College Students Arrested For Refusing To Pay Tip

[NFS4]

I just got pwned tonight at Shaba-Shabu in Raleigh. There were 7 of us and the restaurant had an 18% gratuity. This isn't normally a problem, because we absolutely LOVE the place.

However, tonight we got a crappy waitress who didn't know the menu (for the other folks in our party; we knew what we wanted), took forever to take our orders, took forever to bring our food, took forever to refill our tea, and took 15 minutes to bring our cards back once we had given them to her to run them through...

And to top it off, there were hardly any people in the place eating (maybe 20 people tops in a place that can sit about 150 people), so it's not like it was busy.

 

[jlee]

I always thought the "standard" was 15%.. BS that restaurants automatically charge 18%.

 

[darkswordsman17]

It's normal to bring back the largest bill possible...if she brought you back 10 singles I am sure you'd be pissed as well.

A tip is a percentage for a reason, try eating within your means.

I don't think he was pissed about that, just said that was why they decided to just tip the ones they had, since they didn't feel she warranted a $10 tip.

I tend to agree that the tipping "system" is flawed. Obviously, it's within each of our control to leave a huge tip on a small bill where service was extraordinary, but lets face it, how much of us would provide even what the standard tip would be on a $100 meal for a waiter that did a fantastic job on a $20 meal? What pisses me off is that the flawed system is thoroughly ingrained in my mind - I know it sucks, yet I'll generally leave a $20 tip for a waiter that was 'ok' for a $100 meal and I'll generally leave $4 - $5 for a waiter that did a great job on my $20 bill.

I do think you should use your brain and think about it and not just give a whatever percent tip. I tend to tip about $2 on delivery orders (if its timely and not screwed up), regardless of the cost of the food, as it takes them roughly the same effort on a $30 order as a $5 one.

She gave you bad service and you still tipped??? What's the incentive for a server to give good service??? None because people will still tip them no matter what. That's really sad.

It was pretty porr but it wasn't completely awful, so yeah, I think a tip is still warranted, just lower. A tip leaves you room to punish bad service and reward good service. If its neither, I still tip just less. If its horrible service, I'd probably ask to speak to a manager about it.

Yes, the system is flawed, but personally, I just tip what I think is fair. I don't really care what you tip unless its in a group I'm a part of and you don't tip at all or just throw your change on the table (when we have decent, good, or great service). I won't say anything to you about it (as in call you a cheapskate or whatever), I'll just rectify it as I see fit (put what I thought the service was worth).

 

[SunSamurai]

I just got pwned tonight at Shaba-Shabu in Raleigh. There were 7 of us and the restaurant had an 18% gratuity. This isn't normally a problem, because we absolutely LOVE the place.

However, tonight we got a crappy waitress who didn't know the menu (for the other folks in our party; we knew what we wanted), took forever to take our orders, took forever to bring our food, took forever to refill our tea, and took 15 minutes to bring our cards back once we had given them to her to run them through...

And to top it off, there were hardly any people in the place eating (maybe 20 people tops in a place that can sit about 150 people), so it's not like it was busy.

They will go out of buisness too hopefully.

When they do, follow the cook, not the management.

 

[Ns1]

Dude, if you get hosed on service then fucking make them work for their tip at the end

make a mess, ask for a ton of shit, be a pain in the ass

fuck that shit, you want that mandatory tip then you work for that, bitches.

 

[OutHouse]

Any Europeans on? Supposedly European waiters get mad if you tip them? I usually tipped them whatever changed I had left over plus whatever it took to get near a Euro. Some people in my study abroad group thought they needed to be tipped 15-20% all the time.

i lived in germany and all tips were added to the bill. you did not leave money on the table. In my view of this tipping is ass backwards. you tip before you are served to get that special attention. tipping is just a way for employeers to keep wages low, hell most states have laws that exempt servers from the min wage they use "wages +tips"... why should i tip a server who is doing the same service as the table next to me? Tipping should be reserved for going above and beyond what your job is. tipping is a incentive/reward its not a right.

 

[dabuddha]

Bullshit. Tips are for well-rated service, else they make their minimum wage, just like cashiers at McD's. Anything else is a sense of entitlement. Servers aren't owed 15% of the bill just for doing their job.

Meh some people just won't get it. Mostly the narcissistic people who think they're entitled to everything no matter how shitty of a job they do.

 

[olds]

Blah, blah, blah.
You know the charges will be dropped. This is just stupid.

 

[NFS4]

They will go out of buisness too hopefully.

When they do, follow the cook, not the management.

That's not even the best part; there was also an additional spot under the mandatory tip that said additional tip... yes, ADDITIONAL tip. Hey, **** you! :biggrin:

 

[jonks]

This thread clearly illustrates why there is a mandatory charge for larger parties.

