Woman banned for bad tipping

[merryweather20]

I totally imagine her as one of those people that will regularly eat the majority of her meal, find something wrong with it, and refuse to pay. Or keep sending back food and demanding a new one. Combine that with no tipping and she's just costing that restaurant and everyone that works there money.

If it was like that I think the manager might have said something. At least "and there were other problems as well".

 

[Sparx]

I totally imagine her as one of those people that will regularly eat the majority of her meal, find something wrong with it, and refuse to pay. Or keep sending back food and demanding a new one. Combine that with no tipping and she's just costing that restaurant and everyone that works there money.

this is exactly what i'm thinking.

in tennessee servers are paid 2.13/hour. a dollar per person is not an acceptable tip.

 

[JoiseyMom]

TIPS = To Insure Proper Service

If I have bad service..I tip accordingly. We were at a Chili's in December and I finally had to go to a manager to get a refill on water!! It wasn't that busy either. Then after the manager got us water the waitress gave us attitude! I wanted to leave a penny...DH wouldn't let me!! But the tip was not good!


We were in Las Vegas and went to one of Emeril's restaurants with DH and his co-workers (they were there for a conference...I went for fun). There were around 15 of us. They ordered wine etc..a hugh bill. The boss picked up the tab and gave a hugh tip... as we were leaving the server grabbed him and and said..sir..tip was included since you were a large party! Boss was very happy and still tipped extra..but not as much as a double tip! I will say that was the best service I ever had at any restaurant I have ever been too!

 

[smidgy]

oops double post.

 

[smidgy]

the reason a tip is included for parties of 6 or more: this table will take up a lot of the server's time. he/she will give up taking other tables, in order to properly serve this table (or, if the rest. has stations, the tables in her stations are moved together, and she has no other tables, or maybe one other table.)
where I work, it is up to us. I prefer not to, but, more and more, I do. it's just too big a risk to go home with almost nothing because the people "just didn't know better"
my most recent expereince. 6 people. I gave them a choice (on the phone ).of fireside or round table (we have no round table by the fireplace. well, after hanging up, I decided to move tables around (heavy tables, by myself) to put a big round table by the fire.
I greeted the birthday girl by name, made a big deal about it. brought out a piece of cake with a candle, sang "happy birthday". throughout the evening, they "raved" about my service (really, they did) said I should be working at (the name of a fancier place nearby). instead of bringing out "to go" boxes, I boxed the leftovers individually, included extra condiments , in plastic , lidded containers. labled and dated the containers , with pictures of a cow for beef, drew a picture of a chicken, etc.
I felt pretty confident about the tip, so I did not include it.
I joked with them,(had them laughing like crazy)waited on them hand and foot, and, as they left, they all said, again, "thank you! you made our evening wonderful! you were great!" (I am NOT exaggerating).
they left a bit less than 10%. I'm sure they thought it was a good tip.
I will not take that risk again. I need to pay my bills. while I enjoy my job, I need to make money at it, also.

 

[smidgy]

I do feel tipping is 100% at the discretion of the patron. No one should expect gratuity. .

gratuity is expected. everyone is the US knows it is part of the cost of eating out at a sit-down restaurant, as oppsed to a fast food joint. it is the way the restaurant industry works, and how the servers are paid, AND how they are taxed (based on gross sales), and based on sales, how they "tip out".
now, if service is really poor, than ask why, try to resolve the issue. and, of course, then don't tip, and say why. (this is Disn'ey's policy, also, regarding large parties)
but this is not the norm. and most people who advocate poor tipping won't admit that they usually get good service.
if you recieve poor service 2 (or even 3 times) gee, don't go back there!
and to those who say "well, servers should just make a higher salary". if that were the case, your entree would cost a TON more.
If you don't think servers (as a rule) deserve 15-20% tip, then don't eat out. If you are a repeat customer, believe me, we remember you. you are the one who did not believe in the old adage : To Insure Prompt Service. and you will still get decent service next time ... AFTER all the tipping customers are taken care of.

