You're more than welcome. We have a very warm and inviting neighborhood. We have 8 houses where we all hang out on a regular basis. I'd say we have 4 to 5 certifiable alcoholics on the block. We have an annual keg tap on the night before the super bowl where we congregate in the back yard of a neighbor, light a nice fire in the fire pit and spend the evening drinking. Bottles of Johnny Walker Blue, Lagavulin 16, Caol Ila, and others have been known to show up as well. And we do it no matter what the weather. Halloween parties are a highlight. I would have moved a long time ago because the town government is corrupt and the taxes way too high. But you can't find a block like this anywhere. So, come on and join the fun. The more the merrier.
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Tipping?
- Thread starter CVargo
- Start date
You're more than welcome. We have a very warm and inviting neighborhood. We have 8 houses where we all hang out on a regular basis. I'd say we have 4 to 5 certifiable alcoholics on the block. We have an annual keg tap on the night before the super bowl where we congregate in the back yard of a neighbor, light a nice fire in the fire pit and spend the evening drinking. Bottles of Johnny Walker Blue, Lagavulin 16, Caol Ila, and others have been known to show up as well. And we do it no matter what the weather. Halloween parties are a highlight. I would have moved a long time ago because the town government is corrupt and the taxes way too high. But you can't find a block like this anywhere. So, come on and join the fun. The more the merrier.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Sounds nice but I couldn't afford to run in that circle.............
Yeah. You could. Solid middle class town. None of us are rich. Some do better than others but that's always the way. I should add that the annual super bowl keg tap is going on it's 12th year.
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
A few years ago when the wife and I were on the road, we paid with a $50 bill for lunch that cost about low-$30s. After the server asked if we wanted change, we said "Yes" and left 3-4 pennies on the table for him to enjoy.
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
Yup, he probably would have had a good tip if he were not so brazen.
Being a waiter/waitress is a real skill and when someone is very good at their job it can be quite impressive. When your wait staff and crew are on point your experience is usually worthy of every penny of a hefty tip. Part of the skill set is making change. When a waiter/waitress brings back only large bills, they show a lack of skill...bring back a mix of large and small so I have the ability to choose to leave a tip of any amount I wish, and they show great skill.
When I pay with a large bill and get nothing but large bills back I get angry, when I get a mix of bills that allows me to use the change to leave a tip of any amount I choose I am thrilled. I usually thank the person who brought the mixed bills for doing so and leave them an extra tip for doing so. I also tend to under tip when I am given nothing but large bills back, i’m Total with @woodpusher on this one.
When I pay with a large bill and get nothing but large bills back I get angry, when I get a mix of bills that allows me to use the change to leave a tip of any amount I choose I am thrilled. I usually thank the person who brought the mixed bills for doing so and leave them an extra tip for doing so. I also tend to under tip when I am given nothing but large bills back, i’m Total with @woodpusher on this one.
That's a good point. Lots of waiters/waitresses are presumptive or think that they are getting away with something. A waiter or waitress who only brings back large bills isn't good at what they do, which is why they feel the need to do that. I was taught, the customer is always right. Unless the customer isn't. If they are just being a little annoying, they are right. But if they are being nasty and vindictive and downright obnoxious, then I expect the manager/owner/maitre'd to throw the customer out. I've seen that once. I worked in a steak house as a busboy and the owner was in the business a very long time. He had built up a nice following and his restaurant was a gold mine. We had lots and lots of regulars. So there was this regular customer who also happened to be a doctor. The doctor ordered a Veal Chop, probably the most expensive cut on the menu at the time. This thing was huge. Anyway, the owner was watching the doctor carefully because apparently he had been jerking the waiters around and sending food back often. So the owner watched this guy get his veal chop, and proceeded to salt it as if salt was a rare commodity. He then called the waiter over and said the meat was too salty. The owner came over, took a knee next to the customer, proceeded to cut himself a piece of the chop and ate it. He cut another and ate it. He said "nothing wrong with it." It's delicious. The doctor refused to eat the meat he just doused with salt. The owner told him he watched him salt the veal chop and that he was in fact going to eat the meat he was served. When the doctor refused and continued to make a stink the owner stood up and said loud enough for the entire room to hear "86 doc!!!". He threw the guy out of the restaurant. Now that's an owner for you. He knew how to take care of his customers which was why we were able to turn the tables 4 to 5 times on a saturday night. And we all made good money. But the point is there are good workers and not good workers in every field.
