Stiffing
 

I stiffed the wait staff twice in the past week and felt pretty good about it both times.

The first time was at Miyake's where I had this for lunch


The waiter was kind of a punk but that didn't bother me. What bothered the heck out of me was having to wait 10 minutes to pay my bill because the cashier took a break. My bill was $14.75 and all I had was a $20. When the cashier gets done being a lazy worthless [censored], he asks me if I want my change in one dollar bills. I was still going to leave a tip until he asked that question.

Then this past weekend I had breakfast at Costeaux .

The restaurant looked good from the outside. It was what you would expect from downtown Healdsburg, CA. This is a place with lots of groovy rich California people, tourists and homosexuals. I don't have anything against any of these groups. I'm just painting a picture of the atmosphere at this place. Anyways, the restaurant was filthy. The service sucked. It took them 15 minutes to get a cup of coffee in front of me. I had to ask for a refill (total BS, IMO). Our food took forever and tasted just OK. The place was not particularly busy. As a former food service worker I was not at all impressed by the effort from Team Costeaux. I felt good stiffing those clowns also.

Re: Stiffing
 

My mother is a waitress and I always try to be forgiving when it comes to problems with the waitstaff, but there has been occasion that I've left small or no tip. Of course, since I'm in my early 20s, when i do this, I feel like I'm just propagating the same stereotypes about bad tipping young people that leads to some of the bad service in the first place.

I never stiff them based off the quality of the food, but if they take forever, are unapologetic, etc. then I have no problem stiffing them.

Re: Stiffing
 

FWIW I have found that the quality of service I receive has gotten better as I've gotten older.

Re: Stiffing
 

i don't know if i would stiff the first guy if it's the cashier's fault and not the server. staff who don't work for tips sometimes don't care about screwing over the waitstaff, sucks when that happens.

the only time i have ever totally stiffed somebody was at a bar / restaurant in a fairly seedy part of cancun when we got stranded there during hurricane ivan a few years back. lousy service the whole time, and then they ignored us for like twenty minutes while we tried to get the bill. place wasn't even crowded. i flagged a guy down and asked for it and still didn't get it. we guessed the price (erring on the side of lowball), left it mostly in change, and bounced.

i worked in the restaurant industry for a long time so i am pretty forgiving, especially when i go to a place a lot. i'm finding that it doesn't matter that much in NYC though like it does in small towns, they just don't care as much here and they aren't likely to remember you.

Re: Stiffing
 

I've never stiffed in a restaurant, but I've given really small tips (like 5%) in situations like the one you described where the guy just disappeared for like 15 minutes when we were trying to pay the check and get out of there. That [censored] is infuriating.

Only time I recall totally stiffing anyone was a cabbie in AC who drove me from the Borgata to the Taj, meter was like $10.50 and I had $9 in ones and all the rest of my money in $20s and $100s. I hand the guy a $20, he says he doesn't have any change (lol), I take the 20 back, give him the $9 and leave. I felt a little bad, but wtf, I'm not tipping you $9.50 for a 5-minute cab ride because you're either lying about having change or too dumb to carry it.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
FWIW I have found that the quality of service I receive has gotten better as I've gotten older.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree. My tolerance for poor service has shrunk to near zero. There are several poker dealers that will never get a tip and I'm a one casino man who logs a lot of hours. Food service, no biggie, I just won't ever go back.

When it comes to consumer f-ups I know exactly which buttons to push, just how much noise to make and what authority to appeal to. I get my way most all the time, public sphere excluded. No leverage is possible with public employees unless you are connected.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
I've never stiffed in a restaurant, but I've given really small tips (like 5%) in situations like the one you described where the guy just disappeared for like 15 minutes when we were trying to pay the check and get out of there. That [censored] is infuriating.


[/ QUOTE ]

My wife and I were eating in the coffee shop at one of the casinos in South Lake Tahoe a couple of years ago. Sometime before the food was on the table, the server went DB Cooper on us, as in, didn't check back after a couple of minutes (a different server had actually brought the food out) and we were sitting around for a good 15 minutes waiting for the check.

Finally, we went to the cashier, who had no idea where the check was, and what to charge us. I told her exactly what we had, but for some reason she didn't just write up a duplicate tag. Anyway, Houdini comes rolling up out of the back and my wife insists on paying the bill, signing a CC slip for a $0.17 tip right in front of the guy.

Re: Stiffing
 

I don't really care whose fault it is when something is not right in a restaurant. If the overall package is great, a place where I would LOVE to come back -- that means food, service and stmosphere -- then I will gladly leave big tips, up to equal to the meal depending on how much I have on me. But I don't tip for merely decent service, which is 99% of places, so I almost never tip.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
I've never stiffed in a restaurant, but I've given really small tips (like 5%) in situations like the one you described where the guy just disappeared for like 15 minutes when we were trying to pay the check and get out of there. That [censored] is infuriating.

