A Tipping Question

[CD Boogie]

I've tried to be fair when it comes to tipping. Twenty percent is the rule and not the exception. But the attitudes still bug me.

One, some of us don't make the money we used to when we were in our earning prime. That doesn't mean we don't still want to go out and have a good meal sometimes. And a lot of the attitude I hear comes under the heading of, "If you can't tip well, you shouldn't go out to eat." Well, fuck that. I mean, really, fuck that. If I put $110 down for an $80 meal, first of all, my wife is going to give me hell when we get to the car. But she wouldn't have to. I'd be giving myself hell. Those 30 bucks mean a lot more to me than they did 10 years ago.

Two, I really believe that a lot of the rancor comes from people who are used to eating in city settings. Well, consider that it might be different in other places. Consider Pennsyltucky to be flyover country, if you will.

I'll tack on 20 percent -- usually. But I will also take my service and my food into consideration. If I get bad food, does the waitstaff take a hit for it? Sorry, they're in this together as far as I, the diner, is concerned. I'm not going to tip well for subpar meals.

Anything over $75, and I drop from 20 percent down to 15 percent. Did the waiter do something more in delivering a plate that cost more? No. They shouldn't automatically make more money just because I'm treating myself to a lobster instead of the penne a la vodka. It's the same effort for them to walk it from the chef to my table. Maybe they have to throw some melted butter and some shell crackers on there, but still.

I was a waiter for a number of years through high school, college and afterwards, at a high-end steakhouse. The only time I got frustrated about tips is when people would drink a lot and you were making numerous trips back and forth from the bar.

 

[swingline]

If you're tipping cows in a cornfield, be careful not to crush freq and his ladyfriend.

 

[Chef2]

If you're tipping cows in a cornfield, be careful not to crush freq and his ladyfriend.

I bow in your general direction.

 

[Chef2]

OK.
was it freqie-dekie that ate a girl........out in the parking lot........?

 

[Rhody31]

Anything over $75, and I drop from 20 percent down to 15 percent. Did the waiter do something more in delivering a plate that cost more? No. They shouldn't automatically make more money just because I'm treating myself to a lobster instead of the penne a la vodka. It's the same effort for them to walk it from the chef to my table. Maybe they have to throw some melted butter and some shell crackers on there, but still.

I was a waiter for a number of years through high school, college and afterwards, at a high-end steakhouse. The only time I got frustrated about tips is when people would drink a lot and you were making numerous trips back and forth from the bar.

Wait ... wouldn't you want more booze as a server? That gets a tab up huge.

One of the best servers we've had has been when me and my friends go out as a group, probably because they know a bunch of mid-30s guys are gonna drink and aren't cheap ass college kid or kid just out of school. We went to some hipster bar that had two shuffleboard table with a 1-hour time limit. We took them both. People kept asking to play and our server kept telling them, "sorry, they reserved it for the night." Think she got like $300 bucks off our $700 bill.

One of my buddies is a cheap fuck. First stop on one of our bachelor party trips worked out so we were giving her a healthy tip at $37 per person, we said just make it $40 per guy so we don't have to deal with change. My buddy was furious about shelving out the extra three bucks and said we could have used it at our next stop. We all said the same thing - "Dude, she worked her ass off and we're all loud assholes so she definitely earned it."

Always remember, an extra buck might not seem like much, but it tells someone you appreciated how hard they worked.

 

[Rhody31]

Almost 25 years ago, I was a blackjack dealer in the Midwest. Native casino.

To pass the time, I would count cards in my head. If you were a good tipper at the table, I might tell you the count on an advantageous situation.

There was a man, about 50, who over the course of a Saturday afternoon, won about $6,000 off my table. He said he wanted to tip me half of it but not if they would be shared with the rest of the dealers. I said all tips were pooled.

He looks at me and asks.

"When do you get done today?"

"Six." Only an hour from now.

"You should probably go fill up your car at the gas station down the road."

Sure enough, he was in the corner with an envelope. Thousand bucks.

That tip got split one way.

Do we still do SJ Posts of the Year? This story is one of my favorites.

 

[Batman]

OK.
was it freqie-dekie that ate a girl........out in the parking lot........?

Not sure, but if ever there's a sentence to make sure your comma is in the right position that's the one.

 

[CD Boogie]

Wait ... wouldn't you want more booze as a server? That gets a tab up huge.

One of the best servers we've had has been when me and my friends go out as a group, probably because they know a bunch of mid-30s guys are gonna drink and aren't cheap ass college kid or kid just out of school. We went to some hipster bar that had two shuffleboard table with a 1-hour time limit. We took them both. People kept asking to play and our server kept telling them, "sorry, they reserved it for the night." Think she got like $300 bucks off our $700 bill.

One of my buddies is a cheap fuck. First stop on one of our bachelor party trips worked out so we were giving her a healthy tip at $37 per person, we said just make it $40 per guy so we don't have to deal with change. My buddy was furious about shelving out the extra three bucks and said we could have used it at our next stop. We all said the same thing - "Dude, she worked her ass off and we're all loud assholes so she definitely earned it."

Always remember, an extra buck might not seem like much, but it tells someone you appreciated how hard they worked.

Wait ... wouldn't you want more booze as a server? That gets a tab up huge.

One of the best servers we've had has been when me and my friends go out as a group, probably because they know a bunch of mid-30s guys are gonna drink and aren't cheap ass college kid or kid just out of school. We went to some hipster bar that had two shuffleboard table with a 1-hour time limit. We took them both. People kept asking to play and our server kept telling them, "sorry, they reserved it for the night." Think she got like $300 bucks off our $700 bill.

One of my buddies is a cheap fuck. First stop on one of our bachelor party trips worked out so we were giving her a healthy tip at $37 per person, we said just make it $40 per guy so we don't have to deal with change. My buddy was furious about shelving out the extra three bucks and said we could have used it at our next stop. We all said the same thing - "Dude, she worked her ass off and we're all loud assholes so she definitely earned it."

Always remember, an extra buck might not seem like much, but it tells someone you appreciated how hard they worked.

yur right. I'm somehow scared by kids getting refills but that could not have been the prevailing situation

 

[Rhody31]

yur right. I'm somehow scared by kids getting refills but that could not have been the prevailing situation

When you said drinks I didn't even think of sodas and The such.

 

[doctorquant]

Just got back from three nights in Vegas w/some old friends of ours from Australia (my wife met the husband through a pen pal program when they were in junior high). Tipping apparently isn't a thing in Australia, so the whole fucking week was them stewing over how much to leave here or there. They had their grown children/spouses with them, otherwise I'd have just handled all the tips. But, God, their obsession over some trivial amount was funny. The eight of us ate at one of the Gordon Ramsay places and the total bill (with 18% added in) was like $455. Swear on a stack they asked the waiter to change a $20 so as to not leave the extra $5 on the table.

 

[cisforkoke]

The secret to tipping, I am told, is to have 2-3 trustworthy people who push right in the middle of the cow with significant force.

 

[Twirling Time]

Too lazy to read the whole thread. Did anyone write that you want to approach the cow quietly?