a certain patron ALWAYS leaves $2 tip for 4 people, over a $40 bill?

Question

Everytime this lady comes, even with her mom, she always gives a $2 tip no matter how much the bill is or how many people, no matter how great the service is. If u got a $2 tip for 4 ppl, Would u find this insulting? Would it be wrong to ask politely (and out of curiousity) to see from her point of view, if the service was bad? She never complains about food or anything else. she "acts" nice. Or maybe she's just too daymn cheap? Should I just give her crappy service since she started giving crappy tip? Get what u give? We've always been great with her...but now it's just too much. Maybe she's gotten so use to us "accepting" it. Should I underline the 15% gratuity guideline on the credit card receipt? Maybe she thinks it's a Thai restaurant, so u can be cheap with them? well, we ain't Chinese, ok. Actually when she comes to the restaurant, nobody wants to serve her table. What do u think? btw, she paid cash 1 time, & left quickly without tip when it was busy & no one lookn

she is an English/British lady. Yes, Thai and Chinese food are totally different. And for those who don't know a daymn thing about being waitress, tipping is not "extra"...it is customary. This is how we make a living. For that person who says, tipping is extra....so r u saying u wouldn't leave a tip although u received excellent service? if u go to high-end fine dining, and u leave a crappy tip like she did, some will kick you out. btw, she dines in every week or every other week, she has her own company. so i don't believe she's low on cash. But still, that is very insulting & disgusting. A person of class would know better.

Yes, it is in the US. We are quite a respectable, busy restaurant, mostly in the vicinity of wealthy to upper middle class, I've seen on most accounts. lol. I've heard of many cheap customers though (ex: 1 person pays for a party of 6--5 of them give at least 15%...while that 1 person collecting everybody's cash, puts on his credit card and gives 8% tip--so he pocketed his collegues money..i think his collegue knows of it too) (ex 2: one time, 4 ppl have separate checks--3 pay credit card, 1 pay cash. His bill was like $10 something, leaves his tip on the table (30-40 cents). The waitress catches up to him and says politely "excuse me, sir...but u forgot ur change." He didn't say anything and took it back. (I think he needed it more than the hard-working waitress anyway) who's on minimum wage =)

Answer 1

I'm not even going to bother reading the other people's answers. Based on your additional comments, they'd just make me mad.
I've been in the business, waiting tables, for 20 years and I don't think she's hard up for cash especially if she eats in your restaurant 2 - 4 times a month. So either a.) She doesn't understanding the tipping process and unfortunantly there's nothing you can do about that. I don't recommend asking her if there was a problem with the service. You could offend her and then she'd ask to speak to your manager, which then just gets you in trouble. b.) She could just have a set, standard tip (of a crappy $2) that she gives to every server no matter how good the service or the size of the bill.
In any case you're stuck waiting on "2 dollar lady", which totally sucks! What can you do? a.) Try to find something good in it all, like she's a nice lady so I'll overlook her bad tip. That's taking the highroad...screw that! Take option b.) She gets what she pays for. If she pays you $2 then give her $2 dollar service, take her food order, bring her drink, then her food, check back on her once, and then drop her check. Bare bones service for bare bones of a tip. Again, you get what you pay for. The worst, or best...depending on your perspective, is that she will request that you not wait on her in the future or she'll quit coming in. The best from everyone's perspective is that she gets the hint and increases her tip.

Good luck!

Answer 2

First of all, what is your tipping policy?
In Singapore, the generally, NO TIPS. The restaurant staff are paid well.
In UK, if there is a Service Charge included in the bill, then the tipping is at the discretion of the client.
In USA, most of the restaurant staff are on a basic minimum and depend upon tips and goodwill. If there is a Service Charge included in the bill, then the owner of the restaurant passes this charge according to internal policy within the staff. Tipping is then upto the client.

