So this happened a year ago.. but I just heard about it at work for the first time today..
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Time-In-Prison--70426052.html?yhp=1
A couple was arrested for not paying a mandatory 18% gratuity that a restaurant put on their bill because their party was over 6 people. They claim their service was horrid, and that they had to refill their own drinks and get their own silverware... and that a tip wasn't deserved nor earned.. They paid their bill -- minus the tip... and the manager called the police. They ended up being arrested for 'theft'.
Now.. I believe in tipping.. to a point. But this is flat out insane.
Where exactly do people in the service industry get off? Tips have slowly moved from 'earned' gratuity that a diner can leave to show his appreciation for a well served meal... to a mandatory part of eating out -- that if you don't tip well, you are a bad person.
I had a friend the other day bitch on facebook that a couple spent $211 dollars on food/drinks.. but only left her $23. According to her, the service given was amazing "they didn't want for anything"... and it pissed her off that she only got 10%.
I have a major problem with this. The name is "gratuity." Not, "mandatory extra payment directly to the server so they can avoid taxes." As it becomes more of something that is expected.. frankly my expectations of service go up exponentially. 10% service is a lot different than 20%. If the food is dropped on the table and we get refills once... that isn't 20% worthy service. That honestly isn't even 10% service. That is their freaking job.
Now you might claim they don't get paid a lot because they are expected to get tips or some garbage like that... well.. that is the problem. The restaurant itself is trying to be cheap (which they all do) and avoid paying more than they have to. But that isn't the customer's fault. And it isn't up to the customer to reward mediocre service with a 20% tip that wasn't earned.
Same thing goes for pizza delivery people. I think it is pretty ridiculous that we are expected to fork over $2-4 if not more, for someone doing their JOB and delivering a pizza. It is one thing if it is fast on a friday/saturday night.. or if it is fast during a football game or whatever. Or maybe you just order a ton of food.. Fine.. totally worth tipping since they had to do extra. But these days they add a delivery fee that is anywhere from $2-4 on to the bill anyways. So isn't that their tip???
Anyways.. I just have a problem with this. If the service was crap on a bill they were trying to force a mandatory gratuity... I would have major issues. Would I go so far as to get arrested. Probably not. But I would go out of my way to get that manager/waiter reprimanded/fired for not removing it or comping the entire thing. That is just bad service. Especially since he admits they had problems. (he claims they tried to comp part of the meal.. which just flat out doesn't make sense (and the couple deny happening) when they could have just as easily broken the bill down and made the customers happy by avoiding the mandatory tip)
So there you go.. tipping is evil!! ;)
I think that I remember reading that story when it came out and thought it was as ridiculous then, as I think it is now.
ReplyDeleteTipping seems like it is just a tradition nowadays. Overhauling a tradition of that magnitude is borderline impossible. I am not necessarily against tipping, but am against mandatory tipping when horrible service is given. I also do not see the point of tipping the pizza delivery guy when they get a delivery fee like you mentioned.
Living here in Vegas and having family members that work in casinos I know and understand that tips create a fine line between feast and famine. However, I agree with JMyers I don't like mandatory tipping when horrible services is involved. Just recently came back from a cruise and they automatically add a $10 per day, per person gratuity to your cabin. My original thoughts were what if I don't received good service. That was quickly remedied as they do give you an opportunity to make adjustments as you deem necessary. All worked out well and I ended up increasing my gratuity.
ReplyDeleteI think the couple was right not paying the 18% tip because the service sounded awful. Perhaps the waiter deserved 10% but not 18%. Just because the party is a certain amount, that doesn't mean the waiter can provide bad service. I've seen this happen at restaurants where the tip is taken for granted because of the party size, but I have never not tipped the required amount. I guess that is a good thing or else I would have been arrested for theft.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post, as well as the other comments. When good service is not rendered, a tip should not be mandatory, regardless of party size. I guess that places really are getting more greedy, as time passes.
ReplyDeleteTipping should be something optional. I work for a hotel and work for tips. If people don't feel like I did a great job then they aren't obligated to tip. That's how it should be. The mandatory tips should have never been implemented. Room service now has tips included in the bill. What if it took too long to get to the room? Do they take the tip out? I don't think so. Tips should be something that's extra for doing a good job.
ReplyDeleteI think that I get worse service when gratuity is automatically added. I think it takes the incentive out of providing good customer service when the server knows that the gratuity is guaranteed. However, there are always exceptions. If it were me, I would just pay the 18% because it was the restaurant's stated policy irregardless of the service. In turn, I would make a complaint and/or never go back to that establishment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others, the mandatory tipping seems silly. In my opinion, the employee is working for their tip and therefore the amount should depend on the quality of service they provided. If the do good work they get a good tip.
ReplyDeleteAlso a note on your post, with the link to the article adding, a hyperlink would make it easier for your readers to see the article.
I think that if you are not willing to pay the mandatory tip for large parties in a restaurant don't eat there! Evie is right when she mentions that service gets worse when the gratuity is added to the tab automatically but if you know the restaurant and your server paying the gratuity could be worth your while.
ReplyDelete