Restaraunt Service - Tipping?

[roadman65]

Nobody wants to tip anymore.  I work in IHOP and many people come in just to take advantage of the fast food and its quirks so they do not have to tip.  Heck even Denny's back when the Grand Slam was 3 bucks, people would use any excuse to get a free meal considering that the nearby hotel restaurant was charging 5 bucks for the same plate and no meal comps were ever requested.

The whole fast food is becoming self service.  Even where I work, many people will get up to get a bottle of ketchup instead of asking the server.  Then they complain that they were ignored when just seconds before they got up out of their seat the server was there even asking "Is there anything else I can get for you" with that person saying "Fine." 

The whole concept of sit down table service is so you do not have to get up and, of course, common sense will even tell you that the server cannot be there for every second.  Each time the server visits you compose a list inside your mind of the things you need or are potentially going to need, and TELL the server then.  Do not get up and do it yourself!  Especially seating, most people ignore the PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED sign or ignore the greater at the door asking you how many is in your party and walk in the dining room and plop their ass down at a table followed by bugging even a busyboy for a menu when he is super busy clearing tables in a busy room.

If you want self service, then McDonalds or Burger King, or an in and out joint is where you need to be.  Don't go into an IHOP, Denny's, or Steak and Shake and complain that a food item is one degree too cool or the server was too long away from the table when in reality he or she was gone only thirty seconds, to get a free meal and then still tell the corporate office you had the worst experience in your life!  Considering you got a 50 dollar check comped that is 50 more bills in your wallet that you would have surrendered.  Plus, any homeless person who cannot afford food would love for a restaurant to pay for a 50 dollar meal.

Roadman - rename the topic if you feel this is not the best --sso

[briantroutman]

Personally, while not exactly "roadside" I see Domino's as dying.  When your ad campaign is "everything we used to do was crap, but now ..." you are circling the bowl.

I've never liked Domino's–the pizza, the advertising, or the company. But I think you'd be hard pressed to say that any chain with more than 10,000 locations has one foot in the grave. Clearly, their niche has always been being cheap and fast–even if their pizza is barely edible. When you're in a business where penny-pinching customers sift through ValPak coupons to decide whether to buy a sub-$10 pizza from you or Little Caesars, product quality is secondary. Domino's is probably safe bashing their past quality standards because most of their customers don't care about quality anyway. They might, however, pick up a few higher end customers who had written off Domino's as cheap junk pizza.

Shoney's, which has been through bankruptcy multiple times, over-expanded and then retreated.

I forgot about Shoney's–certainly they've gone through a major contraction. At one time, the company had a "Shoney's Inn"  brand for hotels, but I suspect they're all gone by now.

Really, the whole "diner" category is not what it was.  The restaurants with actual waitresses and plates, above fast food but below "fast casual".

Nearly all low-end table service chains have suffered as the gulf between the working poor and affluent classes has grown. A cost conscious customer weighing an $8 fast food meal against a $10 equivalent at Denny's or Big Boy also has to account for a $2 tip, making the sit-down meal fully 50% more expensive. And if the customer is in a hurry, dining alone, or had planned to spend the meal catching up on emails, he might be paying a premium for an awkward dining experience where the slow service and waitress interruptions are unwanted.

And the changing economic landscape also leads to this...

Nobody wants to tip anymore.  I work in IHOP...

I don't want this thread to derail in to a discussion about tipping or how people are less classy today, but... Personally, I always tip at least 20% at sit-down restaurants, rounding up, unless the service was egregiously bad–and even then, I still give 10-15%. Somewhat reluctantly, I've gotten into the practice of giving about 10-15% at counter service places where they put a tip line on the card receipt.  (I think the whole premise–"We, the restaurant management, underpay our people, so it's up to you to know that they're underpaid and make up the difference voluntarily" –is archaic and asinine. What if the cashier at the grocery store is underpaid, too? Is it up to me to find that out and slip her a few dollars each visit?)

But, I tend to avoid some chains, like Denny's and IHOP, primarily because of the rude, loud, and cheap customers they attract–not necessarily because their product is bad. Even in good economic times, you'll still have low-rent customers that don't tip, lodge phony complaints in hopes of getting a free meal, or whatever. But in a weak economy, this will expectably be worse.

