Daily Catch, tipping policy?

[cigalechanta]

After visiting the New ICA yesterday, we stopped at the Daily Catch and ordered abottle of wine, and cherrystones for each of us. after a 45 minute wait, the clams arrived and the wine almost finished so we decided not to order anything else and asked for the check. It was given to us with 15% tip added. Is that legal, nowhere was it posted?

[K8memphis]

How many people in the 'we', in the party?

[johnnyd]

A 45 minute wait for a raw bar item is terrible! They better have been cold, delicious and properly shucked (ie, un-mangled).

How many people in the 'we', in the party?

Parties of six or more usually get the tip added, right? Maybe eight?

[toweringpine]

I have re-written this post several times trying to come up with proper words to use to say this...

I absolutely hate tipping!!

( I do it anyways )

Why don't restaurants pay their employees a proper wage? I am not faulting the restaurant owners - they are just following the usual system.

It's just that it doesn't make any sense. Pay people to do their jobs to the best of their abilities for each and every hour they work.

There are many threads on variations of this topic and all seem to agree that patrons are obliged to pay at least 15%. It would seem that almost all the respondants are either employees ( or former employees ) or owners so it would seem that the opinions are somewhat skewed.

Why are wait staff allowed to collect so much money tax free? ( I know it must be shown on the income but we all know how realistic that is ) What is the advantage for the consumer or society here?

I cannot think of any other industry where this happens. When I buy anything else the price tag reflects what I must pay for it.

Please don't get me wrong, I believe waiters deserve to be well paid for their work. It is not an easy job and it takes a special person to do it well. It is just that I really think their wages should be reflected in the cost of the meal rather than being an add on.

[Scargo]

I am really fascinated about the "legal" and practical aspect of this question.

It seems so common that if you receive sub-par food that you can negotiate an adjustment in the bill. This sometimes requires involving management.

If you received poor service and you are under their arbitrary party number, then you can leave any amount of tip you want. What are your options if you are at or over their mandatory gratuity number? Is there anything legal about gratuity for a large party since the minimum party size seems to vary.

Though I have never been faced with the issue, I would think that you could reach some compromize with the management without the police being called.....

Has anyone ever heard of a complaint being filed, the police issuing a ticket or anyone ever arrested for contesting a bill or refusing to pay a portion of it?