Banning Bad Tippers - What Can I Get You Folks?

3-05-2010 @6:40AM Chapman said... You know what? I have a great idea.. Why do we not ALL go into a business we know has a huge failure rate and blame it on people who don't want to do what we also didn't do, which is pay our help. If you cannot afford to pay your workers, do not open the business and do not threaten me with the doubling of prices. Go ahead! Maybe then it would narrow things down to the can or cannot do standards that everybody else in the world has to meet. I have worked all of my life and never gotten a tip from anybody and sometimes had to sue (and won always ) for what was due me. By the way,T.I.P.S. means .TO INSURE PROMPT SERVICE. It came from the old days when rich people were getting over on everybody else in the establishment by slipping some money to the waiter. Now rich people are getting over on everybody by NOT paying the waiter a decent wage and passing the responsibility on to the customer. It also turns the waiters and waitresses into two bit salivating hustlers who extort money out of people by pretending to love being a slave. Why do you not pay your housekeeper and tell her to to wait until somebody drops by for coffee and asks to use the toilet before they leave because you expect them to leave something in the soap dish for her so she can have car fare to get home. "And by the way since you left nothing for the housekeeper don't ever come back."

3-05-2010 @12:29PM Sharon B. said... not everyone is a rick dude like you apparently are. i WILL NEVER EAT IN AN ORIENTAL RESTAURANT BECAUSE OF ONE THING ONE ORESTAURANT DID IN THE COUNTY I LIVE IN , IN NEW YORK . THIS RESTAURANT WOULD GO OUT AND FIND CATS , WHETHER HUSE PETS OR FERRAL AND KILL, SKIN AND COOK AND EAT THEM. SO THAT ENDED IN EVER EATING IN ONE OF THOSE RESTAURANTS AGAIN.

3-05-2010 @7:39AM ric said... i don't get good service you don't get tipped it's that simple. there's no such thing as an automatic tip.

3-05-2010 @7:58AM K. Thompson said... You are right, in a way. If the person gets good service, then the tip should be good as well. However you're missing another part to that statement. If a person gets lousy service then the tip should also be lousy. I have been into many restaurants where the staff never lets the glass get empty. Take notes folks, that's one sign of whether or not the staff derserves a good tip. When i have a waiter or waitress that is paying that much attention, I tip good. I have also been in establishments where the staff were so lazy that I have had to almost go into the kitchen myself to see if they're done killing the cow, so to speak. When that happens, I'll usually leave whatever happens to be the smallest denomination of coin that i have in my pocket for a tip. A penny is the preferred choice. Of course, believe it or not, I've actually had a waiter approach me while I was waiting in line to complain. His exact words were, "This plus 99 cents makes a dollar.". What brought this on was the only time I saw him that night was when he was taking my order, brought the food to the table, and then brought the check(had to all but tackle him to get him to do that). In short the service was rotten and I left a tip that told him what I thought of his service. My reply to him was,"You improve your service enough, you'll get the other 99 cents." Needless to say, his attempt to shame me into giving him more of a tip by embarassing me in front of the other customers backfired on him. One other thing, don't be standing around where the customers can hear you complaining about the tips you've been getting. That's a sure-fire way to find yourself receiving no tip at all.

3-05-2010 @8:47AM MomHadIt said... I sort of agree and not disagree. If the restaurant charges a gratuity fee, then they get to pay the servers. If they pool their tips, that is garbage. One server could stand at the bar all night gabbing to customers and another busting their tail off the get people in and out. Who deserves a portion of the tip?

My husband and I are good tippers (almost always tipping 25%). If our service is really not so good, we tip like 15%. We know (both having served people) that the servers thrive on their tips. If management pays them no more than minimum wage, they shouldn't be in business. It's not our job to feed the server's families or pay their rents. Maybe they should find a better job (or at least moan about not getting enough money).

If someone can't afford to eat out, they just don't. Really, I live where there are some people within the city who have never eaten at some restaurants intheir own neighborhood because they cannot afford it. We like to eat out, and enjoy places with good service, good food and good atmosphere. If the servers are miserable, we will ask for another server. In fact, sometimes, we just ask for a certain server because we've been going there so long, it's like family. All restaurants should hope to provide that. Pay your employees enough to keep them happy, and share the forced gratuity with them.

3-05-2010 @8:53AM egdrifter said... Your employer should pay you a decent wage; then you wouldn't have to beg for TIPS. I tip very well for good service; but shouldn't have to. The server should automatically give good service or be fired.