It's a vicious cycle: Lowlife patrons tip less and act like jerks. → Servers decide the poor pay isn't worth dealing with the lowlifes. → Restaurant hires bottom-of-the-barrel servers. → Because of the lowlifes and bad service, decent patrons leave. → Restaurant loses business, issues coupons. → Attracts more lowlifes....

I don't see any way out other than to stop competing on the basis of price.

[jakeroot]

...where I work, many people will get up to get a bottle of ketchup instead of asking the server.  Then they complain that they were ignored when just seconds before they got up out of their seat the server was there even asking "Is there anything else I can get for you" with that person saying "Fine."

...common sense will even tell you that the server cannot be there for every second.  Each time the server visits you compose a list inside your mind of the things you need or are potentially going to need, and TELL the server then.  Do not get up and do it yourself!

If a bottle of ketchup is at the table, and you bring my food, I'm going to say "no, everything looks good -- thanks!" and let you go on your merry way. But when I grab the ketchup bottle only to discover its complete lack of ketchup, I'm not going to wait another ten minutes for you to come back, at which point my food will be cold and I will still have to wait for you to bring my ketchup.

As for people who say "fine" when things are in fact not "fine", I can only shake my head.

[roadman65]

The last part of that is right on the money for Brian.  That is how some put their foot in the grave every single time a manager comps a meal.  Yes it does attracts low life clientel, and yes with the economy being what it is many are tipping less.  Like you said the workers want to quit because of like you said do not want to deal with the hard work and no tips.  The owners are desperate and hire low life servers as well as those with moral decency and want to make real money, do not want to work in places like Denny's.

My argument was to support why some are going bad.  My dad used to say every time a shopping cart is stolen from a store, we pay for it in raised prices to compensate for all that was lost.  That is why in reality, not just my dad's theory, hotel rates are much more than they need to be as many people steal thousands of dollars worth of stuff such as towels out of rooms.

Not to go off subject, but be proactive Jake.  Make the mental note of your ketchup before he brings the food.  Also I bring the ketchup ASAP because I do not want to lose a good tip!  I return within a minuet, sometimes two if the customer takes his time in biting in as some do not eat promptly. 

[corco]

I don’t want this thread to derail in to a discussion about tipping or how people are less classy today, but... Personally, I always tip at least 20% at sit-down restaurants, rounding up, unless the service was egregiously bad—and even then, I still give 10-15%. Somewhat reluctantly, I’ve gotten into the practice of giving about 10-15% at counter service places where they put a tip line on the card receipt.  (I think the whole premise—“We, the restaurant management, underpay our people, so it’s up to you to know that they’re underpaid and make up the difference voluntarily”—is archaic and asinine. What if the cashier at the grocery store is underpaid, too? Is it up to me to find that out and slip her a few dollars each visit?)

Counter service places with tip lines REALLY piss me off. I won't tip in that situation, and I don't think a tip should be or is expected. If I entirely make my transaction at the counter - and in most places I see it there is NO table service, that's a good way to make me not want to go there again. I'm not tipping for a counter-only transaction where counter-only service is the norm, and I don't want to be made to feel bad for writing 0 tip in the line. I've noticed that really start to pop up in the last 2-3 years though.

[roadman65]

I don't want this thread to derail in to a discussion about tipping or how people are less classy today, but... Personally, I always tip at least 20% at sit-down restaurants, rounding up, unless the service was egregiously bad–and even then, I still give 10-15%. Somewhat reluctantly, I've gotten into the practice of giving about 10-15% at counter service places where they put a tip line on the card receipt.  (I think the whole premise–"We, the restaurant management, underpay our people, so it's up to you to know that they're underpaid and make up the difference voluntarily" –is archaic and asinine. What if the cashier at the grocery store is underpaid, too? Is it up to me to find that out and slip her a few dollars each visit?)

Counter service places with tip lines REALLY piss me off. I won't tip in that situation, and I don't think a tip should be or is expected. If I entirely make my transaction at the counter - and in most places I see it there is NO table service, that's a good way to make me not want to go there again. I'm not tipping for a counter-only transaction, and I don't want to feel bad for writing 0 tip in the line.