- the charges were dropped: http://www.examiner.com/x-29997-All...Update--Charges-withdrawn-over-Jip-on-the-Tip

- the couple will be on CNN today

- definitions of gratuity are irrlevelent as the restaurant could simply have called it a "service charge" and the couple would have objected just as strenuously

- the restaurant was idiotic to pursue this strictly from a PR perspective

 

[Brainonska511]

i lived in germany and all tips were added to the bill. you did not leave money on the table. In my view of this tipping is ass backwards. you tip before you are served to get that special attention. tipping is just a way for employeers to keep wages low, hell most states have laws that exempt servers from the min wage they use "wages +tips"... why should i tip a server who is doing the same service as the table next to me? Tipping should be reserved for going above and beyond what your job is. tipping is a incentive/reward its not a right.

The Federal minimum wage law and some state minimum wage laws have exemptions for waiters, but there is a minimum that they need to be paid per hour before tips and they also state that if the server's tips do not bring him up to minimum wage, then the EMPLOYER has to make up the difference. So the server is always going to be getting at least minimum wage. Tipping is optional and above if you want to potentially reward them for good service. Or you can just stiff them.

 

[hanoverphist]

They got what they deserved for failing at reading and comprehension. The allegation, probably true, that the service sucked is irrelevant, the gratuity notice is printed for all to see.

Fuck them.

they should have asked for separate checks also. thats bullshit to at grats to a table of 6. 8 i can almost see, but 6 is bs

 

[SunSamurai]

That's not even the best part; there was also an additional spot under the mandatory tip that said additional tip... yes, ADDITIONAL tip. Hey, **** you! :biggrin:

HA!@! I would have written F U on that line.

 

[CLite]

Fair market value has arrived at the system of providing 15%-20% tips depending on the region of the country you live. If everyone was a prick (like the guy giving $2 on $90) then you would have waiters and waitresses quitting en'mass. Some waitstaff must tip out busboy's/etc. on total sales (my gf when we were in Atlanta did this at Copeland's Cheesecake bistro), and have the potential to lose money. The point is that social deadbeats who are self-righteous about not tipping on a percentage basis are just bumming off the rest of society's laurels.

If you can't afford a meal's cost + tax + 15% (min) going into the night then stay home. Otherwise you are the equivalent of restaurant welfare recipients.

I'm not too worked up about this though, I know most self-righteous low tippers are angst-ed up teenagers and once they mature they very quickly learn how to tip like a responsible adult.

 

[hanoverphist]

Yeah - because a single mom earning minimum wage supports a kid.

Think before you type. I thought you wingnuts were against welfare.

that was a pretty stupid blanket statement. do you know how much a good waiter can bring in? especially in a busy, higher scale restaurant? i had many friends that made more than i do waiting tables. i made pretty good cash at it also, but i hated the work so i quit and went into programming.

 

[Mike Gayner]

CLite, nothing you said addresses the issue of tipping for poor service. Would you really tip for bad service?

 

[fleshconsumed]

Fair market value has arrived at the system of providing 15%-20% tips depending on the region of the country you live. If everyone was a prick (like the guy giving $2 on $90) then you would have waiters and waitresses quitting en'mass. Some waitstaff must tip out busboy's/etc. on total sales (my gf when we were in Atlanta did this at Copeland's Cheesecake bistro), and have the potential to lose money. The point is that social deadbeats who are self-righteous about not tipping on a percentage basis are just bumming off the rest of society's laurels.

If you can't afford a meal's cost + tax + 15% (min) going into the night then stay home. Otherwise you are the equivalent of restaurant welfare recipients.

I'm not too worked up about this though, I know most self-righteous low tippers are angst-ed up teenagers and once they mature they very quickly learn how to tip like a responsible adult.

Bad service should mean no tip, as in 0.

If everyone stops tipping for bad service one of two things is going to happen. Either employers will raise waiter's wages to attract more candidates after waiters start quitting en masse, or bad waters are going to quit and replaced by good ones. Either way I don't see a downside.

 

[Kirby]

HA!@! I would have written F U on that line.

 

[hanoverphist]

I gave her 5 twenties. She brought me back a 10. I didn't have any singles on me, so we just left her with the 2 singles my wife had on her.

of course, she thought you were going to leave the 10 for her. if the change had been 6 or 7, youd have gotten it all in 1 dollar bills. i see this stuff all the time.

 

[tmc]

the restaurant industry should simply raise the price of their meals (products) by 15% (or whatever) and pay the waiters the minimum wage correctly.

if the customer feels they did an excellent job, they leave a tip, which is extra for the waiter.

thats how it should be. if the service is bad, then the customer won't go there anyways, so that gives the restaurant enough incentive to hire good workers.

 

[lurk3r]

Bad service should mean no tip, as in 0.

If everyone stops tipping for bad service one of two things is going to happen. Either employers will raise waiter's wages to attract more candidates after waiters start quitting en masse, or bad waters are going to quit and replaced by good ones. Either way I don't see a downside.

