Do servers not want a tip?

[Canooknic]

I never would have equated change to mean the same as breaking the $10....that being said, if I had been your server I would have told you that I didn't understand what you meant or would have said you overpaid by $10 which would have given you an opportunity to explain.

However, if you handed me the $10 separately and said 'can I get change' I would have returned with coins/$1 bills. I think it's because it was put in with your payment that it confused the servers

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Being a server for many years, I would have broken up the $10 into 2 $5s however, it's always best to be clear about what you want someone to do with money.

You'd be surprised at what a customer wants vs. what I think they want. My favorite is when say the bill is $48 and there's $30 in cash and a card, for example. Some customers want you to split the bill evenly ($24 each) and want $6 in change, and the other $24 on the card. Some customers want you to put $30 in cash toward the bill and the remainder $18 on the card. Some customers want you to put $28 on a card, $20 in cash and keep $10 for a tip. And I'm sure I'm missing about 5 other scenarios that have come up.

I've learned to ask what someone wants me to do with their money if it's unclear. People get so mad since you can't read their minds. In this case in a cash only payment, I would have given 2 $5s back because it's certainly less unclear. But you should still be more clear to the server especially considering it's happened to you more than once.

 

[DisneylandDarling]

I consider myself pretty intelligent, but this thread is making me feel really stupid...

I wouldn't equate wanting change back with wanting to break up the $10. I probably would have thought you overpaid and gave you back the $10 with your $2.80. If it's happened more than once in a short amount of time, you might need to be more specific with what you want/need. Change can be confusing!

ETA: Did you write the tip amount on the receipt in the folder when you paid? If not, then they probably thought you weren't giving them a tip so didn't know specifically what you wanted.

 

[kathyk2]

I would have asked for the ten to be changed before I paid the check. I would have said I need some ones or two fives and given the server the ten.

 

[Skywalker]

I would interpret asking for change as meaning "don't keep all this as your tip, I want the difference back", so she gave you your exact change back. If you had asked her to break the ten and/or bring the change in smaller denominations or something then they might get it, but I don't think your meaning is particularly obvious.

 

[Aliceacc]

I think if you had asked her to "break the ten" she would have understood your intent.

As it was, she DiD give you your change.

 

[kamik86]

to my saying:
I would like change please: means the extra money in here isn't your tip so please bring back wahtever is extra.

Please break the change into smaller bills: means what you wanted.

Saying you want change is so that when the bill is so that when your bill comes to 34 and you put in 40 they know if you wanted the $6 back or if that was the tip... since it would be a pretty reasonable one.


I have definitely seen people hand an extra bill to me not realizing they did when I worked as a cashier so she could have just thought you did that.

 

[SirDuff]

I'm another who would have been confused by what you did and who would not have translated 'I would like change' to mean that you had purposefully overpaid in order to break the $10 bill. Ike others have said, when the common denominator is you/your tactic, maybe you need to rethink what you do/say if you want to avoid confusion.

 

[Christine]

I don't think you were clear at all. I also don't think you have put yourself in the server's position. They deal with a ton of very strange requests all the time. It's best to take everything literally and not assume what a customer wants because, these days, people are nuts.

I think you should have been clear that you wanted your change back (the $2.70) and you needed the $10 broken.

 

[ICF]

that's why I just pay with a credit card -- earn rewards.....no issues with getting change back.

 

[CarolAnn856]

I've never been a server but I definitely would have known that the OP wanted the 10 broken. I guess because "can I get change for a 10" means the same thing as "can I break a 10," it would just be obvious, to me at least, what the OP was asking for, even if they didn't specifically identify the 10 as what they wanted change for. It has surprised DH and I several times over the years when we pay with a larger bill than needed but the server doesn't bring back change that could easily be made into a tip.

 

[SirDuff]

I've never been a server but I definitely would have known that the OP wanted the 10 broken. I guess because "can I get change for a 10" means the same thing as "can I break a 10," it would just be obvious, to me at least, what the OP was asking for, even if they didn't specifically identify the 10 as what they wanted change for. It has surprised DH and I several times over the years when we pay with a larger bill than needed but the server doesn't bring back change that could easily be made into a tip.

I'd agree with that. But, as far as I can tell, the OP said "I want change"/"Can I get change", without specifying "for the $10". Which is what she got - from the money she handed over, the change was $12.70.

 

[Aliceacc]

Right...you wanted your change, as opposed to "keep the change."

She thought you put the $10 in there without realizing it.

 

[Allison]

You weren't clear in my opinion.

 

[lizabu]

I think this is unusual. I've never had a server not break a larger bill. They know you want to leave a tip and unless she only wants $2.50 she knows she needs to break that bill.

 

[wide awake]

I don't think the OP was clear. I'm a credentialed math teacher so know how to make change, and I would have assumed OP gave extra $$$ by mistake. I'd have given her the change back and the $10 bill..which the server did. If OP wanted the $10 bill broken she needed to specifically request that.

 

[clutter]

Really?

In this case I didn't care if they brought back two fives or one five and five ones so I didn't see a need for anything more specific than I need change. I thought that would make it clear that I wanted some combination of smaller bills.

Even if I had left three twenties I would expect that someone who gets paid a tip would understand that it would be in their interest to break the twenty into atleast a ten and two fives.

In that case, as a server, I would break the change down, as it would be in my best interest! ;-) But with an extra bill in the pile, you have to err on the side of caution. Without specific instruction, not knowing if you wanted 2 fives or a five and 5 ones, I'd have left it as well.

 

[CarolAnn856]

I'd agree with that. But, as far as I can tell, the OP said "I want change"/"Can I get change", without specifying "for the $10". Which is what she got - from the money she handed over, the change was $12.70.

Well, to me, given the context of paying a restaurant bill where a tip is customary, assuming that the customer wanted the 10 broken would have been pretty obvious even if the exact words "for the $10" had not been said (as I mentioned in my post). And, as I also mentioned, the times when our server did not make that leap have been the exception, not the rule, so I feel safe in assuming that most of the servers we have encountered would have done the same.

 

[Aliceacc]

If it's happened 4 times in less than 2 weeks, perhaps you're not being as clear as you think?

 

[pocomom]

For the fourth time in less than two weeks I have had a restaurant server not understand how to make change when paying cash.

Most recently the bill was $37.20. I put two twenties and a ten in with the bill and specifically asked for change. I got back two ones, eighty cents, and the same ten I had put in the folder.

I had to ask again for change for the ten, strangely the server didn't seem to grasp why.

Did they expect me to tip them 27% with the ten? Or has the education system and credit cards helped raise a generation or two that can't do basic math?

Many years ago when I waitressed, customers made mistakes all the time, mistaking one bill for another, over or under paying etc.
I'm guessing they assumed you over paid and simply brought back your change.
Not sure why you wouldn't say "could you break this 10 for me?"
That is what is customary, and clear.
Since they brought you the correct amount back, I doubt this is a math issue but a communication one on your part.