Lets open a new thread so the OP does not get lost.  Interesting points though, and would like to go further in this spin off topic.

[briantroutman]

Counter service places with tip lines REALLY piss me off. I won't tip in that situation, and I don't think a tip should be or is expected.

To an extent, it ticks me off, too...perhaps even more so where I know (or suspect) that the person behind the counter at a take-out place is the franchisee or owner. It's one thing for an underpaid server to have a shot at a more livable wage through tips; it's another when a business owner is making a wider profit margin by collecting tips himself/herself.

On the other hand, I believe I've seen some sit-down places that offer take-out (I think Waffle House in particular) post a message like: "Our waitstaff are tipped by dine-in patrons and work hard putting your to-go order together. Please consider tipping."  And at Waffle House–you can see the poor servers making toast, making coffee, washing dishes, falling asleep in a booth after a double shift...

But what about when you get take out from some uppity place in a well-to-do neighborhood? Again, that puts the customer in an uncomfortable position–you have to guess who actually prepared your meal, how much he/she is getting paid, whether this person has children...

[Dr Frankenstein]

I always tip unless service was nil or really awful.

That said, I disagree with the current tipping culture in North America. Tip workers should be bound to the same minimum wage as everyone else, regardless of how much they've made in tips, and customers should tip if they feel the employee deserves an extra (i.e. better than average service). It's not my job to pay my waiter's salary, it's the employer's. And so what if the prices go up a bit; at least, waiters will be paid fairly.

[english si]

Even where I work, many people will get up to get a bottle of ketchup instead of asking the server.

The horror of people thinking that they don't have to treat you as a personal slave and can actually do stuff, rather than interrupting you!

Then they complain that they were ignored when just seconds before they got up out of their seat the server was there even asking "Is there anything else I can get for you" with that person saying "Fine."

Yes, sure that is annoying. The complaint, that is - not the fact that the they get up and grab a condiment, rather than calling you back to get it.

However, they have a point if their complaint was that you came too early to ask the question and they said no to end the interruption and allow them to make up their minds as to whether the food needed condiments without someone breathing down their necks.

the server cannot be there for every second.

Thank fuck!!! Especially in America, servers come way too often, usually to ask inane questions that could be answered by looking at the table (eg refills) rather than interrupting the meal.

Each time the server visits you compose a list inside your mind of the things you need or are potentially going to need, and TELL the server then.

Server demands that customer anticipates server's every need? They need to be ready to answer your every beck and call because you aren't going to answer their every beck and call?

No wonder no one wants to tip you! 

Do not get up and do it yourself!

And then you get annoyed when they don't call you over and make you do something, despite getting annoyed when they do that? There's no pleasing some people!

You demand that the customer make your job easier by anticipating the server's need for information. You get annoyed when they badger busy busboys to do something. But you get annoyed when they didn't want to interrupt you from what you are doing and get you to perform a simple action that they could do themselves?

My indecision is not going to affect my view of service. Attitudes like yours about my indecision will certainly mean a very low view of the service.

That said, I disagree with the current tipping culture in North America. Tip workers should be bound to the same minimum wage as everyone else, regardless of how much they've made in tips, and customers should tip if they feel the employee deserves an extra (i.e. better than average service). It's not my job to pay my waiter's salary, it's the employer's. And so what if the prices go up a bit; at least, waiters will be paid fairly.

This, a million times this. The pressure on wait staff to get tips reduces service quality because they want to be seen to give good service, rather than actually give it. Instead of attentiveness and anticipation, you end up with presence and small talk.

Waiting on tables is about observing (literally waiting) and then, when there's a need, serving that need. Good service waits for customer initiation, rather than initiates it themselves. Really good service spots little clues and addresses the initiation as it happens rather than waiting to be asked. Rather than asking if I want a refill when my glass is half-full and you just happen to be passing, wait until it is nearly empty. Instead of asking me if I'm ready to order simply as it has been x minutes, see if I'm looking at the menu, or whether I appear to be done with it. If you are going to come and ask a question and want a response, ask it the visit before, prefixing with "I'll be back in a couple of minutes to..." and allow time for people to think rather than just showing up and asking the question.

