I once had dinner with my family and a friend’s family at a local sit down chain restaurant. The service was horrible. The order came out wrong and our server continually “forgot” our requests for the missing items, more drink, condiments, etc. When the manager came around to ask the standard “Is everything OK?” we explained that it was not. She corrected the “oversights” and apparently talked to the server because from that point forward he would not even acknowledge our existence. I left no tip for may family’s bill, our friend left one dollar to ensure that the sever knew we did not forget to tip. While in the parking lot saying our goodbyes the server came out of the restaurant, handed my friend the dollar saying coldly “I think you forgot this”. My friend went back inside and found the manager. The end result was one pissed off manager and one fired waiter.
I have stiffed several times due to lousy service. One time my MIL and her friend took me and the two kiddos out to lunch. The waitress automatically added a 20% tip to the bill. My MIL’s friend laughed and tipped the amount she was going to tip. The waitress began demanding why we didn’t leave what we were charged. I pointed out the service was slow, and that the menu said tips were added automatically to tables of eight or more. I suggested she count again.
I’ve only failed to tip twice, or rather, I left a dollar to indicate my displeasure.
Once at a family chain resturaunt south of Boston, the server managed to screw up every aspect of my order. Brought the wrong drink, took 20 minutes to let me know that what I’d ordered for dinner was off the menu (so my freinds was done before I got my food) and later, when I decided to order desert, he took 15 minutes before telling me that was off the menu. I wasn’t so annoyed that I didn’t get what I wanted, just that it took so long. A few weeks later, at a different location of the same resturaunt, the waitress let me know in about a minute.
More recently, I was eating dinner with my then-fiancee and her sister at a seafood chain location, and the service was horrible again. The appetizer arrived last and cold, after we’d pretty well given up on it completely, and each of the three plates arrived at different times, spaced a few minutes apart (which I still can’t figure out, since I thought they didn’t send it out of the kitchen until it was done). Never could get her attention for drink or water refills, etc. Just not a good evening… didn’t help that my fiancee got food poinsoning later.
No, I myself have never been hassled; I usually leave a pretty big tip. 
But I myself have hassled others about not doing so. Does that count?
College-age kid kept coming up to the bar and ordering rounds of shots/drinks, etc., and he never once tipped me.
So around the fourth/fifth time, he orders four shots of Jagermeister.
I pour (standard) shots of Jager and hand them to him.
“Hey, c’mon, hook it up!” he says. “Why don’t you put a little more in there!”
“Hey, why don’t you hook me up?” I say, shrugging at him. “You haven’t even tipped me a freakin’ dollar all night. Why the hell should I hook you up?”
He has the grace to look embarrassed, but he swiftly recovers and denies it. “Yeah, I did…I gave you a couple of bucks earlier!”
“No you didn’t, and you know it. I’m not adding another drop of liquor to those shots. Keep dreaming, buddy.”
He stares at me for second before walking off. And then returns ten seconds later and very ostentatiously stuffs two dollars into my tip jar.
Considering he’d ordered about $60 worth of alcohol at this point, I wasn’t impressed, but at least I embarrassed him.
People who urge me to “hook them up” or “pour me a really good drink,” etc., etc., are usually the only people I remind how little they’ve tipped me. People seem to think that “Hey, make it a good one!” are somehow magic words. I have to remind them that the only thing that’ll work magic is money in my tip jar.
And FTR, The Griffin, I feel the need to note that in America, particularly in Texas, barstaff get paid the same thing waitstaff does. $2.13 an hour. And you may not think it’s a difficult job, but I suggest you take it over on a Saturday night when there’s ten billion people at the bar screaming at you, and then talk to me about whether or not you deserve a freakin’ tip. OK? (See, this is what drives me nuts about Brits at my bar. A lot of them are aware that bartenders in America work for tips–it’s not like my tip jar is hiding!–but they just choose not to. Fine. Stiff me. But then they also want the same service as someone who is tipping me. One or the other, people.)
$2.13 an hour? Well that is rediculous, I wouldnt work for that sort of money, and I wouldnt take a job where I had to expect tips to survive. I thought there was a minimum wage in USA? Why does it not apply to bar staff?
It sounds to me like amercans are going a bit OTT on the whole tip idea reading this thread! Tipping donut sells! lmao you sad people!
It sounds to me like amercans are going a bit OTT on the whole tip idea reading this thread! Tipping donut sellers! lmao you sad people!
I got my short haircut at a place with a big sign $11.99.
I handed her a $20 and expected exact change back, including some singles so I could give a tip.
She handed the bills and instantly snarled “waiting for the penny?”
I said “Well if that’s the way you feel, you keep the penny, and* I’ll* keep your tip! Bitch.” I thought she would hit me but the owner rushed over (she knows I’m a regular tipper)
The Griffin, there is a minimum wage for bar/waitstaff - it’s just extremely low, and the IRS taxes them at a higher rate as if they were tipped well.
