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DanXIII

Should tipping be mandatory?

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As long as it is clearly identified to the customer i could go either way with it...

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http://www.inquisitr.com/229150/family-detained-in-restaurant-because-they-objected-to-mandatory-tip/

 

TL;DR: Family goes to restaurant where their bill had a "mandatory" gratuity added. Service sucked, they decided not to tip, were told they had to, got angry, they were locked inside restaurant and police were called.

 

If it's clearly defined on the menu as their policy how can you dispute it? What if the Filet Mignon is on the menu at 25.99 and you decide it's only worth $15. Can you only pay $15 despite the price listed on the menu? I get that they're pissed, and maybe the service sucked. So what? They agreed to the policy when they sat down and ordered food. If they don't like it they don't have to go there again. If I were the restaurant and someone complained I'd try to make them happy. That's good customer service. But good customer service isn't what's legally required. Ask Spirit Airlines.

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There's nothing I hate more than mandatory tipping. The whole point of tipping is that your server has an incentive to provide you great service. If they're gonna get their 20% regardless of how good your service is, then they have no incentive to go above and beyond.

 

And I know this has a real impact. Pretty much every large group situation I've ever been in (when the mandatory tip typically kicks in), the service has been mediocre at best. They don't refill your water, don't check if you need another drink, stuff is missing from your order or messed up, etc., etc. :thumbsdown:

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:Absolutelyfuckingnot:

 

I would have made the PoPo arrest me and fought the dumbfucks in court.

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It's pretty obvious that the family is wrong here assuming they read the menu. But, by definition, a "gratuity" is voluntary. They probably should just call it a "service charge" and avoid these kinds of flaps in the future. Apparently this isn't the first time this has happened at this restaurant.

 

I would personally like to see this stupid and outdated tipping model go the way of the dodo. Pay service staff a living wage and/or just charge a service charge and get rid of this stupid custom and all the problems that come with it. IMHO.

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If it's clearly defined on the menu as their policy how can you dispute it? What if the Filet Mignon is on the menu at 25.99 and you decide it's only worth $15. Can you only pay $15 despite the price listed on the menu? I get that they're pissed, and maybe the service sucked. So what? They agreed to the policy when they sat down and ordered food. If they don't like it they don't have to go there again. If I were the restaurant and someone complained I'd try to make them happy. That's good customer service. But good customer service isn't what's legally required. Ask Spirit Airlines.

And if that Filet Mignon was order MR and came to you WD would you still eat it and pay for it?

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It's pretty obvious that the family is wrong here assuming they read the menu. But, by definition, a "gratuity" is voluntary. They probably should just call it a "service charge" and avoid these kinds of flaps in the future. Apparently this isn't the first time this has happened at this restaurant.

 

I would personally like to see this stupid and outdated tipping model go the way of the dodo. Pay service staff a living wage and/or just charge a service charge and get rid of this stupid custom and all the problems that come with it. IMHO.

 

That's what they do in Australia. It's not a great living wage but it's better than here and they don't expect a tip. And that's not just restaurants. The cab driver I tipped was shocked that I tipped him. We've just created this mentality here. What I hate is when I walk up to a fast food counter and they've got a tip jar on the counter. WTF is up with that?

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http://www.inquisitr.com/229150/family-detained-in-restaurant-because-they-objected-to-mandatory-tip/

 

TL;DR: Family goes to restaurant where their bill had a "mandatory" gratuity added. Service sucked, they decided not to tip, were told they had to, got angry, they were locked inside restaurant and police were called.

 

Mandatory tip = I never go to that place again

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Mandatory tip = I never go to that place again

 

And neither will that family.

 

Regardless of whether or not the restaurant was "right" they handled this about as badly as it could be handled.

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And if that Filet Mignon was order MR and came to you WD would you still eat it and pay for it?

 

That one's a little tougher for me since they didn't bring you what you ordered. But then I'd just send it back and have it done right.

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That one's a little tougher for me since they didn't bring you what you ordered. But then I'd just send it back and have it done right.

 

That would probably work anywhere but this place. They'd probably make you pay for it as is and call the cops if you refused.

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That's what they do in Australia. It's not a great living wage but it's better than here and they don't expect a tip. And that's not just restaurants. The cab driver I tipped was shocked that I tipped him. We've just created this mentality here. What I hate is when I walk up to a fast food counter and they've got a tip jar on the counter. WTF is up with that?

