Would you leave a tip? long-sorry

[2BigKIdz]

Friday I went with some family to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. My husband and I were off but the other 3 were on their lunch break for an hour. We go there often (for many years) and have NEVER had to wait more than 20 minutes for our food. We arrived at noon and were promptly seated and ordered very quickly (atleast by 12:05 we had placed our order). The waitress had an attitude of "I really don't want to be here", but that was fine. At 12:40pm we inquired about our food (from a waiter as he walked by as our waitress was nowhere to be found) as the others had to be back at work. We were told they were busy, but people seated after us had already received their food, they had different servers. I could see an order ready for pick-up that had been waiting quite some time. Finally the waiter we had asked brought us that food at 1:01pm. The order was partially wrong and of course mostly cold. 2 of the others told them to forget their food they had to leave. The 3 of us got our order straight finally and ate our meal, still no sign of the waitress by 1:30pm (waiting on the check). No drink refills, nothing. So for over an hour we never saw her. They did take the meals off of the bill for the 2 that left but we paid full price for ours. We asked about our waitress and they said she was "on break". The restaurant doesn't open until 11am, then she takes a "break" at 12:15 during lunch rush for over an hour? Maybe she left, she was in a bad mood to begin with. The manager never apologized, just said he had many complaints that day about the food taking too long and the service. If the kitchen had been slow, that would have been one thing, but just leaving the food sitting there was entirely another matter. Anyhow- would you have left a tip?

 

[LindsayDunn228]

No, I wouldn't have.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I would NOT have left a tip, or maybe I would have left 2 pennies. That might have been more appropriate.

 

[Marseeya]

I would NOT have left a tip, or maybe I would have left 2 pennies. That might have been more appropriate.

Same here. I would have left an insulting amount just to make a point.

Those meals should have all been on the house.

 

[zurgswife]

I wouldn't have left any tip and would have told the manager why I was doing so, never seeing the waitress during our hour there..

 

[ksjayhawks]

No tip and I would have discussed the problem with the manager and received some form of compensation. Plus, I doubt if I would have waited until 12:40 to inquire about where are food was. The minute someone who sat down after me is served and I'm not--especially at that type of place, I ask.

Sorry your lunch was ruined!

 

[golfgal]

I never tip if get bad service. Why encourage someone to do a bad job?

 

[dis4me]

I may have given a tip to the server who did bring my stuff.I have never stiffed a server, even with bad service because they are always so apologetic and blame the kitchen or whatnot.But this blatant bad attitude of a server would have had me requesting someone else right off the bat.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

i would not have aleft a tip and that pretty bad that the manager was like that
i would not have been happy

 

[helenabear]

I wouldn't have left any tip and would have told the manager why I was doing so, never seeing the waitress during our hour there..

Same here! To me that wouldn't be acceptable! I also wouldn't have waited until 12:40 to ask about the food... most places at lunch are far better than that (even try to quicken up for you in case you are on a more relaxed time schedule). I probably would've left at about 12:40 myself and gone elsewhere for at least a quick bite.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No tip for sure.

 

[Daxx]

Not only would I not leave a tip, I'd write a letter -- whether it be to the owner himself (if it's a small restaurant) or to the chain to express your disappointment.

 

[BabyTigger99]

I can't believe that the manager would do nothing for you. We had something like that happen to us one night. Got to the restaurant about 6:30. Finally got our food at almost 8:00!! I asked for nachos without jalapenos and tomatoes. Guess what covered the plate. DH had a double brat, but with chips instead of fries. He ended up with fries. Nothing was wrong with DS's food, but by that time, he was too tired to eat anything. DH asked to talk to the manager. He came over, we explained our issue, told him we had been there many times in the past, and have enjoyed it, but this time was awful!! He ended up comping the entire meal (approximately $60), and hoped he would see us again. We did end up leaving the waitress a $10 tip, because, unlike your story, she was wonderful!! Always made sure we had refills, kept bringing a full bread basket over, etc.

Sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[N.Bailey]

I would have never left a tip either and others have stated already, I would have informed the manager of everything you posted. There is no excuse for that. BTW, I used to work in a restaurant and for the most part NO breaks were taken (it cuts into your $$$ - minors are different however, it's law that they punch out for so much time every so many hours), even during 8 hour shifts. I know that can vary by restaurant, but I've never seen one yet that doesn't have other wait staff covering tables of anyone taking a break. I also find it doubtful that she'd need a break after working right over an hour and ESPECIALLY during the lunch rush. If that's policy, I'd reconsider eating there again.

 

[experiment626mom]

I wouldn't have left a tip. And if this is a chain restaurant I would contact the corporate office and let them know what happened including the manager's attitude.

 

[Blondie]

No tip and a chat with the manager to tell him/her why.

 

[ducklite]

Not only would I not leave a tip, I'd write a letter -- whether it be to the owner himself (if it's a small restaurant) or to the chain to express your disappointment.

That's exactly what I would do--and have done. A couple times we've had similar problems--Macaroni Grill, Olive garden, Bertucci's off the top of my head, and a letter to their corporate office has always brought at least a response with a gift certificate or a personal phone call. At Macaroni Grill I didn't write a letter as it wasn handled then and there by the manager who apologized profusely and not only comped dinner but handed us a gift card on our way out.

Anne

 

[Morganpics]

I would not have left a tip nor waited that long. I would have gotten up, told the manager what was going on and left. I would have paid nothing. It appears he knew there was a problem and couldn't resolve it. I agree with the writing a letter, also.

 

[tar heel]

We had service sort of like that at the Williamsburg Lodge last summer. We joked that she also had a job in the other restaurant since she disappeared for such long periods. My dh is a good tipper and just couldn't imagine not leaving a tip, so we left 10% and stopped and explained why to the manager on the way out.

 

[luvmy2sams]

Absolutely no tip.