No Tip... Sorry

[gardengirl]

We simply don't have enough information here to make judgements. As a previous server I find it all suspect, all of it

Suspect? How so? Again SERVERS ARE NOT ENTITLED TO TIPS.

It could also be that this entitled server upsold the lady. That is what servers do.
It could be that when the bill came, she was already far over what she had budgetted for the outing.
Instead of leaving no tip, maybe she should have done a dine and dash.

Seriously.
I find it suspect that this CUSTOMER felt she had to explain that she left no tip.
Then the server (whose wages come from the customers) took it upon themselves to try to shame this customer.
If I were a business owner or manager and found an employee did this, they would be fired on the spot.
That customer brought over $100 into that business. She could have gone elsewhere.
I would say that in the future, she should go elsewhere.
They do not deserve her patronage.

[FreeRights]

I would say that the restaurant employee is an *bleep*.

#1 You are not ENTITLED to a tip.
#2 You have no idea the circumstances this person is in. It could be that this was a special event and she saved for it.
She could have done without other things to come up with her $140 budget for a special family outing.
#3 Posting the bill is most likely illegal since it displays her signature. That signature is a part of the contract between the
customer, the restaurant, and the credit card company.
#4 By making the note on the bill, it is obvious that the customer was made to feel OBLIGATED to tip. She was made to feel guilty that she did not. A customer does not have to apologize for not leaving a tip.

A server is not entitled to a tip, but according to the positive feedback on the receipt, I would suggest that the server certainly earned one.

[FreeRights]

Suspect? How so? Again SERVERS ARE NOT ENTITLED TO TIPS.

It could also be that this entitled server upsold the lady. That is what servers do.
It could be that when the bill came, she was already far over what she had budgetted for the outing.
Instead of leaving no tip, maybe she should have done a dine and dash.

Seriously.
I find it suspect that this CUSTOMER felt she had to explain that she left no tip.
Then the server (whose wages come from the customers) took it upon themselves to try to shame this customer.
If I were a business owner or manager and found an employee did this, they would be fired on the spot.
That customer brought over $100 into that business. She could have gone elsewhere.
I would say that in the future, she should go elsewhere.
They do not deserve her patronage.

I do not believe that encouraging theft at restaurants is a reasonable way to deal with this.

[gardengirl]

Sorry, I was being sarcastic. I would have hoped that people would understand that.

I find it extremely offensive that people would presume how much money this woman has to spend.
The idea that if she can afford to go out she can afford a hefty tip is ridiculous.
She obviously was made to feel guilty for not leaving a tip.
She paid the amount owing, that is all that is required.
Server "earn" or "deserve" tips? Wrong. Servers are employed by a business to serve customers.
That is what they are being paid to do. They earn wages for providing this. They deserve to be paid wages for the work they are doing. Period.
Anything extra they receive is at the discretion of the customer. It is a GIFT. Servers should not EXPECT a tip. They should appreciate when they receive one, but they should not force a customer to leave more than what the total for what they purchased.

It is attitudes like that which makes me very selective in tipping.
The service provided should be of a certain standard regardless of who the customer is. The expectation of a tip should not determine who gets good service and who does not. Every customer DESERVES good service and DESERVES to be treated with respect. It is the customer who is providing those servers with a means to earn a living. They would be well advised to remember that.

This is so disrespectful to the people who patronize businesses and choose to spend their discretionary money there.
Eating out is a luxury. Some people can afford it, many people less so. If everyone is expected to add 15%-20% to the bill, there will be far less people who will be going out and far less servers with jobs.

Look at the big picture. Greedy servers complaining about what they see is their percentage of the sale, can easily lose the entire sale. You won't have to worry about your tips if customers don't come back, if you have no customers, you won't have a job at all.

[WhatThe]

If one makes me clean up after another's children then yes, I would expect a tip. I'm digressing, I don't know where the so called visa reciept is from or if its even real, that was my point.

