On October 23rd, 2009, Lehigh graduate student John Wagner, 24 and Moravian College senior Leslie Pope, 22, joined six of their friends at an establishment known as "Lehigh Pub" in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This group apparently received very poor service, and waited over an hour for their order of french fries and chicken fingers (some accounts claim it was chicken wings and salad) to be filled. They had trouble obtaining drink refills and service was so lacking that they had to set their own table and refill their own sodas, according to Wagner and Pope. Their waitress was too busy standing outside smoking cigarettes to wait on them, they claim.
When the check finally arrived, these Lehigh Pub patrons found that in addition to charges of $73.87 for food, beverages and tax, a gratuity of $16.35 appeared on the bill. Wagner and Pope complained to the bartender about their unsatisfactory experience at this establishment. However, they paid the Lehigh Pub bartender $73.87 for the food and drink and tax, which he accepted, and declined to pay the additional gratuity of $16.35. The bartender accepted the $73.87, but then called the Bethlehem Police Department. The Bethlehem Police arrested Wagner and Pope for theft and lead them away in handcuffs. Wagner and Pope were charged and await an appearance in court (some accounts state that they are still waiting for a court date, and others report that they will go to court in December of 2009) in front of Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez.
Reportedly, Lehigh Pub has a policy that a charge of 18% will be added to the bills of all parties of six or more. However, $16.35 is more than 22.13% of $73.87, which of course is the post-tax amount of the bill. Pennsylvania has a 6% sales tax on restaurant meals, and therefore the charge before tax was about $69.69. The gratuity of $16.35 imposed represents in excess of 23.46% of the meal cost of roughly $69.69, which is substantially more than 18%, so there is an inconsistency or an error somewhere. The charge of $16.35 is about 18% of $90.83.
The owner of the Lehigh Pub claims that a portion of the party's food and drink charges were "comped", that is, the bill was substantially reduced, apparently in recognition of the very poor or even nonexistent service the group received. Wagner and Pope state that this is incorrect, and claim that they paid the full bill except for the added gratuity charge of $16.35.
Stuart Bedics, Bethlehem Deputy Police Commissioner, whose appointment as Bethlehem Police Commissioner was announced November 13, 2009 by Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, has stated that "Obviously we would have liked for the patron and the retail establishment to have worked this out without getting the police involved". However, the television news clips report that the police charged the couple with theft because the gratuity was part of the actual bill, and that Bedics doubts that these charges will hold up in court.
Obviously cowed by this demonstration of the power of the police and city government in enforcing even the unfair charges and policies of local business owners, Pope has stated in interviews that in the future she would just pay whatever bill she was presented with, no matter what.
This matter received media and internet attention starting about mid-November, 2009. Soon after, I received personal communications that allege the police no longer want to prosecute Wagner and Pope since the $16.35 fee (clearly far in excess of 18%) was listed as a "gratuity", rather than a service charge (does this change of heart of the police have anything to do with the publicity?). Also, the police representative stated that if Lehigh Pub had listed the $16.35 as a "service charge" instead of a "gratuity", Wagner and Pope would definitely be prosecuted. I guess this is apparently true even if the party that had this service charge levied on them had obtained substandard service, or even no service at all. It is interesting to me that the police were willing to arrest Wagner and Pope on October 23, 2009 on charges of theft, and then planned to charge them until this started to get media attention more than 3 weeks later, at which time they started to sing a different tune.
It has been reported that one of the owners of Lehigh Pub has stated that the story that has appeared in the media is incomplete. No further details are yet available.
On November 25, 2009, after plenty of media attention, the police announced they were dropping the charges. Wagner and Pope are scheduled to appear on CNN to discuss this episode on December 1, 2009.
At least several hundred, and probably several thousand reviews of the Lehigh Pub after this episode was publicized have been removed from Yelp! and rateitall.com and Metromix Lehigh Valley and other internet rating sites.
Interestingly Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan is contemplating a run for the Congress of the United States based on his allegedly superior management of the Bethlehem City Government (including of course, its police department) and his good judgement. When contacted about this issue, Callahan's campaign office has made no comment after several days.
Caveat:
This narrative is based on information I have culled from various news sources. It should be not be regarded as a definitive account; the actual facts might be different than what appears here.
Monday, November 30, 2009
There ought to be a law ... not!
From Pocono Record:
Editorial
There ought to be a law ... not!
November 30, 2009
Now and then a public official does something so sensible that people ought to take notice. After all, it's so popular to disdain these folks that giving them a deserved pat on the back is a welcome change.