 

That sh!t pisses me off. Or when they put a tip line on the credit card receipt. All you did was take the food from the counter and hand it to me and now I'm supposed to feel like a cheap-ass if I don't throw a buck on there? :thumbsdown:

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And neither will that family.

 

Regardless of whether or not the restaurant was "right" they handled this about as badly as it could be handled.

 

Cheescake factory does this if the party is more thasn 6. fock them :thumbsdown:

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That would probably work anywhere but this place. They'd probably make you pay for it as is and call the cops if you refused.

 

Assuming the idiot server wrote the order down correctly there would be evidence of what I ordered. And if they brought what was clearly an incorrect order I think the situation with the PoPo goes differently than in this case.

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Assuming the idiot server wrote the order down correctly there would be evidence of what I ordered. And if they brought what was clearly an incorrect order I think the situation with the PoPo goes differently than in this case.

 

The police should never be involved in a situation like this anyway. Frankly I think they should've arrested the restaurant owners for misusing public resources. Not legal, I know, but it would make far more sense.

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That one's a little tougher for me since they didn't bring you what you ordered. But then I'd just send it back and have it done right.

And if they refused to take it back?

I see service the same way I see the product, I have a certain expected level that needs to be meet and if it is not then it needs to be corrected or it needs to be removed from my bill. This is not the first time this place has called the cops because of the service/tip issue so they bascially are refusing to take your steak back

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Cheescake factory does this if the party is more thasn 6. fock them :thumbsdown:

 

Yeah the article alluded to the fact that when they add the gratuity to "parties of X or more" that X is an ever dwindling number.

 

But I will never badmouth Cheesecake Factory :wub:

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That sh!t pisses me off. Or when they put a tip line on the credit card receipt. All you did was take the food from the counter and hand it to me and now I'm supposed to feel like a cheap-ass if I don't throw a buck on there? :thumbsdown:

 

That's actually a software issue, it's easier and cheaper for them to have all the cc receipts print out the same way than to program it to print one way for sit down diners and another for carry-out orders. It's the same reasoning behind why you see braille on the buttons at drive-up ATMs.

 

Though I agree with you, I do find myself sometimes adding a buck or two to the tip line even though I have no idea why I'm doing it.

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That's actually a software issue, it's easier and cheaper for them to have all the cc receipts print out the same way than to program it to print one way for sit down diners and another for carry-out orders. It's the same reasoning behind why you see braille on the buttons at drive-up ATMs.

 

Though I agree with you, I do find myself sometimes adding a buck or two to the tip line even though I have no idea why I'm doing it.

 

I'm talking about places that ONLY do to-go type orders. Like a sandwich shop where you can take it to go or eat there, but even if you eat there they aren't really "serving" you in any sense.

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And if they refused to take it back?

 

Then I leave. And if they call the PoPo I simply tell them that I didn't get what I ordered and I didn't eat it. That's different than this case where they stayed for the meal.

 

I see service the same way I see the product, I have a certain expected level that needs to be meet and if it is not then it needs to be corrected or it needs to be removed from my bill.

 

I agree with this 100%. I noted as much in my first post where I said what I would do in this situation if I were the restaurant. However, I'm not this restaurant and from a legal perspective I think they're in the right. I think it's costing them a lot more than this 17% tip in reputation though.

 

 

This is not the first time this place has called the cops because of the service/tip issue so they bascially are refusing to take your steak back

 

I disagree with you on this point. Maybe they just have a zero compromise policy on this issue. It would be a bad policy but just because they've chosen to exercise their legal options on more than one occasion doesn't mean they don't deserve to be paid what their menu clearly spells out as the cost of the meal. Bad customer service but that's all.

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Hmm, I'm not sure then. Maybe the software comes as "restaurant" mode and always has that tip line? /shrug

 

We have a CC machine in my office that almost never gets used but it doesn't print that line on it. We did nothing to set it up, though, the company who owns our merchant account set it all up.

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Then I leave. And if they call the PoPo I simply tell them that I didn't get what I ordered and I didn't eat it. That's different than this case where they stayed for the meal.

 

This is a good point. I mean, it isn't like you stole anything. They still have their steak (though they are obviously out the cost of the steak as they can't feed it to another customer). I'd be interested in seeing if there is any case law on this. Seems like it would be a civil matter.

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Hmm, I'm not sure then. Maybe the software comes as "restaurant" mode and always has that tip line? /shrug

 

We have a CC machine in my office that almost never gets used but it doesn't print that line on it. We did nothing to set it up, though, the company who owns our merchant account set it all up.

