A thread about tipping

[TomWaits & you]

What do you tip and why?

Swanky, impress-your date. Chinese buffett. Simple drink at the bar. Best service you ever had. Couldn't find your waitress/waiter with a geiger counter. Worked in the industry. Think they are peons.

Horror stories, both as consumer and provider.

Great stories, both above and beyond or she needed a ride home.

 

[Hawg73]

I worked in a restaraunt briefly and had crushes on approximately half the waitresses.

More than once I had to console a girl that got jobbed out of her tip unfairly and just always think of them when the bill comes around. I've seen them actually cry over a blatant screwjob.

I'm a pretty generous tipper, but not stupid about it. If I get a lousy waitress I make sure she finds out about it when she counts the tab up.

Best way to piss me off as a customer?

Don't listen to what I ordered the first time and then blame me for it when the order comes out incorrectly.

If you can't remember something, then jot it the f#$k down.

 

[grog]

Here in Indiana it is best to go tipping before sun rise. That seems to be when the cows are in their deepest sleep pattern.

 

[TomWaits & you]

I worked in a restaraunt briefly and had crushes on approximately half the waitresses.

More than once I had to console a girl that got jobbed out of her tip unfairly and just always think of them when the bill comes around. I've seen them actually cry over a blatant screwjob.

I'm a pretty generous tipper, but not stupid about it. If I get a lousy waitress I make sure she finds out about it when she counts the tab up.

Best way to piss me off as a customer?

Don't listen to what I ordered the first time and then blame me for it when the order comes out incorrectly.

If you can't remember something, then jot it the f#$k down.

BTW, Hawg: I hope you don't mind...I'm taking my tag-line from a post you made. It's from the "puke" thread in the classics section of PP. I imagine it's a ibid. quote from many a drunkard story, but I liked it. I was trying to catch up on the history of the board.

 

[IU_Knightmare]

What do you tip and why?

Swanky, impress-your date. Chinese buffett. Simple drink at the bar. Best service you ever had. Couldn't find your waitress/waiter with a geiger counter. Worked in the industry. Think they are peons.

Horror stories, both as consumer and provider.

Great stories, both above and beyond or she needed a ride home.

Swanky, impress your date/spouse: 20-25% depending on the service.
Chinese Buffet: a buck a plate.
Drink at the bar: a buck a drink.

Best Service I ever had: Del Frisco's in Arlington Texas in 1995. Was on a business/get away trip, and went there with my wife on a recommendation. Catered to my every need but never intrusive, best steak I ever had (18 ounce strip, 2 inches thick). Handed the lady two hundys for a $140 dollar bill, and left the rest in the bill jacket.

 

[Hawg73]

BTW, Hawg: I hope you don't mind...I'm taking my tag-line from a post you made. It's from the "puke" thread in the classics section of PP. I imagine it's a ibid. quote from many a drunkard story, but I liked it. I was trying to catch up on the history of the board.

No probs.

I actually paraphrased it from the great Dan Jenkins' "ten stages of drunkenness" which I present here for further consideration:


1. Witty and Charming
2. Rich and Powerful
3. Benevolent
4. Clairvoyant
5. F#^k Dinner
6. Patriotic
7. Crank up the Enola Gay
8. Witty and Charming, Part II
9. Invisible
10. Bulletproof

I did it from memory, but I guess it should have been "invisible on the way to bulletproof", but either works.

 

[Ras]

I generally tip about 20% to waitstaff or bartenders. Sometimes more or sometimes less depending on the total tab.

Valets get $5 bucks for my truck, $10 for the wife's Escalade.

Chinese buffet get $5 for the family and the Mongolian Bar Cook gets a couple a bucks a plate.

Delivery person get 15%, 20% if the delivery is far from the house and if it is the "regular" guy.

Shithouse attendant gets $5 just because it is a crappy job.

Other than than it depends on the situation and the service.

 

[Annihilus]

No thread about tipping should go without mentioning the scene in Reservoir Dogs where all the dudes are sitting around the table and Steve Buscemi starts going off about how he doesn't believe in tipping.

Classic scene in a classic must see movie.

 

[Captain_insano]

I like Mr. Brown's theory on tipping.

 

[TomWaits & you]

No probs.

I actually paraphrased it from the great Dan Jenkins' "ten stages of drunkenness" which I present here for further consideration:


1. Witty and Charming
2. Rich and Powerful
3. Benevolent
4. Clairvoyant
5. F#^k Dinner
6. Patriotic
7. Crank up the Enola Gay
8. Witty and Charming, Part II
9. Invisible
10. Bulletproof

I did it from memory, but I guess it should have been "invisible on the way to bulletproof", but either works.

Well, based on that criteria, I had it just about right. From experience, I'd say invisible comes after bulletproof. Taking a bullet is one thing. For the shooter to think it's crazy to shoot is another.

 

[TomWaits & you]

To preface this query:

I've been a waiter.

My M.O. is thus:

Bill: $0-10: 100%; $10-30: 50-66%; $30+: 33-50%; $200+ (if not auto): 25%

I'm a stupid tipper. But I've had experience on the other side.