[jeffandnicole]

That said, I disagree with the current tipping culture in North America. Tip workers should be bound to the same minimum wage as everyone else, regardless of how much they've made in tips, and customers should tip if they feel the employee deserves an extra (i.e. better than average service). It's not my job to pay my waiter's salary, it's the employer's. And so what if the prices go up a bit; at least, waiters will be paid fairly.

This, a million times this. The pressure on wait staff to get tips reduces service quality because they want to be seen to give good service, rather than actually give it. Instead of attentiveness and anticipation, you end up with presence and small talk.

Waiting on tables is about observing (literally waiting) and then, when there's a need, serving that need. Good service waits for customer initiation, rather than initiates it themselves. Really good service spots little clues and addresses the initiation as it happens rather than waiting to be asked. Rather than asking if I want a refill when my glass is half-full and you just happen to be passing, wait until it is nearly empty. Instead of asking me if I'm ready to order simply as it has been x minutes, see if I'm looking at the menu, or whether I appear to be done with it. If you are going to come and ask a question and want a response, ask it the visit before, prefixing with "I'll be back in a couple of minutes to..." and allow time for people to think rather than just showing up and asking the question.

If you have a personal server that is only taking care of your table, all of this can happen.  The reality though is it can't.  A server typically serves about 5 tables at a time. That's 5 tables, with multiple people per table, that the server has to take care of. 

Yes, an observant server will walk by and see that your drink is half full. At that point, a decision is made - give you another soda which takes a few seconds and is cheap - or skip it, and go take the order from another table, all of whom have different food allergies requiring substitutions and each person will ask what salad dressings the restaurant has, and what vegetables are available.  If you drink that drink while the server is taking that order, entering it into the system, and then taking food out to another table, the server isn't going to have the time at that moment for your drink. And you'll be pissed off that you don't have a drink in front of you. 

Good service, in my opinion, doesn't wait for the customer to initiate it.  A customer shouldn't have to summon anyone over.  They are the ones paying for the meal.  Yet, your description of 'great' customer service is spot on.

Whenever I'm out with a group of people, whether it be family or friends, there's always going to be at least one person that knows what they want without looking at the menu, and at least one person who will never put down the menu because they can't decide.  Under your description of the perfect server, the server will never be perfect, because there's at least 2 people at the table that have opposite needs - the one who wants their order taken now, and the one that needs a few more minutes.

Most restaurants have service requirements.  After you sat down, a server should be with you within 90 seconds.  After your drink order is taken, a server should return within 5 minutes, etc.  If someone at that table was a secret shopper, they are timing them.  A server returning 8 minutes later because everyone was still holding their menu will fail that part of the test.  You may think, so be it.  I'm going to side with the restaurant who's company is making millions of dollars daily, and has a line out the door of hungry customers.

You may have your ideals, but they don't speak for everyone else...not even people you're with at your table!

[cpzilliacus]

I always tip unless service was nil or really awful.

That said, I disagree with the current tipping culture in North America. Tip workers should be bound to the same minimum wage as everyone else, regardless of how much they've made in tips, and customers should tip if they feel the employee deserves an extra (i.e. better than average service). It's not my job to pay my waiter's salary, it's the employer's. And so what if the prices go up a bit; at least, waiters will be paid fairly.

I know one person that worked for many years for a national chain of sit-down eating establishments.

Without tips, she and her family were going to not have money to put food on the table and pay the rent.

For that reason, unless the service is terrible, I give at least 15%, and often 20%. 

[hbelkins]

Tipping is supposed to be a reward for good service, not an expected supplement to an employee's wages.

The obvious solution is to apply minimum wage standards to all employees and not exempt those in a certain business or industry. And also not to tax tips as income.

If my service is good, I will tip 15 percent, which is AFAIK the recommended standard. If the restaurant has a policy that there's an X percent gratuity added for parties over X number of people, then I don't tip any additional. That's not because I'm cheap, it's because the establishment has chosen to assess a tip no matter the quality of the service.

