To the crybaby and his entourage out dining downtown during the recent convention: The server advised you twice about liquor laws that restrict your underage companion from being in the bar section after 9pm. They even suggested sitting in the main restaurant to you instead. So you had a hissy fit when 9pm rolled around and he had to leave. You even stiffed the server on a bill over $800. You know the kid has to tip out, right? He lost money serving your sorry ass. What an asshole you are.
—Another diner nearby
This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2018.
Seriously!
That’s the best answer to that situation you could come up with?
From my understand, or so I thought anyway, we live in a civilized and developed nation.
According to what you’re saying ” You know the kid has to tip out, right?”, I can only assume that by “tip out” you mean the server has to pay the tip they received out of pocket. Am I understanding this correctly?
If so, what’s the difference between a restaurant owner and a pimp?
A second issue, why does the patron have to leave after 9 p.m.? Instead of bitching about that, shouldn’t you actually question the stupid law in the first place?
The one where you can’t enter an establishment that sells alcohol after a certain hour unless you’re at least 19 years of age? Whatever happened to the fact that you can just sit and eat instead. Also why does this law only exist in N.S.?! This isn’t a restriction anywhere else?
Also, tips should be earned, not expected. When I dine out, I usually ask if the tip is included and if it is, I take my business where it isn’t.
any tipping scheme that drive’s a worker’s compensation below minimum wage is illegal. The server’s coworkers should be fired.
If the restaurant is that high brow they should pay there staff a liveable wage so they dont rely on tips
if the coworkers devised a scheme that takes away from the tip money that the server relies on, then the server’s coworkers should be fired.
@First Last
Based on your comment you quite likely have never worked in food service, or if you have they didn’t appreciate the team as a whole. Getting the meal to the table is a team effort: from the host, to the kitchen staff, to the server. Just because the server delivers the meal doesn’t mean they are entitled to 100% of the tips left by the patron. How big of a tip do you think the server would get if the kitchen was really slow at bringing food up, or screwing up orders, or serving on dirty stoneware? Sharing tips ensures everyone benefits from a good team effort and suffers the consequences when things go off the rails instead of one person left holding the bag for a problem beyond their control.
In situations as in the OP’s, I’ve done everything from call the police to report a theft ($800 wtf?) to watching the patron go to their car, then call in a suspected drunk driver.
There are creative ways to deal with people that try to steal from restaurants. It may not get the money back but it may prevent the patron from trying the same thing at someone else’s restaurant.
In what universe does “(1.05×800 = 40)”??
Better question is why is this person in a bar after 9 pm eating dinner with an underage companion? Sounds pretty creepy, unless it’s their kid. But who’s paying $800 on a kid’s meal? Something is very odd about this whole sitch.
The server’s coworkers are worse than two bit extortionists. They want their cut even when the only cut comes from the server’s wages. Clearly they need to be fired.