Quietly leaving without the tip is uncivilised. Once I was invited by a colleague to dinner with our respective wives. But when the check/bill appeared, he simply ignored. When the waiter arrived, I was astonished to be asked if this could be charged to my company account.

I told him politely and firmly that, firstly, my wife & I were invited by him. Secondly, if he cannot afford the total, we could certainly split the cost. Then he carefully calculated the cost of each item and place the exact sum on the plate, without any Service Charge.

Since both the cuisine and the service were excellent, I added 20% on top of my share, but on the total invoice value. My colleague allowed all three of us to leave the table and to my astonishment, he pocketed the Service Charge.

When I told him that I left an addition of 20% of the total as a gratuity, he retorted, "the service was included" in the bill.

He happily made a decent profit from the dinner.

Such people do exist!

So the next time, your client leaves a US$2.00 tip, please give it back and say politely, Perhaps, you may need this more than I do!"

Answer 3

Being an ex server, and having a variety of different situations, tips, etc, and also being a bit of a prankster....this is what I would do. Give her the best possible service you can, on top of everything, great attitude, etc. Watch as theyre getting ready to leave, and go and check your tip. If it is the same tip of 2 dollars, or less, then politely walk up to her as she's walking out the door (hopefully while she's with her friends and or family) hand her the 2 dollars back and politely tell her that you think she needs this money more than you do. If she is taken aback and acts as if shes insulted, let her know that you feel as tho you were insulted, and genuinely thought she either didnt appreciate your services, or she actually does need it more than you (which in my opinion is complete bull, if you can afford to eat out, you can afford to leave a tip). If she acts like she doesnt understand and sincerely questions why you would do this, then politely explain to her that it is customary to leave a 15-25% tip if you get good service :)

Answer 4

Maybe she barely has enough money to even eat out and gives you her last $2. I know I am on a very tight budget, I get to eat out maybe once per month if I am lucky and the food is expensive so to add a large tip to that is sometimes hard... Also depending on her age...it used to be custom to give 10%...even the Bible says that God only wants 10% and He does a better job than any waiter or waitress. Another reason maybe that the state she came from origially has the policy of.... A waiter or waitress has to make no less than minimum wage and if the tips make the wage go higher the owner/boss has the right to pay less wages to bring the employee salary down to the minimum.

Either way I would not give her bad service, she is at the least spending money at the resteraunt where you work and unless there is a sign up that says 'everyone must tip more than $2.00" she is not doin anything wrong

Answer 5

Jellybeans, perhaps she perceives the resentment you feel. There can be many more reasons, too. I'm more concerned that you spend so much time thinking negatively. You should always do your best work, no matter what you think is going on. It's not when you get to save a drowning person that shows the strength of your character, but how you handle yourself at your worst moments. Every second of your life you are shaping the following moment and beyond. Shape your future as a benevolent man, no matter how petty others may be, and you will become someone you respect.

Answer 6

That is rude, but I wouldn't give her bad service. Maybe she is low on cash and just can't afford to leave more of a tip. Maybe she doesn't know about the 15% rule.

Answer 7

She's extremely CHEAP -- and obviously eats out way too much. I'd go with the approach of asking her if the service was bad.....
This is a tough one to deal with.. but you have to think if you give bad service it relates to the business over all... she might be stingy but if she recommends friends they might not be.

Quick question... is she Thai?? because maybe you pushed your discrimination on her or you accidentally called her Chinese.... two very different places..

Anyway-- good luck and watch "waiting" it'll give you some insight on handling stress. :)

Answer 8

If you can't do this yourself, your manager could intervene. He or she should approach the woman and ask if the service was unsatisfactory. If the answer is yes, then he should ask for her explanation, offer an apology if valid, and promise to do better next time. If no, he should ask if she understands the tipping policy.

Answer 9

it would be nice if the other people pitched in with the tip. as the old saying goes two wrongs do not make a right.

Answer 10

Watch the movie "Waiting" and see how it is taken care of at Chilis!