One time a delivery guy told me he didn’t have change for $20 on a $12 order. I didn’t have anything smaller, so I let him have the $8. Now I just remember that guy whenever my conscience bothers me about being a stingy tipper.
My story takes place in the mid-80s at Harrigans, a mid-scale diner in Glendale, CA. Don’t know if it’s still there.
A friend was taking me out to lunch. I had no cash and neither of us had credit cards. It turned out, my friend didn’t have enough money on him. By combining our pocket change, we miraculously turned up enough money to pay the check, with no tip. There was exactly a nickel left. At least we wouldn’t have to wash dishes.
My friend wanted to leave the nickel as a tip; knowing that it was nowhere near enough, he strongly felt even a nickel was better than nothing. I argued against this foolish plan, knowing that a nickel tip is much more insulting than no tip; if you leave no tip, the waitress will just think you are crass or, for one reason or another, never tip at all. They deal with it. But when you leave a nickel, it’s obvious that you’re insulting the service. It’s a deliberate message, the full text of which is “Here’s exactly what I think you’re worth.”
But my friend prevailed. The nickel was left. We left the restaurant.
And half a block down the street, the waitress came running after us. “Sir! Sir! You left your money on the table!” She handed my friend the nickel. And gracious as the Queen of England, he accepted it and smiled “Thank you!”
She was smiling too, but it wasn’t a nice smile.
Well first of all I gotta say:I hate tipping. Of course, when I’m in the States, I accept the system of it - in no way do I expect people to survive at $2-$3 per hour; so I give them the 15-20% or whatever (but it hurts every time… Raise the minimum wage level for friggin sake!)
ANYWAY.
This one time, me and a friend were in Vegas, and we were checking out from a hotel. So this bellhop or whoever tells me they will call a cab to the airport, and take care of the bags. So, we walk to the front of the hotel and wait. And wait. And wait. No sign of either taxi or bags! So, we go back and pick up our bags ourselves and hail a cab by ourselves. Just when we are about to get into the cab which we got ourselves, the stupid guy comes running back, grabbing our bags off the street to “help” us load them into the cab (wow, lifting them off the curb, thanks a lot). Naturally, we did NOT tip him. Upon which, he SLAMS the door, almost before we managed to get in and yelled “MY PLEASURE!” The nerve!!!
Who are you, Mr. Pink?
My wife and I generally tip very well. If somebody simply does their job, they get a fair tip. They are doing a shitty job for shitty pay. I believe that most waiters and bartenders do much more work than I do in a given day for a percentage of what I get paid. If somebody does more than they really have to, they get a much better tip. If they go above and beyond, they get a very nice tip. Part of it is advance bribery. There are very few places that we go out to eat, as we can both make better food than all but very few places. People remember good tippers, and soon you get much better service and many times, good inside information. Part of it is also that we don’t go out a lot, so a 35% tip isn’t a huge deal to us. If we ate out 4 days a week, it would be less.
But to get back on topic, in my youth I was in a strip club one night and had been tossing bills out like candy. Towards the end of the night, and the end of my cash flow, a girl did a stunning routine. So I gave her everything I had left. It came out to something like 78 cents in change. When her set ended, she pulled me aside and I thought she was going to kill me, she was so pissed. What I thought was a compliment, that I would give a girl my last red cent, was interpreted as “I’m only worth a couple quarters and a pile of pennies”? I was able to tap dance my way out of an ass kicking, and she finally understood and appreciated it, but clued me in to tip etiquette, and we actually became friends. I appreciated the knowledge and the fact that she didn’t beat my ass. She could have taken me easily I think.
I’ve actually had somewhat the opposite thing happen to me at a strip join, Turbo Dog. There was this gorgeous asian dancer that came on stage, and I more or less emptied the remaining contents of my wallet. I guess she really appreciated my generosity, because she was quite a bit, er, over enthusiastic about making sure I get my money’s worth. She came over to where I was sitting, and sorta hopped in my lap. It was about a 3 foot drop from the stage on my lap and it felt like all her weight landed square on my balls. When she put her arm down to steady herself, she then accidentally punched me in the groin. She was kind of alarmed when she saw the expression on my face and apologized profusely, but I laughed off the injuries and assured her things were fine. She definitely made it a point to make it up to me, though…
Audrey, how long does Griffin wait for his drink if he came to the states? I’m guessing at least 15 minutes…maybe even miss last call?
My dear Casey1505, he will wait until I’ve got nothing better to do. And on a packed Saturday night, that just might be…
Oh, after we’ve closed.
I’ve worked as a waitress. I won’t do it again, simply because the job does not suit me, but let me explain the philosophy of tipping.
I could bring home $100-$150 a night on a good busy night. The low wages are nothing…the theory is, the better the service, the better the tip, and the more money you make. Now, granted, you’re going to get some yahoos who won’t tip at all, but the servers would warn each other about the stiffers, and they’d get nominal service, but nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, why bust your butt rushing to the table with extra rolls and fresh drinks, when you knew you weren’t going to get a tip? They would need to wait an extra few minutes while I waited on the six top.