Take John Morganelli, who's District Attorney in neighboring Northampton County. Last week the DA recommended to Bethlehem police that they drop theft-of-service charges against a local couple who failed to pay a tip for their food.
That's right. The tip, according to Lehigh Pub, itshould have been $16.87, and 22-year-old Leslie Pope and 24-year-old John Wagner didn't pay it.
The pub, apparently, automatically adds a service charge to parties over six, and states that policy on its menu. Pope and Wagner said service was slow on Oct. 23, and claimed their party of eight people had to wait more than an hour for their food. They had to refill their own drinks and get their own silverware. So when they paid the bartender on leaving, they stated they weren't going to pay the tip.
Talk about a publicity nightmare over a bad night out. The two college students were put in handcuffs. The pub got its name all over the news in its righteous indignation. Nobody won.
Meanwhile, what raises this kerfuffle to criminal level? Everyone knows that wait staff earn such paltry wages they rely on tips as part of their pay. But diners fail to tip at times. Sometimes it's an accidental oversight. Sometimes they miscalculate the bill and don't have enough money. Sometimes they want to withhold the tip to send a message that the service was lousy, as Pope and Wagner did. But making that a crime? That was short-sighted on the pub's part.
Morganelli opined that tips are generally volunteer and suggested that the cops drop the charges. The police commissioner agreed. Hallelujah!
Police have more weighty items on their agenda, murder, mayhem, armed robbery, burglary, assault, serious traffic accidents among them. Disputes over tips are between the wait staff and the diner or, at worst, rise to management. Now should a diner, say, walk out without paying the bill at all, that would be different. That would be theft. Police might have to be summoned.
But no tip? That's tough on the waiter or waitress, but it's no crime.
Thanks and a tip of the hat to Morganelli for recognizing the difference.
Editorial
There ought to be a law ... not!
November 30, 2009
Now and then a public official does something so sensible that people ought to take notice. After all, it's so popular to disdain these folks that giving them a deserved pat on the back is a welcome change.
Take John Morganelli, who's District Attorney in neighboring Northampton County. Last week the DA recommended to Bethlehem police that they drop theft-of-service charges against a local couple who failed to pay a tip for their food.
That's right. The tip, according to Lehigh Pub, itshould have been $16.87, and 22-year-old Leslie Pope and 24-year-old John Wagner didn't pay it.
The pub, apparently, automatically adds a service charge to parties over six, and states that policy on its menu. Pope and Wagner said service was slow on Oct. 23, and claimed their party of eight people had to wait more than an hour for their food. They had to refill their own drinks and get their own silverware. So when they paid the bartender on leaving, they stated they weren't going to pay the tip.
Talk about a publicity nightmare over a bad night out. The two college students were put in handcuffs. The pub got its name all over the news in its righteous indignation. Nobody won.
Meanwhile, what raises this kerfuffle to criminal level? Everyone knows that wait staff earn such paltry wages they rely on tips as part of their pay. But diners fail to tip at times. Sometimes it's an accidental oversight. Sometimes they miscalculate the bill and don't have enough money. Sometimes they want to withhold the tip to send a message that the service was lousy, as Pope and Wagner did. But making that a crime? That was short-sighted on the pub's part.
Morganelli opined that tips are generally volunteer and suggested that the cops drop the charges. The police commissioner agreed. Hallelujah!
Police have more weighty items on their agenda, murder, mayhem, armed robbery, burglary, assault, serious traffic accidents among them. Disputes over tips are between the wait staff and the diner or, at worst, rise to management. Now should a diner, say, walk out without paying the bill at all, that would be different. That would be theft. Police might have to be summoned.
But no tip? That's tough on the waiter or waitress, but it's no crime.
Thanks and a tip of the hat to Morganelli for recognizing the difference.
College students who refused to leave tip experience a hectic two weeks
From Express-Times November 30, 2009
College students who refused to leave tip experience a hectic two weeks
By Express-Times staff
November 30, 2009, 12:35AM
Leslie Pope and John Wagner, a pair of Lehigh Valley college students, watched 15 minutes of fame turn into 30 as the story of their arrest for declining to pay a mandatory service charge on their restaurant tab entered a second week.
Pope, a Moravian College senior, and Wagner, a Lehigh University graduate student, were still attracting interest in the days that followed the charges being dropped by Bethlehem police.
Interviews on CNN and Philadelphia television stations continued into a second week, and radio station and Internet blogs gave their plight momentum long after Pope figured it would subside.
“I had no idea,” Pope said last week about the blazing popularity of their choice to face arrest instead of pay a tip for what they claimed was poor service.
Watch video of Pope and Wagner being interviewed on NBC-10.
