Bad Tipper or Clueless?

“I was on a business trip with a coworker last week. She had a company credit card so it made sense for her to pick up the check for dinner. She liked the arrangement and so did I until I saw her sign the check!

Sixty dollars for dinner, a six dollar tip!?!

Now I know most of you envy my backwoods real estate, but a good Resturant is a rare commodity at home. I leave at least 15 percent, 20 if the wine is right and 25 if the company is footing the bill.

The next night, same thing, Seventy/Seven. I gave my coworker the benefit of the doubt the first night, because even though we had exellent service and food, the waiter teased her a little.

What should I have done? Say something and embarrass my coworker? Stand up for the working class slobs who had more class than my dinner companion? Keep my yap shut and suffer this guilt? Is it a chick thing? I usually pay the check so I don't know.”

“I thought this was a post from Al Gore.”

“Al Gore? How could you confuse me with Al Gore, I mean....

Oh! I get it.

ROTFLMAO”

“A $60 Meal?!?!?!
What the F**K were yall eating?!?!
I say if they got the balls to charge $60 for a meal, Screw the tip altogether. Just go to Hardees!”

“I think etiquette would allow you to mention it to her, since it is a company credit card. It is thoughtful for you to ask. You are looking for sympathy from the chicks, right?”

“It would be my guess that this woman has never had to make a living as a waitress. I always tip at least 20-25 percent unless the service is very poor. Then I tip about 10 percent and tell the server why. Many years ago, I was a waitress and you're right about one thing, men are usually better tippers and don't usually have the same arrogant attitude that women do. It always amazed me when someone did totally rude stuff, like ask you to pick up a napkin they dropped...you could bet there wasn't going to be a good tip involved. I had one woman that was angry because I didn't serve her dessert quickly enough to suit her, never mind that I would have had to step over a little old lady that had fallen and broken her hip and the EMTs. She actually complained to the manager!”

“Oh yeah, if the lady wasn't your boss, I think you should have called her on it. If she was, just throw a few dollars on the table and maybe she'll get the hint.”

“Maybe she's figuring the tip would be split; she'd leave half, you leave half. I dunno. If I see somone leave a bad tip, I'll add more to make it right. But that is a cash tip and not the strange circumstance of having half on a credit card!!

C'mon, let's get to the big questions. Is she on your radar for antics in the copy machine room??? (shudafuhup!)

Otherwise let it be overheard in office conversation by your superiors. (Or, heck just mention it to them outright, you've got the balls.)

I don't know that you'd directly want to confront her, although you could. (I'm just having a really hard time trying to envision bacpac in a nice restaurant with a woman HAVING A NICE CONVERSATION?!?!?)

WHOAAAAAAAA... AM I HAVING SOME BAD DREAM???!??!? I gotta wake up”

“I think you should quit.”

“I double the tax (8.25%)=16.50% on average service. To the better servers, I will give them $2.00 on every $10.00, which is 20%. For really good service, I'll tip more.

bacpac, your co-worker is cheap or bad in math. Some people think that the waiters/watress's are already paid so they don't want to pay them anything.

I don't give small tips if the food is not great, because it has nothing to do with the servers. A gratuity is given for service.

Bacpac, when the waiter teased your co-worker, was it in a bad way?”

“Ever so many years ago the standard tip was 10% Then restaurant owners got so cheap they wanted the public to pay their waitresses. I tip 20% and 25% for special service. I used to wait tables too and it is a hard job and takes brains.
My guess is she does not know any better. Somehow I can't imagine you being at a loss for words......”

“LH has it right on.
Ask your CO-worker if she realizes that the server is getting taxed on 8% of their sales or what ever it might be in your state.

In other words:
$4.80(8%of $60) is taxable income. From that $4.80, take out about .70 for S.S., medicare, etc. and the server is actually only taking home $5.30.
For only one table that doesn't sound bad. But when their sales reach $900 for the day they get taxed $72 in income, whether they made that much or not.”

“The word TIPS is from an old English tradition. Its an acronym that is derived from" To Insure Prompt Service". Traditionally the was no "tip" minimum. It was a bonus.I give 0-20% depending on service.”

“Bad Tipper, yeah! (sung to The Beatle's tune Day Tripper)

Mabbe the waiter IS getting his tip...latenight!”

“Don't let my earlier post make you think I don't tip. I do. The amount depends on service. I was just freaked out over the cost of the meal. I don't go by a certain % either.”

“bacpac, I waitressed through college. It is hard work, you get home late, walk to your apartment in the dark by yourself. Your co-worker obviously has no clue. If I find out that the waitress has young children and looks frazzled, I usually tip way overboard. I don't eat in expensive restaurants so percentage is less an issue. You should discuss it with your co-worker before you enter another restaurant with her. 15% is standard unless the service was really bad.”