If the service is blah, it creeps towards 20%, but never below. If the service is crud, it is 20%. I rationalize it by saying she/he could've had much more. BUT: If the service is shit, I leave shit. I have left over $100 for a tip on a $50 lunch bill, and I've $0 on the same.

A distinction should be made between what is within the waiter/waitress control and what is not.

Furthermore, when tipping, people should consider that their meal would be greatly more expensive if tipping wasn't "optional."

 

[P4E]

Tipping doesn't happen where i live..we simply dont have enough money to tip someone...but i wouldn't anyway,i would go out to eat and then pay the bill... someone is trying to tell me that i work all week to give someone who is only bringing out your food money.that is taking the piss

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

To preface this query:

I've been a waiter.

My M.O. is thus:

Bill: $0-10: 100%; $10-30: 50-66%; $30+: 33-50%; $200+ (if not auto): 25%

I'm a stupid tipper. But I've had experience on the other side.

If the service is blah, it creeps towards 20%, but never below. If the service is crud, it is 20%. I rationalize it by saying she/he could've had much more. BUT: If the service is shit, I leave shit. I have left over $100 for a tip on a $50 lunch bill, and I've $0 on the same.

A distinction should be made between what is within the waiter/waitress control and what is not.

Furthermore, when tipping, people should consider that their meal would be greatly more expensive if tipping wasn't "optional."

So you had a good job until John Belushi and Dan Akroyd came in looking for a trumpet player?

 

[player]

do you tip on the total bill..or minus out the tax?

 

[Undertaker #59*]

NICE GUY EDDIE: Okay, everybody cough up green for the little lady.

NICE GUY EDDIE: C'mon, throw in a buck.

MR. PINK: Uh-uh. I don't tip.

NICE GUY EDDIE: Whaddaya mean you don't tip?

MR. PINK: I don't believe in it.

NICE GUY EDDIE: You don't believe in tipping?

MR. WHITE: I love this kid, he's a madman, this guy.

MR. BLONDE: Do you have any idea what these ladies make? They make shit.

MR. PINK: Don't give me that. She don't make enough money, she can quit.

NICE GUY EDDIE: I don't even know a Jew who'd have the balls to say that. So let's get this straight. You never ever tip?

MR. PINK: I don't tip because society says I gotta. I tip when somebody deserves a tip. When somebody really puts forth an effort, they deserve a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, that shit's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doin their job.

MR. BLUE: Our girl was nice.

MR. PINK: Our girl was okay. She didn't do anything special.

MR. BLONDE: What's something special, take ya in the kitchen and suck your dick?

NICE GUY EDDIE: I'd go over twelve percent for that.

MR. PINK: Look, I ordered coffee. Now we've been here a long ****in time, and she's only filled my cup three times. When I order coffee, I want it filled six times.

MR. BLONDE: What if she's too busy?

MR. PINK: The words "too busy" shouldn't be in a waitress's vocabulary.

NICE GUY EDDIE: Excuse me, Mr. White, but the last thing you need is another cup of coffee.

MR. PINK: These ladies aren't starvin to death. They make minimum wage. When I worked for minimum wage, I wasn't lucky enough to have a job that society deemed tipworthy.

NICE GUY EDDIE: Ahh, now we're getting down to it. It's not just that he's a cheap bastard--

MR. ORANGE: --It is that too--

NICE GUY EDDIE: --It is that too. But it's also he couldn't get a waiter job. You talk like a pissed off dishwasher: "**** those ****s and their ****ing tips."

MR. BLONDE: So you don't care that they're counting on your tip to live?

MR. PINK: Do you know what this is? It's the world's smallest violin, playing just for the waitresses.




MR. BLONDE: You don't have any idea what you're talking about. These people bust their ass. This is a hard job.

MR. PINK: So's working at McDonald's, but you don't feel the need to tip them. They're servin ya food, you should tip em. But no, society says tip these guys over here, but not those guys over there. That's bullshit.

MR. ORANGE: They work harder than the kids at McDonald's.

MR. PINK: Oh yeah, I don't see them cleaning fryers.

MR. BROWN: These people are taxed on the tips they make. When you stiff 'em, you cost them money.

MR. BLONDE: Waitressing is the number one occupation for female non-college graduates in this country. It's the one jab basically any woman can get, and make a living on. The reason is because of tips.

MR. PINK: **** all that. Hey, I'm very sorry that the government taxes their tips. That's ****ed up. But that ain't my fault. it would appear that waitresses are just one of the many groups the government ****s in the ass on a regular basis. You show me a paper says the government shouldn't do that, I'll sign it. Put it to a vote, I'll vote for it. But what I won't do is play ball. And this non- college bullshit you're telling me, I got two words for that: "Learn to ****in type." Cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent, you're in for a big ****in surprise.

MR. ORANGE: He's convinced me. Give me my dollar back.

JOE: Okay ramblers, let's get to rambling. Wait a minute, who didn't throw in?

MR. ORANGE: Mr. White.

JOE: Mr. White? Why?

MR. ORANGE: He don't tip.

JOE: He don't tip? You don't tip? Why?

MR. ORANGE: He don't believe in it.

JOE: He don't believe in it? You don't believe in it?

