# Midnight Restaurant Customers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012 "2008-10-01T16:03:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/101 "2008-10-03T12:14:00Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Man, when a Russian gets drunk, I wonder at how much alcohol that took. > Ivan, are you Russian? Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m neither Russian, or a lush. Nor do I have a rat’s arse in my mouth. The Defenders Of Chimera must have me mistaken for someone else in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/102 "2008-10-03T13:47:15Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Well, sure, but when you’re waiting on someone you’ve never seen before and don’t do well because you _think_ you’ll get stiffed, isn’t that kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Absolutely it is. But it certainly happens. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/103 "2008-10-03T20:43:23Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > like it or not, certain groups of people do sometimes behave in a certain way more often than others, though I think it really has nothing to do with “race” and everything to do with culture Quoted for truth. Shrieking hysterically about how white people and black people are EXACTLY THE SAME IN EVERY WAY!! and could not possibly have developed different views of the world or ways of behaving based on their different life experiences is just ignorant. If you are willing to consider that this might actually be a real phenomenon, then you can think about constructive ways to address it, like the NPR story suggested: > [@](#): > > “If a [waiter] says, 'I don’t want to wait on that table because they’re black or they’re Hispanic, then they tend to give less service and it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Fernandez explains. > > He says cultural elements – blacks have avoided sit-down restaurants in favor of take out or self-service eateries – institutionalized racism that exists in the restaurant industry and education about tipping are all behind the discrepancy. “How do people learn about tipping? If you don’t go, you don’t know.” > > Lynn suggests that the American restaurant industry begin a campaign to inform people about the basics of leaving a tip. He urges the use of advertisements, educational pamphlets, and even putting tipping information on menus. And Lynn suggests that restaurants could introduce a game in which dining parties would have to tip at least 15 percent in order to be eligible to win a contest. I think that those kind of ideas are much better than pretending this isn’t an issue and letting things continue in a cycle where restaurant workers expect/assume black people will be bad tippers and treat them worse as a result. ---
**Author:** ![MissIntent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/97f17d/32.png) [@MissIntent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissIntent)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/104 "2008-10-03T21:42:38Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I have no idea if this is a woosh or not; however, I’ve read (on this very board) that in some parts of the US ‘Canadian’ is actually code for ‘African American’. > . Haha, when I waited tables (in Texas) we used the term Canadian on occasion. Just meant any group that treated us like crap and we expected not to tip us. I guess we used it because Canadians are somewhat rare in the south (if I was in Minnesota, persay, I would expect some of my customers to be from the great white north), and if customers heard us they would have a hard time seriously complaining about “They called me a canadian! I swear!” ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/105 "2008-10-04T02:18:12Z")
Okay, I’ll chime in… During my leaner employment years, I waited tables at a bar slash restaurant. We were a 24 hour operation. I usually made good money, but on the few times I had to pull the 2-8 AM shift, it sucked. People (of all races) came in after barhopping all night. They ranged from the designated drivers to the sloppy drunks, and ALL of them ran my ass of. The worst were the “asian invasions” - young motorheads with tricked out cars in groups of no less than 15 who came in, spilled sugar packets all over the tables, ordered 50 glasses of free tap water, always wanted free extras like fries and rings (not free), trays to pack omlettes (to go:confused:), fell asleep at the table and paid checks with lots of change. Tips were usually between exact change and $2 on $40-$50 tabs. Had a nice black couple who would come in every other Saturday night (probably after paydays; they were nice but not uber rich), man and wife, and have dinner. Tips were usually 30-50%. Nice people. Had another set of black guys who would come in every Sunday to watch NFL. Had to watch them like hawks. They usually would try to walk out on their tab, after watching both the 1 PM and the 4 PM games. They got really pissed off when I asked them if they would provide a credit card for pre-approval after a few weeks