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

pay that tip for bad service or see jail time!

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Ben
1987 190d 2.5Turbo

thanks for the post, I'll be sure and avoid that restaurant next trip to Philly. the attending publicity costs them a h*** of a lot more than the lousy tip. start treating their customers like the enemy and the finicky dining public will stop voting with their check book.

having been on the receiving end of this kind of service, I can certainly relate to this couple's plight. sad to see, but a sign of the times.

$73.-; drinks and food for 8 people that's a damn good happy hour!

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

"Mandatory Gratuity" . . . add that to the list of oxymorons of our time.

did you catch what the girl said at the end of the video? in the future, she is going to pay the tip EVEN if she receives bad service. this is why the restaurant wins, the public loses. apparently, she feels extortion is legal.

College town. Irish Pub. I can see the house rule. Prolly lots of beer and wings consumed with very little grats for the server. So, minimum large party charge is 18%. Not unusual.

I can't see crummy service tho, or demanding to be paid or refusing to leave any tip.The party should have asked to see the manager and try to work it out. Now the place is in the news getting a black eye. A lose, lose situation.

Eight people and the tab is only $73. Hardy partyers!

You never get good service during happy hour at a campus bar. Food is cheap. Drinks are cheap. They staff low so they don't have to pay their servers. Every year they hire a different batch of servers promising them so much money. These kids, fresh out high school, think they're the *****. Little do they know they're being abused by management whose only goal is to churn and burn.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I see this behavior quite frequently. The menu clearly states, "18% gratuity added for parties of six or more."

My suspicion is that the size of the typical gratuity for a party of six appears too large to most people (typically about $45. around here) and the waiter gets partially stiffed. Therefore, the need for the statement.

However, I wouldn't patronize such an establishment because there is no reward for good service and no penalty for poor service. If enough people refuse to patronize, they'll change their policies.

Then it's a "service charge" or "table fee" not a gratuity. From the old "carrot/stick" concept, what incentive does a server have to deliver decent service is their "tip income" is already set and being split by the house?

Used to be for 15% gratuity the server would make you a Caesar Salad at your table. Now you give them 18% just so they don't insult you.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

^ lol, never had a Caesar salad offered at all, let alone made at your table, heard about 'em tho.
And BC is right, check the fine print, I would think places that have that policy have had less than pleasant experiences.

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83 SD

84 CD

I've seen it written with the words "service charge" in lieu of "gratuity". Clearly, the former is correct.

The owner of the charter boat that I operate imposes a 15% "service charge" on the total charter bill (typically $4000. or so........). Naturally, the customer assumes that the service charge is paid to the staff. But, crafty owner keeps most of the $600 and doles out approximately $175.00 to the crew.

I'm curious if the restaurant business is similar...........the establishment doesn't have an obligation to provide any of the "service charge" to the staff, AFAIK.

Yup, I know of restaurants that ding the servers a fixed amount of the ticket, regardless of what the customer left for a tip. In that situation, a big party that doesn't leave much of a tip costs the server, since the house's take is based on the food and beverage bill.

If anything begs for regulation.........this is it. Taking gratuity from the hands of the wait staff is simply abysmal.

$73 for 8 people? What did they have two beers and a sandwich?

My friends are way to kind with tips when we go out. If the service is good, I have no problem tipping. But if it sucks, I'm not leaving a big tip.


I remember one place we went to last year was horrible. After sitting down for 20 minutes I actualy got up myself and went and got some menu's. Than napkins. When someone finaly decided to come over service was spoty at best, we went to the bar to get our drinks. I didn't leave a tip at that place, they didn't do anything. The kicker was this was a high end place on the water, not some college bar.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
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2007 Tiara 3200