When is it OK to leave a small tip ?

Question

Last night, after a full day of shopping, we sat to eat. My waiter was horrendous, it pained me to leave 15%. I asked him for a pen, he pointed to the cash register and told me I could get it from over there. I had three kids in a booth, a walk to the cash register would have been a nightmare. My husband returned and gave me a pen. He wondered why the waiter was pointing. I deducted five dollars from his tip.

What would you have done?

(gotten your own pen?)


There were other silly things the waiter did, like ask if we wanted separate checks. And bought my 4 year old a huge lemonade in an adult cup.

It's the holidays, everyone is spending money and being nice, and I am being told to get my own darn pen, in order to pay my bill.



:-(

Answer 1

you really should not have left a tip. There were 5 of you there and you had a lazy *** waiter. Isnt the waiter supposed to bring a pen with your check anyways???
And the waiter shouldnt ask if you want seperate checks, especially when its obvious you are a family.

heres what I wouldve done..when getting the bill and asked if its separate, I wouldve said "uh, are you paying half" or something like that to the waiter. When recieving the bill and I saw there was no pen to sign the reciept, I wouldve also asked for a pen like you did. If I had to get the pen, like you did, I wouldve wrote the charge amount and put something like "next time bring the pen and I may tip you"...then when leaving, I would make it seem like my 4 year old spilled that large drink (first asking for a refill if it was needed) and said "oops, sorry, there wasnt a lid on the cup"..
You deducted $5...big deal...thats not really letting him know the service was terrible. Next time, dont tip..regardless if its the holidays. Waiters basically work fro the tip money, they need to earn it by doing more than handing you a plate of food.

Next time dont tip the crappy waiters!!!!

Answer 2

Did you ask for a child's cup when he brought the adult one?Typically servers who don't have children don't think about kids spilling. You need only politely ask for a child's drink when you order or correct the server when they bring you the open cup. He probably would have brought you one. While you are correct that he should have accommodated you with a pen. You must keep in mind that your server still brought you your meals and from what I deduce; the order was correct. The bare minimum would have been okay to leave him which is 10-15% of the bill.
As for asking if the bills will be separate ; you shouldn't take it personally. As you said , it is the holidays and everyone is shopping. There probably were numerous people who wanted seperate checks.
Keep in mind that servers count on the minimum percentage as part of their hourly wage.
Don't work yourself up over his telling you where the pen was as it isn't anymore fatal then you planning on paying with a credit card or check and not packing a single pen in your purse.
With 3 kids ; I am sure that the table was a wreck when you left and he probably had to spend far longer cleaning it up. It's the holidays, cut the guy some slack. That wasn't that serious and you or your husband could easily have spoken up and told him that you prefer to stay with your children and could he please direct the manager to bring you the pen so that you could pay your bill. Then watch how quickly he would have gotten you your pen.
Also, if you are eating in establishments where the most expensive meal is about 15 bucks per plate then don't expect fine dining.

Answer 3

I hate to say leave no tip at all, but the pointing to the register was inexcusable.

Miss Manners would say you are expected to leave 15% no matter what since wait staff in the USA are paid less than minimum wage, this amount is to make up for their lost wages. She would further direct you to contact the manager and make a complaint. If the manager gets 1 complaint she will figure you were in a bad mood, but if she gets several, then she knows this is a problem employee who needs shown (pointed?) to the door. This is helping the manager improve the service.

What I would do is leave the small tip. I once left a penny when I got horrendous service, not because I felt the waitress deserved that much, but because I did not want her to think I forgot!!

Answer 4

I work for Starbucks, and tips add an extra $1 per hour to my wage. Tips should be given when the service calls for it--they are never a requirement, even for restaurant servers, who make well below minimum wage without tips. I was raised near Philadelphia, the highest tipping city in the country. I always try to leave 15-20% and do not go out to dinner if I can't afford a good tip. However, if service is lousy, I have no problem leaving nothing, and if the service is atrocious, my husband will complain to management.

In my experience, our customers really seem to appreciate patience, a friendly smile, and a warm tone when their day is filled with hectic holiday worries. That is tip-generating behavior, not 'get your own pen.' You should not feel guilty!

Answer 5

its only apprpriate to tip 10% for starters. You should go above 10% only if the service is above and beyond the call of duty. I.E. if the man jotted over to retrieve the pen then MAYBE another dollar.
Tipping above 10% only shows you have issues and want to look like ur a good person to the waiter. The tip is to show appreciation for being made to feel at home. It is never mandatory. There have been times when I left without giving any tip. They do get paid by the hour. Lack luster service should not be rewarded. Points should be deducted from 10% for someone annoying, distracted, saying they will be right back with your water and taking ten minutes because they are trying to hog as many tables as possible for example gets on my nerve.

Answer 6

I would have gotten my own pen and not left anything at all for him sorry to be mean but a gratuity is for extra service, he gave you none, as for the lemonade cup, we parents can not expect everyone to know about kids you should have said a small glass please, also were the kids behaving, were they running around and carrying on, this also may have been the trouble. We also can't expect people to like our kids and if they weren't behaving that can stress anyone out, but I still wouldn't have tipped.

Answer 7

it is so rude. you left a 11% tip. you technically dont would desire to go away any tip in any respect. from the nutrition and the provider you acquire i'd say that replaced right into a extra robust than honest tip. generally if the provider is stable i visit go away 15% or a sprint extra and if the provider is undesirable 10% or much less. you will desire to have replied her question particularly. tell her the provider replaced into ok, however the nutrition replaced into chilly and incorrect. I cant have faith she would say that, i'd have taken my tip returned.

Answer 8

I would have left a penny in the ashtray on that one, sorry.
(A penny indicates you had to put some thought into it, not that you just forgot),
He was pretty much saying "Hey lady, do I look like I am here to wait on you?" with that pointing stuff. Yeah, I am sure his feet hurt, but you had 3 kids you had to keep in line, you were doing him a favor by asking instead of giving the lil ones a chance to cause trouble...not that they would of course, just that it might work that way...well you know what I mean LOL
Your story makes me want to go have a talk with the guys manager, I mean really! I am all for tipping generously (I usually do between 30-50% depending on the service, but ONLY if it is good service) and taking it easy on your server but that was just plain lazy and discourteous.

Answer 9

I would have gotten a pen and left him a list of reasons as to why he wasn't being left a monetary tip. A monetary tip is for excellent service above and beyond duties. Since you got anything BUT, I would l leave no monetary tip and instead let him know what went wrong.

Answer 10

Fifteen percent is a suggested amount for good and acceptable service.
Twenty persent for extraordinary service.
If one feels that the wait staff could have improved, then 8 to 10 percent is perfectly acceptable.
I know the moment of dealing with young ones, I'd have probably asked him to please get it for me, and point out to him that I could not safely leave the children alone in the booth.
There are many things that are not taught by the management, and some young people simply do not learn graciousness at home.