Have you ever seen this? Tipping ?

[kellyg403]

Every week a friend and I go to lunch, most of the time to the same place, a little Mexican place that is quiet and quick so we have plenty of time to yap. Well, today we had a new waitress and when we received the check she had put at the bottom "Your total does NOT include my tip" highlighted with a yellow marker. Um, first of all she wasn't all that great of a waitress but I had certainly planned on leaving a tip since it was my turn. But instead of leaving a bigger tip I left exactly 20% which was about 2 bucks. I didn't want to leave any but decided to talk to the manager on my way out instead and let him know how rude it was to me. We were a party of 2 with a total bill of 13.49. Not a large group or anything. I thought maybe since I had never seen her she just was new. The manager said all servers are allowed to do what they want with their tables. I was pretty shocked. Is this the new way things are being done? I had never seen anything like it before.

Just made me shake my head and wonder if I just missed something somewhere. Thought tips were optional and for good service?

Kelly

 

[Beth76]

That's very rude and rude of the manager to think that's ok. Not sure I would be returning.

 

[kimbac3]

That's a new one on me too. I think it is rude also. If people stiffing the waitstaff is a rampant problem why not post a sign somewhere stating that your bill total does not include tip. Or maybe stick it in the menu somewhere.
Kimba

 

[Chattyaholic]

You said she was a new waitress, so that was pretty presumptuous for her to write what she did on your check. And for the manager/owner to allow it was pretty bad as well.

I've been a waitress 10+ years and I wouldn't write that on a check, although with a FEW customers who NEVER tip (they are regulars who come in a few times every week and NEVER tip any of us!) I would sometimes be tempted to write "gratuity not included" at the bottom, but I really never would, and our boss (the owner of the restaurant) wouldn't allow it anyway.

It does annoy me with those few regulars (thankfully it's only a few, 99% of our customers tip and most of those tip quite well) because I, as a waitress, not only get the "privilege" of waiting on them "for free", but I also get to pay Uncle Sam 8% of their bill in my taxes. I would really like to ask them sometime, just WHY they do not tip any of us ever...

 

[WonderfulDreamer2]

I tip based on sevice...if you give excellent service you will get an excellent tip. You give bad service and you get .05. Beg for a tip, and you will get a sore surprise. I do not appreciate being asked for a tip or "reminded" on the bottom of my check. I think most people know and to me its like the wait staff telling me I owe them something. Put it in the menu or put a sign at the front, what ever, but do NOT do that. I find it rude and offensive.

 

[N.Bailey]

I think it is rude too. Here is what I'd suggest. There is no reason for you and your friend to stop visiting a restaurant that you enjoy. Why should you? If you get a waitress that leaves that, leave them a penny tip, and then leave a note stating that if they weren't so rude, you'd have left them a pretty nice tip. Tip the waitresses nicely that do not include it. If the manager thinks it's okay, show em that the guests don't agree.

 

[gnbuggy]

I think that was very rude. The nerve of some people. I would have left only 15%. Ive been known to leave crapy tips if the service is bad. My friend told be to watch a movie called "Waiting". I dont think I could see it. I would never go out to eat again.

 

[kellyg403]

Thanks...I thought it was me and I was going crazy! My friend and I always tip. We trade off the check and the tip. So, our server normally gets a decent tip since its the only part of the bill one of us pays. My friends thought was maybe she just moved to the US and they do that where she is from. I do agree, it should be posted somewhere in the place and not on my check. I purposely went to where she was standing and saw that she had written it on several checks. Plus, I mentioned to my friend, she didn't speak very good english but she spells in PERFECT english!

We both hate to not go here since it suits our needs in so many ways but we have both agreed we will not sit in her station and we will actively look for somewhere else. She is a Drug/Alcohol Abuse Counselor and we have 1 hour and 15 minutes every Thurs or Fri to catch up on our lives. This place always was quick and quiet.

Kelly

 

[GIOny]

I wish they would highllight it when they include the tip and never mention it. I have had theat happen to me, and I'm not talking about a party of 6 or more. Now that to me is rude!!

 

[KathyTX]

I would have left a normal tip based on her service.

But I would have told her politely and directly (or written a note to her and left it with her tip) that her note seemed pretty rude to me and would probably actually hurt her tip income.

