Well, at least justice was served

ESOTERICA

Remind me not to seek out the Lehigh Pub the next time I'm in the Lehigh Valley.

A couple in [Pennsylvania] arrested for refusing to pay a restaurant service charge have been told by the police that the theft charges brought against them following the incident in October have been dropped.

John Wagner, 24 and Leslie Pope, 22 were in a party of eight that had a meal last month at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Unhappy at the service they received—allegedly it took the pub an hour to bring Mr Wagner, Ms Pope and their friends their meals, and Ms Pope had to refill her own drink at the bar as well as collect her own silverware—when presented with a bill for $90.22 the couple and/or their dining companions decided not to pay the $16.35 service charge.

... The Lehigh Pub includes an 18 percent gratuity fee for groups of diners of a certain size, no exact number was stated, but as Mr Wagner and Ms Pope, who are both college students, noted the gratuity fee they were charged was greater than 18 percent of their bill for food, drinks and taxes, which totaled $73.87.

Good for the (Lehigh and Moravian*) students, and now let's see the Lehigh Pub try to recover from this public relations catastrophe.

* schools updated