Often, the service in new restaurants we visit is awful, and my friend makes her point by insisting she leaves her (very) small change to emphasise the point. Would it be better just to leave nothing?
2007-11-29 02:04:15 · 11 answers · asked by dawn 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
No, if you leave nothing, the waiter/waitress might just think you forgot. However, if you leave just a penny, he/she will know that you did not approve of the service you got. Or you could just go talk to the manager and personally let them know.
2007-11-29 02:14:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If she's getting sloppy and bad service from the staff do you really think that they'd even notice that they'd been 'insulted'? They probably wouldn't even care if they did.
Therefore, your friend is wasting her coppers. Absolutely no way does bad service deserve a tip. In fact, if it's very bad then you're legally entitled not even to pay the presented bill. Not a lot of people know that and few would have the guts to try it. But it's true and it does work.
If there's an automatically added Service Charge on the bottom of your bill, and you were not warned about this on the price list, then you are not obliged to pay it.
A tip is a personal reward for service that is better than the bare minimum for which you are already paying.
After all, you don't tip train or bus drivers so why should you tip a taxi driver? You don't tip a shop assistant or the person who does your dry cleaning or a cinema usherette.
So why should you automatically assume that you must leave a tip in a restaurant?
Especially as these places often charge a huge price for what you actually get on your plate.
The old excuse of "they're low paid so tips are part of their wages" is facile. The restaurant owners only pay low eages to the staff because of mugs who leave tips as a matter of course.
If this practice stopped then there would be fewer people willing to work in the industry and perhaps wages would rise and consequently service standards would rise too. It seems to work on the continent.
2007-11-29 09:40:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your friend sounds cowardly. If service is awful, after mentioning to your waiter/waitress and still nothing is done about it you would speak to the restaurant manager. Sorry, but I think your friend has got it all wrong as I don't think leaving a very small tip emphasises any point, just makes her look stupid, rude and mean. If she is not happy with the service she just shouldn't leave a tip.
2007-11-29 11:35:16 · answer #3 · answered by Ms Mat Urity 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all I would have complained about the bad service. I was a waitress during college years and frequently the complaints were due to the kitchen and the chef not the waiter. I would not eat the food so there would be no tip.
I know what you mean about restaurants. After my experience, I would not eat out in ANY restaurant again having seen what I saw.
2007-11-29 02:15:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'd rather leave a small tip, because sometimes it's not the servers fault. maybe they got so busy they honestly couldn't get back to your table or maybe the manager had them doing extra work. Also these people LIVE off of tips so it hurts more to get a bunch of change than it does to get nothing.
2007-11-29 17:15:22 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it shows contempt for the service far better than no tip at all because a lot of people just do not tip
2007-11-29 03:40:00 · answer #6 · answered by Scouse 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I sometime leave a single penny and a note saying they should look into a different line of work. Only if they are really bad.
2007-11-29 02:34:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why would anybody give a tip at all if the service is bad? It doesn't make sense.
2007-11-29 02:26:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Does anyone tip you for your job? people should pay their staff a reasonable for a days work.
2007-11-29 03:51:50 · answer #9 · answered by paulcryo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would leave nothing. They might think that your friend was just mean!
2007-11-29 02:13:33 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