We all know that you shouldn’t leave a restaurant in the U.S. without leaving a tip, we have to show these hardworking wait staff our appreciation as many of them only make minimum wage.
But one New Jersey teenager got a shock when she visited her local diner and was charged extra for her order.
Now her mom, who says she’s been going to the diner since she was a young girl, wants answers as to why her teenage daughter has to pay more for her drink than she does.
When Melissa Desch and her family visit their local diner in Wayne, New Jersey and get the bill, it clearly states “gratuities are appreciated,” but not required. At least, that’s what it says.
But, one day, Melissa’s 11-year-old daughter Bella went to the diner with a group of her friends. She ordered a milkshake and got a bill that puzzled her so much she took a photo of it and sent it to her mom.
The bill clearly stated that an extra 90 cents had been added to her bill but, when her mom went there she didn’t get the additional charge.
Singled out
“I got charged gratuity and then my mom went there later and didn’t get charged,” Bella said.
Melissa, who says teens shouldn’t be singled out for this extra charge, was so upset by this so-called “teen tax” that her and other parents are boycotting the diner.
In response the attorney from Krause Law of the diner’s owners said kids were showing up at this diner in groups of 20 or 30 and usually stay for about an hour two with the vast majority not leaving a tip. Diner owners do not believe this is fair on the wait staff.
The attorney’s words were not enough to justify the charges for Melissa. She expressed her feeling that the teens should be subject to the same charges as all other customers of the diner. Melissa is so serious about what she sees as an injustice to the young people she says she will not patronize the diner again. Let us know what do you think in the comments section below
