Derek Jeter, Bad Mexican, and the Surprise Omelet

Didn’t leave a tip ONCE but only because the waitress didn’t return with our leftovers OR our check after a 45 minute wait..haven’t returned in 6 years. Mike

I must be older than most of the people who commented on this subject. I am a “baby boomer” born at the end of WWII. My mother gave me this advice years ago. If you have no money to leave a tip, leave a penny face up. If the service is terrible leave the penny face down and let the manager know about the bad service. She also said that servers “KNOW” what the penny indicates.

Also, the Bible tells us to give 10%. It’s just so very hard for me to leave more than what I give to the Lord. Therefore 10% is my usual tip. However, when the service is exceptional i will leave a better tip.

In Australia we don’t generally leave tips. We, or, I think, and so do a lot of other people the employer should play the wages, not the person paying for the meal. Some over here do leave tips I believe. Perhaps the ones with plenty of money.
I and my family don’t eat out that much. the food is generally too skimpy or too expensive and not that flash. As I love cooking I am just as happy to cook a good tasty and healthy meal myself for my family, and I love the tips and recipes I get from you as nutritionists.
You really know how to eat properly.

Hey Katrina, I love living in Australia too where the issue of tipping never comes up, leastwise not among ordinary folks. We expect good service as a matter of course and mostly we get it. If not, complain to the boss. Oh, and who the hell needs a 30,000 square foot mansion, how many feet has one woman got, or is she housing the whole team?

My husband and I have argued many times regarding tipping. I don’t believe in it and wish it would be abolished. I don’t understand why I, the customer, should be expected to supplement the wages of a successful business/restaurant, ie, Pizza Hut, The Keg, Kelsey’s, etc. They are surely making enough money that they can pay their employees a decent wage. Why should I be expected to help pay their wages for them? I am already paying for the food and service in the cost of the food items I order. People aren’t expected to tip the grocery store bagger person, crossing guards, bank tellers, and a number of other services. I have never been “tipped” for the various services I have provided over the years (secretarial, Curves fitness instructor, real estate secretary to many agents, store cashier, snack bar attendant, computerized note taker for deaf and hard of hearing students, etc) – my bosses paid me and did not expect the clients to top up my wages for them. I do leave tips because it is expected, but I begrudge having to leave them. If a restaurant made the statement, “Tips will not be accepted” I would be a life-long loyal customer. Good service should be expected. Why are we tipping for something that should be a given?! If you don’t get good service, a reprimand/firing should be given. You shouldn’t be so surprised at actually receiving half-decent service that you feel the need to give a reward for what should be expected in the first place. Geeze.

I worked as a waitress for many years (in health care now) and in many different restaurants. In every place I’ve worked we have had a mandatory Tip out. It is a % based on your total taxed sales of the day. I think beacause I’ve waitressed for so many years my standards for what I expect are higher. I have definately had bad sevice but have always left a tip. On good service around 20% or more on bad service about 3-4%(really bad service) The reason why is because many places have to pay out regardless of what tips they make and I feel someone shouldn’t have to pay to go to work. They already make 30% less than minimum wage per hour. Don’t get me wrong, I know servers can make a lot of money as well.

Hey Joel,
Never had to not leave a tip but I demand decent service. I have no problem standing up with my arm raised and yelling “hey” at a waiter. I have a deep voice and can put out a pretty decent decible level. If that doesn’t work I drop a few plates or glasses. It’s amazing how quite a resaurant becomes when you drop a few things that go crash. When I get someone to the table I tell them exactly what I want and how I expect to get it. I’ve never had them not respond. On the other hand, I was at a Deny’s when they had a free breakfast day. The whole staff was doing a great job. I asked the waitress if she was doing ok on tips and she told me that it had been four hours since any of the waitresses had gotten a single tip. I left double what the meal would have cost and made some loud rude comments to the people in the resaurant before I left.

