Careful. Withholding a tip could get you arrested.

To tip or not to tip. That is the question that should not be asked by anyone – however frugal – who is treated to good food and good service at a sit-down restaurant. If you’re happy with your dining experience, withholding a tip is not acceptable. And the notion of reducing or withholding a tip in order to save money is just plain tacky. If a tip in any way hurts a person’s pocketbook, then that person should not be dining out to begin with. On the other hand, if the service and/or food at a restaurant is poor to bad, then customers ought to be free to reduce or withhold tips since gratuities are discretionary matters.

Indeed, any tip is by definition a donation purely and freely based on the generosity of the giver. Or, at least that’s what many were raised to believe. However, in today’s topsy-turvy world, one can no longer be too sure of anything.  Just ask the American couple who not long ago refused to tip surly waiters at a pub in London, England. After finishing a meal and paying their tab without including a gratuity, the couple attempted to exit the pub but were physically restrained by the pub’s manager and employees. When the couple refused to relent, bobbies were called, and the tourists were treated to a ticket that included a hefty fine. Evidence of their crime was spelled out in black and white - the gratuity had been automatically added to the pub bill.

Then there is the recent case of the recalcitrant young couple in Pennsylvania who withheld a tip at a restaurant because they had to wait an hour and a half for their order. Not only were they cornered by restaurant staff, they were arrested on a charge of theft and fingerprinted by police because  - again - the restaurant bill clearly showed the gratuity was part of the fee for services. The fact that thuggish staff admitted to the slow service made no difference in the matter. At the time, one member of the staff said, “We were busy. We work our butts off for low wages. Who do these people think they are?”

You have to ask yourself, what are we coming to on this planet when we are compelled on a mandatory basis to thank others for giving us grief? It’s outrageous – and outright nuts. In fact, in many places of the world, tipping is mandatory for parties of usually six or more. In Ontario, this is in accordance with something called the Automatic Tips Act of 2010, which is up for review and might be eliminated. Good thing. If owners and staff at restaurants believe they ought to receive more money for the services and fare they provide, then they ought to up their prices or put more effort into meeting customers’ desires and keeping people satisfied, rather than forcing them to pay more under the guise of a gratuity. Anything called a mandatory tip is a ridiculous oxymoron.

Whatever happened to meritocracy in our society – and to pride of professionalism - not to mention the idea that keeping customers happy is the time-proven basis for growing and keeping business? The vast majority of restaurant goers are more than happy to shell out tips for good service and good food. It’s practically an automatic function for which there is no need for an automatic billing.

Of course, this necessarily sparks the question as to what constitutes fair tipping. The answer is that - across most of Canada at least – it is customary to tip about 15 percent on the total bill before tax, and to tip 20 per cent in exceptionally pleasing circumstances.

Here's one last tip to impart to restaurant goers: Give thanks for your dinner only when thanks are in order – unless, of course, you are otherwise threatened with arrest, imprisonment, and perhaps execution.

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