Thread: Pennsylvania couple arrested for refusing to pay tip!

This happened at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem, PA. Don't we have a PGL'er from this town?

Couple Busted for Refusing to Pay Tip | NBC Philadelphia

Not the publicity that bar would like to have, I'm sure.

I always tip unless the service is absolutely horrible. If it is a place I go to frequently, I tip well, if not then its the standard 15%ish.

What annoys the frack out of me is that EVERYONE has a tip cup out nowadays. I don't feel obligated to tip the guy at the pizza place when picking up takeout and I am NOT impressed with the looks I get when I don't put my change in the cup. Same thing for the donut shop. The tip cup should be outlawed.

There is a tip cup at the subway near my work. The had it labeled TIPS, "to insure proper service". When I saw that it just make me laugh. I am paying you for my sandwich, shouldn't that cover that? I usually tip 20% unless the server is rude or horrible.

give the couple the chair; let them fry!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that is total BS about the restaurant being busy. Unless they were completely slammed, it should not have taken an hour to make some fries and chicken fingers. They were either forgotten or ignored. I would like to know if they would still be required for gratuity if the food was comped, like the article says the restaurant offered? If not, then why stick it to them if they were so unhappy with the service? To me, this reads moody employees.

That's where you do the one penny tip. I've only done it once, and made sure to be a bit messy than normal, cleared a spot on the table, and left the penny in the middle of the clear spot, LOL. I was really frickin' annoyed.

As for tipping, I'll tip for things I'm happy for the service I received. I don't tip fast food anything. I tip usually somewhere between ten and twenty percent. In some places, like restaurants, if you don't leave a tip, the server looses money because they're taxed on your food bill with assumption they're always being tipped. Of course, if the person says anything about a tip, automatic no tip.

As for pizza restaurants, I would suggest tipping the person inside the restaurant over the delivery driver. Most of the time, the delivery driver is just the person who delivers the pizza. He/she does not make it or anything. And the tip you give the delivery driver, does NOT get shared with the rest of the people at the store. It's the way it's been for the company I've worked for, what I've heard form my friends who worked for other pizza parlors.

Wow - I think Crip is near that area. That is total bullshit in my opinion. If the restaurant offered to comp the bill, why call the policy when they didn't pay the tip! Bogus. Big mistake. They probably just pissed away loads of future customers over $16. Great decision manager!

I smell a huge lawsuit either way. 2 people were deprived of their freedom over a $18 tip they did not want to pay? That is a total violation of the rights guaranteed by the constitution. The cop that arrested them should lose his job and everyone in the town should boycott the bar.

big lawsuit, yes. Violation of constitutional rights, probably not. This will more than likely fall under the commerce clause and contract law. The problem I see is that the college kids agree to the mandatory gratuity because they had six or more people. All the restaurants I've gone when that has occurred, told us before seating us. From my experience as well, it usually required more than one server/waitperson; then again, it would usually be a group of about fifteen to twenty. On the kids side, what would a reasonable person expect, what, if anything, did the restaurant say would be their service, had the kids been there before, and if so, was any of it during busy times like that time?

I'm wondering what the cops were told? Other than the fact that gratuity was mandatory because of the number of people in their party, why didn't the cop try to tell the restaurant to calm down and think about the situation. I'm just laughing because, depending on state law, they would have only stolen $9.52, assuming they did a standard fifteen percent gratuity, of their $73 bill, and that would only be a misdemeanor. So I'm wondering why the two kids got cuffed and sent to jail. I would have figured it would have been a citation and release. Unless they had previous shop lifting or were drunk or something, which doesn't seem to be the cause if at least six people were there, they all order food, there isn't probably enough left over of the bill for every one to have at least one beer. I'm thinking the cop was having a bad night, and just in one of those moods where any little sends everyone downtown.

Absolutely ridiculous!! Especially now when forms and applications ask "Have you ever been arrested" - NOT "have you ever been convicted"! Just the fact that you have ever been arrested (rightfully or wrongfully) is a scarlet letter on your record.

I wonder if they would have any claim to damages for ruining future opportunities etc?

Personally, I can't stand all of the frivolous lawsuits we have these days - but, this is something that could potentially haunt them for the rest of their lives. And for what? Because they didn't compensate someone for their crappy service? Wow!

Not sure what the rule is everywhere else, but here in FL I believe you can only have ONE expunged in a lifetime.

Yeah, as I have said before int he past, forced gratuity is retarded. It takes the whole, server caring about you out of the equation.

don't be fooled Gordon, servers/waitpersons don't care about you. They're trying to whatever it takes to get a good tip because that is where they make their money. If you go to that establishment enough, then they might start caring. Heck, people thought I cared because I would remember their names, usual order, address and what not, and chit chat a bit with them. I did it because it made my job faster so I was only confirming information rather than trying to get it; some customers were still a pain nonetheless.

Working in a restaurant like that sucks! You're worked like a dog, and customers are general indifferent to you, some are crappy and take their anger out on you, and occasional, you get a nice one. But it can be fast paced and bit exciting if you like a challenge. Than again, almost all my customer service jobs, the customers treated my coworkers and I like crap. I recommend very thick skin for call center work.

It varies on the arrest, when it happened, and what job you're trying to get. In insurance, something like may prohibit you since it's theft, but if you're convicted and explain it, probably would do nothing. Right now, arrests are used more as weeding tools for the applicant pool.

Well of course it's not real caring, no more than it would be for paying a lady of the evening to take care of your business.

With the gratuity as a built in percentage, it seems more like going to a store that uses commission. They'll probably try and talk you into buying the more expensive food because they get auto tipped on it.

rather than gratuity, it should be called a something like a "service" fee, since it has absolutely nothing to do with your gratefulness.

Originally Posted by lovekeiiy

Right now, arrests are used more as weeding tools for the applicant pool.

That's my point though. If you're filling out an application, you have to put down the arrest - they see that and w/o looking at anything else you go into the trash. If you DON'T put it down, and they end up doing a background check, you're busted and not hired for lying.

Basically - a bs arrest like that can totally screw a person down the road.

they use more than just arrests to weed out applicants. Heck, a lot of BS jobs will weed out people with college degrees because either they person is afraid that person will have their job in a year, or they don't think they person will stick around long; used as a stop gap till he/she can find something better.