I have not left tips before, or only tipped a penny. Tipping a penny is said to be a way to let the server know that they did a poor job. And I'm not that demanding of a customer.

One exception I've made was at the 2013 Pikeville meet, when our group took over a section of the restaurant for awhile. The server had her hands full, so I made sure to give her something extra as we were heading out the door as a way of saying thanks.

[roadman65]

The rule is 10 percent lousy service.
Fifteen for good or average service.
20 percent for awesome service.

No tipping ten for shitty is not rewarding the server, as that is chickenfeed, but the feds want you to claim that you made that amount for taxes. 


As far as counter service goes its iffy.   Some do and some don't, it depends on the circumstances.

In some restaurants I hate valets in the restrooms as they are in it for money and you are in there to just want to take care of nature.  I try to ignore the man who hands you a towel if they hire a valet so I do not feel obligated to tip as I feel that idea is making both of us feel quite uncomfortable. 

Some restaurants add the tips because of people tipping bad.  Especially on big parties because people are ignorant to do math.  Some people automatically feel that 5 bucks is a great tip on 100 bucks.  Hey, that is only 5 percent.  Fifteen dollars is 15 %.    The problem is people go in not realizing that the bill will go so high, so they are in awe when they see it and of course most people just barely carry 100 bucks in their pockets.  So they pay the bill and say to themselves "Sh*t happens, oh well he or she will survive" even though its true as many other customers leave more than 15 to compensate.

As far as the ketchup bottle goes, yes you may be doing the server a favor and not hold it against him or her, but management does not see it that way.  My boss will say, that I am not doing my job as he is unaware that the guest (for some reason you are not a customer in a restaurant) is hungry and that he may be doing not because of anger, but to help him and the staff in one action.  With micro managing nowadays the restaurants you eat at are all under video surveilance and the President of the Company can see you eat!  Most restaurants now do not keep managers around for very long because of cameras and computer sales tracking.  Many get fired for lack of revenue as now the companies set goals that must be met, and if not they get fired for low production.  This is not only in the food industry, but in all businesses now.  Managers do not manage anymore, they just enforce what the CEO implements and are nothing but the employee police thanks to the cyberworld.

[cpzilliacus]

Tipping is supposed to be a reward for good service, not an expected supplement to an employee's wages.

I do not dispute that, but it has become a source of basic compensation for tipped workers.

The obvious solution is to apply minimum wage standards to all employees and not exempt those in a certain business or industry. And also not to tax tips as income.

No problem with that at all.

If my service is good, I will tip 15 percent, which is AFAIK the recommended standard. If the restaurant has a policy that there's an X percent gratuity added for parties over X number of people, then I don't tip any additional. That's not because I'm cheap, it's because the establishment has chosen to assess a tip no matter the quality of the service.

Agree that 15% is "standard" for decent service.  In places where the food is cheap but they still have a wait staff, I tip more (best example is one of my favorites - Waffle House, especially since I cannot eat very much these days).

In Europe, the standard is often that the "tip" is included in the check - patrons can give more if they service was really good.

I have not left tips before, or only tipped a penny. Tipping a penny is said to be a way to let the server know that they did a poor job. And I'm not that demanding of a customer.

I have left less than 15% if the service was especially crappy, but I have not left a penny before.

One exception I've made was at the 2013 Pikeville meet, when our group took over a section of the restaurant for awhile. The server had her hands full, so I made sure to give her something extra as we were heading out the door as a way of saying thanks.

Thank you for doing that.

[wphiii]

I make a point to tip at least 20% for all sit-down service, even for "mediocre" service. A server would have to be meal-ruiningly incompetent to get less than that from me, and unless they're intentionally being flat out rude or insulting I'll still leave a few bucks no matter what. After all, one less than stellar meal experience for me is nothing compared to the daily struggle of trying to make ends meet by working in food service. Even for counter service, I'll leave a buck or two because I don't know what the people at the register are getting paid and tips very well may be a critical part of their income, too. As my grandfather liked to say, "it's always better to err on the side of generosity." Until they fix the terribly broken system in this country, there's not a good reason not to tip well.