I have been in the Hospitality industry for over 35 years and hold a BS degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and an Assoc in Restaurant Mgmt so I am very sensitive to the tipping issue. I have probably two times in my life stiffed a server. I go into an eatery with with the notion that the tip will be 20%. Then, I start knocking off %age points to the degree of how poor the service gets. If I’m overwhelmed by the service, I’ve been known to go as high as 50% but these times have been few and far between. I don’t think its appropriate to talk to the server about their poor service or their manager. Tip means “to insure prompt” service. Its part of their wage and they have to EARN it. I have to earn my pay and if I’m having a bad day, my problems are left at the front door where they belong!

When I get bad service, I leave a written “tip” on a napkin. . . .something to the effect of “you’d have gotten money if I had gotten service” or a similar “tip” for the server.

hi joel, to me you certainly are a good tipper.out here in aussie we dont tip much at all.in other countries seems to be the custom but then i dont go out to eat much,so i may not be seeing the true story. where is the tip headed for the waiter or owner?(ignorance) and is it just manners. however i certainly am with you,ifthe place was a dive and the food off they wouldnt have my favours either.plus i wouldnt be revisiting. cheers MAURICE CHELMAN.

I agree with Lisa..I’m aussie as well and we only leave tips if the service was great and the food was great..if not,pay for what you ate and leave..

We were on holiday at the coast. Decided to go to a local steak house. We made the mistake to ask the waiter how he was doing. He let rip about how awful it is when it is the holiday season as all the Valies (that’s what they call us who live inland in South Africa) rock up there and we just crowd the beaches and make life miserable for them. So we decided we will add to his misery and not tip him! We still stayed and enjoyed our meal and when we paid our bill we wrote him a little love letter with thanks from all the Valies.

I always go out with other people(parents/friends/cousins) and they always (pay and) leave a standard 15% tip even when we’re bereft of the quality service/food; as a formality.The whole service-charge/gratuity/tip-included in the bill fiasco, is vile.

My brother complained that waiters loom over our heads whenever he eats with me; ‘cos they figure guys wanna impress their ‘girlfriends’ by leaving a fat tip. So; once he was like “She’s my sister; and we’re cheapskates!”

Hi. Well to be honest I never leave a tip, period.
I mean, I do a job of work, I think I provide good service. No one gives me a tip or a bonus. If they don’t like the pay, go do another job.

I have only once been a non-tipper. Here’s the story:

My wife and I went to a restaurant (supposedly the best in town) for a late-ish lunch. Our server came by, took our drink and food order and left. Ten minutes later, no drink, appetizer or anything in sight, she comes out, sits at the table next to us and proceeds to eat HER lunch. ‘No problem’ I thought, someone else will take over for this girl while she’s on break. NOPE. She sat there for a half an hour, talking on her cellphone, eating her lunch, not paying us any mind. NO ONE else from the restaurant came by to check on us or anything. After the server was done with her lunch, she went, got our food (which was cold by then) and brought it to us. Not even a ‘sorry about the wait’ comment or anything.

I asked to see the manager, explained the situation as calmly as I could, and I was told ‘she has been working all day and deserves a break’. I didn’t disagree, I told him, but shouldn’t someone have covered her tables while she was on break? I was told that they were understaffed and that I should try being a little more understanding. Now I had been calm and respectful up to this point, but this was too much. I told the manager that I would never eat there again and that I would make sure to tell as many people as possible not to eat there.

I have NEVER gone back.

Sounds like a simple and yummy recipe. I’ve also been enjoying “huevos mexicanos” made by frying up some mexican sausage and mixing it in with scrambled eggs. Hmm…so good!

Great stuff as usual Joel.

I once had a waitress spill a tray containing two 32 ounce cups of ice water on the side of my head, and consequently down one entire side of my body. She did apologize and brought napkins for me to dry myself off, however there was no compensation to us. I believe we left a small tip, because she didn’t mean to do it and did try to correct it. I did not speak with the manager, and have debated that point with myself ever since…

I was a waitress years ago as well, and mistakes like that do happen. That is not the same as poor service, and how the wait staff responds to it makes all the difference. I was stiffed on tips, but I was never left a cheap tip, because I did try to give the best service possible. To all of your readers, when you receive excellent service, write that on the receipt and/or convey that message to the management. It can make a huge difference for that wait person in the boss’ eyes, and also when it comes to promotions. Just as negative comments make a statement, positive comments can make that person’s day and also ensures that the waiter continues giving excellent service. It worked for me, and it is a practice that I continue.

