NYC restaurants sued over gratuity: Is a tip required?

In New York City, gratuity is customary, but not mandatory. However, some popular restaurant chains are adding gratuity to all bills, no matter the size of the parties and restaurants are being sued for damages totaling $5.5 billion. CBS News correspondent Terrell Brown reports.

[redle]

Businesses should pay their employees not customers.

[eaterofclams]

...if the "tip" is mandatory, it is not a "gratuity". Raise your prices on the food and pay your hired help instead of shaking down your customers.

[nickpatella]

In Japan the food is cheap and the service is good. Customers don't tip waiters and they aren't expected to because the waiters are sufficiently paid by their bosses. Why don't American restaurants just pay their waiters a proper wage instead of demanding a tip? The food's already overpriced anyway...

[Tracej]

The word "gratuitous" LITERALLY means unnecessary

[sethtotten]

Time for the United States to get rid of tipping. Restaurant need to pay 💰 there a living wage. It is not customers responsibility to pay there salary.

[sound-izji]

If you have to pay it, it's not a tip. Tipping is giving away money optional. I can't believe I have to say this.

[Itsmeeman]

Here's a Tip... pay your staff a living wage!

[arnoldmatthews]

What pisses me off is that they have gratuity added and they still have tip option.

[LuLu-bjef]

What has happened is...tipping is an American joke. A lot of places in the world do not tip like the ridiculous Americans. People from other countries come here, open a business and know they'll get tipped. My dry cleaners have a tip jar out now. The you serve yourself yogurt shop has a tip jar out and a mandatory tip added to the screen if you sign with a card. Starbuck employees want you to tip for pouring a water. The last seafood restaurant I ate at in Snohomish, Washinton now adds on a gratuity for kitchen staff, line cooks, dishwasher, , you still tip the server. STOP THE MADNESS !!!

[lohphat]

Do the cooks get tips? The busboys? They're working hard too. Why do waiters only get extra money?

It's because business refuse to pay them properly.

There's nothing special about being a server. It's a job like every one else.

Tipping is just a scam for business not to pay their employees properly.

[picanha]

its an american problem. no country forces you to tip.

[presheva]

Tipping al together should just be removed... honestly, it used to be a way costumers showed gratitude to their server but now it’s become an obligation and it’s annoying.

[ericp]

Tipping is optional. If it’s automatically included, then that’s a fee/tax.

[PhoinexVFull]

Same at some concerts I bought a $8 water and they expect me to tip 15-30% . Downright crazy for them turning around to grab a water and handing it to me

[ral]

I was at Disneyland last month, and my friend and I were charged automatic gratuity at one of the restaurants. I’ll just not tip from now on whenever that happens.

[chanceh]

This just makes it where you can get crappy service and the waiter/waitress will still get there tip. NOT COOL

[pjamese]

"convenience for our guests"

So it's more convenient to pay 18% more for your food before you even know if you've had stellar or shifty service? Isn't tipping supposed to express how good a job you thought your server did?

[samdanali]

This is ridiculous, people give tips out of courtesy, not because it is required. if restaurant owners want to raise menu prices, they should do so straightforwardly, not like this.

[lifeisgood]

Wow. Might be the first cool lawyer we've all seen.

[noel]

Here's a tip, im not responsable for your wages. Im here to get my food then pay the amount of money required. leave me alone