arrest

So many things in this world are becoming more and more expected: encores at a concert, wifi in a hotel room, and a gratuity on a restaurant bill. If one of these are not met, are they grounds for arrest?

Leslie Pope and John Wagner experienced just that during the happy hour at Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem, Pa. The couple tallied a total of $73 before the mandatory 18% gratuity. However, Lesli and John were less than impressed with their service. The couple complained that they had to get their own silverware, napkins, soda refill and the food took about an hour to arrive.

The couple attempted to pay the bill, minus the $16 mandatory gratuity. The bartender accepted the payment, but choose to call the police for skipping out on the tip.

“I understand that, you know, we didn’t pay the gratuity, but it was a gratuity, it wasn’t something that was required,” said Wagner.

In North America a gratuity is so expected and etched into the eating out ritual that it starts to become the sole means of compensation for servers. As I’ve never had to do it myself (I’d probably make a horrible server anyway), I was shocked to learn that servers have to tip-out to other staff even if they get stiffed on the tip. This is essentially making the server pay to work.

Is the system broken?

Should tips always be included in the price of food, like in Australia?

Is this just a stubborn couple who can’t play by the rules?

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