The only time I can remember flat out not leaving a tip was one time at a diner in a small town near here. I was with my mom and uncle and his two kids and we got seated and got our food okay, albeit a little slowly, but we figured sometimes that's just the pace of a place and that's fine, whatever. But then when we were clearly finished with our meals, the waitress never came to ask if we wanted dessert, or our check, or anything at all. We flagged her down and asked for our check. She said she would get it, but for some reason just didn't. So we flagged her down a second time and again, she said she would be right back with it. Again, nothing, and it wasn't like this place was super busy or anything, either. Eventually, we went up to the hostess and explained what was happening and she just rolled her eyes at us like this was somehow us being unreasonable and made us wait another five minutes until the waitress happened to wander into the vicinity and only then were we finally able to settle up. I don't know if it was because we were obviously out-of-towners and they were deliberately yanking our chain or what the deal was, but I have never experienced such treatment at any sort of restaurant before or since.

[slorydn1]

I always tip around 20%, unless the service is so absolutely mind numbingly bad. I can't remember the last time I didn't leave a tip at all.  This is probably because I know what it's like to get (and sometimes not get) tipped as a pizza delivery driver (thankfully I don't have to do that anymore).

Alot of people wouldn't tip us because of the $2.00 "delivery charge" (about 75% of which went back to the stores coffers to pay for "insurance") and we got about 25%.

Yep that's right, a whole 50 cents, which for most of my deliveries didn't even cover the cost of the gas I burned getting there. Now, we did get minimum wage plus some, so we weren't as messed up as the wait staff in many restaurants on that side of it. Plus, for many years we didn't  get pressed to declare our tips because we were making a decent hourly wage. In the late 90's they started really pressing for us to declare, so most people I knew declared that they got stiffed on every run.

I declared any tips that could be proven (from credit card slips, personal checks, things like that). 

I can tell you, that a customer's status as a tipper or non tipper is definitely remembered by the person providing the service. Granted, it was easier for me because my customers were all addresses as opposed to a face that walked into the restaurant.

At the Pizza Hut delivery unit I used to work at we have a nursing home in our store's delivery area where the employees order several times a day everyday. They are about as far away from the store as one can be and still be in our delivery area, so a round trip cost me anywhere from $2.00-$3.50 in gas just to get there and back to the store depending on which vehicle I was driving. More than a few times the various beaters I bought specifically to deliver in would break down and I'd have to drive my full size F150 that day. Any way, they almost never tipped, pretty much never actually. And wouldn't you know it, their pizza almost always got there ice cold, straight from the freezer cold. I just could never understand how the pizza bag would always flop open with the opening always pointed right at the AC vent that just happened to be angled down blowing cold air on the passenger seat.


Now there was a guy that lived in a modest neighborhood that would tip $10 dollars, even when he was only getting a single medium pizza and some bread sticks for himself and his wife. If he threw a large shindig he would order a ton of pizzas and the tip could be closer to the $50 range (he never threw a small party, lol). Needless to say, the fight would be on as soon as his address popped up on the order screen. Usually only the most experienced driver with the best attitude was allowed to deliver to his house (usually that would fall to me when I was working). His food would get there super hot every time, and his order was always right. Hmmm, I wonder why that was?


Tips=To Insure Prompt Service. Not such a big deal if you are just passing through, obviously, but a really big deal if you are there all the time.

[roadman65]

I make a point to tip at least 20% for all sit-down service, even for "mediocre" service. A server would have to be meal-ruiningly incompetent to get less than that from me, and unless they're intentionally being flat out rude or insulting I'll still leave a few bucks no matter what. After all, one less than stellar meal experience for me is nothing compared to the daily struggle of trying to make ends meet by working in food service. Even for counter service, I'll leave a buck or two because I don't know what the people at the register are getting paid and tips very well may be a critical part of their income, too. As my grandfather liked to say, "it's always better to err on the side of generosity." Until they fix the terribly broken system in this country, there's not a good reason not to tip well.

