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.
More from The Stir: 7 Ways to Make Every Restaurant Hate Your Family
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
Tie-Dye for the Fourth of July!
Mom Survives Horrific Domestic Abuse
Kim and Kanye's Baby Name Predictions!
Moms Love Birthday Parties, Too!
Comments 211
Bring it up with management of there is a legit problem with your server or meal; take it to corporate if you need to.
I think the demand is outrageotus to begin with. That number of people does not even include three couples on a date, and if you have more than 3 children, you're screwed. I back the family on this one. And locking them in? Well, that's just scandalous by the staff -- not to mention illegal!
But not to worry. This greedy business owner screwed him/herself because this is all over the news and that's just BAD for business.
I back the family theres a reason its called gratuity your supposed to tip to say thank you when for good service bad service no tip
@ Cynthia : Bad service is bad service, a tip is a tip, and a tip is no longer a tip when it's required. The restaurant needs to make the choice to charge more for their dishes to accommodate what they feel people should be paying or forget it! You can not charge a family of 5 a 17% mandatory tip! This is absolutely ridiculous! It's supposed to be a tip that's given by happy, gracious customers and it's at their discretion if they give and how much. I do not tip often, but I am also a great customer. And these days, when I go out for a meal I do it with pretty low expectations of my service anyways because the respect for customers in many industries has really been lost!
Is this supposed to be a joke?? Your servers don't give a rat's assif you're a good customer or not. They're there WORKING to make money not friends! I hope for food safety sake you don't frequent the same places! Would you like your boss to tell you he's not going to pay you for your work but will be a great person to work for?
Only in the US do people expect their servers to bow down and kiss their feet, thankful for the opportunity to have served them. In my experience as a server during my college days the only ones that didn't tip were ignorant hillbillies.