Only time I ever recall stiffing anyone was a cabbie in AC who drove me from the Borgata to the Taj, meter was like $10.50 and I had $9 in ones and all the rest of my money in $20s and $100s. I hand the guy a $20, he says he doesn't have any change (lol), I take the 20 back, give him the $9 and leave. I felt a little bad, but wtf, I'm not tipping you $9.50 for a 5-minute cab ride because you're either lying about having change or too dumb to carry it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aren't cabbies supposed to carry a certain amount of change by law?

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
I don't really care whose fault it is when something is not right in a restaurant. If the overall package is great, a place where I would LOVE to come back -- that means food, service and stmosphere -- then I will gladly leave big tips, up to equal to the meal depending on how much I have on me. But I don't tip for merely decent service, which is 99% of places, so I almost never tip.

[/ QUOTE ]

wow, coming from you this doesn't surprise me at all.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
I don't really care whose fault it is when something is not right in a restaurant. If the overall package is great, a place where I would LOVE to come back -- that means food, service and stmosphere -- then I will gladly leave big tips, up to equal to the meal depending on how much I have on me. But I don't tip for merely decent service, which is 99% of places, so I almost never tip.

[/ QUOTE ]

cue eight million Reservoir Dog pics/gimmick accounts.

Re: Stiffing
 

as i said, my mom is a waitress. she works weekends at a family restauraunt. she makes $2.15 per hour.

People do realize waitstaff is exempt from minimum wage right?

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
as i said, my mom is a waitress. she works weekends at a family restauraunt. she makes $2.15 per hour.

People do realize waitstaff is exempt from minimum wage right?

[/ QUOTE ]

cue AC hijack.

don't do it people, you'll get banned.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I've never stiffed in a restaurant, but I've given really small tips (like 5%) in situations like the one you described where the guy just disappeared for like 15 minutes when we were trying to pay the check and get out of there. That [censored] is infuriating.

Only time I ever recall stiffing anyone was a cabbie in AC who drove me from the Borgata to the Taj, meter was like $10.50 and I had $9 in ones and all the rest of my money in $20s and $100s. I hand the guy a $20, he says he doesn't have any change (lol), I take the 20 back, give him the $9 and leave. I felt a little bad, but wtf, I'm not tipping you $9.50 for a 5-minute cab ride because you're either lying about having change or too dumb to carry it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aren't cabbies supposed to carry a certain amount of change by law?

[/ QUOTE ]

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...81/not_jim.gif

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't really care whose fault it is when something is not right in a restaurant. If the overall package is great, a place where I would LOVE to come back -- that means food, service and stmosphere -- then I will gladly leave big tips, up to equal to the meal depending on how much I have on me. But I don't tip for merely decent service, which is 99% of places, so I almost never tip.

[/ QUOTE ]

cue eight million Reservoir Dog pics/gimmick accounts.

[/ QUOTE ] http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_01_img0413.jpg
ask and you shall receive

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
FWIW I have found that the quality of service I receive has gotten better as I've gotten older.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree. My tolerance for poor service has shrunk to near zero. There are several poker dealers that will never get a tip and I'm a one casino man who logs a lot of hours. Food service, no biggie, I just won't ever go back.

When it comes to consumer f-ups I know exactly which buttons to push, just how much noise to make and what authority to appeal to. I get my way most all the time, public sphere excluded. No leverage is possible with public employees unless you are connected.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wasn't really referring to knowing how to "play the game" better (even though that is very true), I meant that even though I act the same, I get better service.

Re: Stiffing
 

that chick from the office is so [censored] smokin

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]

cue AC hijack.
don't do it people, you'll get banned.

[/ QUOTE ]

I ask this in all seriousness: What is an AC hijack?

Re: Stiffing
 

if you have to ask you are better off not knowing

Re: Stiffing
 

See it doesn't matter whether it's the waiter's fault or not. The waitstaff is the front line of customer server. As such they are the primary earner and distributor of tips to the remaining restaurant staff. What this means is that a good waiter will act as an enforcer to make sure the other staff stays on the ball. Like in the Miyake's example, a real waiter would have been like "YO GET BACK TO WORK YOU LAZY MOTHER EFFER!!" to the cashier. This enforcer behavior is why line cooks and wait staff hate each other like NASCAR fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon hate each other. Now granted, since Miyake's is cheap as dirt, I lowered my expectations a little bit. But the cashier pulling this "do you need singles?" crap was the straw that broke the back. Like he knew he effed up but still wanted to guilt trip me in to leaving a tip. The proper move is to just do what every bartender does and give 5 ones in change no matter what.