The only time I can remember flat out not leaving a tip was one time at a diner in a small town near here. I was with my mom and uncle and his two kids and we got seated and got our food okay, albeit a little slowly, but we figured sometimes that's just the pace of a place and that's fine, whatever. But then when we were clearly finished with our meals, the waitress never came to ask if we wanted dessert, or our check, or anything at all. We flagged her down and asked for our check. She said she would get it, but for some reason just didn't. So we flagged her down a second time and again, she said she would be right back with it. Again, nothing, and it wasn't like this place was super busy or anything, either. Eventually, we went up to the hostess and explained what was happening and she just rolled her eyes at us like this was somehow us being unreasonable and made us wait another five minutes until the waitress happened to wander into the vicinity and only then were we finally able to settle up. I don't know if it was because we were obviously out-of-towners and they were deliberately yanking our chain or what the deal was, but I have never experienced such treatment at any sort of restaurant before or since.

That you just walk out.  They cannot throw you in jail as that is not worth it.

I can probably tell you why the server disappeared, because it might of been a place desperate for help.  So they hire the rift raft, and you got someone who thinks serving is just taking orders and bringing the food out like one girl I used to work with.  She always was on the phone arguing with her boyfriend instead of checking up on the people and bussing, etc.  She never even came to work with change to break a 100 dollar bill as most restaurants now did away with cashiers and the servers have to come prepared with change.  She would always expect me to have it and when I told her what her job is she started talking like Alps and NE 2 do to me here, and say in that tone "how can I have any change on me, when I spend all of it to pay my bills" then continue to say (looking at me like I was stupid)"duh, if I do spend my money then how can I have anything left for me here."  Of course, she is the one to realize that everyone else has bills to pay too, but we all leave a bank for ourselves at least 20 dollars in mix change so we are not embarrassed when we can't change even a simple 20.  So how hypocritical that was to say, but in a case like that I am sure you can just walk out after grabbing the managers number and mail the money (exact change when you get it) plus whatever you feel toward her.  Anyway this girl had walk outs BTW and had to pay for them and still never figured out she needed to stay off the phone!

As far as server banking goes, the managers should leave money with the floor supervisors as there are cases when two people in a row will have 100 dollar bills to break, especially in a tourist dominated area like Kissimme/ Orlando.

Yes, it can work two ways  as far as getting things right.  Servers can suck and so can guests be a pain in the neck.  Also high school kids actually never almost tip anything.  I do not know if its ignorance or like it was when I was a kid when many of us often wondered why do grown ups tip and why don't businesses pay higher wages. Whatever teens do not tip most of the time.

[Mr_Northside]

Now there was a guy that lived in a modest neighborhood that would tip $10 dollars, even when he was only getting a single medium pizza and some bread sticks for himself and his wife. If he threw a large shindig he would order a ton of pizzas and the tip could be closer to the $50 range (he never threw a small party, lol). Needless to say, the fight would be on as soon as his address popped up on the order screen.

I worked at a pizza shop for a few years - in the kitchen - and while most people gave the drivers tips that were mediocre to horrible, there were a few customers who were known to be real good tippers.  There were a few drivers smart enough to realize that cutting us in would usually result in that order coming out when they were up (There were certain times were that just couldn't work out, but when it was busy, it was easy) -- I remember at least one other driver getting pissed and going off on/to the owner about that.

She never even came to work with change to break a 100 dollar bill as most restaurants now did away with cashiers and the servers have to come prepared with change.

Bring-your-own-change, especially in a non-delivery situation, sounds pretty fucked up, IMO.

[nexus73]

Read the Yelps beforehand to know which places are likely to deliver a good experience.  Smartphones make this easy to do on da' road these days and if you plan a trip to a known destination, you can research the potential candidates for dining beforehand in a leisurely fashion at home.

My usual tip for a typical sitdown restaurant is $5.  That's enough for bit over a gallon of gas or a cheap pack of smokes, which corresponds to a 50 cent tip back in the day when a gallon of gas was 35 cents for premium and a pack of smokes varied from 27 cents to 50 cents depending on where one bought them. 

I find good service experiences outnumber bad ones in Oregon.  California has a lot of bad service and has had for a long time due to the "f*ck a million" business ethic that dominates there.  What that means is if you screw a million people over it doesn't matter since there are millions more.  Oregon is small town values outside of PDX, where customers who pay the bill are precious commodities and getting their repeat business is essential to a business's survival. 