 

[dansamy]

I tip based on the service. The worst I have ever left is literally 2 cents. We'd been seated around 10pm. (The place was open until midnight or 1am.) Our waiter took our drink orders around 15 minutes later. Another 10 minutes and we get our drinks and place our order. All around us, people were seated, served, finished, paid and left while we were waiting.....and waiting....and waiting....and waiting. We left 2 cents in the bottom of one of the drink glasses and left. We never visited that place again and told everyone we knew how awful it was. The place closed about a year later.

 

[mitchfishguard]

gratuity is expected. everyone is the US knows it is part of the cost of eating out at a sit-down restaurant, as oppsed to a fast food joint. it is the way the restaurant industry works, and how the servers are paid, AND how they are taxed (based on gross sales), and based on sales, how they "tip out".
now, if service is really poor, than ask why, try to resolve the issue. and, of course, then don't tip, and say why. (this is Disn'ey's policy, also, regarding large parties)
but this is not the norm. and most people who advocate poor tipping won't admit that they usually get good service.
if you recieve poor service 2 (or even 3 times) gee, don't go back there!
and to those who say "well, servers should just make a higher salary". if that were the case, your entree would cost a TON more.
If you don't think servers (as a rule) deserve 15-20% tip, then don't eat out. If you are a repeat customer, believe me, we remember you. you are the one who did not believe in the old adage : To Insure Prompt Service. and you will still get decent service next time ... AFTER all the tipping customers are taken care of.

so firedancer is correct then. "expected" is not a word youll find in any thesaurus to describe "compulsory". freedom of expression applies to both sides remember. tipping is such a hotbed. im sick of being told that you need to tip more if you order a double cheesburger instead of a single one. yes, i do tip and will continue to do so, but not because its expected. the time will come when people say enough is enough and stop tipping altogether because its coming confrontational. who will suffer? you will. youre making out that people different to you are anti-waitress, well sorry but there are millions of us who tip but hate being emotionally blackmailed into it. this is not a confrontational post, but you cant go around telling people to tip a big amount just because you say so. if a good waitress is badly tipped by a low-life, dont tar everyone with the same brush. lastly if you ever serve me, ill tip you, i cant see why i wouldnt.

 

[smidgy]

"expected" and "compulsory" are not synonyms. never said they were. in this society, tips are expected. who else would take a job for that pay if they weren't expected?

some people just plain don't want to tip. If, as you say, people stop tipping altogether, it will not hurt me. It will hurt everyone, because there will be no more nice restaurants, only counter service. If that's the way society goes, so be it. once tipping stops, there will be no servers.

no one is "emotionally blackmailed" to tip. not talking emotions, just telling people the facts.. ie, how servers are paid.
I am not "going around telling people to pay a big tip, just cause I say so." I'm, educating people on reasonable tip amounts, for decent service. many people obviously are unaware. restaurant owners, servers, and customers all expect these tipping practices to take place, under normal curcumstances. the expected norm is 15-20%.
you don't HAVE to tip this. it is, however, expected.
(and many restaurants add a surcharge of 18%, including disney, for parties of 6 or more, for the reasons I listed in an above post. in those cases, yes, it IS compulsory, unless there is a real problem with service. in that case, see the manager.)

 

[viviensmama]

I did the same thing when I waited tables. I never could understand how some of the regulars could come in 2-3 times a week, month after month, year after year and just never, ever tip any of us. We always groaned when they came in, and looked to see which one of us had the misfortune of waiting on them. Then there were other regulars that we fell all over each other trying to be the one that got the privilege of waiting on them. And I, too, would go above and beyond for the good tippers. Non-tippers got basic service, after I learned that they were non-tippers. If I had a table of good tippers, and a table of non-tippers, the good tippers were getting their drinks refilled first, and checked on more often, etc. And it was fun waiting on regulars who were good tippers. You chat with them, learn about them, you know what they like and don't like, it was a great experience all around. Non-tippers? Not so much. We just wanted to tell them stay home and cook their own food, or go to McDonalds.

