I have no idea how it happened. He was paying, and I went to the bathroom, and we had a lot on our minds, and out we went. It was a buffet, so not a huge deal, but still embarrassing.
We remembered yesterday, but the restaurant in question is closed on Mondays, so I ran over there today and gave them a tip and an apology. The waitress was on there, so I gave it to the owner/manager.
I can’t be the only one who has done this.
Bah, you call that absent mindedness. I’ve left the restaurant forgetting to pay!
I once stiffed a waitress because I didn’t have enough cash. She said it was totally fine, but I felt really bad. I went back the next day and gave her twice what I normally would have.
Yeah, I still remember one time I forgot to leave a tip, and that was over 10 years ago.
I left the dentist a couple of weeks ago and forgot to pay. I walked right past the desk, chatted with the receptionist on the way out and drove away. Later that afternoon I was looking for my receipt when the phone rang and they told me what I’d done! :smack: I went back at the end of the day and did all the insurance paperwork and paid the balance.
Not at a restaurant, but at a market. I guess my mind was elsewhere, but a clerk ran down the street after me. She asked if I’d taken one of their shopping baskets. I looked down at the food in my basket and said “Yeah, and maybe I should pay for this food too.” She laughed about it. Lucky, I could have been arrested for shoplifting.
I once left a terrible tip. I did my math wrong (Yes, I do have a degree from MIT. Why do you ask?). I caught it the next day when looking over the receipt (paid by credit card). I went to the restaurant and gave the waitress cash the next day.
The closest I’ve gotten to accidentally stiffing a waiter was when I took the wrong copy of a credit card receipt. It was a “fancy” restaurant so the tip would be quite high. The waiter chased me down half a block down the street. He was well motivated to ensure he got a tip.
this made me giggle
It was pretty funny. I don’t think I would have actually been arrested, though. I knew the owner pretty well and I shopped there all the time.
I know this may be a dreadful admission, but often, I don’t tip at all; deliberately.
I should say that I’m from the UK, where tipping isn’t as ingrained. It’s considered acceptable to not leave a tip if you weren’t entirely happy with the service received.
Having said that, we are visiting the States next year. What would be considered an acceptable tip?
At least 15%, preferably 20%.
Always? Regardless of perceived level of service?
More or less. Tip less only if the level of service is truly atrocious. Tip more if the service is exceptional.
Uh oh.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Thanks.
???
This is one of the more contentious issues discussed on the boards.
Ah, sorry, I did not know that. Just didn’t want to make a total tit of myself when visiting the USA.
To try and remain as factual as possible, waitstaff in the US (usually bartenders also, and table-bussers, and sometimes kitchen and “carry” staff) are usually expected to count their income from tips towards their salary to meet federal minimum wage laws, and business-owners will often be over-generous in their estimation of how much cash in tips those workers are likely to receive. For example, when I worked tables in South Carolina in the late 90s, I officially got paid $2.05 per hour. I can say that most days, my tips did not raise that amount to the $5-something that minimum wage was at that time.
Waitpeople in the states *expect *tips of 15% because that is what the majority of business-owners calculate that patrons will give when they determine the waitstaffer’s hourly rate.
I’ll leave the questions of what to deduct and how much and when it’s ok and all to people who like arguing. 