of this. The manager asked them to leave and they never came back. My opinion is this: Bad tippers come in all colors. Best to try to not make a bad reputation at the places I frequent, I try to tip well and make friends with waitstaff/bartenders, because I want to be liked where I go. Especially if you can snag the free beer once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/106 "2008-10-04T06:43:04Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > I’m going to risk my hide and add teachers to the list. Never EVER got a decent tip out of a table of teachers. We used to actually draw straws to see who had to take them when they’d book a party. Oh God, I had blocked them out of my memory. I used to work downtown in San Antonio–one of the biggest tourist/convention attractions in the country–and we would get whole fucking conventions of teachers. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. I know that they are teaching the future leaders of our nation and all, but…I’m sorry…didn’t they know what they were going to get paid?? Why is that MY FAULT? You can Google “teacher salary” and find out, really fucking quick, what your salary expectations are. You went to school for elementary education anyway. It is not my fault that you signed up for the job. You can sit here and bitch and moan about how you aren’t getting paid what you’re worth, and how you shouldn’t have to tip (oh it’s happened!) but the fact remains that it isn’t my fault you got the job you wanted. You can take your split checks and your ghetto lemonades and your endless iced-tea refills and your extra ranch dressing and shove 'em where the sun doesn’t shine. I never did understand why a group of supposedly highly-educated people couldn’t split a fucking check. Perhaps they were afraid they might tip more than 10%. God forbid their waitress make a living. THEY’RE TEACHERS! GODDAMMIT! I’m actually upset that I forgot to include them on my list; they would be number one. I don’t wait tables anymore so I had forgotten how much they suck. (Obligatory postscript to the rare teachers who actually do tip worth a shit…I’m sorry your co-workers are assholes. Please educate them.) And to **Elmwood,** I really didn’t say “tourists who are not American” to implicate Canadians. I worked at a tourist bar in in the #1 tourist destination in the state, so I got tourists from EVERYWHERE. The only ones who tipped worth a shit on occasion were German businessmen. I met a lot of polite, funny, pleasant tourists, and I also met a lot of assholes, but the one factor that never really changed was the fact that none of them tipped worth a shit. I can’t change them, but I can change jobs. So now somebody else is dealing with them. God bless 'em. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/107 "2008-10-04T12:34:10Z")
**Audrey** , was it those same teacher’s faults you got a job where you have to rely on the customer’s generosity to survive? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/108 "2008-10-04T12:46:12Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > **Audrey** , was it those same teacher’s faults you got a job where you have to rely on the customer’s generosity to survive? What an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/109 "2008-10-04T13:01:22Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > What an idiot. Likewise. ---
**Author:** ![Punintentional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punintentional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punintentional)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/110 "2008-10-04T13:24:34Z")
I didnt read the entire thread, but i did read in this thread that “perhaps black people tip less because they get worse service, due to the fact the servers believe they will tip worse”. While that’s a novel thought, are the people saying these things saying that food servers in general are racist? ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/111 "2008-10-05T05:34:37Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > **Audrey** , was it those same teacher’s faults you got a job where you have to rely on the customer’s generosity to survive? :rolleyes: Yeah that makes it all better. It’s actually all my fault. Pardon me, and a billion other people, for waiting tables. Obviously we can’t blame bad tippers for being bad tippers; we must blame ourselves for being there. We have it coming. Get over yourself. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/112 "2008-10-05T10:00:23Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > :rolleyes: > > Yeah that makes it all better. It’s actually all my fault. Pardon me, and a billion other people, for waiting tables. Obviously we can’t blame bad tippers for being bad tippers; we must blame ourselves for being there. We have it coming. > > Get over yourself. I need to get over nothing; it’s you with the glaring case of double standards. Just like no one forced those customers to become teachers, no one forces people to take a job that relies on tips to make ends meet. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/113 "2008-10-05T10:51:03Z")