Pope's mother fielded many of the media requests from her Pottsville, Pa., home, all following the original Express-Times story that generated nearly 150 comments and nearly 9,000 votes to an online poll question.
Google Trends listed “Lehigh pub” as the 15th most-searched term Nov. 19 and rated it as “On Fire.”
The poll results ran 19-to-1 against the Bethlehem bar and restaurant and the feedback on Yelp.com, a Web site dedicated to reviews by patrons, was mostly unfavorable as well.
“I’ve eaten here a few times in the past two months,” Laura K. wrote in her pub review Nov. 20, “and the table service is not good — slow and inexperienced.”
Laura “L-Train” K., who has reviewed dozens of Lehigh Valley restaurants, did not respond to a request for an interview but her one-star rating spoke volumes.
College students who refused to leave tip experience a hectic two weeks
By Express-Times staff
November 30, 2009, 12:35AM
Leslie Pope and John Wagner, a pair of Lehigh Valley college students, watched 15 minutes of fame turn into 30 as the story of their arrest for declining to pay a mandatory service charge on their restaurant tab entered a second week.
Pope, a Moravian College senior, and Wagner, a Lehigh University graduate student, were still attracting interest in the days that followed the charges being dropped by Bethlehem police.
Interviews on CNN and Philadelphia television stations continued into a second week, and radio station and Internet blogs gave their plight momentum long after Pope figured it would subside.
“I had no idea,” Pope said last week about the blazing popularity of their choice to face arrest instead of pay a tip for what they claimed was poor service.
Watch video of Pope and Wagner being interviewed on NBC-10.
Pope's mother fielded many of the media requests from her Pottsville, Pa., home, all following the original Express-Times story that generated nearly 150 comments and nearly 9,000 votes to an online poll question.
Google Trends listed “Lehigh pub” as the 15th most-searched term Nov. 19 and rated it as “On Fire.”
The poll results ran 19-to-1 against the Bethlehem bar and restaurant and the feedback on Yelp.com, a Web site dedicated to reviews by patrons, was mostly unfavorable as well.
“I’ve eaten here a few times in the past two months,” Laura K. wrote in her pub review Nov. 20, “and the table service is not good — slow and inexperienced.”
Laura “L-Train” K., who has reviewed dozens of Lehigh Valley restaurants, did not respond to a request for an interview but her one-star rating spoke volumes.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Couple Arrested For Not Paying Tip
From MyFoxPhilly.com
Couple Arrested For Not Paying Tip
College Students Said They Had Lousy Service
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A bar in Bethelem, Pa., takes its tipping policy very seriously.
A group of college students were at the Lehigh Pub last month. The restaurant tacked what it called a mandatory 18-percent gratuity onto the bill.
A couple of students refused to pay, saying they had lousy service.
The pub called the police, and the students – identified as Leslie Pope and her boyfriend, John Wagner – were handcuffed and arrested.
Mike, Jenn and Steve discussed the story Friday morning on "Good Day Philadelphia ."
Couple Arrested For Not Paying Tip
College Students Said They Had Lousy Service
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A bar in Bethelem, Pa., takes its tipping policy very seriously.
A group of college students were at the Lehigh Pub last month. The restaurant tacked what it called a mandatory 18-percent gratuity onto the bill.
A couple of students refused to pay, saying they had lousy service.
The pub called the police, and the students – identified as Leslie Pope and her boyfriend, John Wagner – were handcuffed and arrested.
Mike, Jenn and Steve discussed the story Friday morning on "Good Day Philadelphia ."
Tips on tipping - deductions help
From the Morning Call:
Tips on tipping - deductions help
November 25, 2009
According to Brand X, Bethlehem police handcuffed two local college students and hauled them away because they did not give a tip to a Bethlehem waitress after she let them cool their heels for long periods while she went outside to smoke.
The two were in a party of eight who balked at a mandatory gratuity (a transcendent oxymoron) of $16.35 on top of a total tab of $73.87, it was reported last week by The Express-Times, a newspaper based in Easton. (I said ''Brand X'' because I could not bear to give credit to a competing paper in the very first paragraph.)
Last week's story indicated that the Lehigh Pub's menu stipulated there was an 18 percent tip charged for a large group, but 18 percent of $73.87 is only $13.30, not $16.35. There was no indication that the city police busted any restaurant people for trying to swipe an extra $3.05.
Instead, Lehigh Pub customers Leslie Pope, 22, a student at Moravian College, and John Wagner, 24, a student at Lehigh University, were charged with theft of services for failing to pay the bloated tip.