If you leave a nickel or if you talk with the manager to voice your disappointment, do you think the waitress really knows what she did wrong? I'm thinking not... she'll just think the customer who left the nickel was a cheap jerk, and the manager probably won't talk with the waitress since the problem didn't impact him.

If she was clueless enough to put the message on your check, she's not going to get YOUR message unless you're very direct about it.

Don't drop hints, just tell her. You'll both feel better, and she might learn something.

(And the bonus is that you won't need to feel like you have to avoid your restaurant.)

 

[jenr812]

"Your total does NOT include my tip"

You should have given her exact change and said, "Thanks to your rudeness, it still doesn't!"

 

[ericamanda01]

Here is the defination of a gratuity:
Gratuity–noun, plural -ties.
1. a gift of money, over and above payment due for service, as to a waiter or bellhop; tip.
2. something given without claim or demand.

She was totally out of line to assume that she was getting a tip, even if the sevice was great. As for the manager he should expect more complants about such behavior. I spent many years as a waitress, and I never expected a tip, I always looked at it as a bonus to my paycheck. It has to be earned, it should never be expected!

 

[ChrisFL]

I used to work at a restaurant on International Drive in Orlando (restaurant name witheld to protect the guilty) and there was a big problem with international guests not knowing that gratuity is not included, or at least the servers made it seem like a big deal (I was a host/cashier).

So they had cards with information about gratuity and also sometimes left notes about it too on receipts.

Im not defending the action, only explaining what I've seen in the past.

 

[TiffinyKC]

I think that it's not only rude, it's just a bad idea. I think that a good server doesn't have to write it down, it's obvious they deserve a good tip.

In my opinion it is like asking to not be tipped. Bad policy, I would wonder what other questionable policies that place operated under, makes you think.

 

[WDWAurora]

What part of NC are you in? Trying to figure out if it's one of my regular Mexican joints across the state!! I have several due to college, in-laws, my own home, etc.

 

[disneymom3]

I wish they would highllight it when they include the tip and never mention it. I have had theat happen to me, and I'm not talking about a party of 6 or more. Now that to me is rude!!

I agree! We went out with a bunch of friends recently and it was a big group. Basically it was moms and kids but I have to tell you and i have pretty high standards as do these friends, that the kids were all very well behaved. They got a little loud a couple of times but we nipped it in the bud very quickly. At our table we had me and another mom and 9 kids. Then at the other table were the other moms and a few of the kids. (Not sure how they pulled that off! The other mom at my table is one of my best friends though and 7 of those kids were ours so it wasn't bad.) At any rate the server included the tip on everyone's bill and it was not noticeable at all. The check out lady actually pointed it out to me when I went to add in a tip on my credit card receipt. I was really glad she did.

The killer was that at the other table, their orders were pretty messed up and their bills were ALL wrong. Like, really wrong! They had a different waitress and she was just atrocious. The 7 kids and my friend and I ahd literally finished eating before the two other kids (whose moms were at the other table) even got their food! And all of their bills had the gratuity included too. THAT is not cool.

 

[TENIA66]

I used to be a waitress too, and never asked for a tip. I also never allowed the owner/manager to add gratuity on a bill, even a large party. I did quite well without forced tips.....excellent really. I've always wondered though, on bills where gratuity is added automatically and the service is lousy, can you mark off the gratuity and pay the food only? we wanted to do this in san antonio where we had atriocious service but didn't........

 

[kellyg403]

What part of NC are you in? Trying to figure out if it's one of my regular Mexican joints across the state!! I have several due to college, in-laws, my own home, etc.

In Jacksonville. I think its a family owned business, not sure if there are others or not. Good food, good atmosphere and reasonably priced. The best chips and salsa. I think next time I go in I am going to make sure that I find out if there is an owner that comes in or if the manager I spoke to was the highest guy. Maybe he can explain why? I know we were there last week and got our regular waiter and he never has done this. With only a few occasional misses we have been doing this about 4 years now!

Kelly

 

[rie'smom]

At least yours was highlighted. Some friends and I had lunch in NYC and our waitress TOLD us,"Don't forget the tip."!!!

 

[stinkerbell_&_Co]

I don't imagine she'll have that on there much longer. It's rude, and I bet her tips will pretty much diminish.