to work for a tip.

I try not to have a standard tip amount. Some people give 'X' wheter good or bad service. I try and match the tip to the service, which is the idea. If the service is above average, I'll bump it up, considerably sometimes. If I have extrodinary service I try to go the extra mile and locate the manager and tell them just how good the waiter/waitress was.

In hind sight I think I would just pay the gratuity and let the manager/wait staff know just how I feel about their poor service and that not only will this be the last dollar they'll ever see of mine, but that I will try and persuade everyone I know to spend their money else where.

Informed Consent- they tell you the rules up from and if you continue its understood you agreed with the rules.

Breach of Contract-failure to deliver promised services in a reasonable and timely manner. This is a civil matter, not criminal. The cops were out of line. Nothing was stolen here. They paid for the meal and tender was accepted with full accord and satisfaction with respect to the food as evidenced by the fact the restaurant did not contest payment for the meal. The gratuity rests soley on performance in delivery. With a lawyer, this case would be dismissed. The criminal court judge should throw it out and reprimand the cops and their department. Yeah, right, that's gonna happen.

casingpoint wrote:
Breach of Contract-failure to deliver promised services in a reasonable and timely manner. This is a civil matter, not criminal.

Agree. Be interesting if the kids pursue this line, and sue the restaurant for failure to provide service, calling the cops, and of course lawyer's fees.

Wisewr wrote:First off, this gratuity for 6 people is nonsense. I understand this was in a pub, but had it been in a regular resutrant there are some families of 6 who would be stuck paying an automatic gratuity every time. So to me, the number needs to be a little bigger, I think 8 is more common and practical.

I also find it annoying that this one industry, out of all of the various business types, is so ungrateful as to charge you an additional fee for bringing them more business.

The cops could go down for false arrest if it's civil.

I have had a similar experience with the "automatic gratuity" being added that was most certainly not earned by the waitress.
After talking to the manager and explaining the situation, he informed me that the quality of service had nothing to do with the charge.
After a reading him the definition of gratuity off of my Blackberry, (money given in appreciation: a small gift, usually of money, given to somebody such as a waiter as thanks for service…) he did not change his position.
After politely explaining that the $8 I was being forced to pay for lousy service was going to cost him a lot more in lost business because as soon I got to a computer I was going to tell the universe about my experience and name names, he conceded and removed the charge.

I pay the automatic gratuity, regardless of service... because I tip up to 30%-40% for good to excellent service, especially to places I frequent regularly.

I figure, if they want to short themselves, so be it. I rarely if ever add to the automatic tip.

I try to tip well also. They have to really be bad to tick me off enough not to leave a tip. On the automatic tip, I believe that big groups usually require a lot of work. I do think 6 people is a bit low on the count.

I think they should have complained to the manager to get that taken off. Most places will work with you within reason. Of course, it helps if you complain about the service BEFORE you get the bill.

On the other hand, I know people who have been waiters and have heard them say that students are some of the worst customers. If they were particularly bad/demanding customers, I can see where the manager wouldn't bend over backwards for them.