couple gets arrested for not paying gratuity

[abstract]

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

This struck a chord with me because I used to wait tables. 16 bucks is not much more to add when you already spend $90 on food for you and your 6 friends. (16 bucks is approx. 18%) However, I don't disagree that they have a right to compain if they get crappy service at a restaraunt.

But look, IMO, if it's on your bill, you need to pay it. Waiters in the US make 2.13 an hour. Think they can live off that?

Getting the cops involved was a tad extreme, on the other hand. bad service at a restaraunt is not usually intentional. Many times it's because you got the new guy serving you and if it's busy it just makes it worse.

I'm not saying this is useful for anything, just throwing it out there. :D

 

[Turgon]

I used to work in a restaurant, there is a mandatory gratuity fee for groups of 6 or more, which makes sense due to the additional work required. but I think not paying a tip for terrible service isn't a crime. And if the service was as bad as the the girl said, then its fair to just pay for drinks, food and tax.

Waiters in the US make 2.13 an hour. Think they can live off that?

That's true, but waiters in general know they are going to be making minimum wage, so wouldn't the incentive be to provide quality service in order to receive gratuity?

 

[abstract]

That's true, but waiters in general know they are going to be making minimum wage, so wouldn't the incentive be to provide quality service in order to receive gratuity?

Yes, it is, of course. I've kissed sooo much @$$ before. The biggest tip I ever got from a single table was a party of 14, walking out with 150 bucks...that was worth it. :D

but I think not paying a tip for terrible service isn't a crime. And if the service was as bad as the the girl said, then its fair to just pay for drinks, food and tax.

I agree it shouldn't be a crime...I would've liked to have heard the restaraunt's end of the story, the circumstances could be anything. If I knew the exact circumstances, then I might be able to have a better idea who was "correct" in the situation.

That being said, not tipping when you get horrible service is acceptable, depending on circumstances. I once stiffed a waitress because her attitude was awful, she was obviously frustrated with her job and taking it out on the customers. (My "stupid people" thread may come back to haunt me here...I'm working on it, promise!) :D

 

[the_hammer]

Wow. It surely is a completely different world from Europe. I knew the minimum wage in America was bad, but not this bad . In Denmark for instance you get paid about ten times as much for being a waiter and therefor gratuity is only paid when the service is excellent and when the costumers feel like it. It is a completely different mindset you have to have as a costumer since clearly in America the waiters can't survive without the gratuity. I just find it desgusting that it has to be this way.

 

[Mountain Crown]

Waiters in the US make 2.13 an hour

The ones on the books do.

In New York it's a complicated dynamic. What I know about inhumane behavior from waiters would make your skin crawl. If a customer disapproves of the service given, it's best to alert the management or maitre'd when stiffing is about to happen, some form of compensation often is the response. Quality restaurants are concerned about front of the house behavior.

 

[the_hammer]

The ones on the books do.

In New York it's a complicated dynamic. What I know about inhumane behavior from waiters would make your skin crawl. If a customer disapproves of the service given, it's best to alert the management or maitre'd when stiffing is about to happen, some form of compensation often is the response. Quality restaurants are concerned about front of the house behavior.

Inhumane behavior from waiters is understandable I think, when getting paid a symbolic amount (if this is the right expression). It seems as if this would turn the waiters into underdogs and slaves and not equal to other humans. To me this system seems to only have the ability to feed a nasty foodchain, where the strong feed on the weak as a mirror to the world they live in.

 

[abstract]

It is a completely different mindset you have to have as a costumer since clearly in America the waiters can't survive without the gratuity. I just find it desgusting that it has to be this way.

Yeah, i think it's absurd, 2.13 basically just pays taxes, so in reality, a lot of waiters will just get a
blank check with a statement on it. Making money off generosity lacks stability.

 

[ishtadevata]

I'm working in a restaraunt for the first time (front of the house sushi rolling). We get a smallish percentage of tips and have a cash tip jar, and get paid minimally, though well above 2.13. It's a hyper popular restaurant, not a place to go to just get some grub when you don't feel like cooking, so people tip ok, waiters/resses make 2-300 on weekend nights. One's attitude toward tipping is basically defined by whether you've ever worked for tips, in my experience. Obviously it's not a place for the nanny state to dictate though.

 

[Turgon]

That being said, not tipping when you get horrible service is acceptable, depending on circumstances. I once stiffed a waitress because her attitude was awful, she was obviously frustrated with her job and taking it out on the customers. (My "stupid people" thread may come back to haunt me here...I'm working on it, promise!)

Stupid people thread? Can you post a link to this thread I'd like to read it now that you piqued my interest.

I totally agree on circumstances. Context is everything. I remember during a christmas rush tables were waiting 45+ minutes for food one time, but thats because the restaurant was packed! At one point we had 130 menus open at the SAME TIME. I've never ever seen or experienced anything like that in my life.

In a situation like that, customers have to understand, that food can't be out in 20 minutes, its just physically impossible for a line to make that much food that quickly.

It seems as if this would turn the waiters into underdogs and slaves and not equal to other humans. To me this system seems to only have the ability to feed a nasty foodchain, where the strong feed on the weak as a mirror to the world they live in.

Yes I agree. The restaurant industry is a nasty hierarchy. At least from my experiences working in the kitchen, management would use and abuse us. If we gave an inch, they would demand a mile from us, and vice versa, employees would do that to management. Newcomers are pushed to the max, tested to see how much stress they can handle and if they will break, management played a large amount of favouritism to certain workers, there was a lot of two-face behaviour in regards to people acting friendly in front of you, but secretly having disdain for you when your not around. And that's not even including customer interactions, which I wasn't a part of.

It was one environment where I would consistently remember "remember to BE in the world, but not OF the world". In regards to not identifying or losing myself too much in restaurant culture.

 

[ishtadevata]

It was one environment where I would consistently remember "remember to BE in the world, but not OF the world". In regards to not identifying or losing myself too much in restaurant culture.

Good sentiment, thanks for expressing it, it applies to my "indentifying" challenges.

 

[abstract]

Yes I agree. The restaurant industry is a nasty hierarchy. At least from my experiences working in the kitchen, management would use and abuse us. If we gave an inch, they would demand a mile from us, and vice versa, employees would do that to management. Newcomers are pushed to the max, tested to see how much stress they can handle and if they will break, management played a large amount of favouritism to certain workers, there was a lot of two-face behaviour in regards to people acting friendly in front of you, but secretly having disdain for you when your not around. And that's not even including customer interactions, which I wasn't a part of.

Thank you for bringing this up. It's absolutely true. I'm sure there are other industries that do the same things, however, waiting tables drove me absolutely bonkers because of all the baggage and bull$#%$. I've worked in a corporate place before, and a couple mom and pop type of deals. corporate restaraunts just suck. At a lot of places now, you can't get a smoke break to save your life. Even though it's not explicit, I always thought that managment views employees as slaves, especially in more upscale restaraunts.

A lot of my past co-workers weren't exactly the most enjoyable people ever. Just little dweebs who won't tell you what they think of you to your face, IMO.
Okay, i'm done ranting now.