Article Reference: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/blog/page.aspx?post=1393099&_blg=1,1393099

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

Now this is broken. Mandatory tipping, where the mandatory tipping didn’t apply. The establishment and the police officers involved here just didn’t make any good judgements, and went way overboard.

Where: Lehigh Pub, Bethlehem, PA

• This couple was charged $16.84 or a tip on a $73 Total bill. So food accounts for roughly $56.16. That means that the 18% tip would have been in the $11 neighborhood.
• The establishment on the receipt says that there is a mandatory 18% tip on parties of six or more. This was a couple.
• Tips are a reward for good service. If you don’t provide good service, you might not get a penny.  If you require this at your establishment, not only will bad service cost you money, but the mandatory tipping will cost you customers.
• There is no law or legal precedent that requires tipping, though the police unjustly arrested them. It is very unlikely that this will hold up in court, so I encourage these people to sue for false arrest.

Where in the USA do we have some common sense? I would suggest avoiding Lehigh Pub due to this incident.

The law enforcement’s viewpoint is:

“Obviously we would have liked for the patron and the establishment to have worked this out without getting the police involved,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Stuart Bedics.

This is where the law enforcement should exercise common sense. Maybe people looking to move to the area should maybe look for a town. If they are too busy enforcing mandatory tips that don’t exist and aren’t mandatory, maybe they are NOT dealing with their MS-13 gang issue in another nearby part of town….

One Response to “Arrested for Not Paying a Tip”