Think twice before leaving without tipping.

[wayneg]

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

"Police charged them with theft since the gratuity was part of the actual bill"

 

[RobinHood's merrymen]

Lol.

I always wondered what would happen if you walked out without leaving a tip.

 

[Cyrano]

If I was unhappy I think I would take my chance and similarly not leave a tip.
Hopefully we will never be in that situation

 

[wayneg]

If I was unhappy I think I would take my chance and similarly not leave a tip.
Hopefully we will never be in that situation

We had it a few years ago at Golden Corral, buffet style. Never saw the server, had to get our own plates & drinks. When we eventually saw her she was either on drugs or a really bad cold, coughing and sneezing all over the place. Walked out without leaving a tip, she came running after us. saying don't the british know how to tip?. I told her she should not be working in that state.

 

[ukstitch]

I've been in a similar situation to this, but we weren't arrested...

We had a chinese meal in a restaurant in New York and it was apalling - there were 5 of us and our mains were served miles apart, some of our mains came out before our starters and the food wasn't actually very nice...

We paid the bill, but opted not to leave a tip. As we were leaving, the restaurant owner basically went up to my aunt (who had paid) and "told" her that she hadn't paid a tip, before taking her back to the counter to pay

It seems a common thing in the US for them to question you if you've not paid a tip - I've had taxi drivers question me before when i've been over there on business where we are not reimbursed for tips (but are for "normal" expenses).

ETA: In our restaurant case, the tip was not listed on the bill unlike in the case in the article.

 

[natalielongstaff]

we always tip anyway !

 

[DISWolves]

If you are not happy with the service, you can make this known by tipping very low, I think this has more effect that leaving nothing.

 

[Mad Mark]

If you are not happy with the service, you can make this known by tipping very low, I think this has more effect that leaving nothing.

My step mum is American and that's what she advised us. Leave a tip but a very small one so they know you didnt forget but were unhappy with the service

 

[Chilly]

I can't believe they called the police, what a waste of time and money that court case is going to be.

 

[mackay_j]

We got harressed for not leaving a tip- On that occasion I would have gone to jail before I would have given a cent!!!
A waiter gave my 7 yrs old girl a coke, she had ordered a diet/light coke. When we called the waiter back and said we thought that it wasn't diet, he said it def was and that he had poured it himself. I then tried it and like my girl I was sure it wasn't diet coke, so we reasked the waiter and this time he got quite narky and said its diet, are you calling me a liar. My girl (now starting to get upset) still wouldn't drink it, so we just ordered another one, that one was fine. After a further 10 mins the waiter saw my girl do a blood test as she is a diabetic, at that piont he ran over and grabbed her drink, admitting that half way through pouring it the machine had stopped so he just filled it with full sugar coke . I was very angry and spoke with the manager. You can imagine my surprise when the same manager questioned our non tip. My husband replied- heres a tip employ honest and pleasent staff if you expect customers to return, and if you do not want to end up getting sued, then we just walk away- non police called thankfully

 

[disney_princess_85]

As far as I'm concerned, if I receive anything from mediocre to bad service then I will not tip. I think it's very unfair that some servers expect it for doing next to nothing. If I receive great service then I leave a great tip- seems fair to me.

We got harressed for not leaving a tip- On that occasion I would have gone to jail before I would have given a cent!!!
A waiter gave my 7 yrs old girl a coke, she had ordered a diet/light coke. When we called the waiter back and said we thought that it wasn't diet, he said it def was and that he had poured it himself. I then tried it and like my girl I was sure it wasn't diet coke, so we reasked the waiter and this time he got quite narky and said its diet, are you calling me a liar. My girl (now starting to get upset) still wouldn't drink it, so we just ordered another one, that one was fine. After a further 10 mins the waiter saw my girl do a blood test as she is a diabetic, at that piont he ran over and grabbed her drink, admitting that half way through pouring it the machine had stopped so he just filled it with full sugar coke . I was very angry and spoke with the manager. You can imagine my surprise when the same manager questioned our non tip. My husband replied- heres a tip employ honest and pleasent staff if you expect customers to return, and if you do not want to end up getting sued, then we just walk away- non police called thankfully

That's terrible!

 

[SimonV]

The story points out:

However, it is doubtful that the charges will hold up in front of a judge.

Which is most likely. I can't imagine what the police were thinking getting involved like this. Bad service should never be rewarded with a tip (although leaving just $1 is a good way of flagging up bad service to the management, rather than leaving them thinking, 'Oh they're just Brits!')

 

[Boodle]

The story points out:



Which is most likely. I can't imagine what the police were thinking getting involved like this. Bad service should never be rewarded with a tip (although leaving just $1 is a good way of flagging up bad service to the management, rather than leaving them thinking, 'Oh they're just Brits!')

A poor tip sends a message the service was poor - rarely if ever though do we have to do this while in Florida.

 

[seashoreCM]

In case of bad service I suggest calling the manager over and negotiating (haggling, wheel-and-dealing, horse-trading) as opposed to simply paying the price plus tip. Suggest taking a third off the total for starters expecting that splitting the difference will end up with paying an amount including tip that is about the same as the total food only cost.

 

[wayneg]

In case of bad service I suggest calling the manager over and negotiating (haggling, wheel-and-dealing, horse-trading) as opposed to simply paying the price plus tip. Suggest taking a third off the total for starters expecting that splitting the difference will end up with paying an amount including tip that is about the same as the total food only cost.

But if there was nothing wrong with the food just plain bad service why should the restaurant be penalized? It should be the person providing the service(or lack of it) that loses out, if they are not upto the job they don't earn tips and need to look at another profession.

 

[disney_princess_85]

But if there was nothing wrong with the food just plain bad service why should the restaurant be penalized? It should be the person providing the service(or lack of it) that loses out, if they are not upto the job they don't earn tips and need to look at another profession.

 

[Steve and Sarah]

The recognised way of letting your server know they were bad is to leave a penny (1 cent) tip. This is standard practice in the US.

That way you are actually telling them your opinion without them thinking you are just atight Brit.

 

[jockey]

 

[tink too]

The recognised way of letting your server know they were bad is to leave a penny (1 cent) tip. This is standard practice in the US.

That way you are actually telling them your opinion without them thinking you are just atight Brit.

This is what we were told many years ago by an American friend. However, we have never needed to do that as we've never experienced service as bad as that.

However, my parents were chased when they were leaving Nine Dragons in Epcot by a waitress many years ago. She gave them quite the lecture before my mum managed to get a word in. If only she'd looked at the table BEFORE acting, she would have noticed the 20% tip sitting there waiting for her. Apparently she was angry that my folks hadn't added a $ amount on the receipt!

 

[jharrowell]

I was always under the impression that a gratuity is optional but a service charge was mandatory.

This all came out on a thread on here way back when because the Disney Dining Experience Card (now the Tables in Wonderland card) changed it's policy to automatically add the 18% gratuity to the bill.

After much nashing of teeth (people saying you should only pay 15% at buffets, etc.) it was found out that you could request for this to be removed and pay separately what you thought the service was worth.

I can only assume that the "tip" on the bill in the original article was a service charge and not a gratuity.