Re: Stiffing
 

I'm a decent tipper, but I've only stiffed someone once. My friends and I went to eat, and the waitress screwed up two of our three orders. She only came by our table twice (once for our orders, and once to drop off the check), and she was obviously trying to just leave work as soon as possible. When she dropped off the check, I told her, "This is the worst service I've ever received," but she just shrugged her shoulders and gave an insincere apology. Our bill was about $40, and we left her a 9 cent tip with a note at the bottom that said, "You're not worth a dime."

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
that chick from the office is so [censored] smokin

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: Stiffing
 

boris,

agree that asking if you want singles is super stupid.

in general, i agree with you about waitstaff. check service is almost always better if waitstaff have to ring it out themselves, or if an owner / manager type is at the register.

but i have also worked in restaurants where waiters didn't really have that kind of push over the kitchen, and if they had tried to be complete hardasses the kitchen would just laugh. i cut them a little slack for kitchen errors, but i never want to see a waiter actively blame the kitchen for something. say sorry and fix it, i don't care whose fault it is.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm a decent tipper, but I've only stiffed someone once. My friends and I went to eat, and the waitress screwed up two of our three orders. She only came by our table twice (once for our orders, and once to drop off the check), and she was obviously trying to just leave work as soon as possible. When she dropped off the check, I told her, "This is the worst service I've ever received," but she just shrugged her shoulders and gave an insincere apology. Our bill was about $40, and we left her a 9 cent tip with a note at the bottom that said, "You're not worth a dime."

[/ QUOTE ]
lol

Re: Stiffing
 

The only custom title Vyse deserves is also six letters and starts with "B". I just threw up in my mouth seeing him get that for throwing the easy Reservoir Dogs tipping quote out there.

Bars: once overcame a lot of internal turmoil and stiffed a really unfriendly waitress from whom I bought a single $6 beer but who was really rude to our group for a couple of hours because we were playing bar shuffleboard and apparently in her way. The place wasn't even that crowded, she was just being a bitch. I made sure that she knew that I stiffed her before I left. Was really pissed but like I said, it was hard for me to do for some reason.

Cabs: actually, it was on my way to the 2+2 happy hour in LA a couple of months ago that the cabbie pulled the "no change" bit. First he charged a ridiculous flat fee for like 1.5 miles ($12, I think) then I decided to pay on the way, which was smart, because when he said he didn't have change I made him pull into a convenience store and get some. Still "tipped" him $3 to an even $15, he gave me some sob story about how they had just raised the minimum charge from $10 to $12 and it was cutting into his profits. Whatever buddy.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]

The only custom title Vyse deserves is six letters and starts with "B". I just threw up in my mouth seeing him get that for throwing the easy Reservoir Dogs tipping quote out there.

[/ QUOTE ]

bastrd?

feel free to change it, you're a mod

Re: Stiffing
 

The last time I stiffed someone, it was my waitress at BJ's who took 20 minutes to bring my check. Doesn't sound that bad, but I spent the entire 20 minutes watching her sit in a customer's booth chatting it up. When she finally came and picked up the check, she opened the bifold and asked if I needed any change, which is kind of rude but also kind of funny because I put the exact total in cash, coins and all.

Re: Stiffing
 

My girlfriend and I had dinner in a cheapo place in Istanbul, and on the bottom of the menu there was some very small writing in Turkish, with '10%' and one of the words resembling 'service'.

When the time came to pay our bill, the waiter/owner showed us the list of what we ordered, totaled up, and a line marked '20%' that was added to it. I pointed at it and gave him a WTF look, and he said 'we have 20 service fee'. The amount wasn't very significant, but it pissed me off, especially because the menu was still there lying right in front of me. I said 'in the menu it says 10'.

The bastard actually replied 'no, no, in menu is written 20!'. I just put my finger under the '10%', said 'ten' in Turkish, and stared him down. He came back with the crappiest old low-denomination bills he could find for change. One was actually torn in half.

So yeah, no tip.

Re: Stiffing
 

I used to wait tables (for background). Some things for me:

1. I definitely tip based on the server's performance. I start around 15-20% and work my way up/down from there.

2. No-no's include: Not refilling my soda before I hit bottom, forgetting something they said they'd bring me, making me wait too long for them to pick/return my credit card when paying the bill.

3. I never tip on the quality of the food, unless they bring out something wrong. Like if I order steak and potatoes and instead I get steak and steamed veggies - that's the server's fault because they should have checked to make sure it got made right before they brought it to me.

4. For really bad service - based on my experience - a very small tip is worse than a straight stiff. With no tip at all, there's a possibility that the tip was just forgotten or something. If a small tip is left (like $0.45), the server knows you didn't forget.

5. For really bad service, I'll sometimes make a note of what was so bad on my bill/check in the hopes that a manager/owner will see it.

