What would you have left for a tip?

Question

It was a $37.50 dinner and she never brought our appetizer. When she brought our food we told her-she said "Oh I am sooo sorry, I did that to someone else tonite too". thats it.
She brought him another beer at that time but never brought me another diet coke. My drink was completely empty before I was finished eating.

By the way...I left $2.50.

Answer 1

I was a server for a few years & they do have their off days. However, if I screwed up, not only would I take extra care of the guests for the rest of their meal, I would either take drinks off their bill, free dessert etc. Since she didnt care to make it right, I wouldnt of left her sh*t!

Answer 2

I would have left a 15% tip. If I had paid for the appetizer, I would first have asked that it be removed from the bill. I would then take into consideration several things....
1) How crowded was the restaurant? While not exactly a good excuse, at least I would try to understand why the server might have been overwhelmed. (think of your own job when things get hectic!)

2) How professional did she seem? You state that she apologized, but never did bring the appetizer. Not very professional, but perhaps she is new to the job...cut her some slack. Now if you noticed that she was spending more time talking and laughing with friends (other workers), then I would made sure I brought it to her attention.

3) Did you state that you still wanted the appetizer? I have found that many times you have to specifically repeat your desires several times. Not how we want to be served, but people are people.

If I was as unhappy as you sound, I probably would have asked for a manager. However, I don't like to go over a worker's head unless something terribly inappropriate has occurred. I would rather deal with the server directly, so as not to get them into trouble....but by bringing it up to the manager, you might have also gotten a free meal!

Answer 3

I would not have left anything. I understand that people who are bartending/waitressing for a living depend heavily on their tips but, not to sound repetitive, they do this FOR A LIVING. If you've chosen this as your career (which could be a whole other debate...) and expect to support yourself you cannot offer service like what was described and expect to be tipped well. I am a firm believer that since I am already paying for the service that they're offering (and usually at quite a markup I might add...restaurants would not stay in business if they were not making money) anything above and beyond that must be EARNED. I am not obligated to leave a tip by any means. I'm sorry if any bartenders/waitstaff reading this get offended but like I said there is such a mark up on everything any more and I work too hard for my own money to throw it away to someone that doesn't deserve it.

Answer 4

I would usually leave 20% because I am a waitress. The bad service and forgetfullness, well it happens. A waitress is like any other job, everyone forgets something from time to time (I have). But you have to remember most waitress make minumum wage of $2.65 and with all the taxes taken out there paychecks usually amount to $0. So in that case I would still leave 15% ($7.50) because the chances are that the waitress also has bills to pay and a family to support.

Answer 5

For that kind of service, as a former waitress, I'd know I'd screwed up and wouldn't be expecting ANY tip at all. And it sounds like she didn't try to make the situation right at all. I think $2.50 was perfectly acceptable if not generous.

Answer 6

you can tell the waiter or waitist that he/she for got the appertizer, then you can flag down another waiter or waitist and ask to speak to the manger direct. and try to reslove the problem that. this works most of time. I have use too many time. which some gave to me long time ago. Option two is only pay for the bill minus the appertizer and leave no tip money.

Answer 7

I probably would have left about that, or a little less. She needs to learn. Maybe she was just having a bad day, but that kind of service doesnt deserve a good tip.

Answer 8

For one she need to get it together... maybe she had a lot on her mind but that don't count for her forgeting up the meal, but that was nice you left a tip because some people would have not left anything. So you left enough for her but she needs to get it together before coming to work and can't consentrate on her job.

Answer 9

I would've left her 5% of my bill. I usually leave 10-15%, depending on how good the attention was. My 2 cents.

Answer 10

I probably wouldn't have left that much. I hate sitting there with an empty drink. I would have left maybe a dollar in assorted change.