As for making customers pay a "small business's employees for them as Aaron said above, he misses the point. Most restaurants don't survive. Restaurants have the highest failure rate of any business out there. You aren't paying their salaries. That's the formula that works for the industry. It's how it's done in every restaurant in the country. I remember there was a movement and a bunch of restaurants tried to make the move to raising prices to cover people's salaries and not accept tips. It didn't work. When I went to Paris, you tip in restaurants. When we went to London, you tip in restaurants. When I went to Geneve, Switzerland, you tip in restaurants. At this point, complaining about the entire system seems pointless to me. If you don't like to tip, don't go out to eat. It's really that simple.
All very good points. I'll add that while I hate the art of tipping I also accept it for what it is and recognize that it's the game society has accepted. So I would never purposely leave a bad tip or purposely act like a beligerent customer like the one mentioned above, kudos to the owner.
I guess where my problem lies is when a tip is expected instead of earned. I took my wife to nice steak house and the tab was near $300 after drinks, appetizer, entrees, cappuccino, and dessert. But our waitress was absolutely amazing, and she made our evening even more special than it already was, so I left a 25% tip.
On a separate note I get the feeling that at diners is where people don't tip well this is all perception and I have no fact to prove this. But if I get better than normal service at a diner, I like to find out waitress as we leave and personally deliver the tip and also add a personal thank you.
This is a great topic and I really like all the extras on other professions where a tip could be warranted. As an example around Christmas we do leave something for our USPS driver.
Keep it coming guys.
I guess where my problem lies is when a tip is expected instead of earned. I took my wife to nice steak house and the tab was near $300 after drinks, appetizer, entrees, cappuccino, and dessert. But our waitress was absolutely amazing, and she made our evening even more special than it already was, so I left a 25% tip.
On a separate note I get the feeling that at diners is where people don't tip well this is all perception and I have no fact to prove this. But if I get better than normal service at a diner, I like to find out waitress as we leave and personally deliver the tip and also add a personal thank you.
This is a great topic and I really like all the extras on other professions where a tip could be warranted. As an example around Christmas we do leave something for our USPS driver.
Keep it coming guys.
HMan
Doften Savant
There are plenty of places in Europe where you don't tip, Scandinavia, Belgium, Switzerland for example. Having lived both ways, I much prefer to pay a fair price for a meal and not tip. If the service is poor the solution is simple, I go to another restaurant next time. I don't think there's better motivation than that for an owner to keep service up to standard.
Sure it's 'the system' many places, I don't expect I'm going to have much impact on changing that, but it doesn't mean I don't think it feels antiquated in the 21st century. Though the 21st century doesn't seem to be all it was cracked up to be anyway.
Sure it's 'the system' many places, I don't expect I'm going to have much impact on changing that, but it doesn't mean I don't think it feels antiquated in the 21st century. Though the 21st century doesn't seem to be all it was cracked up to be anyway.
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
The question I subconsciously ask is: Have you provided a value-add directly to me?
Yes = tippable
No = no tip.
Yes = tippable
No = no tip.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Exactly
@MntnMan62 is absolutely correct, restaurants are a high failure business even when run by high skilled owners and staff. This is true whether patrons tip or not because the margins are so tight and there are so many potential pinch points. I don’t begrudge a good waiter a tip but I loath giving tips out of expectation. I earn my income (literally, if I don’t do my job my clients do not pay me...I get no safety net) and I expect a minimum level of service before I agree to leave the obligatory tip. No tip for,the yogurt guy
I too loath those working on tips who maintain a level of expectation regardless of whether they do a good job or not. I was not raised in the business to expect tips but I was raised that I had to earn them. Sadly, many people in service industries that rely upon tips have lost that understanding or never had it in the first place. There have been times when I have given no tip or a very small tip for poor or less than poor service. My only point in responding to this thread, which I think is an excellent one, is that despising an entire industry of people who rely mostly on tips doesn't get anyone anywhere. All it does is cause people to expend energy producing anger when there are far more important and enjoyable things to expend our energy on. I've eaten in the finest restaurants in the world. Mostly in NYC because I grew up and have lived in this are most of my life. But my job took me to Paris, Geneva and all across the country. I've been to London, and many of the Caribbean islands. So, in addition to having been on the serving end of the business I have also been served and can say that when a waiter/waitress knows what they are doing, It makes the amazing food on the plate that much more special. And therefore, they deserve to be rewarded for that work. And all those who want to do away with tipping, how do you suggest we address all of the entitled government workers who hate their jobs and take it out on us when we deal with those agencies? I suppose you think we should do away with tipping and turn all those waiters and waitresses into angry entitled agency workers. Watch how quickly most of your meals out become miserable experiences. Yeah. Do away with tipping. Makes a lot of sense. (Read sarcasm.)