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LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (AP) - 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 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."


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http://apnews.myway.com//article/20.../D85123I01.html

 

that's ****ing retarded.

tips are 100% optional based on the level of service i get

waiters who ***** about the "low base pay" and how tips make up for it can find OTHER HIGHER paying jobs... heh.

 

ya serious.. if you dont like the tips you get FIND A NEW F*CKING JOB!

 

oops double post

 

wow who would have thought you would get arrested for not tipping. so i can do a sh*TTy job as a waiter, and if i don't get tipped, i can press charges? hehe

 

that guy should be lucky a guy with the last name Soprano called the cops instead of his "family"

 

It is true that most restraunts to say madatory 15% gratuity for parties of 8 or more....

 

It usually also says that if the service is poor to notify management and they will remove the tip. They should not have a legal right to enforce a tip, if the force you to pay it, it is a tax, a tip is based on service.

 

id be pretty pissed off if i got arrested for that.

 

nope, they dont say that on the menu...it jus says that its madatory

 

Nah, he got what he deserved. Leave a tip and be polite, it's not that hard to do.

 

I really feel that tips are optional. If the waiter or waitress does a good job leave a good tip, but if they are terrible you shouldn't have to leave a tip. If there is a huge group of people I can understand gratuity, but 18 % seems a little steep. My friends and I went to Dave & Busters the other night and there was 6 of us and the waitress was slow and it took forever to get drinks. When we got the bill there was an 18% gratuity tax and it was like $15. Thats bs! I always tip, but there are sometimes that I feel like I shouldn't have too. If anyone wants to watch a good rant about tips, watch the first scene in "Reservoir Dogs."

 

BUt I wouldn't mind being tackled by hooter waitresses

 

That's not cool. While understandable for a party of 8 or more... if this were to extend into lesser numbers of customers (say 2) then that would be outright wrong.

Tip $ is directly proportionate to the quailty of service one receives. Now when someone is busting their *** for 8 people being diks on their order then I can understand how enforcing a mandatory tip... if the customers were cool I'm sure nothing woulda came of it. But this is purely based on the article.

I've left a penny as a tip once. It was really just a gesture of contempt that was entertaing as ALL HELL!!! It was sadly a Korean restuarant. There were only two tables being used, a big family & my friend & I. We were seated immediately but didn't even speak to anyone after that for almost 15-20 mins. After which we got our water & menus. Skip another 15-20mins before someone comes back to check on us... not the same waitress either??? (& no there were NO hotties there) finally give our order... another 30 half hour CREEPS BY PAINFULLY... we shoulda left but I'm Korean & so is my friend so we decided to give em chance... OUR MISTAKE...

Finally got our food. Asked for boxes. Paid & left a penny underneath an upturned unused tea cup... as we walked down the stairs the original waitress had the GALL to ask where her tip was!?!?!??? So I told her it was on the table... you'll find it...