A family in Houston was allegedly locked inside a restaurant by the angry staff when they refused to pay a gratuity. Sounds outrageous, right? Well, it depends on how you look at it.
La Fisherman Seafood Restaurant, like many restaurants, charges a 17 percent gratuity to parties of five or more. It's printed right there on the menus. But the family (of over five) was so disappointed with the service, they just refused. Drinks weren't refilled. They didn't get everything they ordered. The servers were rude! Why should they have to tip such lousy service?
Because! When you sit down with a large group of people and order from a menu that clearly states "Parties of five or more will be automatically charged a 17 percent gratuity," THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SIGNING UP FOR. There's no note adding, "If you don't mind, and if you think the service was good." Them's the rules. Period.
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When I see that line on a menu, I tend to think, Abandon all hope of excellent service. I mean, it's pretty much a warning that your table is going to be a huge pain in the ass, so no promises. You might have a rough night. So you take a gamble -- it could be fine, it could be awful.
On the other hand, CLEARLY the family didn't deserve to be locked inside the building. I mean ... that's ridiculous. The family did complain to the manager -- and to be fair, I think the manager should have apologized and made an exception for the gratuity. That's what you're supposed to do in the hospitality business. Not lock the family in and call the police. So I think both parties are in the wrong here.
Do you think the restaurant overreacted? What do you think about mandatory gratuity?
Image via Steve Snodgrass/Flickr
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Comments 211
I back the family. I'd never tip for shitty service. In this day and age of entitlement, an automatic gratuity means employees don't have to pull their weight and do their jobs....
If you are that bad of a server, then you should find another job. McDonald's pays just as well and you can actually get away with being rude there.
For anyone that wants to flame me for not tipping bad servers, I happen to leave otherwise excellent tips and will gladly give even more than 25% for truly great service (a rarity, but it does happen).
If a gratuity is mandatory, it ceases to be a gratuity. If I saw that on the menu, I would get up and walk out without ordering. Seventeen percent of zero is zero.
I tend to avoid places that have required gratuity for just the reason of the above story. If I have a large party where I know they are going to include a gratuity I go somewhere I have been before and know what the service is like, but then I live in a small town atmosphere so even if I had bad service I usually know the owner.
What the restaurant did was illegal, plain and simple. It is called false imprisonment because they do not have the authority to detain anyone. What the restaurant did was so outrageous that it does not eevn matter anymore whether the family should or should not have tipped.
I'm behind the family as well. Restaurants are in the *service* business. If you can't provide decent service, close your doors.
And before we hear from everyone whining that waitstaff only makes $2/hr, tough titties. If you want more money, talk to your bosses and get them to pay more. Don't expect your customers to make up your pay when you provide bad service.