In addition to letting Pope, Wagner and their companions go hungry and thirsty while she smoked, last week's story said, the waitress made them wait for more than an hour for their salads and wings, and they were forced to go get their own drinks at the bar and to fetch their own napkins and silverware.
I had missed the story in the Express-Times, but when Dan Kilpatrick of Salisbury Township called to voice support for a Boy Scout I discussed in my column, he added some thoughts on the tipping flap.
''As a patron, it [tipping] is the only way you can have any control over the kind of service you get,'' he said. (Perhaps Kilpatrick brought that up because he remembered the harsh views I have expressed in previous columns about tipping.)
Since then, I have heard from others. Joseph Rospetti of Macungie said he saw that CBS and other news organizations had picked up the Express-Times story and were putting it on the Internet, and he asked me to look into it.
''Did I miss this story in The Morning Call?'' asked one man, whose identity I could not verify but who said he saw the story in a Chicago publication.
Fortunately, I now can rely on my favorite news outfit in the whole world for the latest poop on the tipping imbroglio.
The charges against Pope and Wagner, it was reported Tuesday on the front page of The Morning Call, are being dropped.
''It would not be the kind of case that should be processed criminally,'' Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli was quoted as saying.
He indicated that if the people at Lehigh Pub want to go after anybody for that $16.35, or $13.30, or whatever, they will have to sic their lawyers on customers in civil court. If that happens, and if I find out about it in time, I promise to show up in court and let you know how it goes.
My own tipping practices, as I first discussed in this space years ago, are set forth by the Ginza Society, which I founded in 2002 because of my experiences with the superb waitresses in Tokyo's Ginza section, where zero tipping was customary.
Bad service should result in little or no tip at all, even in America, and I deduct 1 percent of my standard 20 percent tip for every item that is below par. (I used to think 15 percent was an acceptable starting point, but one of my daughters said that made me a boorish cheapskate.)
I do not deduct for bad food; that's not the fault of the waitress/waiter. Most of my deductions are for getting the order wrong or making me wait too long, especially when I need another drink or it's time to process the check. Anyway, there have been times I left only a quarter.
There is one other tipping practice that is not always a big hit with my wife. When service is exceptional, I go over the 20 percent mark, although I often tell her I'm doing it because I think a waitress is cute.
As for mandatory tipping for groups, you should immediately run for the door if you see that on a menu or in a sign. Any restaurant that tries to impose forced tipping without such a notification should be closed down and forced to pay for its entire staff to get a year of training in Tokyo.
Finally, there is one new rule I am adding to my Ginza Society handbook. It says that if we find out waiters and waitresses pool their tips and then share the money equally, there must be no tip at all. Pooling totally defeats the purpose of tipping, which should reflect how well a customer feels an individual has done his or her job. If it does not matter how an individual performs, a gratuity is meaningless.
To help us impose that rule, any restaurant that allows the pooling and sharing of tips should be required by law to put up a large sign to that effect, with penalties of up to a year in prison for any violations whatsoever -- and then we'll see how well the Bethlehem police enforce that.
paul.carpenter@mcall.com 610-820-6176
Paul Carpenter's commentary appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
If it does not matter how an individual performs, a gratuity is meaningless.
Tips on tipping - deductions help
November 25, 2009
According to Brand X, Bethlehem police handcuffed two local college students and hauled them away because they did not give a tip to a Bethlehem waitress after she let them cool their heels for long periods while she went outside to smoke.
The two were in a party of eight who balked at a mandatory gratuity (a transcendent oxymoron) of $16.35 on top of a total tab of $73.87, it was reported last week by The Express-Times, a newspaper based in Easton. (I said ''Brand X'' because I could not bear to give credit to a competing paper in the very first paragraph.)
Last week's story indicated that the Lehigh Pub's menu stipulated there was an 18 percent tip charged for a large group, but 18 percent of $73.87 is only $13.30, not $16.35. There was no indication that the city police busted any restaurant people for trying to swipe an extra $3.05.
Instead, Lehigh Pub customers Leslie Pope, 22, a student at Moravian College, and John Wagner, 24, a student at Lehigh University, were charged with theft of services for failing to pay the bloated tip.
In addition to letting Pope, Wagner and their companions go hungry and thirsty while she smoked, last week's story said, the waitress made them wait for more than an hour for their salads and wings, and they were forced to go get their own drinks at the bar and to fetch their own napkins and silverware.
I had missed the story in the Express-Times, but when Dan Kilpatrick of Salisbury Township called to voice support for a Boy Scout I discussed in my column, he added some thoughts on the tipping flap.
''As a patron, it [tipping] is the only way you can have any control over the kind of service you get,'' he said. (Perhaps Kilpatrick brought that up because he remembered the harsh views I have expressed in previous columns about tipping.)