However, having been in the service industry for many years I can tell you, you don't tip for "good service", you tip because you made someone put up with you and serve you food. Even if you are nice you tip by proxy for the arshole that came before you. Just like certain laws that place the onus on the many for the actions of a few. People are certainly free to disagree but I'm willing to bet they really haven't done the job... And if you have you're the exception.

[grammafreddy]

Like it or not, agree with tipping or not, tipping is the norm, and is expected in sit down restaurants in N. America. I completely understand that there are all kinds of struggling people. I also understand that most everyone needs a 'treat night' out every now and again. Maybe she did scrape up enough money for a special night out at a pricey restaurant. By the amount of the bill however, she wasn't paying for just one meal. Maybe she took her kids out for a special treat, who knows. No matter, she should have figured in the tip, even if it was just 10%, and ordered accordingly. Cheap, cheap, cheap. If you can't afford to leave a measly 10% (and I understand many can't), then go eat at a place where you are not waited upon at your table.

That is a very snobbish comment.

The customer was only obligated to pay for the meal - not to supplement the servers wages. This server needs to lose their job for her entitled attitude and for attempting to publicly shame a customer at her employer's business.

The employer needs to pay his servers better and not expect the customers to pick up his/her slack in treating his servers like dirt.

The BC government needs to enact fairer minimum wage standards for servers - not treat them like second class citizens. Being a server is the same as any other retail customer service job - and needs to have the same wage scale as any other retail customer service job. Other customer service jobs do not use tips to augment low and substandard wages. Why should the restaurant industry be allowed to do so?

[grammafreddy]

However, having been in the service industry for many years I can tell you, you don't tip for "good service", you tip because you made someone put up with you and serve you food. Even if you are nice you tip by proxy for the arshole that came before you.

Oh, bull.

[gardengirl]

If one makes me clean up after another's children then yes, I would expect a tip. I'm digressing, I don't know where the so called visa reciept is from or if its even real, that was my point.

However, having been in the service industry for many years I can tell you, you don't tip for "good service", you tip because you made someone put up with you and serve you food. Even if you are nice you tip by proxy for the arshole that came before you. Just like certain laws that place the onus on the many for the actions of a few. People are certainly free to disagree but I'm willing to bet they really haven't done the job... And if you have you're the exception.

I have done serving. I have been working in various service industries for nearly 30 years. I was always very appreciative of tips and saw it as a bonus.
Your comment about "putting up with" customers is exactly the attitude I have a problem with. If you don't want to put up with customers, don't work in the service industry.

[WhatThe]

not treat them like second class citizens. Being a server is the same as any other retail customer service job -

To the first part- on the whole, that's exactly how restaurant workers are treated by the public.

To the second- no, it's not. But like I said youre free to disagree

[WhatThe]

I have done serving. I have been working in various service industries for nearly 30 years. I was always very appreciative of tips and saw it as a bonus.
Your comment about "putting up with" customers is exactly the attitude I have a problem with. If you don't want to put up with customers, don't work in the service industry.

Just to be clear, I was speaking in generalities GG, not you specifically.

I was the type of server that actually put a line through the tip line because I felt I didn't deserve it. (Obviously if I felt I wasn't fulfilling my end).

As for "putting up with", well, my dignity is not worth minimum wage and there aren't any other jobs out there that "pay" as well as serving. Especially if one is a student or single mom etc.

If you're going to leave used snot rags on the table, empty your purse or pockets of garbage, let your child throw food or draw on the table... For that matter run around... Speak to me like a slave servant then yes, you should be leaving a twoonie to make up for your caveman ENTITLED behaviour.

[gardengirl]

I have done serving. I have been working in various service industries for nearly 30 years. I was always very appreciative of tips and saw it as a bonus.
Your comment about "putting up with" customers is exactly the attitude I have a problem with. If you don't want to put up with customers, don't work in the service industry.

Just to be clear, I was speaking in generalities GG, not you specifically.

I was the type of server that actually put a line through the tip line because I felt I didn't deserve it. (Obviously if I felt I wasn't fulfilling my end).

