Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Money Rehab Court: What Is The Price of Integrity?

Episode Date: September 16, 2021

In the financial justice system, money-related crimes are considered especially heinous. In Lapin Land, the dedicated Rehabbers who investigate these financial fibs are members of an elite squad known as the Money Rehab Court. These are their stories. DUM-DUM!

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Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. Money talks can be really hard, and money arguments can be particularly intense.

What if I told you that I could help you have those conversations and have a little fun along the way? Yep, that is real life. Today, we're unveiling a special segment we call Money Rehab Court. Lights, camera, action. That's the kicker that you did not lead with. The extra shot was a 50 cent charge so when the bill came over and jack was like oh like what's this extra shot like charge i was like well like whatever it is it was 50 cents so like doesn't really matter this is the plaintiff morgan lavoie she claims that her boyfriend knowingly tipped their waitress below the agreed social standard of 20% for good service at a Philadelphia restaurant after a mystery 50 cent item was charged to their bill. Morgan considers this

a betrayal of decency, even by the standards of people who live in Philadelphia. I get it, your job sucks, but you know, don't lie to me. This is the defendant, Jack Feldman. He claims that the waitress in question lied to their faces about said mystery charge, claiming that a special order of oat milk was 50 cents extra, but was really an excuse to slack off after making an error. He maintains that lack of honesty and integrity justifies the 5% slash of a tip, no matter how menial the errant charge is. Real cases.

Real litigants. really cool production value. This is Money Rehab Court. All rise for the Honorable Judge Lappin. Your Honor, litigants have been sworn. A couple of weeks ago, Morgan and I went out to brunch. We were seated promptly. We were seated promptly. The food was delicious. The service was good. The restaurant was a little hot, but it was crowded. It was, you know, 100 degrees in Philly. It's fine. Whatever. As part of the meal, we ordered an iced coffee with oat milk. And when the bill came, they split the check and basically on the bill, it was an itemized bill. So it was, you know,

eggs, eggs, iced coffee, oat milk, extra shot. And Morgan and I kind of look at each other like, what, you know, what is this? We didn't get an extra shot. It's a nice coffee. There's no espresso, whatever. And so the waitress comes over and I just politely ask her, say, hey, what's, what is this? What is the extra shot? And she replied, oh, that's for the oat milk. Morgan and I look at each other and we're like, oh my god, she just lied. Because there's already a line item for the oat milk. So Morgan and I both pay, we leave the restaurant, and it somehow comes up that we left different tip amounts. So we, we sort of operate under the understanding that 20% of standard I left 15%.

Morgan was horrified. We had already signed our new lease, so she couldn't break up with me, but like truly horrified that I would leave less than 20% for such as, Oh, the dollar. That's the thing. That's the kicker that you did not lead with the extra shot was a 50 cent charge. So when the bill came over and Jack was like, Oh, like what's this extra shot like charge. I was like, well, like whatever it is, it was 50 cents. So like, doesn't really matter. So wait, wait there was a chart how much was the oat milk oat milk it was like coffee four bucks whatever next line item um oat milk one dollar next line item extra shot 50 cents got it wait wait wait

i have another question so you guys whose bill was the iced coffee, oat milk and shot on? Split down the middle. Oh, I see. So $0.45 charge for us both. But you saw the itemized receipt that was the whole shebang and then you guys just divided it into two. Exactly. Here's where we disagree and here's where we need money rehab court. Exactly. Here's where we disagree. And here's where we need money rehab court. So I do, I think we both accept the premise that she in the moment lied because it was easier than reprinting the check. And she didn't think that 50 cents really mattered in the grand scheme of

things that like, I think that, you know, there are, there are other explanations, like, you know, like maybe her manager is putting an extra 50 cents on everyone's bill. But like, I think the simplest answer is she was really like, oh, I made a 50 cent mistake. And so I'm not going to walk back and reprint the check. Cause it's like Jack said, it's hot. It's busy. Like I've been working, it's brunch. Like I've been here since 7. And where we disagree is Jack holds firm that the price of the lie doesn't matter because integrity is priceless. Whereas I think that a 50 cent mistake lie actually does matter because we are in a position where we can go to brunch and pay 50 cents. And I also think that like, okay, say you're really upset with the fact that you're the person who's waiting on you at a restaurant lied to you about something. If you feel so strongly about

like proving a point financially, like subtract 50 cents from the bill and then tip 20% on that, because the difference between 20% and 15% was more than 50 cents. So the kind of the, the punishment outweighed the lie in my opinion, but everyone's been agreeing with Jack. And I'm so perplexed by that because I think that like, even my mom was the same thing that was like, well, like one lie is blah, blah, blah, blah. And no, like it was a 50 cent mistake. And, and, you know, we like rolled out of bed at whatever time and like had someone wait on us and, and to like, you know, not give her 20%, I think it's bad. Was the experience great otherwise?

