There are some awfully mean tippers out there -- like the jerk who left nothing but a note saying "you could stand to lose a few pounds."
And now here's the scolding "my 2 cents" tipper. This is a customer who left a handwritten lecture and two pennies as a tip. The note got posted to Reddit:
Waitressing 101. Don't tell every customer you're very busy, to excuse your lack of serving skills. Your job is to attend to us, not make us feel like we're an inconvenience. A little bit of personal attention goes a long way in the form of a tip. Just my 2 cents.
Now obviously this was an obnoxious thing to do. If a server tells you they're busy, it's probably because they're beyond the point of just busy and have reached the OMG We're Way Understaffed Desperation Zone. It happens -- management is cutting corners and not hiring enough waitstaff. Or you get slammed with more customers than usual. Or people call in sick at the last minute. And maybe this was just a way for a harried server to let her table know why they weren't getting the service she thought they deserved.
It's also important to remember that servers' wages are on the low side because restaurant owners know they're getting tips.
But the mean tipper has a point.
Maybe tips are for people who know how to finesse a bad situation, not just manage it. A restaurant should be very busy. And as just about any server will tell you, half of the job is learning the art of soothing impatient customers. It's about smiling, making people feel welcome, saying, "I'll be right with you, so sorry to make you wait" instead of "Phew, I'm so busy!" Even in the worst circumstances. That's how you get that little extra sugar from your customers: By pouring a whole lot on them.
Anyway, clearly the server on the other end of this "tip" was angry -- probably too angry to pick up on any lesson. No one likes a lecture. But just because the messenger is a jerk doesn't mean their message can't still be valuable. Taking in this customer's "2 cents" could make the server a lot more money in the future.
Do you still tip even when you think the service was bad?
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Comments 102
why on earth would i? a tip is a gratuity - for performing a job well! if you don't do your job well, i don't tip you. i'm not a total grinch either... everyone starts with a clean slate with me at 15% (which is still standard, i don't know why people make up new arbitrary numbers but meh). if you're awesome, i bump it up to 20%. if you don't do well (my cup sits empty for an extended period of time, i have to track you down to ask for something, etc) then i will slowly deduct from that 15%.
if you're my server and you get less than 15%, you have no one to blame but yourself. i understand being busy, but it's still the service industry.
We have only left nothing one time. We received NO service. Someone (I think one of the cooks) else brought our food out (COLD food). We sat, not eating it for 45 minutes before someone came by. Then our waiter came with our bill and turned to walk away without saying a word to us!!! When we talked to a manager (with untouched food sitting on our plate) he looked at is, confused, and asked what we wanted him to do about it. He took one order of french fries off our bill. We paid and have NEVER gone back.
Otherwise, when service is poor, we leave 15%. Good service, we leave 20%.
Agree whole heartedly with dirtiekittie.
I always leave a tip. Always. If service is bad, you need to tell a manager. If you are eating out at a restaurant that has servers, that person deserves a tip, regardless of whether or not you find that person "deserving" of said tip. Servers often have to share tips with the hosts, bartenders, and food expediters. They do make anywhere from 2 to 2.50 an hour base pay. No one's getting rich while serving (except in really upscale places). EVERYONE has bad days. I can guarantee that if a server IS having a bad day, receiving a note and 2 cents makes it exponentially worse! Show a little grace and kindness when eating out :)
Tips are what you give a server for doing a good job. I had a waitress who took our order, then went and took a break before turning it in. The restaurant was slow there were several waiters/waitresses just standing around. 15 mins goes by and we don't even have drinks, I flag someone down and they tell my sever will be right with us and tries to leave. My husband doesn't let him, tells him we placed our order and don't even have drinks. We finally got the drinks and food after 45 mins (still not busy, we and 4 other tables were there). Our sever never even came back to the table, we saw her talking at the bar, talking with other servers, going into the back. I didn't leave her a tip. I went up to the other server, the one that did her job, and gave him the tip. My husband left her a note telling her that she wouldn't be getting a tip from us as she didn't work for it, and that we gave it to the person who did go out of his way to take care of us.
Servers in california are paid above minimum wage on average, and some make OUTSTANDING wages.
So if you're getting fair wage, and you're suckish at your job, ain't no way I'm tipping. I'm most likely going to complain.
The word T.I.P. means To Insure Promptness. People used to tip BEFORE they ordered. Now that waitstaff feels entitled to this tip, we tip based on if they were prompt, did the best they could, and didn't spill hot coffee in my lap.