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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Not tipping = Jail time!


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.[source]

When I first read this, I thought of the opening scene in Resivour Dogs where Mr. Pink had a problem tipping.  I must admit, i do have a problem leaving a tip in big groups like that because the waitresses/waitors think its a guaranteed tip.  FYI, you still have to provide a good service to me to make it worth it or im gonna give them a hard ass time.

But also in reading this, I remember a situation that happened to me personally to me and the waitress threatened to cut me over $13 dollars! Sound familiar to anyone? LOL

2 comments:

T said...

Wow, to cut you? That's serious. I think if you HAVE to pay gratuity for bad service, you should complain more if things are going your way. A letter to corporate HQs always works for me. But assuming this small diner didn't have a corporate HQ.

Marcus Booker said...

I COMPLETELY agree with "T". However, I think this case should be investigated to the fullest, because I can empathize with the student. If the service wasn't there, the service wasn't there. I was a caddy for 11 years of my life, and my salary depended on tips and how great my service was. I was obviously one of the best because I made a lot of money and got a scholarship out of the deal, although, i wouldn't have received any of that if I sucked. Its that simple. (Cheese, you KNOW you on bullsh*t for this blog, right?! wait till i start my blog)

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