3-05-2010 @8:56AM Kaye said... I agree with the boot, but it didn't say the age of the poor tipper, not to mean an excuse. Though the age doesn't mean one can be a poor tipper, it is pretty common for those 70 and above, to be known for this. Whenever we go out with my parents and they pick up the tab, we always have to stay behind at the table after they leave it, to make up the difference in what should have been left and my parents think they left a huge tip! The solution would be for the restaurants to pay their employees a proper wage and not depend on the customer's to pick up their slack. If a server goes beyond what is expected of them, then give them a tip to show your appreciation and it not be an obligation, as not all servers deserve one. If this would mean raising their prices, then so be it. Though I tip more than 20%, many times I have had a pitiful server that doesn't deserve anything and I have left them with nothing but a quarter that they didn't deserve. A restaurant in my 55+ community had shut down for a time because the servers all quit, as the Seniors were not tipping. I don't think either, that a tip should depend on the amount of the bill. It doesn't take any more work to serve a lobster or steak, than it does a burger, or an alcoholic drink vs a glass of water. Does this mean you would not leave a tip for the water, but you would the drink? What happens to the server that happens to get the customers during their shift of just burgers and water? They may work just as hard and possibly harder than the one serving the more expensive dishes, so why should they get less? I've never been a server and a job I wouldn't want to attempt to do with the stupid crap that people today try to pull to get a free meal and of course they leave no tip.

3-05-2010 @9:28AM Andy said... OH, HELL NO ! ! ! Tips are for exceptional service, not for just doing your damn job ! Tipping has gotten out of hand. Now the hotel maid, the postal worker, and everybody else wants extra money for doing what they were hired to do. I DO tip, but it is according to the service. And the expected tip amout at 15% to 20% ? Who came up with that ? The servers ? What other industry adds tips to their business sales or services ? Screw it. A bunch of pompous asses you are, expecting more. Do your job well and maybe somebody will notice.

3-05-2010 @9:42AM Jim said... I usually adjust the tip to fit the food and the service that was given, my usual tip is around 20% of the total bill, I been known to be quite generous if all is worth it, but I have been known to leave as little as a penny when it is all sub par. A restaurant can have the best food in the world and the whole thing is thrown away by a server who does not do a good job in delivering it to the table on time, when it is an advertised special there is no reason for the food to take mre time getting to the table/customer, and it is more unsatisfactory when the owner is setting there watching the bad service and does nothing about it. I say that if they want their workers to get good tips then express to the workers the importance of being at the top of their game andgive the best service they can give, it will be appreciated by most.

3-05-2010 @9:40AM poot said... emelia, you're right, there is no excuse for a bad tip for good service--however, let's not forget, that the server isn't the one that gets to decide what's good and what's bad. After 20 years in the business, I know, as well as you, that it's always the same people you hear bitching about low tips, every single day. These are the same people that want mandatory tips, they're too stupid to be a food server and want guaranteed money in their hand while they're outside having a cigarette, or flirting with the bartender. Banning someone for a bad tip is the owners' loss, and the owner doesn't give a shyt about the waitstaff. Matter of fact, if you complain to the owner about bad tips, the owner will lay it all on you for being a crappy server, which it's quite likely you are if you complain about it constantly.

3-05-2010 @9:46AM Erin said... I find that since I was a server for two years I have very mixed feelings on tipping. On the one hand - there have been several times that I docked a server because their service was bad. There have also been times when I've given a 50% or 60% tip because the server was awesome. It's just an unfortunate reality that server's wages will always be lower than non tipped employees simply because the federal minimum wage for tipped employees is roughly half of what it is for untipped. When deciding to go out to eat you should factor in a base gratuity of at least 15% - that way you are starting by assuming service was acceptable. If you find it was less than that - dock some. Unless you waited for 2 hours and never got an order taken or the server punched you or something absolutely ridiculous like that - you should NEVER not leave a tip, why not just 5% (even if it isn't as much as the normal 'good' a 5% tip is a wake up call to a bad server).
Restaurants are never going to pay more than they have to. Especially in this economy. Tipping is a practice that has been around forever and will probably continue. Think about the work that the server is doing when deciding how to tip because the server is doing a service whether it is bad or good. And another thing - smiles are contagious, if you're server seems in a bad mood maybe they're getting it from you. Try being happier and see if they get better too. It can be hard to be a server.

3-05-2010 @10:43AM A.C. said... First off, I'll be honest and say that I always leave just 10% of the total food bill or a minimum of $5 depending on the restaurant. That said I for one do not believe that the consumer should be expected to pay for a business owners employees just because he pays the "industry standard" which is usually less than minimum and wants to keep his or her pockets fatter. If a server handles 3 tables an hour and receives $5 tip per table that's $15 an hour plus their wage.

Who here is going to tell me that a server is worth more than $18-20 an hour? If that's the case why don't you tip your McDonalds or Burger King servers $5 or more, because they do the same work and at a frantic pace I might add.