“I have worked the waiter gig in the past at a few places. I know good service from bad and often find myself focusing on the service(teamwork of the floor) more than the food.

I avoid tipping on the tax!!!! That has to be the worst. I will also leave a cash tip before a credit tip.

I have in the past left a few extra bucks at the table when I felt that the bill payer has short changed the waiter for what I thought was a good meal all around.”

“i leave 20%, rounded up.

i agree with lizs. maybe you should throwdown some duckets, too. she'll getz ya point. shiznit, yo!”

“W.Dude --

A business meal out for two at $60 is pretty darn good!! In my neck of the woods a decent professional dinner out for two can easily run $200. And this is without trying too hard. Two drinks, appetizers, bottle of wine or a couple of more drinks, dinners, desserts, coffee.

Business dinner tipping I usually aim for 20-30% unless there has been aggregious stupidity.”

“Hey, there's something I've been wondering. From the waitperson's (ack!) point of view, is there a difference between a cash tip or one put on the card? I'm trying to go cashless and I put everything that I possibly can on the card. I follow Rad's tipping system (20% round up) but it goes on the card. Is this a problem?”

“to the wait staff, yes.

they would prefer the cash, so they can keep a little bit 'in pocket' and away from the irs.

i'm not a waiter, but i play one on television.”

“I would have left extra money on the table.
This once happened to me with some co-workers. We went to a very nice place. After taking the waiters table for a couple hours of eating and talking we owed it to her. She could have been making more money from others. They each had about a 20 dollar ticket and left 1 to 2 dollars. I was so shocked, my mother waits tables for a living and know the work is hard and with the tip you are paying for good service. These people don't even get but about $2.50 an hour from their place of employment. Gee give the tip. Well back to the story. I felt so bad I left a $20.00 on the table. I hope my co-workers felt bad after that.
If you can't afford to tip don't go out to a nice place to eat.”

“My system is all over the board. If I am out with customers and I wont to impress them I will try to let the person weighting on me know that service is important and that the tip will be worth the work. This tip has been as much as 100% depending on the customer. I have also left a 0 tip with a note to change jobs. Some people do not have what it takes. This is harsh but a tip or gratuity is for good service not for looking good.

And yes I do know how hard these people work.”

“I pretty much go 20% standard, 25-30 at our local neighborhood establishment where we go once or twice a week.

i would agree with throwing down the extra on the table. i've had to that a few times when my mother-in-law has picked up the check and left a crap-ass tip. she must have noticed because she has improved.”

“I tend to overtip but more cause my math is bad. I leave pennies to the really terrible servers. Pennies are always more of a message then nothing.”

“20% is not an overtip these days, and the math is easy. 10% and double it.”

“I usually always tip 20%. Maybe, as lizs says, she thought you would split the tip. I would have paid to make it come out to 20%. But you should have seen me cringe the night my girlfriend (a trained chef) took me to a place in Daytona Beach that was $100 for EACH of us! Now THAT was a tip.”

“I have trouble with any percentages. I still count on my fingers if that tells you anything. My checkbook is a disater area. If I dine with others I'm always asking what a good tip is. Otherwise I give two $ most of the time”

“I leave 20% unless the service is crappy.

A couple of weeks ago I went ot lunch with my boss (I bring lunch from home and eat in the office most of the time). We each paid our own tab and I noticed that he only left 10% so I put down 30% to make up the difference. He then picks his tip up and pockets it. I had rather do with out lunch that to go with him.”

“Ouch, cheap boss.”

“For 10%, move the decimal over one to the left. If your bill is $17.89, ten percent is $1.789, which you just call $1.79. If the bill is $40.12 then ten percent is $4.012, which you just call $4.01. Double the ten percent amount, and you?ve got a decent tip that nobody will complain about.

I count on my fingers too and I have a degree in mathematics.”

“The tip on a cup of coffe and a slice of pie is $1.00. If its a diner and the total comes to $3.50 leave the friggin' dollar, shoot leave the $1.50. People will get all twisted about what a decent tip is when they get great service at a reasonable restraurant, and end up leaving considerably more of a tip at a restaurant which pleasures them by charging more. "Flo" works just as hard as "Loo-Wee" at the trendy place.
Is it possible Bacpac the waitress offended your co-worker by assuming you'd be paying because you were the MAN?”

“Thanks for the advice. I should have dropped a few bills on the table. I will next time.”

“Yeah, don't be cheap.”

“On the $60 meal I'd have probably left a $10-$12 tip. The 20 percent rule is easy to remember. My general rule of thumb is to never give less than 15 percent even if the service is not quite up to par. Sometimes people are just extra busy or new. Everyone deserves a break once in a while.

