Update: LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. - Charges have been dropped against a man arrested in a restaurant for not leaving a big enough tip. After researching the case against Humberto Taveras, authorities said Monday that he cannot be forced to pay a gratuity. Taveras, 41, was charged Sept. 5 with misdemeanor theft of services after he and fellow diners argued with managers at Soprano's Italian and American Grill over a required 18 percent tip for large parties. Taveras had said he was not completely satisfied with the restaurant's food and left a tip of less than 10 percent. "I'm glad someone came to their senses up there," said Taveras, who faced up to a year in jail. "Now I can tell my kids, 'Daddy's not a crook.'" Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said if the 18 percent gratuity had been called a surcharge or service charge, Taveras would have been legally obligated to pay it. Restaurant owner Joe Soprano said he did not pursue charges because of the money but because Taveras' group was obnoxious. "We did what we thought was right," he said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Taveras and his kids can now rest easy at night knowing that he isn't a crook, but is still a cheap b*stard. That said, both parties handled the situation wrong. Bottom line is Taveras should have taken the issue of the food up with management. From there details are still sketchy, but management could and probably should have taken the disputed food off of the bill as a good will gesture. Now the only person being "punished" is the waiter who really didn't even play a role in this scenario.
It went down exactly as I said it would. People are never ever "obligated" to pay a gratuity. It is an oxymoron. That said, this guy should never eat out again, and neither should anyone else who doesn't understand tipping protocol.
Which completely confirms my standpoint that there is no such thing as a "mandatory tip", that's an oxymoron. If you call it a tip, live with the fact that it is not mandatory. If you include it in the price by calling it a service charge and make it clear that it is mandatory - it is the customer's call to decide whether he still wants to do it or not. If you cause the lack of clarity by giving it an ambiguous name, it will be held against you. Good ruling.