As you can tell I'm a huge opponent of tipping which is not to say that I don't do it, but I never give outrageous amounts just to sit and eat a meal. This restaurant banning a consumer is plain ridiculous and I hope that it goes out of business because of it.

3-05-2010 @10:50AM restaurant veteran said... I have been in the hospitality business for over 20 years, so let me break it down for you:

Even though most servers are paid under $3.50 per hour, the law requires their employers to pay them minimum wage, so they have to make up the difference if their tips do not add up to minimum wage per hour.

Most servers only work a 4 to 5 hour shift, therefore without decent tips, it is impossible to make a living as a server even if you work 7 shifts a week.

Most restaurants hire servers as part-time employees, making them ineligible for benefits such as health insurance. Without decent tips, they cannot afford to pay for these things out of pocket.

The quality of the service you receive depends on many factors, even if you have the most experienced and amiable server waiting on you. Kitchen cook times, service bar wait times, availability of flatware, glassware, serving-ware and menu items, maintenance (such as having to change a bag in the box soda or make a run for ice because your machine can't keep up with the volume), aptitude of the host staff to keep section rotation accurate, efficiency of the bus staff, and other snafus that unavoidably pop up on a daily basis can all impede "perfect service" and are without a doubt beyond your server's control.

Some establishments pool tips, meaning the great servers make the same amount in tips as the lousy servers because the tips are split evenly among the staff.

Running your server, i.e. asking them for something new every time they visit your table instead of asking for everything you know you are going to need for your meal up front, before your food arrives including; ice waters, extra napkins, ketchup, hot sauce, extra salad dressing, more bread ... This does not count for drink refills, but it is courteous to let the server know when multiple people need refills at the same time.

Being understanding when your server is "in the weeds" (which often happens when a restaurant is understaffed) yet somehow still manages to get you everything you ask for without forgetting more than one thing.

Keep in mind your food will take 20 minutes or more to arrive if you order anything WELL DONE. This is your fault, not your server's. You want your meat cooked to a certain temperature, you better have the patience to wait for it.

A restaurant has the right to refuse service to ANYONE at ANYTIME. In fact, some restaurants IMMEDIATELY ban customers who do not tip if they pay by credit card, since they have the customer's name.

Know that you are stereotyped right when you walk through the door. The host sizes you up and tells the server what they think of you right after they seat you, if they have the time. A veteran host is almost always right on the money - pun intended.

If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to go out. Plain and simple. Most restaurants now add an 18% gratuity for food and cocktail service after 10:00 PM. Also if you happen to leave your credit card at the bar without paying your bill a 20% gratuity will automatically be added because you are a drunk idiot.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I shoot straight and tell it like it is. You may not like it, but it's the truth.

3-05-2010 @11:14AM badhog said... People seem to gotget that tipping is for service above the norm, the fact that reatruants take avantage of tipping to lower what they pay servers is not the problem of the general public, tipping is dependant on how well the server does his or her job and how the customer is treated.

3-05-2010 @10:59AM Diana said... Bravo? That takes some nerve for owners to ban bad tippers...if they actually PAID their staff livable wages, there would be no need for tipping. Talk about hypocrisy!!!!

3-18-2010 @11:29PM restaurant veteran said... You all do realize that you are talking about all restaurants from Chili's, to Friday's to the ones on Disney property right? Disney even has a union and they still don't make minimum wage, but they do get benefits. If all the restaurants and their "greedy" owners were shut down, where would you eat? McDonald's. In fact, there is one restaurant that pays minimum wage ... Golden Corral Buffet. Any server could tell you what a joy it is to work there. Face facts, any person with a modicum of compassion would leave at least a 15% tip for good service and that's not even a great tip.

3-05-2010 @11:30AM julie said... get over yourselves. you are the ones that take the job that doesn't pay enough. i tip but only if the service is good. i have had servers that never come back after serving the food. they certainly don't deserve anything more than the what their employer pays them. that's the "tipper" for me. if they come back and really take time to make my dining experience one i enjoyed, then they get the tip, if not, then since they did the minimum, they get the minimum!!!

3-17-2010 @10:41PM glen said... Support your own employees and the government the same way other businesses do. Pay a decent wage, pay social security, withhold income taxes, offer benefits like medical and insurance. If you can't do that then go out of business. Yes, it's just that simple.

3-05-2010 @11:38AM anna said... People commenting here are missing the point. This has nothing to do with good or bad service. The lady kept coming back again and again - so she was obviously happy with the place, and still didn't tip. She obviously went there often enough to make her little habit noticed.

Now, in Japanese steakhouses servers and shefs provide a very personalized service - it's not just take-the-order-bring-the-food. So it's only fair to tip well, especially if you go to the place often.