| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Man Arrested After Leaving Small Tip |
| 2004-09-11 |
| No Mustang Ranch leper jokes, please. Fri Sep 10, 5:51 PM ET LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. - A New York City man accused of leaving an inadequate tip at a restaurant was arrested, fingerprinted and photographed for a mug shot. Humberto A. Taveras, 41, faces a misdemeanor charge of theft of services after he and his fellow diners argued with Soprano's Italian and American Grill managers over the legality of requiring an 18 percent tip for large parties. "They chased us down like a bunch of criminals," Taveras said. "It killed our weekend." Taveras and eight others had pizza at the restaurant Sunday night. He told the Glens Falls Post-Star they weren't completely satisfied with the food and left a tip of under 10 percent. Taveras said they also were not told of a mandatory 18 percent gratuity for parties of six or more and did not see notice of it on their menus. Restaurant owner Joe Soprano (Insert cable television jokes >here<) said all the menus have the notice, and the waitress informed the group. He said he did not choose to pursue charges because of the money, but because Taveras' group was obnoxious. "It's unfortunate it has come to this, but this guy was rude and abrasive. They practically threw food at us," Soprano said. Taveras plans to fight the charge. He was issued an appearance ticket and was scheduled to appear in town court Thursday. The arrest raises the issue of whether the gratuities that restaurants automatically tack on for serving large groups are legally enforceable debts. Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland said he did not believe the issue had been litigated before in New York. He said the case could turn on whether the person is notified of the tip requirement beforehand. "It's not a black-and-white issue," Cleveland said. "It will be very interesting to see where it goes in court." If this group ordered from the menu, they were effectively advised of the mandatory gratuity policy. As they say in the insurance trade; The big print giveth and the fine print taketh away. |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #14 Did any of you realize that this debate is about approx. $4.50?? If 8 people ate at that restaurant for $71.00, which is what I read the final bill was, then that ain't no high end restaurant.....besides, if there was an 18% **mandatory** gratuity, why wasn't it included in the final bill? When I worked at restaurants that had that policy, we would figure it out for them and just include it in the bill. And getting 12% on a bill? How many times did that waiter/waitress score 20%, or even 25% on a tab.....it all evens out in the end, unless you are working in some s&#thole restaurant with a poor clientele... |
| Posted by: formerwaiter 2004-09-14 11:46:14 PM |
| #13 Sweet merciful crap, Shipman! Florida has no state minimum wage law. Totally fricking unreal. I've heard of an employer's market, but this is ridiculous. I'm a devout capitalist but there's limits and this is one of them. How in hades is someone supposed to survive on less than three clams an hour plus tips? Well, unless you're still living at home with mom and dad that is ... The federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour. The states are supposed to meet that in the absence of any internal regulations. Ah yes, but here's the catch ... An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage. Earn more than $30.00 per month in tips and the employer can force you to accept those gratuties as a component of your minimum wage. That is simply draconian. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-11 8:12:49 PM |
| #12 Minimum wage plus tips? Nope. Wage $2.80 an hour and assume the customers will bring it up to the minimum.... or that's the way it was in FL. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-11 7:13:54 PM |
| #11 So, Frank, did you do a lot of fence jumping while visiting with Grandma? I don't know if you've worked in the restaurant business, but the margins are pretty slim unless you're one of those hoity-toity $100 a plate sort of places. Most wait staff except the maitre'd make minimum wage plus tips. Chefs are largely underpaid as well unless you are the owner and then it's 16 hour days and no social life. When a party of diners edges past half a dozen there's a lot of work involved in serving them, even if they're only ordering pizza. Personally, I think a mandatory 18% for six or more is extortionate but that is up to Soprano and not me. I would also hope that Soprano's wait staff was professional enough to automatically inform all parties larger than five of the mandatory gratuity. Still, Taveras evidently neglected to check out both sides of his menu, or just tried to weasle out of the deal. As they say, caveat emptor. Finally, if Soprano was routinely grinding his customers and skimming the tips (tres gauche), I doubt that he would willingly draw so much attention to himself. Just a single disgruntled employee could burn him to both the tax franchise and labor boards with pretty nasty results, especially for a place that serves alcohol. Restaurants usually rely rather heavily upon word-of-mouth advertising and therefore tend to be rather lenient, even with obnoxious customers. My wager is that Taveras et al made a nusiance of themselves and then tried to stiff the help. That would even be enough to piss off Mother Teresa. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-11 7:05:33 PM |
| #10 BTW Zen - I'd stand by my question even given smaller (<6 = small????) parties....I bet the take was on at all levels, that's why the owner was abusive |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-11 6:24:12 PM |
| #9 FWIW - my maternal grandparents owned the ranch adjacent to the Mustang property on the Reno-Fallon highway, and Joe Conforte was known as a local semi-saint - provided services, funded little leagues, VFW balls, etc. Sometimes the IRS does damage in the name of the Fedss |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-11 6:22:39 PM |
| #8 No Mustang Ranch leper jokes, please. Side note: The world-famous Mustang Ranch is in the process of being dismantled. I was zipping by on I-80 on my motorbike last month and I decided to stop and have a look-see; the only building that was left was what looked to be the front office, and it was already partially taken apart. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-09-11 5:58:54 PM |
| #7 #6 wanna bet the owner and servers don't declare 18% of gross receipts as income? I'd bet the farm on it and you'd lose your forty acres and a mule, Frank. I doubt very much that Soprano’s Italian and American Grill exclusively serves parties of six or more. The mandatory gratuity applies only to groups of that size. "18 percent gratuity for parties of six or more" Like I said; The big print giveth and the fine print taketh away. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-11 5:03:07 PM |
| #6 wanna bet the owner and servers don't declare 18% of gross receipts as income? What, if any's the owner's share from each server? As they say on the Sopranos, I bet he's wetting his beak a little in that 18% |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-11 4:40:42 PM |
| #5 People have an entirely wrong idea about what tipping is about. You tip a server not because he/she should be rewarded, but because it is an implicit contract between you and the server that the next time you sample his/her service, you will be treated the same as for the time you are now tipping. There is, in fact, nothing wrong with not tipping if you never plan to return again for any reason even if the service was excellent, but if you do fail to tip and you draw that server again on a return trip, you get the service you paid for. That is why a tip is called "to insure promptness". It irks me to no end when I see ads on TV in sports bar telling me tip this person or that. Tipping should be a voluntary act based on a customer's personal evaluation of the service received based in part on whether the customer will return again. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-09-11 4:36:20 PM |
| #4 You're right piss poor pr. But I'll bet the staff is loyal, sometimes the customer's wrong. I am biased tho, spent many summers bussing. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-11 4:16:04 PM |
| #3 Yes, yes, yes... Big picture. BAD PUBLICITY. Arresting someone over this? The owner of the restaurant is a FOOL. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-09-11 3:49:38 PM |
| #2 come on now...18% is a little steep for a tip, especially for goddam pizza....plus just how was the service? the owner say's they were rude..but what does that mean? means jack, we were not there. i for one will base my tip on the service..lousy service gets a big fat 0, decent 10% superb 15%.... |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-09-11 1:10:28 PM |
| #1 Hang 'em. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-11 11:28:16 AM |