MR. ORANGE: Nope.

JOE: Shut up! Cough up the buck, ya cheap bastard, I paid for your goddamn breakfast.

MR. PINK: Because you paid for the breakfast, I'm gonna tip. Normally I wouldn't.

JOE: Whatever. Just throw in your dollar, and let's move. See what I'm dealing with here. Infants. I'm ****in dealin with infants.

 

[JD10367]

I'll have to agree with Mr. Pink's comment about people at McDonald's not getting tips. It's one thing to tip a waiter who's catering to you at dinnertime, but what the #$&* is with the proliferation of tip cups at EVERY single "convenience food" place? From Dunkin' Donuts to Subway to everything in between, there's now a tip cup. We had another thread about tipping and, as I said in that one, no one knocks on my door in work and says, "Hey, that movie was really clean and looked great... here's a buck." So, what, we're supposed to tip fast-food workers now just 'cause their job sucks? Is that OUR fault? Sure, sometimes I'll throw the change into the cup at Dunkin' Donuts, especially if it's a busy day, 'cause those people literally don't get a break all day sometimes, but that's as far as I go. Fer crissakes, my parents tip at the Dunkin' Donuts DRIVE-THRU!!

Anyway, as for tipping... 20% pre-tax, usually. If they suck, it goes down. Very rarely (perhaps three times in my life, so far) I've left no tip at all 'cause the service was bad; usually if it's just slightly bad, I'll decrease the tip to 15% or even 10%.

I don't go to bars, and I don't valet. I live too simple a life to worry about those, LOL.

 

[chiefsgal*]

To preface this query:

I've been a waiter.

My M.O. is thus:

Bill: $0-10: 100%; $10-30: 50-66%; $30+: 33-50%; $200+ (if not auto): 25%

I'm a stupid tipper. But I've had experience on the other side.

If the service is blah, it creeps towards 20%, but never below. If the service is crud, it is 20%. I rationalize it by saying she/he could've had much more. BUT: If the service is shit, I leave shit. I have left over $100 for a tip on a $50 lunch bill, and I've $0 on the same.

A distinction should be made between what is within the waiter/waitress control and what is not.

Furthermore, when tipping, people should consider that their meal would be greatly more expensive if tipping wasn't "optional."

what can I get you to drink.........

 

[shirtsleeve]

I generally tip 20%.

Occasionally more.

Sometimes less.

And when they take a break while I wait for my dinner, I get it an hour later,and its cold...I leave the food and a penny, and leave. And complain to the owner the next day.

 

[Hawg73]

I thought of a tipping story.

My family and I thought we'd take my mother out for her birthday. We decide on a very nice , somewhat expensive Italian joint that we went to on special occasions.

We place our order and proceed BSing and drinking. The orders are pretty slow coming out, but we didn't mind. About an hour later the waitress tells us there is a problem in that they don't have any seafood ravioli, which two in our party ordered. The other meals were coming out, but if everybody isn't eating then......you know. It sucks.

Of course, you could have heard a pin drop and as oldest, I asked why we were finding out THEN after we had already waited an hour. i was polite, but cold. The waitress appeared extremely uncomfortable and nervous and said little more than she was sorry.

I asked to speak to the chef. She looked more nervous and said "ummmm...I'll....ummm...check with him".

3 minutes later she informs us the chef didn't want to talk to me. No explanation. Take it or get out.

Now, we're in damage control mode. We order what they could prepare quickly and then planned to put the place in the rearview mirror for good. I was furious, but chose to not storm into the kitchen to get some bleeping answers which would have made me feel better and everyone else feel worse. I stewed through the rest of the meal in silence. It should be pointed out that this is a small, intimate place. Maybe 40 seats, tops. We were a party of 8.

Now we are ready to leave and the question of a tip comes up. Problem comes in deciding whose fault it was when we really had no idea. A compromise was 15% which we felt more than generous after eating an effed-up meal. I felt like it was too much, but wasn't thinking it was the waitresses fault. Bottom line: the experience sucked.

Following Monday I'm at work talking to my buddy about the weekend. I tell him I went to that restaraunt and told my tale and he finished the story for me. I asked "how the hell did you know what happened?"

Turns out our waitress was his wife and vented to him after work about how humiliated she was to have to tell us to choose another meal an hour after we ordered it. The chef never bothered to tell her he didnt have any. I'd never met my friend's wife and had no idea, but I ended up damn glad I didn't take it out on her or drop her the donut hole for a tip on a 300 buck tab.

THAT could have been awkward.

The restaraunt went under shortly thereafter. You never know.

 

[kobrakai081]

easy rule for average service here in florida where the sales tax is 6.5%, multiply the tax by 4. But theres always exceptions, If your beer was never empty or if you had all the quality checks(i.e. 1 bite, 1 minute within trying your meal, appetizer plates etc). And ALWAYS tip excessively if you; sit at your table for more time than necessary, if you just get coffee and sit to do paperwork or some nonsense please pay the server for their table because they could be making money off of different guests instead of you monopolizing their table, or if your kids wreck the table. I managed a Bar & Grill for a while and obviously it would be a completely different story for fine dining.