I have, in a couple of cases, left one cent as a message to someone who is blatantly not doing their job. Once when a second waitress asked if our meal had been okay I informed her that we had never received it. The steaks had gotten cold while our original waitress flirted with her boyfriend who was in for a visit. She got my $0.02 worth minus $0.01.

My daughter is a waitress so I know how important the tip can be. BUT I will say this. Having visited countries where waiting is a true profession and art, it is amazing what will pass for good service in America. And I'm not talking about some 22 year college girl coming to your table every five minutes asking you if everything is fine and offering to fill up your glass either.

What's really fun to do is to go into a inexpensive restuarant where people are having to hustle for small tips. You can make someone's day by leaving a couple of extra dollars in a place serving breakfast. Spread some of your good fortune to those sort of waitresses. Small acts of kindness go a long long way.”

“I'll judge a big part of the tip on how fast they get over to me to say "hi" and get me a menu to read. Once it starts to get over 5 minutes for that initial contact, they better be very nice and good or the tip goes down. Now if they're super busy, that doesn't apply. However, when they go to wait on the family of 10 people and take their order before mine, and I was there first, well, that's not good.

If they are trying to be "nice" and wait for my supposed dining partner to show up, they better get over that too. I would imagine it doesn't take new waiters and waitresses long to learn many people dine alone.

As one person told me -- and I abide by this -- even when they come to the table late or seem clueless, that is only the beginning of the experience and by doing their job, their is only one way for the tip to go -- UP!

I usually tip between 15 and 20%, usually closer to 20.

OK, NOW HERE'S ANOTHER TIPPING QUESTION -- WHAT ABOUT THE HAIRDRESSER???!

It's funny cuz in my area many, many ... the great majority of people don't tip them. Even though I religiously tip waitresses, I still wasn't tipping hairdressers. I truly feel the way it is here, they don't expect to be tipped and are overjoyed when they are. I don't know if that's cuz it's a rural area or a (cheapo!!! haha) Norwegian/German immigrant background or what.........

In the past few years I've started, but I always stumble on this one. I just try to add it onto the check paid ("keep the change"), but I'm always struggling to figure it out. I mean, say you get a $60 perm......... do you pay a $12 tip for 20%?? (That seems way too high to me.) Or $5? (That seems much more reasonable, but is not even 10%. Should these tips be based on a percentage??) Or what?

I don't have a set rule on it. I do usually try to buy some kind of hair care product, cuz I know the hairdresser gets some kind of commission on that sale. For example, a $12 bottle of shampoo, perhaps they get 20% commission for $2.40? Or is the commission a lot less than that?

So, what to do??!?”

“I don't know what the correct amount is either. It only cost me $8 to get my hair cut and I leave $10. He always seems happy with the $2.”

“Lizs, Hubby cuts my hair now, but before he used to years ago, I paid about $15. and gave a $3 or $4 tip. He really deserved the $4 bucks after dealing with my long notty hair. Tippy hair is customary in NY.

Oh yeah, I forgot the hair washer person, they got .50 - $1.00.

Lizs, you & the hairdresser would be better off if you bought cheaper shampoo elsewhere and gave them a bigger tip, lol.

Okay, how much do you tip the person that manicures your nails???? They file them down, cut cuticals & polish them along with a hand massage. The cost for my manicures are $10.”

“Having once been married to a waitress, I learned a few worthy and valuable lessons, so I'll offer this persepctive.

"To Insure Promt Service" is soooo accurate. "Service" is, after all, the fundamental basis from which this "rule-of-thumb" originates. That a waitperson deserves a tip presumes their having earned it through good and prompt service. While it is true that waitpersons are poorly paid (from a wage standpoint), we have come to accept it as standard practice to tip, whether earned or not.

Tipping has become so ingrained in our societal norms that NOT to tip begs the question "why would someone so disrespect another as to not leave an appropriate tip for service provided?"

Even the IRS, recognizing how valuable the potential income can be from tips, has, for several years imputed taxable income of 8% of the check to those who ostensibly earn it. Seems to me that anyone working this time-honored profession would realize that fact, understand its impact on their earnings, and make the effort to GIVE good service. By doing so he/she has the best possible chance of receiving a good tip. True, some people are perennial cheapskates, with little respect for those who provide them with their food, etc. If you happen to be with someone like that, I'd recommend you make up the difference, let it be KNOWN that you're leaving what you think is an appropriate total, and if you have to, be blunt. Some people simply must have it thrown in their face that they're cheap. They'll either learn the lesson, or they won't share a meal with you again.

Either way, you win.”

“I leave 20%, but be careful, sometimes the tip is already figured in. Check the recipt to see if it is. If you're even in DC, that's the way it's done.”