Dog3 wrote:

> "Gregory Morrow" >
> ink.net:
>
>>A man from the New York City area was arrested Sunday night after his
>>party of nine failed to leave an 18 percent tip, the restaurant's
>>mandatory gratuity for parties of six or more people, which had been
>>added to his bill.
>
> This is the policy in many restaurants here. I've never seen anyone bitch
> about it.

Hang on a minute...

The restaurant owner should have the right to tell you how much to
tip? Why the hell doesn't he pay his people what they're worth instead
of adding nearly 1/5 to the bill to get out of a proper payroll? As a
former restaurant owner, I think this policy is flat-out wrong. It
lets the owner off the paycheck hook and puts the waitstaff in
conflict with the customers. Lousy thinking.

If the customers are out of line, it's the management's responsibility
to deal with it. If they aren't, it's the server's job to please them
enough to want to leave a good tip. If the tip can be ordered, then
it's not a tip, it's a charge.

Charge what the food and service is worth and pay the people as they
should be paid. Forget that nonsense of "mandatory tipping." It's a
"mandatory option." Stupid on the face of it.

But I don't have strong feelings about it.

Pastorio





>
>
>>The diner, Humberto A. Taveras, 41, was arrested, fingerprinted and
>>photographed for a mug shot in Lake George, a resort village about 60
>>miles north of Albany, but he did not produce the $13.73 tip, which is
>>a little less than 18 percent of the $77.43 cost of his meal. He faces
>>a misdemeanor charge of theft of services and, if convicted, could
>>serve up to a year in jail, said Larry J. Cleveland, the Warren County
>>sheriff.
>
>
> Well, I think a year in jail is a tad bit 'stiff'
>
>
>
>
>>Joe Soprano, who owns the restaurant, said that he and his wife, Tina,
>>had not intended to have Mr. Taveras arrested when they filed the
>>complaint. But Mr. Soprano was unapologetic yesterday.
>
>
> So Mr. Soprano is an asshole.
>
>
>
>>"They shorted the check and didn't leave any money at all for the
>>waitress," he said. "This is not a vendetta. This is just about
>>standing up for my waitresses."
>>
>>Members of Mr. Taveras's party were "very rude" throughout their pizza
>>dinner, Mr. Soprano said, but they never complained about the food or
>>service. All of the menus have a notice about the mandatory gratuity,
>>he said, and the party was specifically reminded about the tipping
>>policies.
>
>
> This just about sums it up. They probably ran the wait and bus staff to
> death. As I said above. Asshole.
>
>
>
>>But Mr. Taveras told The Glens Falls Post-Star that he had not been
>>aware of the mandatory tip and was surprised when Patrol Officer K.C.
>>Glenn approached them at a store near the restaurant.
>>
>>"For us, it was a matter of principle," Mr. Taveras said in the
>>article. "They chased us down like a bunch of criminals. It killed our
>>weekend."
>
>
> P.I.T.Y - Read the menu and you'll see it on there.
>
>
>
>>Mr. Taveras said that his party was unsatisfied with the meal but
>>thought they had left a 10 percent tip, according to the newspaper.
>
>
> Should have talked to management.
>
>
>
>>Mr. Taveras is scheduled to appear at Lake George Town Court on Sept.
>>16.
>
>
> I really think this is absurd.
>
>
>
>>Mr. Soprano said that many of his waitresses were college students and
>>that others were single mothers.
>>
>>"This is for the hard-working people who work for me; it's not for
>>me," he said. "These people work strictly for tips, and they work
>>their tails off."
>
>
> Well, the restaurant was within it's rights to prosecute. It's considered
> theft of services here and there is a fine and possible jail time. OTOH,
> never have I heard of any establishment actually pursuing a patron like
> this.
>
> Michael