I can't imagine that woman being banned from a restaurant for not tipping though, there has to be more to the story. She must have been an all around pain in the butt with the hostess and cooks as well, and not just the servers.

Did I post this in my sleep? Seriously, same experience here.
Seriously, there are a lot of people out there who don't realize how the tip system works. After tip out (what the waitress has to share from her tips with the bartender, hostess, busboy etc.- comes from a percentage of how much food you sell), if you don't tip, your poor little waiter PAID to wait on YOU. Ridiculous.
Also, no manager cares so much about staff not getting tipped. This lady was a PITA for a manager or owner to deal with. Low tipper she may have been, but I guarantee there is another reason why she actually was basically asked to leave.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Maybe the service she received wasn't worth an 18% tip and was a direct reflection on the service she received?

Once or occasionally? Sure. But it sounds like EVERY time she ate there, she tipped between 14% and 0%.

Oh, they just did themselves a HUGE favor, now they won't have to worry that they will get bad tips any more, good thinking. Now you are going to go OUT OF BUSINESS--smart

For setting special requirements for one customer based on non-protected (non-discriminatory)issues? Why?

but I have tipped less for poor service

Oh, I have too - and realizing everybody has their own definition of "poor service" and "less"... the one time I tipped less for poor service, I tipped 15% to the penny My mom had worked as a waitress when she was younger, and so we ALWAYS at least rounded up to the next dollar.

Ahahahahaa!! Kanpai is the dregs of "Japanese" food. I refuse to eat there ever again because the food is disgusting. Now another reason!

Look, if you don't want to eat there because of the quality of the food, don't. No excuses needed. But to base such a decision on the restaurant's requirement of ONE customer whom you do not even seem to know is just disingenuous.

The management finally told them that from now on, they had to A. make a reservation for a group of 6 or more after 10pm, and B. pay a mandatory 18% tip.

And this incident didn't make the news? How could that be???

I'm amazed at the posters that tip for POOR service. I tip zero, zilch for poor service.

If I get horrible service, I tip 1 cent. Next time, leave the penny. It sends a better message than leaving nothing.

Y'all know what sends even a BETTER message? Talking to the manager while you're experiencing the poor service.

Surely she isn't the only poor tipper at the restaurant, yet she was banned.

But it appears either she's the only repeated poor tipper; either that, or the others understand the restaurant's policy and either agreed with it or stopped patronizing the restaurant... both WITHOUT making a news story out of it! And if she was banned, it's a choice she made herself by refusing to comply with the restaurant's restriction.

===

TIPS = To Insure Proper Service

Common misconception. This is an example of an afternym - where a phrase is assigned to the letters of a word to make it APPEAR to be an acronym.
1: Grammatically, the correct phrase would be To Ensure Proper* Service
2: Money - or other compensation - given AFTER a service is provided cannot, by simple definition, be considered to be ensuring, insuring, or guaranteeing ANYTHING in relation to the service not yet provided.

*or Prompt
===

and to those who say "well, servers should just make a higher salary". if that were the case, your entree would cost a TON more.

PLEASE don't think that eliminating tips and paying servers and other normally-tipped positions at least minimum wage would raise the cost of your food only 15%-20% per menu item.

 

[castleview]

Typical 20% tipper here even if the service stinks (you have to be super rude to not get a tip from me). This seems strange, though. Tipping is supposed to be voluntary.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Typical 20% tipper here even if the service stinks (you have to be super rude to not get a tip from me). This seems strange, though. Tipping is supposed to be voluntary.

ITA. Strange indeed. I've never heard of imposing tipping as a requirement (and on one person) like that before.


ETA- Except for the couple that got arrested. Wonder what became of that case. I can't recall.