I can relate… my oldest son was a waiter in Houston until he decided to try college and then onto the US Navy! Anchors away!

anyway, I cannot stand people who bring in 20+ for dinner of steaks and lobster and work anyone’s child to death and only leave a couple bucks or … NOTHING at all.

I am in your corner, and the things that you spoke of are the only things that keep me from tipping… and on the way out the door, I make sure that I speak to either the owner of the waiters manager!

Keep up the blog! you did nothing wrong, kids, even some adults these days think that we owe them for breathing, customer service no longer means, what can I do for you, it now means what you can do for me and do bother me, you can wait until I finish my conversation or I finish scarfing down my snack!

Thanks for getting me started bright any early this Tuesday morning, ti was what I needed! LOl

My wife and I stopped by a place called Crust in Scottsdale. It is one of those trendy wine and pizza places. The service was terrible. I was starved and watched my wife’s dinner come and mine never came till she was finished when It did come I refused it because I wanted to have dinner WITH my wife. I left 0 for a tip. I watched waiters in the back playing grab ass all through my experience. I now pass that place on a weekly basis when we go somewhere else for dinner and I make I tell everyone it is a bad place. Future “Kitchen Nightmare” starss.

who would want to give a tip when you go to a Greek Resto and they give you chinese food?

I figure the server starts with 15% for just showing up at the table, and for every screw up I deduct from that (or add to it for really good service). I have had situations where I deducted into the negative and felt the server owed me money (because I had to go to the bar and fetch my own drink). So, Yes, I have left nothing but a note on the check stating the service was a joke & why. If you don’t tell them, they just think you’re cheap. If you tell them, they may think about it before the next customer.

When service is bad, so is the tip?

But then in New Zealand is not common. However I never had a tip refused.

John

I’ve often omitted to leave a tip when the service has been poor. Here in the UK it is generally accepted that you give a tip if you are happy with the service received. The better the service, the bigger the tip. It’s pretty obvious really that if you don’t give a good service, you don’t get a tip. Right? However, over here the restaurants often include a ‘service charge’ on the bill, and in this case I don’t think I need leave an additional tip if I’m already paying for a good service. If the service was exceptional I might leave a bit extra for the waiter/waitress. But I don’t think tipping should be obligatory as I believe it is in the States. I was amazed that I was expected to give the barman a tip, just for pouring me a beer.

I had a waiter spend the my entire dinner trying to pick up two girls that were seated two booths over. The only time we saw him was when he took our order. Ate our entire meal with no follow up from him. I had to ask another waitress to get us our check and she was the one to come back over to give it to us. We went up to the Manager and gave him 10% over the bill and pointed out our waiter still sitting at the girls booth and told him he should give the “tip” to whoever he thought deserved it. My GF gave him the finger as we walked past and out the door. LOL

I was out with four friends after a play rehearsal and we went to a great sandwich place in our hometown. It was a slow night there, only a couple of guys at the bar and one other table occupied. There was one waitress who was busy reading a magazine as we came in. She ignored us for about ten minutes when my one friend, who was a hostess at the local Holiday Inn, politely asked for her attention. The waitress sighed loudly, slammed the magazine on the bar and stomped over to take our order. She then stomped the order over to the kitchen and then grudgingly poured our beverages, which she sloshed over as she stomped back to our table and slammed down. We politely thanked her and received a grunt for an answer. She then returned to her magazine until our order was up. Our sandwiches were delivered with the same graciousness as our beverages. She never stopped back to see if everything was okay or if we’d like a beverage refill, she just sat and ignored us. Then about five guys came in and she jumped up, wreathed in smiles. She guided them to a table, saw that they had clean menus and bounced back over when they were ready to order. We quietly finished our meal and signaled for the check, which she also slammed down on our table. Most of my friends wanted to leave her no tip, but my friend, the hostess, said “No. If you leave no tip, she’ll just think you forgot. We leave two cents.” We paid in cash the exact amount, plus two pennies. As we got up to leave, she pounced on the table and stared at the pennies. My friend, the hostess, said “That’s right, honey. The word TIPS means To Insure Proper Service!”