The Tip Police....they exist!

[sensei8]

Check this out...

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Time-In-Prison--70426052.html?yhp=1

Ok Bob...from now on...leave a tip...a big tip!

[Patrick]

A mandatory gratuity is a mandatory gratuity and they should have paid it. That said, calling the police was a bit of an overreaction, I feel. if you want to tell them they aren't welcome at the establishment, cool. But, calling the cops is just a bad business move.

[JohnASE]

The manager claims to have offered to comp the food, but they had them arrested for paying the bill without the tip? That doesn't make sense.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a mandatory tip! That just sounds wrong. The point of a tipping system is its flexibility. I knew that some places added gratuity for parties of 6 or more, but I figured it was probably still optional. If it's mandatory, it's more of a service charge than a gratuity. Yeah, I know that's just semantics, but using the right words could help avoid confusion like that which occurred in the referenced article.

[Patrick]

Mandatory or automatic gratuities are fairly normal at the level of a basically nice restaurant or higher. Generally, it'll be something like an automatic 18% for parties of 6 or more. It's more rare for it to be automatic regardless of party size, but it happens.

Saying it's a service charge is confusing in it's own right because then you wonder who it goes to. Gratuities go to servers, service charges go to... so, that opens up it's own can of worms, too.

Patrick

[Ichi_Geki]

Me and six of my student went to a chinese restaurant to talk over food. Well. After we got done eating at the $5.95 buffet. We were charges 22% gratuity because our party exceeded five people. They threatened to call the Policia as they said it. And we countered with where the notice to your customers that we have to have under 5 people for it not to be considered a "party". The manager picked up the phone to call the police, but one of my students just happened to be a police officer. He flashed his badge and told him to put the phone down, and that he should just be a nice guy and let us pay the original price.

The manager agreed to it, and we did not even leave a tip on the table for them. We have not been back since, and we go to a nice japanese restaurant weekly for lunch.

[sensei8]

Me and six of my student went to a chinese restaurant to talk over food. Well. After we got done eating at the $5.95 buffet. We were charges 22% gratuity because our party exceeded five people. They threatened to call the Policia as they said it. And we countered with where the notice to your customers that we have to have under 5 people for it not to be considered a "party". The manager picked up the phone to call the police, but one of my students just happened to be a police officer. He flashed his badge and told him to put the phone down, and that he should just be a nice guy and let us pay the original price.

The manager agreed to it, and we did not even leave a tip on the table for them. We have not been back since, and we go to a nice japanese restaurant weekly for lunch.

Was the 22% gratuity supported/protected/enforced by some law? If so, then, imho, your student who is a police officer that flashed his badge...is he now above the law?

[Ichi_Geki]

He was the chief of police at the time, and he said that it would have to be posted for it to be legitimate.

[sensei8]

He was the chief of police at the time, and he said that it would have to be posted for it to be legitimate.

Well, that makes perfect sense to me! Cool!

[Patrick]

It may have been posted somewhere and you didn't see it. I generally find it included in smaller text at the bottom of a page of the menu. Maybe you didn't have a menu being at the buffet, but that may count as being posted. I wonder where the law actually stands when the chief of police is not a member of your party. Possibly varies by state.

Patrick

[Ichi_Geki]

It wouldnt matter if the chief of police was there or not. The Waiter and manager could have had no insight that this man was the chief of police at the time, and it has to be posted in a visible area for anything to be accountable. You dont put a no dogs allowed sign in the bathroom of a restaurant you put it on the front door or on the counter where everyone has to go. Not everyone reads a menu or goes to the bathroom so neither would be very likely.