 

I am sure they have a choice. Now maybe it just gets left on there and nobody ever really thinks to do anything about, but I've been to plenty of places where you could just tell they put it on there to rake in some extra cash from the suckers.

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In this case, I wonder if they can sue the restaurant for false imprisonment. You can't just hold people hostage.

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In this case, I wonder if they can sue the restaurant for false imprisonment. You can't just hold people hostage.

 

There's a common law shopkeeper's privilege but I'm not sure if TX recognizes it.

 

In some jurisdictions of the United States, the courts recognize a common law shopkeeper's privilege, under which a shopkeeper is allowed to detain a suspected shoplifter on store property for a reasonable period of time, so long as the shopkeeper has cause to believe that the person detained in fact committed, or attempted to commit, theft of store property.

 

Not sure if a 'gratuity' could be considered 'property' though.

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I don't know about other parts of the county, but here in Ft. Worth blacks (especially women) do not tip worth a damn. I've seen and heard from several of the servers I know that say they routinely get stiffed on tips by them. Many in fact fight to get out of serving them bcoz in the end it ends up costing them money out of their pocket to wait on them.

 

But I do agree, the establishment handled it very poorly. Should of just let it go and, if made that angry, asked them not to return.

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I'm talking about places that ONLY do to-go type orders. Like a sandwich shop where you can take it to go or eat there, but even if you eat there they aren't really "serving" you in any sense.

 

I never tip those people. The employer should pay them a buck or two more per hour instead of asking the customer to pay more for the luxury of being handed the item he asked for. Why should I pony up an extra buck just to save Dunkin Donuts the expense?

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I don't know about other parts of the county, but here in Ft. Worth blacks (especially women) do not tip worth a damn. I've seen and heard from several of the servers I know that say they routinely get stiffed on tips by them. Many in fact fight to get out of serving them bcoz in the end it ends up costing them money out of their pocket to wait on them.

 

Does that have anything to do with this story? Or could you just not resist the temptation to throw in a racist observation?

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This is a good point. I mean, it isn't like you stole anything. They still have their steak (though they are obviously out the cost of the steak as they can't feed it to another customer). I'd be interested in seeing if there is any case law on this. Seems like it would be a civil matter.

 

Brock was arrested in June over what he said was a simple misunderstanding: He, his cousin and a friend placed an order at the Copabanana restaurant in Philadelphia. While they were waiting for their food, the friend said she was too hungry to wait and ran out and got some food elsewhere. When she came back, Brock and his cousin were still waiting for their food and the Copabanana told them their friend couldn't come back in with outside food, so they canceled their order and left. The Copabanana called the police, who found Brock in the area and arrested him for walking out without paying. Brock said he thought the restaurant was OK with him not paying (seeing as he hadn't received any food to pay for), and that the first he heard otherwise was when the police approached him. Brock says that when he was told the restaurant wanted him to pay the $27 bill, he offered to do so, but the police arrested him anyway.

He was eventually acquitted.

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Does that have anything to do with this story? Or could you just not resist the temptation to throw in a racist observation?

How the fock is a true personal observation racist? :rolleyes:

 

 

Sorry Cruzer, now that Latinos are white, you'll have to put up with this little fuckchop.

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How the fock is a true personal observation racist? :rolleyes:

 

 

Sorry Cruzer, now that Latinos are white, you'll have to put up with this little fuckchop.

 

Yeah sorry Cruzer. I tend to be a pain in the ass to racist posters like NorthernVike. Mainly I just like to point out that you're pvssies who would never say this kind of stuff without the anonymity the internet provides.

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No.

 

Though with groups of 8 or more there should be a mandatory tip.

 

Why? Have you ever been in a large group that didn't leave a tip? :dunno:

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Yeah sorry Cruzer. I tend to be a pain in the ass to racist posters like NorthernVike. Mainly I just like to point out that you're pvssies who would never say this kind of stuff with the anonymity the internet provides.

 

I'm sure your pretend lawyer ass would call NV a pussie to his face. :lol:

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Why? Have you ever been in a large group that didn't leave a tip? :dunno:

 

While I haven't, my mother waited tables for years, and often complained that large parties, for whom waitstaff work extra hard, would often leave very meager tips, even with good service.

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Restaurant does that to me once and I never eat there again....then I tell as many people as I can and let the owner know that I am doing this. Mandatory gratuity is a ridiculous concept. If it's mandatory it's a tax or a service charge.

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