Yes. Wonderful. She went above and beyond. She got that extra oat milk or whatever. I think that her service was as to be as expected and warranted a standard 20% tip with the exception of this kerfuffle. Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's writing. Would there have been a way to subtract like on the actual terminal 50% from the bill and then put 20%? Or would you have just had to like do that math and then add it in Morgan?

What were you suggesting? Cause it was probably like a little button with the pre. Yeah. So I basically just picked, I think the options were like 15, 20 and 25%. And I just picked the lowest one. I don't know if I would have gone lower than 15, but the option was presented to me. I'd like to hear if the court bailiff has anything to say. Mike, did the defendant, a one jack, ask or insist that the waitress take the 50 cent charge off the bill? So here in hindsight, and this is an interesting question in hindsight, I, so I assumed negative intent. I assume that she lied to me, but in the moment, Morgan and I both had a nonverbal agreement that she had in fact, misled us intentionally. If I could go back and do it

again, I probably would have clarified and said like, are you sure? Maybe push a little bit harder. But, you know, again, in the moment, we were both operating under the same assumption that she had intentionally misled and or lied to us. And I was tipping in reaction to that. Again, it was a 50 cent, you know, error. So again, not worthy of like speaking to her manager. But again, you know, I was, in my mind, I was like, okay, I gave you like, why do I need to give you more than one chance to be truthful? Like I, there's an error on here. I brought it to your attention. And instead of either saying like, if she was like, oh, like my bad, that's an error.

I'll take it off. I would've been like, oh, don't worry about it. Like, whatever. It's 50 cents. of either saying like if she was like oh like my bad that's an error i'll take it off i would have been like oh don't worry about it like whatever it's 50 cents but because she misled me or lied to me i felt like okay well you just lied to me and there's no world where for some reason that was an upcharge for oat milk but they didn't have a way to clarify that in the system so like one dollar was for almond milk but like oat milk is more expensive. And so they added the shot to, is there any, any possibility that she could have been telling the truth? I think because the bill was itemized and it was labeled oat milk, we assumed that that is the

charge. Again, in the moment we were like, okay, we were already charged for oat milk. This is an erroneous charge. So in short, I guess in another universe, yes, that's possible. But in the universe where we were sitting, we were like, okay, like we already were charged the appropriate amount for oat milk. That's not necessarily true.

I think that that could happen in this universe. I think that like, you know, they are programming their computer to spit out oat milk is x amount but if the price of oat milk rises because of shrinkflation then they they might have just added like a 50 cent or they just had the 50 cent shot button and they're telling everyone to do it. And that's how or that they have the 50 cent extra shot button. The manager is saying that this is how you ring someone up for oat milk, a $1 oat milk charge plus the 50 cent extra shot charge. So I think I think we agree that if we had to do it all over again,

the move is to ask a little bit more and to be like, are you sure? Like, wait, if that's the, that's the charge for the oat milk, but like, then what's this? The thing that actually says oat milk, I'm confused. But I think the crux of, there are sort of two questions that are at the heart of this, like one, what is the cost of integrity? And two, like, what is your responsibility as a patron of a restaurant? Because in my mind, I also feel a level of guilt because I feel like we're in a position of privilege to be even going to a restaurant at all. And I've worked in restaurants. And so I know how you really rely on tips.

And from like your episode about minimum wage, Nicole, that, you know, if you make tips in a restaurant, you can be you can make two dollars and 13 cents hourly wage. And so I take that into consideration when I go to a restaurant. I take that into consideration when I go to a restaurant. But is the responsibility on the people that are eating out to kind of assume that the people that are in the restaurant are relying on a 20% tip for their livelihood? Or is the responsibility to just kind of assess, did they give 20 percent worth of service has the defendant uh one jack ever worked in a restaurant i was just about to ask i have not okay for a little bit of of color that was my i was like i talked to jack and jack's roommate about it and they both disagreed with me and i was like the first person who I talked to that has worked in a restaurant is going to agree with me. And then Jack texted my mom who did like put herself through

every type of school by working in restaurants. And she was like, no, I agree with Jack, which is so surprising to me. But that has not been with the people that we've surveyed, that has not been a consistent data point that people who work in restaurants believe that it should have been a 20% tip, not 15%. So in closing, Your Honors, I believe that people, regardless of their occupation, again, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Listen, having never worked in a restaurant, I can only imagine how much it sucks. You know, I've heard the stories you've said, you've told I've heard stories from friends, like, it doesn't sound like a fun time. That having been said, I think that it's important

