A Houston family opted out of the 17 percent gratuity added to their bill, and were locked inside of the restaurant for not coughing up the money.

Jasmine Marks and her family were dining at the La Fisherman restaurant, and were unhappy with what they claim was bad service. Rather than covering the mandatory tip amount for parties of five or more, the group attempted to leave and were stopped by a worker before reaching the door. “She was like, ‘You have an unsettled bill and ya’ll can’t leave until you pay it,'” Marks said. “We paid our bill for what we ate, we paid the bill.” Unhappy with their reasoning, the employee contacted the local police. “She said, ‘That’s fine. If you don’t want to pay the gratuity we have HPD outside.’I asked the police officer twice, maybe three times, is it against the law if we don’t pay the gratuity and he never gave me a straight answer.”

The family conceded to paying the 17 percent tip in an effort to avoid further trouble.