Treat me badly and get no tip plus a 1-star Yelp when I get back to post up on my road trip or local experiences.  Treat me right and if everything else worked out well, you get a decent tip and a 4-star/5-star review.    Be generous to those who do good and absolutely ruthless with the bad elements in the service industry.  On the other side of the counter, consider your customers as valuable so long as they pay for what they want and you are completely capable of delivering.  Get rid of the deadbeats and flakes ASAP.  Life is a two-way street but I like to be in the "right" lane no matter what direction we are going!

Rick     

[Pete from Boston]

Tipping is one of the few good investments in this world.  If you go someplace with any frequency, and tip well, you'll get treated better. 

20% is standard around here.  Always round up, because being cheap is no way to go through life, and remember that tossing in an extra buck might make someone's day more than you holding onto it will yours.

Seriously, no one goes broke from tipping well.  It's the monetary equivalent of holding a door, picking up something a stranger dropped, or just smiling and being nice.  You help the rising tide that lifts all our boats.

[thenetwork]

This from a friend of mine who delivers for a local pizza company:

-  Frequent delivery customers (good & bad) are well known back at the restaurant between all drivers.
-  Bad tippers, or stiffs (non tippers) are regularly known by name or address amongst most restaurant staff.
-  Known bad tippers/stiffs will almost always be the last delivery, if a delivery person has multiple stops.
-  Known bad tippers/stiffs will rarely get the complimentary plates, napkins, Parmesan, Red Pepper, etc... unless it is specifically asked for.
-  Known bad tippers/stiffs will never get to break/pay with $50s or $100s. unless they order that much food or more.
-  Drivers will rarely, if ever have coins for change.  If your bill comes to $25.63 and you bitch about not getting your 37 cents change, then maybe you shouldn't be buying food for delivery in the first place -- you can't afford it!!!

The moral of the story is if you frequently order food for delivery and you don't tip, nor tip well, don't expect to be treated too well...They will give you as generic, no-frills service as they can get without getting in trouble.  You will be marked as a stiff far more quickly than if you were a regular eating at a restaurant.  If you don't want to tip and still get good quick service, pick up the food yourself at the to-go counter in the restaurant. 

[Duke87]

Yep that's right, a whole 50 cents, which for most of my deliveries didn't even cover the cost of the gas I burned getting there.

So wait, you were delivering pizza in your own vehicle, burning your own gas, and not getting reimbursed for it? That's fucked up.

[corco]

Yep that's right, a whole 50 cents, which for most of my deliveries didn't even cover the cost of the gas I burned getting there.

So wait, you were delivering pizza in your own vehicle, burning your own gas, and not getting reimbursed for it? That's fucked up.

That's how pizza places typically function.

[slorydn1]

Yep that's right, a whole 50 cents, which for most of my deliveries didn't even cover the cost of the gas I burned getting there.

So wait, you were delivering pizza in your own vehicle, burning your own gas, and not getting reimbursed for it? That's fucked up.

Pretty much..


When I first started doing it in the late 80's early 90's we got paid by the mile. Depending on the size of the delivery area and how small your car was you could make out like a bandit on the mileage money.
In the mid to late 90's Dominos got the wild idea that they could save a ton of money by paying by the run instead, so regardless of the distance they paid the same amount every time. The rest of the delivery places started to follow suit and Pizza Hut started charging the customer a delivery charge circa 2001 and that's what they paid our run money out of. The key was to take as many deliveries per run as they would let you take but quite often you would get stuck with a single, and the 50 cents paid for about a 3 mile round trip in the average vehicle. My average miles per run was 6.5 there and back-that nursing home I referenced in my previous post was an approximately 10 mile round trip


When Katrina hit and gas went over $3 a gallon everywhere, they bumped the delivery charge to you from $1 to $2 "to cover the higher cost of fuel" but we didn't see that on our end. I finally gave it up even as a part time second job in 2008, and my wife quit in 2013. It was costing US money in the long run to work there, LOL.

[SteveG1988]

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tipping_tooting