To the table of four I served the other night:
I was friendly, I refilled your drinks, I checked up on how you were doing while you were eating, I got you extra napkins, I gave a sincere apology when I told you we had no nachos and suggested many other appetizers, I boxed your uneaten food, gave you mints and wished you a good night, and I even missed my bus which only runs once an hour at night because I was in the middle of serving you (yes, I know you didn’t know THAT)…
what did you give me for a tip???…. SQUAT! Not one fucking cent!
Your bill came to nearly $50 and you gave me NOTHING! You paid by debit… NOTHING in the tip section… I checked the table after you left– perhaps, you left a tip in change– but no, NOTHING!
Thanks alot, you cheap bastards! Who the fuck wants to miss their bus over that? I don’t understand the mentality of people NOT tipping at a restaurant. It should be a fucking policy, unless of course the server happened to give shit service (which I definately did NOT!)!! I know people agree with that!
As for all you cheap-ass customers: Karma will get you, oh it will!
This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2008.
I gotta feel for ya OP. That was certainly a shitty thing to do. If the service is good, a tip should be a no brain er. If the service is shit, so should the tip. I usually give 15% if the service is adequate, more if it’s better.Your right about the Karma too, it bites hard for those who earn it.
Wasn’t there another thread about beating a dead horse? Boo hoo. I give 110% at my job every day, sometimes I don’t even get a “thanks” , but yet I’m EXPECTED by people such as the OP to supplement their income for doing their job.Tipping is optional.
Every time someone says ‘karma’, a little part of their brain just dies off.
3 out of 4 of my jobs have been in food service and I always thought of a tip as a bonus.. never expected to get one, never griped if I didn’t. As the cliche goes: expect the worst, hope for the best. I’ve had so many sub-par dining experiences in this city I dread tipping, personally. gotta agree with E.Q. on this one. I always end up feeling guilty too. damn….
there’s cheap, which is shitty.. but then there’s “I thought this came with ____, and where the fuck is my ____” so you may not even know you screwed up. yah, I guess no tip is shitty but honestly… there are worse jobs
Listen you window licker, Jesus I love that term, Karma is a word, nothing more nothing less. I use it when I feel like it and when I think it fits the comment I want to make. I’m not getting any dumber any time I use it either. Go play in traffic.
I never really got that ‘tip’ thing. How come you don’t tip people at McDonalds? Or at the grocery store? Why don’t you tip every other service provided to you? Why do some restaurants get the tips but others don’t? Why is it expected to tip at Tim Hortons for ordering a coffee? I go to Wendys and they don’t expect shit and they offer MORE shit. It makes no sense.I don’t get tipped for my job. Where’s my hero cookie?
If i were to come in looking for Nachos… ” I gave a sincere apology when I told you we had no nachos and suggested many other appetizers,” Your tip would fly out the window.. dont like that? then blame the person who didnt stock on Nachos… mmm Nachos i could go for some now actually…
Your fortune cookie says: ‘Expectations are planned disapppointments’.
Tips, I get nervous when it comes to deciding on the tip. Nervous like when you hear the beep of an answering machine and your mind goes blank, kind of like being put on the spot. The last time I took myself out to diner, the bill was around $40 and I left almost $18 as a tip. Just not thinking. So much pressure, too much or too little.
maybe this attitude of entitlement came through in your ‘sincere apology’ and they didn’t buy it. Time to hit the gym, your charms are failing you.
I’m with the OP as servers aren’t there for the wage nor lack of benefits. But I also offer a couple different perspectives.1. The family had enough money to eat out but not to tip. Not illegal and not even discouraged when seeking quality family time. Perhaps they’ll come again when they can afford to tip and even request your service because it was so good.2. The idea of tipping has been around for a long time. Long enough that YOUR government has a special wage category for food and beverage servers that’s not even minimum wage… it’s right up there with a student’s wage whether you serve from the floor or behind a counter where we generally don’t tip. That’s fucked, don’t you think?Thank your government for supporting the tipping stigma. Without it, your shit serving job would pay like the average shit job and meal prices would rise to match. Sorry for your luck.
Sorry Kay, but you’re wrong on that one. There is no different minimum wage for people working in the food service industry. There is in the States, but not in this country. What we do have is an “inexperienced worker” wage, which means your employer can pay you slightly below minimum wage for your first three months on the job. But after that, they have to pay you minimum wage. And it’s not exclusive to food service workers either.
Regardless if this is law in NS that’s the way minimum wage works or used to work in ON and AB. It’s a perception thing… tipping.
actually jennie, there is servers minimum wage, at least in Ontario. I know because I made it- it was a buck and change an hour below the minimum wage, the theory being I’d make it up in tips. which often didn’t happen, more because my workplace had a communal-tip jar which would then be divided up at the end of shifts, with the managers, who made a significantly higher wage, taking a slice as well……….but, much as it is rude not to tip, it is true that sometimes you just can’t afford it. particularly if you were going out as a family- I know a few dollars doesn’t sound like much to some people, but to others, it can be.
Sorry, I should have said this province, not this country. I worked many minimum wages in this province, but not in any others. Food service workers in NS make the same minimum wage as retail employees, gas jockeys, movie ticket takers, etc.
Kay and Hedgy see eye to eye on a fact. Holy shit! Must be a full moon or something! Thanx for adding your comment, Hedge
I know eh Kay? I’m all mellow and relaxed from my vacation…must be that 😉
Does someone just repost the same bitch over and over again?
Tipping is a choice. Wal-mart is a business, I don’t tip them.Irving is a business, I don’t tip them. McDonald’s is a business, I don’t tip them.Future Shop is a business, I don’t tip them.Your shitty restaurant is a business, I won’t tip you. Just for the record, I usually tip well, but it’s a choice.