Except, y’know, the need to eat and be clothed and have a roof over your head. OK, technically that’s still “no one”, so do yer little victory dance of superiority there. Still doesn’t make the choice of waiting tables as a job **Audrey’s** fault. ---
**Author:** ![AngryIrishLass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bbce88/32.png) [@AngryIrishLass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngryIrishLass)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/114 "2008-10-05T16:06:19Z")
Ya’ll just had to wake up Ivan didn’t you? Stop feeding him, it’s really not worth the tip. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/115 "2008-10-05T17:10:02Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Except, y’know, the need to eat and be clothed and have a roof over your head. > > OK, technically that’s still “no one”, so do yer little victory dance of superiority there. Still doesn’t make the choice of waiting tables as a job **Audrey’s** fault. Go on, I’ll bite. Who’s fault is it then? ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/116 "2008-10-05T18:22:50Z")
> [@AngryIrishLass](#): > > Ya’ll just had to wake up Ivan didn’t you? Stop feeding him, it’s really not worth the tip. Sorry. I should know better. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/117 "2008-10-05T18:33:35Z")
My only food serving experience was McDonald’s and Straw Hat Pizza during High School. The McDonald’s was a total melting pot. We had lots of whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians working there. There were definite trends you could predict based on the customers race. All of the workers of all races used to have all kinds of fun joking about that. It’s only a big deal when you start treating the customers differently based on their race and we didn’t do that. What’s the big deal? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/118 "2008-10-05T18:50:07Z")
Asians? Blacks? Indians? Shit, y’all don’t know what a bad tipper is. I present to you: My brother. He’s 72 and is still convinced that a dollar is a damn good tip. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been out with him (and his wife), where the bill has come to at least $50, and he plunks down one or two dollars for tip money. I always come prepared for this, with a fold of ones and fives in my shirt pocket, and make sure that I’m the last one to leave the table area. Once his back is turned, I make up the difference. It’s not that he’s cheap, mind you, it’s just that he’s completely disconnected. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/119 "2008-10-05T19:25:41Z")
Hey, Chimera! Suck my big black dick! Now that that’s out of the way, I have to admit that I hate going out to eat with one of my relatives by marriage. She’s very demanding and even abusive to the waitstaff, sends shit back for no reason, and hates to tip. Every interaction with any kind of service person, even the postman, is a battle of wills to see if she can dominate and abuse them. She will even - yes - steal from shops if she thinks she can get away with it, and thinks walking out on a tab is an amusing diversion. I despise her, but she grew up in the projects to an alcoholic, convict mother, and she’s family, so there you are… Here in LA it’s Mexican immigrants who let their boys run wild in shops, and it’s funny to see black retail workers yelling at them, “Control your kid!” Agree totally on the upper class white chick entitlement syndrome. When I worked in service industry jobs, these were absolutely the worst bitches to deal with. You mentioned the Asian chick spilling her sauce. “Asian” doesn’t tell me much. As observant as you claim to be, you’ve got to be able to tell the diff between Hmongs on the one hand, and Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, etc… I’m guessing the special sauce chick was Hmong, and the city you’re in is Minneapolis. Anyway, good luck with your job, and fuck you, you chickenshit, redneck, doughnut eating mother fucker! (Well okay, you probably don’t eat doughnuts. You’re not a real cop.) ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012/120 "2008-10-05T23:45:21Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > I worked at a tourist bar in in the #1 tourist destination in the state, so I got tourists from EVERYWHERE. The only ones who tipped worth a shit on occasion were German businessmen. I met a lot of polite, funny, pleasant tourists, and I also met a lot of assholes, but the one factor that never really changed was the fact that none of them tipped worth a shit. Fairly understandable, (since many of us hail from countries with very different tipping customs to the US), but also completely indefensible; if I can’t drive on the left in the US why should I assume I would be correct to follow my native tipping customs and not the local ones? The local customs may be weird… (hell… I’ll even go so far as “bat-shit crazy”)… but they’re not that hard to learn. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight-restaurant-customers/466012.md?page=7)