Tipping -- I've never seen this happen

[JunieJay]

I was a waitress for many years -- taking a tip off the table before a customer had left the premises was a big no no. That waitress was definately in the wrong.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I am a snot and would have chased her down to get it back. You're more restrained than me

No kidding! I would have told her manager what she'd done, too.

As a Ruby Tuesday bartender/server...

Just wanted to give a "howdy" to someone who works at one of my favorite restaurants. Mmmmmm!

 

[sweet angel]

I may call today just to give the manager a heads up, not to complain. She also referred to my food as "the three cheese chicken penne thingie".

And to the poster who said we were more restrained than she'd have been...nope, we were just totally flabbergasted!

 

[Lorix2]

I think I speak for all servers here, she was rude and greedy, plain and simple.

I apologize because that makes us all look that way to people. Even I'm positive what's on the table is left for me, you should never assume that, nor grab for it while the customers are still at you're table.

I would have reported her for sure or said to her "excuse me, why did you take that money?" and explain to her that it WAS left for her, but for her being so presumptuous, she lost it

 

[Cantw8]

The important question here is...How long did you have to wait for a table? I know how patient you are

as for the waitress, you should have flicked you chicken penne thingie at her

 

[sweet angel]

The important question here is...How long did you have to wait for a table? I know how patient you are

as for the waitress, you should have flicked you chicken penne thingie at her

There was NO wait for a table!!

 

[Chattyaholic]

That was extremely rude of her! I've been a waitress for 10 years and would never presume that money on a table is mine for the taking, while the customer is still occupying the table!! Wow!!

Now, there is one couple that comes into my restaurant quite frequently and they have an adult daughter that comes with them. Not sure if she is mentally handicapped or not, she seems fine but...

Anyway, sometimes there would be a tip on the table and sometimes not, and we couldn't figure out why they left a tip sometimes and other times they wouldn't. Didn't matter which waitress they got, the same thing happened. We finally figured out the daughter was taking the money!! The parents would come up to pay the bill and the daughter would lag behind, putting her coat on, adjusting, whatever.

So! Now, when the parents get up to come pay the bill the waitress who was waiting on them walks right over to the table and picks up the tip so the daughter doesn't get it first!!

 

[binny]

Had a bad one with Applebees a few weeks ago. Just a lazy guy. Took him forever to do anything ( it was really slow there mid afternoon, so that was no excuse) and he just had a lousy attitude.


My worst though TGIFridays last week. This snotty older lady was our waitress, weve been going to this Fridays for 7 years and have never even seen her. We go there quite a bit and the manager knows us. We have one of their cards and I asked her nicely to check my balance and if there was anything on it would she please apply whatever was on there to our bill she said " You didnt order an appetizer" I said "I know but they usually just take the $8.99 or whatever off the bill" then she gets really mean and starts raising her voice with me she said "Ive been here for 10 years, since we opened and Ive never seen them do that!" then she literally turns her back on me and huffs off. She comes back about 5 minutes later and says " by the way, I talked the manager and he says weve never done that here" all that was missing was her sticking her tongue out at me

 

[HakunaMatata2]

Maybe I've just been lucky, but haven't had a problem with Applebees or TGI. However, I did stop for coffee and a muffin the other day at a little local shop. The bill was $5ish. I gave the waitress that served me a 20 dollar bill and she asked if I wanted my change. ????? A $15 tip for a $5 dollar order??

 

[sweet angel]

To reiterate...I'm not bashing Applebees. I probably should've not put in the restaurant name because this could happen anywhere.

 

[Kycha]

As a Ruby Tuesday bartender/server, I feel compelled to explain why you see different people. We work in teams of 2 in a section, and each treat the whole section like all of the tables are ours. That way if your drink is close to empty you don't have to wait for your specific server to notice. Also, there is a policy when it comes to running the food to the tables that it has to go to the table immediately when it's ready, regardless of whether the server is there to take it or not. Hopefully this means that you don't have to wait for the things you need. Since we all are supposed to follow this policy, it benefits all of us. Obviously, it doesn't always work this way. So if you're in a Ruby Tuesday and you need something, feel free to flag anyone down for it.

Jen,

Does the tip get split up then? How does that work? This would really suck if you were teamed up with a server that was slow or lazy.

 

[bicker]

This would really suck if you were teamed up with a server that was slow or lazy.

It's not much different than having a less productive member of our development team. We're all responsible for the quality of our product and for meeting our team's deadlines, and we're all rewarded based on achieving those objetives, as a team.

 

[Freyja]

Very rude. Has happened to me once at TGI Friday´s in LA.

 

[FSUGrad97]

I had something similar happen to me at Sonic of all places.

I got my cherry limeade, and the total was something along the lines of $1.80. I gave the waitress two dollars and she asked me if I wanted my change back. It took me by surprise since I was in the drive through lane, and when I said yes, she looked completely annoyed.

Granted, this was different than the Applebee's server, but I was surprised that the carhop/waitress assumed that I was going to tip her.

 

[jennyf917]

I think I speak for all servers here, she was rude and greedy, plain and simple.

I apologize because that makes us all look that way to people. Even I'm positive what's on the table is left for me, you should never assume that, nor grab for it while the customers are still at you're table.

I would have reported her for sure or said to her "excuse me, why did you take that money?" and explain to her that it WAS left for her, but for her being so presumptuous, she lost it

Yup! That sounds pretty greedy. I never take tips off of tables (or credit card slips) until they have left the building. I never want to seem presumptuous. Also, if people pay in cash and indicate that the change is mine, 99% of the time I still bring the change, mainly because I'm never sure if that's what they said or not. I think my biggest fear is seeming greedy like that lady.

 

[jennyf917]

Jen,

Does the tip get split up then? How does that work? This would really suck if you were teamed up with a server that was slow or lazy.

No, the tips don't get split. It's supposed to be like a quid pro quo type of deal that benefits all tables so they all tip well and everyone benefits. That isn't always the case, though. As for lazy zone mates, usually the one who works harder will take more tables, giving the excuse that obviously the other person was busy, since they weren't able to clean their tables or get their existing tables refills, etc. That usually lights a fire under them!

 

[ntburns22]

I've never had that happen, but once while at applebees, I have a waitress keep my coin change. She brought back the bills to the table, but kept something like 60 cents. I found that incredibly rude and pretentious of her. That was all the tip she got from me that night.

This has happened to my mom the last 2 times she was at Applebees. She was actually going to call this week to see if was a new practice and if so they need to post it.

 

[sweet angel]

This has happened to my mom the last 2 times she was at Applebees. She was actually going to call this week to see if was a new practice and if so they need to post it.

I emailed Applebees customer service. I should have a response in 3-5 days.

 

[Stitchfans]

So far we have had good service at the Applebees in our area. I think I would of asked for that $10 back, the waitress was very rude!

 

[sweet angel]

I got a call from Applebees on Wednesday. The manager said that particular server was relatively new and would definitely be instructed not to do that again. She apologized profusely, but seemed more put off by the fact that the server referred to my meal as "three cheese chicken penne THINGIE" than the fact that she took the tip off the table.

In any event, she told me if anything like that ever happens again to please let the manager know immediately.