Re: Stiffing
 

I had the worst service of my entire life a few weeks ago at Enid's in Williamsburg. Our (hot) hipster brunch waitress clearly hated being reduced to waiting tables and put incredibly little effort into doing her job. After waiting 20 minutes for the check, I seriously considered leaving nothing, or ten percent, or whatever on the $40 check, but still left $6, b/c I've worked in food service forever and am pathologically incapable of stiffing someone or even tipping under 15%. In retrospect, she could have hit me in the head with a ballpeen hammer and I would have still tipped 15%. It's a sickness...

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
I had the worst service of my entire life a few weeks ago at Enid's in Williamsburg. Our (hot) hipster brunch waitress clearly hated being reduced to waiting tables and put incredibly little effort into doing her job. After waiting 20 minutes for the check, I seriously considered leaving nothing, or ten percent, or whatever on the $40 check, but still left $6, b/c I've worked in food service forever and am pathologically incapable of stiffing someone or even tipping under 15%. In retrospect, she could have hit me in the head with a ballpeen hammer and I would have still tipped 15%. It's a sickness...

[/ QUOTE ]

Ugh. I used to be like that, but not anymore. I had extremely slow and unfriendly service once. Bill came to $15, I only had a $20. I dropped the $20 and left because I really didn't want to wait another 10 minutes to get change.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
where I had this for lunch

[/ QUOTE ]
lol at the tomato in the middle.

Re: Stiffing
 

Vegas cabbies seem to be real bitches about tipping. Unless you tip 30%+, half of them throw a hissy fit. I've taken to stiffing them now if they say anything negative. My fare ends up being $6.50. I give the guy $8 and he starts bitching about being tipped "only a dollar." Wtf dude? [censored] you. I took the $2 back and threw him 50 cents.

It's ridiculous. This happens at least half the time.

Re: Stiffing
 

two things. A rude server, and making me wait while its not busy.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
Vegas cabbies seem to be real bitches about tipping. Unless you tip 30%+, half of them throw a hissy fit. I've taken to stiffing them now if they say anything negative. My fare ends up being $6.50. I give the guy $8 and he starts bitching about being tipped "only a dollar." Wtf dude? [censored] you. I took the $2 back and threw him 50 cents.

It's ridiculous. This happens at least half the time.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why I hate tipping. People think of it as a granted right to them, as if I am obligated to. Not on my watch. I have a much higher standard of dining and food when I'm going out -- isn't that the point? Shouldn't I? So if you don't live up to it, [censored] you. Maybe if you got there in ten minutes instead of 30 (c) I would tip, Mr. Cabbie. I only tip so largely when I do come across a great place because it's so insanely rare, and really, that's pretty sad.

There's this place where I live, Bangkok Blue, a Thai restaurant. So far it's the only restaurant I will regularly go to and know I am not only going to have the best food of my life, but am going to be treated well and have [censored] done for me without me having to ask. I spend like $50-$75 there every time I go, but whatever, it's worth it.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
as i said, my mom is a waitress. she works weekends at a family restauraunt. she makes $2.15 per hour.

People do realize waitstaff is exempt from minimum wage right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Does your mom realize she does not have to be a waitress for a living?

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
as i said, my mom is a waitress. she works weekends at a family restauraunt. she makes $2.15 per hour.

People do realize waitstaff is exempt from minimum wage right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Does your mom realize she does not have to be a waitress for a living?

[/ QUOTE ]

she actually doesn't. it's kind of embarrassing. we always say "why don't you work in a grocery store and she just drools, stares and mumbles "I iz waitress."

so you'd rather every restaurant add 15-20% to the price of each item so that they could pay a fare wage?

Re: Stiffing
 

I guess I have to stiff every time I see a tip jar at a cashier station, they even have them at Subway, and on the outside shelf at Starbucks. When I worked pumping gas at the then full service stations in Yellowstone NP we loved it when Europeans (Continental, not Brits) came in, always a small tip. I will tip the guy that loads my truck at the lumberyard, but not many other people do because usually they are suprised, sometimes even refuse it. I like the taxi drivers that give you a blank reciept, the tips on the company. Stiffing bad service is healthy for everybody, it sends a message, leave a couple of nickle and dimes they get the point quickly.

Re: Stiffing
 

[ QUOTE ]
I guess I have to stiff every time I see a tip jar at a cashier station, they even have them at Subway

[/ QUOTE ]

I always wonder if they're even allowed to have these set up at subway and similar places or if some employee just hand the brilliant idea to make a few extra bucks a day by setting one out.

Re: Stiffing
 

i did this at a bar called the Brown Jug in Ann Arbor last year b/c the waitress was a huuuuuge btch.

she actually followed me out of the bar and down the street while screaming at me.