As for "putting up with", well, my dignity is not worth minimum wage and there aren't any other jobs out there that "pay" as well as serving. Especially if one is a student or single mom etc.

If you're going to leave used snot rags on the table, empty your purse or pockets of garbage, let your child throw food or draw on the table... For that matter run around... Speak to me like a slave servant then yes, you should be leaving a twoonie to make up for your caveman ENTITLED behaviour.

Fair enough. I have seen that as well. The public can be, and often does, behave like pigs.
We have all had customers that were awful, that comes with the service industry. We also have really nice customers that are a pleasure to work with. Unfortunately it is usually the bad customers you remember.
I prefer to take the high road. Regardless of how bad the customer is, I still try to do the best job I can. That is what I was hired to do. That is my obligation to my employer.
But respect goes both ways. The reaction to the lack of tip in this case is very disrespectful on the part of the server.

I am not saying that an employee needs to put up with abuse. That is something completely different and should immediately be addressed with a Manager at the time.
Not getting a tip is not abuse.

[grammafreddy]

I agree - the public does act like pigs quite often. However, that is not exclusive to the food industry. I've cleaned puke off the floor, scrubbed *bleep* in bathrooms from places hard to imagine how it sprayed that far or high, collected innumerable abandoned take-out coffee cups and other garbage from product shelves (and hidden behind product, too), stopped children from running in the breakables aisles, had customers yell at me and proposition me, and on and on ... in the retail sector and while being paid minimum wage, too.

As much as you (generic) don't want to hear it - you, as a server in a restaurant, are NOT special.

If you are unhappy with the wage scale paid to you, talk to your employer and/or lobby government to make your wages in line with every other minimum wage earner. Don't expect your customers to pick up the slack for you. As long as they pay the bill presented for what they ordered, that's their only obligation.

[FreeRights]

Sorry, I was being sarcastic. I would have hoped that people would understand that.

I find it extremely offensive that people would presume how much money this woman has to spend.
The idea that if she can afford to go out she can afford a hefty tip is ridiculous.
She obviously was made to feel guilty for not leaving a tip.
She paid the amount owing, that is all that is required.
Server "earn" or "deserve" tips? Wrong. Servers are employed by a business to serve customers.
That is what they are being paid to do. They earn wages for providing this. They deserve to be paid wages for the work they are doing. Period.
Anything extra they receive is at the discretion of the customer. It is a GIFT. Servers should not EXPECT a tip. They should appreciate when they receive one, but they should not force a customer to leave more than what the total for what they purchased.

It is attitudes like that which makes me very selective in tipping.
The service provided should be of a certain standard regardless of who the customer is. The expectation of a tip should not determine who gets good service and who does not. Every customer DESERVES good service and DESERVES to be treated with respect. It is the customer who is providing those servers with a means to earn a living. They would be well advised to remember that.

This is so disrespectful to the people who patronize businesses and choose to spend their discretionary money there.
Eating out is a luxury. Some people can afford it, many people less so. If everyone is expected to add 15%-20% to the bill, there will be far less people who will be going out and far less servers with jobs.

Look at the big picture. Greedy servers complaining about what they see is their percentage of the sale, can easily lose the entire sale. You won't have to worry about your tips if customers don't come back, if you have no customers, you won't have a job at all.

I hope that any future restaurant you go to in the future gives you mediocre service at best, because you're doing nothing to encourage spectacular service.

The other issue I have is the places that require servers to "tip out" at the end of the shift. Fine, they aren't entitled to tips, but they are required to pay some percentage into a pot. In many places, if a server does not get enough tips, they actually lose money through their shift. It may not be your problem, but it's also absolutely not the server's problem either.

[SmokeOnTheWater]

Is one to assume all single moms are poor ?
Many are middle class and upper class.
Why write a reason not to tip ?

[Glacier]

I don't get it. People are furious because some people don't tip all the time, but at the same time people are furious when restaurants have mandatory tipping so that people do tip all the time. I'd like someone to explain this paradox.