Actually 0 dosen't quite conveythe message as well actually leaving something, if you leave 0 they can write you off as an asshole. I try to evaluate their service and leave a tip accordingly, pennies in a frown face, or stuck to the table with mashed potatoes etc.

If the waitress is nice and brings me a few drinks she'll usually get 20%, but when you have the horrible exceptions you have to screw them in a way that your friends can laugh for years with.

 

[sourceninja]

Fair market value has arrived at the system of providing 15%-20% tips depending on the region of the country you live. If everyone was a prick (like the guy giving $2 on $90) then you would have waiters and waitresses quitting en'mass. Some waitstaff must tip out busboy's/etc. on total sales (my gf when we were in Atlanta did this at Copeland's Cheesecake bistro), and have the potential to lose money. The point is that social deadbeats who are self-righteous about not tipping on a percentage basis are just bumming off the rest of society's laurels.

If you can't afford a meal's cost + tax + 15% (min) going into the night then stay home. Otherwise you are the equivalent of restaurant welfare recipients.

I'm not too worked up about this though, I know most self-righteous low tippers are angst-ed up teenagers and once they mature they very quickly learn how to tip like a responsible adult.

I can totally afford to tip. I'm not too poor. I simply am not going to tip out of pity. You want my tip? Work for it. Pure and simple. If you have a desire to do a half ass job, then get out of the food service industry and get into technical support. You could be a geek squad person or something.

If my drink goes empty long enough for me to have to ask, then you are not doing a good job. If I need to find another waitress every time I need something, again not a good job.

My question was why does that stupid chick deserve 15% of $90 as a minimum? What did she do to deserve it except by getting a job at a 'fancy' restaurant. If anything, she should get the tip I paid on my $30 meal and her tip should go to that waitress who was really really good at her job and honestly tried.

They chose a job that depended on the kindness of others. They will reap the benefits and the penalties of that choice. That is capitalism. They don't deserve a tip because they are underpaid. There is no pity tip. I don't care about that lady. I want my food. I want it fresh and hot. I want my drinks cold an frequent. Do it well, I'll reward you for your effort. Do it wrong, I'm only paying for what I got, my food and drink.

Until I hear a real compelling argument as to why terrible service deserves a real tip.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Yada yada yada...mandatory tips suck....yada yada....it's my money and I tip if I feel they earned it....yada.....servers are underpaid.....the establishment is to blame....yada yada yada....

 

[jonks]

Fair market value has arrived at the system of providing 15%-20% tips depending on the region of the country you live. If everyone was a prick (like the guy giving $2 on $90) then you would have waiters and waitresses quitting en'mass. Some waitstaff must tip out busboy's/etc. on total sales (my gf when we were in Atlanta did this at Copeland's Cheesecake bistro), and have the potential to lose money. The point is that social deadbeats who are self-righteous about not tipping on a percentage basis are just bumming off the rest of society's laurels.

If you can't afford a meal's cost + tax + 15% (min) going into the night then stay home. Otherwise you are the equivalent of restaurant welfare recipients.

I'm not too worked up about this though, I know most self-righteous low tippers are angst-ed up teenagers and once they mature they very quickly learn how to tip like a responsible adult.

Or they feel empowered by the rare ability gifted to them on a check to determine what someone gets paid and instantly transform into nitpicking jerkoffs. If I ever planned on eating at a restaurant more than once I'd never stiff my waiter. I don't get this "horrible service" thing. Who does this happen to? I've been eating at restaurants my whole life and recall a time or two where the waiter was kinda lax about refilling our drinks, or the order got messed up, or the dressing didn't come on the side as requested, but nothing that would compel me to feel I had to leave zero tip. If I felt that strongly about it I'd still probably tip something and then ask to speak to the manager. I imagine the people that get treated like crap are probably a-holes to begin with or are known as lousy tippers so the waiters spit in their food and treat them like crap knowing they weren't going to get a big tip anyway. Some people think that as the paying customer they have the right to act like a jerk. Enjoy that pasta. Those black dots? That's pepper. Really.

 

[silverpig]

This thread clearly illustrates why there is a mandatory charge for larger parties.

- the charges were dropped: http://www.examiner.com/x-29997-All...Update--Charges-withdrawn-over-Jip-on-the-Tip

- the couple will be on CNN today

- definitions of gratuity are irrlevelent as the restaurant could simply have called it a "service charge" and the couple would have objected just as strenuously

- the restaurant was idiotic to pursue this strictly from a PR perspective

The definitions are certainly relevant and yeah, the restaurant could have called it something else but they didn't. They could have sold cocaine in which case they'd be in trouble, but they didn't.

The escort could have charged for sex instead of "time", but she didn't so she's good to go.

It doesn't matter what they could have done, it matters what they did, what they called it, and anything else is irrelevant.