to have integrity in whatever you do. And having a bad day, or being in a rush or working in a hot building doesn't excuse you from having integrity. It's kind of for me, it's like as simple as that. I get it. Your job sucks, but you can't, you know, don't lie to me. In conclusion, from this from this defendant, I think that it is not that straightforward and I do not think that it is that simple. that it is not that straightforward and I do not think that it is that simple. I think that you have to be aware of the facts that there is a power dynamic when you go to a restaurant because you're face-to-face with someone whose job title is server. Like that's so sort of archaic that like someone's introduces, like I'm, you know, like they, they come up to your table and they're like, hi, I'm going to be helping you

tonight. Like they are completely like you have all of the power over them. And I think in a scenario like that, you, it's not as, it's not as black and white as she lied or she didn't lie. Morgan and Jack have pled their cases. But how will Judge Lappin rule? Will integrity win the day? You're layering some of your own past stuff onto this experience. Or will Jack learn not to fight with the woman he just moved in with over a 50 cent charge? Secretly and sneakily punishing her for that,

I don't think is coming from a place of integrity. So you have a little work on that area, sir. Find out when Money Rehab Court returns after this. With the fate of a relationship between two young lovers hanging in the balance, Judge Lappin renders her decision as the epic conclusion of this money rehab court case draws near. The moment you've been waiting for begins now. All right, I'm ready to read my ruling. So first of all, Jack, part of integrity, sir, is also standing in your power and telling a person when you believe a mistake has been done and not just punishing them for no reason that they know of.

So part of integrity is you should look in the mirror. If it is just merely on principle, you should say, hey, waitress, I really enjoyed this brunch experience. My girlfriend and I love this place. We just moved to the area. I noticed this extra charge. It's 50 cents. I love this place. We just moved to the area. I noticed this extra charge. It's 50 cents. I totally get it. But on principle, you know, I want to keep coming here and I just want to feel like it's a great experience. Do you mind taking off or can you

just explain to me because it says oat milk? So secretly and sneakily punishing her for that, I don't think is coming from a place of integrity. So you have a little work on that area, sir. And I think that the punishment doesn't fit the crime. So the difference of 15% and 20% on the check, I think is more extreme than what her issue was in your mind. If she spilled food on you, if she put a rat in your burrito, I don't know. These would be, no bueno, this would be, you know, more of a cause to tip less, right? I don't advocate actually punishing people in that way. I would hope you would want to resolve that issue. But in this scenario, I think that the dollar amount, because it's so straightforward and not a subjective, like, she dilly-dallied. She didn't bring me my stuff on time. Like,

you know, those are all subjective. These are a dollar amount. And so the dollar amount of the crime doesn't, my opinion and i have to look at the check i would love to look at the check doesn't fit the dollar amount of the punishment however morgan you know i love you like a sister from another mister you have to cut our lovely friend Jack some slack because Jack did tip in the realm of customary tipping amount. Now, if Jack was like, fuck this bitch, like she lied to me, I'm going to leave her 5%. Like, I think that you might have more of an argument there. But like, generally, I think that you might have more of an argument there. But like generally, that was an option on the screen because that's a good amount. And a lot of people do tip 15% regardless of what their experience was.

And that's considered a good tip. Now, granted, you have your own experience from being a waitress in your day, and you just have a general predilection for being generous in that type of environment. You take it more seriously. You are more compassionate around waiters and waitresses because you are on the other side. Jack doesn't necessarily have that experience. So you're layering some of your own past stuff onto this experience. But Jack, with all other things considered, he, I think, was in the realm of what is normal and customary for everyone, even if you guys as a couple,

it sounds like, agree to as baseline leave 20% for your servers. With that said, I really was like, I'm going to side with Morgan either way, because she's Morgan and I'm a woman's woman. But I really do actually side with Morgan. Now, I think both of you had areas to improve. I think both of you can modulate some of your thinking around this issue. I think you actually agree more than you disagree on this oat milk conundrum. But generally speaking, I would say, considering Morgan's background, Jack, this is the woman you love and are moving in with, and her concern and trauma over this that we've heard of about for the last couple weeks. I think with all of those things considered, I side with Morgan. And furthermore, I would just say now I don't have a lot of romantic advice

because clearly I haven't figured it out and I'm way older than all y'all. But I would say something along the lines of what James said in his episode about housing. Like sometimes it's not the right financial move necessarily, but there are other factors in your life, like making your wife happy or whatever, that are idiosyncratic to what like the book says you should do. So I would take all of those factors into consideration. While integrity may be priceless, so is Morgan's happiness. And it sounds like even though you guys probably are

getting a kick out of litigating this in front of your family, friends, and on money rehab, I think in the future, it's important to take some of the non-tangible issues into consideration when making financial decisions. For today's tip, you can take straight to the court. If you're having a disagreement with your roommate, your romantic partner, a parent, a sibling, or even a cashier at your favorite cafe, invite them to Money Rehab Court. We'll put the hard money conversations to rest on the show, no matter the scenario, because we're all equal in the eyes of the law and the mercy of Judge Lappin.

Court is adjourned for now.