Since then, I have heard from others. Joseph Rospetti of Macungie said he saw that CBS and other news organizations had picked up the Express-Times story and were putting it on the Internet, and he asked me to look into it.
''Did I miss this story in The Morning Call?'' asked one man, whose identity I could not verify but who said he saw the story in a Chicago publication.
Fortunately, I now can rely on my favorite news outfit in the whole world for the latest poop on the tipping imbroglio.
The charges against Pope and Wagner, it was reported Tuesday on the front page of The Morning Call, are being dropped.
''It would not be the kind of case that should be processed criminally,'' Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli was quoted as saying.
He indicated that if the people at Lehigh Pub want to go after anybody for that $16.35, or $13.30, or whatever, they will have to sic their lawyers on customers in civil court. If that happens, and if I find out about it in time, I promise to show up in court and let you know how it goes.
My own tipping practices, as I first discussed in this space years ago, are set forth by the Ginza Society, which I founded in 2002 because of my experiences with the superb waitresses in Tokyo's Ginza section, where zero tipping was customary.
Bad service should result in little or no tip at all, even in America, and I deduct 1 percent of my standard 20 percent tip for every item that is below par. (I used to think 15 percent was an acceptable starting point, but one of my daughters said that made me a boorish cheapskate.)
I do not deduct for bad food; that's not the fault of the waitress/waiter. Most of my deductions are for getting the order wrong or making me wait too long, especially when I need another drink or it's time to process the check. Anyway, there have been times I left only a quarter.
There is one other tipping practice that is not always a big hit with my wife. When service is exceptional, I go over the 20 percent mark, although I often tell her I'm doing it because I think a waitress is cute.
As for mandatory tipping for groups, you should immediately run for the door if you see that on a menu or in a sign. Any restaurant that tries to impose forced tipping without such a notification should be closed down and forced to pay for its entire staff to get a year of training in Tokyo.
Finally, there is one new rule I am adding to my Ginza Society handbook. It says that if we find out waiters and waitresses pool their tips and then share the money equally, there must be no tip at all. Pooling totally defeats the purpose of tipping, which should reflect how well a customer feels an individual has done his or her job. If it does not matter how an individual performs, a gratuity is meaningless.
To help us impose that rule, any restaurant that allows the pooling and sharing of tips should be required by law to put up a large sign to that effect, with penalties of up to a year in prison for any violations whatsoever -- and then we'll see how well the Bethlehem police enforce that.
paul.carpenter@mcall.com 610-820-6176
Paul Carpenter's commentary appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
If it does not matter how an individual performs, a gratuity is meaningless.
OPINION: No need to call the cops or go to court: Tips are voluntary
From Express-Times Daily Newspaper:
OPINION: No need to call the cops or go to court: Tips are voluntary
By Express-Times opinion staff
November 25, 2009, 12:30AM
The decision by the Bethlehem police to drop theft charges against two college students who refused to pay an "automatic" tip at the Lehigh Pub was the right call.
Gratuities are a matter of discretion by the customer, not the owner or manager. Calling the cops to settle a dispute over a tip wasn't just an overreaction, it was an embarrassment to the two customers who were arrested and charged.
OPINION: No need to call the cops or go to court: Tips are voluntary
By Express-Times opinion staff
November 25, 2009, 12:30AM
The decision by the Bethlehem police to drop theft charges against two college students who refused to pay an "automatic" tip at the Lehigh Pub was the right call.
Gratuities are a matter of discretion by the customer, not the owner or manager. Calling the cops to settle a dispute over a tip wasn't just an overreaction, it was an embarrassment to the two customers who were arrested and charged.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Couple handcuffed for not leaving tip
From Metro.co.uk News World:
Couple handcuffed for not leaving tip
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
A couple who didn't leave a tip after being made to wait an hour for their meal were hauled away in handcuffs and charged with theft.
Leslie Pope and John Wagner thought the service was so bad at the eaterie that it didn't warrant the mandatory service charge.
But the manager thought otherwise and called police.
'You can't give us terrible, terrible service and expect a tip,' said Ms Pope, 22.
The pair, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, are due to face court next month.
Couple handcuffed for not leaving tip
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
A couple who didn't leave a tip after being made to wait an hour for their meal were hauled away in handcuffs and charged with theft.
Leslie Pope and John Wagner thought the service was so bad at the eaterie that it didn't warrant the mandatory service charge.
But the manager thought otherwise and called police.
'You can't give us terrible, terrible service and expect a tip,' said Ms Pope, 22.
The pair, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, are due to face court next month.
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