 

[merryweather20]

Common misconception. This is an example of an afternym - where a phrase is assigned to the letters of a word to make it APPEAR to be an acronym.
1: Grammatically, the correct phrase would be To Ensure Proper* Service
2: Money - or other compensation - given AFTER a service is provided cannot, by simple definition, be considered to be ensuring, insuring, or guaranteeing ANYTHING in relation to the service not yet provided.

Not a misconception at all. I'm not sure how you manage to come up with point 2. The reverse is true. You pay after, to insure that you get served. If there is an installation in your home that didn't go as planned you would withhold the last payment until the problem was fixed.

The other poster was also correct grammatically. One would only use ensure when it implies a virtual guarantee. Tipping in restaurants obviously doesn't fall under that definition.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Not a misconception at all. I'm not sure how you manage to come up with point 2. The reverse is true. You pay after, to insure that you get served. If there is an installation in your home that didn't go as planned you would withhold the last payment until the problem was fixed.

The other poster was also correct grammatically. One would only use ensure when it implies a virtual guarantee. Tipping in restaurants obviously doesn't fall under that definition.

I agree. Additionally, I look at tipping is an incentive to give good service. The better the service, the better the tip.

 

[lvanleer]

My DH and I have our tipping story to share.....we went to a local Mongolian bbq place where all the servers do is bring you your drinks and rice and buns to go with the bbq that the chefs prepare in front of you.....well we thought we left an adequate tip however the waitress came chasing after my DH when we left wanting more.....consequently we never went back.

 

[Carly_Roach]

DH and I used to eat out once a week and tipped. We now eat out about once or twice a month and still tip generously. But threads like this (and attitudes like this) is why we're likely going to go down to eating out once once every two months.

Yes, wait staff are hurting in this economy. But so are everyone else. A $60.00 meal for the two of us with a mandatory (expected, whatever you want to call it) 18% or 20% tip brings the meal close to $75.00, and I'm afraid that I'd be sitting there thinking, Hmm...$15.00 for service of a meal equals:

1/2 a gallon (or more) of gas for my car
Lunch at work for the week
A dinner at home with friends
The price of two movie tickets
etc, etc, etc.

Like I said before, this won't stop us from going out to eat occassionally. But we won't be going out as much as we did before.

 

[OceanAnnie]

My DH and I have our tipping story to share.....we went to a local Mongolian bbq place where all the servers do is bring you your drinks and rice and buns to go with the bbq that the chefs prepare in front of you.....well we thought we left an adequate tip however the waitress came chasing after my DH when we left wanting more.....consequently we never went back.

I can not imagine. How awkward! What did your DH say to her?

No that incident would not garner a returning customer.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I don't mind tipping at all. What I would mind is being told to tip. What would make me even more annoyed would being told how much to tip. Now, let me first state that I have never not left a tip in my life. I have tipped above and beyond for fabulous service, which I truly appreciate. Furthermore, if I receive truly wonderful service, I always always tell the manager. To me, that is probably worth more than a few extra bucks. If I can't tell a manager, I'll actually write it on our bill that so and so was wonderful and attentive. I really don't mind tipping but I can't imagine being told I HAVE to tip or how much I should. Just my 2 cents worth!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

As far as the IRS goes, tipping is definitely not voluntary. Restaurants must report server's sales to Uncle Sam and every server is legally bound to pay a percentage of assumed tips in taxes to the government. It used to be around 9% when I was waiting tables in college in the early 90's.

Sadly, the overwhelming majority of customers don't realize this. When you don't tip a server, you just don't stiff them their gratuity, you also force them to pay a percentage of their own cash out of pocket to the IRS to cover the difference. I can't imagine any diner considering that a fair punishment for forgetting a side of fries.

What most people should do instead of stiffing their servers is to pay the server a minimal tip (say 15%), grow a pair, and on the way out, ask to speak with management and express your displeasure. It's the only way to truly solve a "poor service" problem.