Is there a circumstance where you would walk out of a restaurant and not pay the bill?

[Inimicus]

On January 29, 2016 at 9:17 PM, SmootsDaddy89 said:

lol I hope you people who don't tip well enjoy when you feel the service is poor enjoy various forms of bodily fluid in your food.

Well, since the waitron won't know that Im going to tip them a nickel until after Ive cleared my plate and they have refilled my drink for the last time, Im not overly worried about what they might think of putting in someones food.

[SmootsDaddy89]

I mean that's a viable strategy as long as you don't plan on coming back.

[CosmoGirl]

On 1/28/2016 at 1:33 PM, PhillyB said:

i once had a cocktail waitress who showed up for work on a busy night and got a call ten minutes into her shift with news that one of her best friends had killed himself. it was too busy for her to leave, so she ran to the bathroom to cry for ten minutes and then came out and worked the rest of the shift.

she was completely off her game, a robot all night. she missed orders, forgot food, knocked drinks over, all night long. and this complete fuging douchebag youth golf coach with a bunch of young impressionable high schoolers there for a tournament called her over and dressed her down in front of the entire crew, calling her incompetent and useless and berating her for forgetting his burger and demanding to know why in the hell she couldn't possibly follow simple instructions and demanding she answer him lest he walk out on his $400 tab.

i almost killed him. you have no idea what's happening behind the house. you shouldn't be so liberal with excuses that you let yourself be taken advantage of as a consumer, but you should always err as far on the side of caution and forgiveness as possible. act like a proper human for the duration of your stay and then, if you're still pissed off, write an email after the fact or never show up again.

Question is - did you stand up to him on her behalf?

[Chimera]

On Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 9:48 PM, SmootsDaddy89 said:

I mean that's a viable strategy as long as you don't plan on coming back.

Exactly. I only worked that job for like 3 or 4 months, but you best believe I remembered who was a good tipper and who wasn't. I learned the girl who showed up with one boyfriend on Tuesdays and another boyfriend on Fridays - she may have been a good tipper so I'd keep quiet, idk. I remembered the lady who tipped $20 on a $30 bill. I remembered the group of teenagers that ordered from the kids meal and had that one guy who always found something to complain about so his would be free.

[PhillyB]

5 hours ago, CosmoGirl said:

Question is - did you stand up to him on her behalf?

i was knew as hell back then and had absolutely no idea what the boundaries were for how we could react to customers, who weren't just random people you could kick out but were often in town for a convention they were contracted to be a part of. it complicated things and i was unsure what to do.

if it happened today i would ruin his life.

[the butch]

Once. Ordered two espresso's. Got them. And then never saw a waiter for like 15 minutes. We got up and left. 

[Stumpy]

On 2/13/2016 at 7:01 PM, Inimicus said:

Well, since the waitron won't know that Im going to tip them a nickel until after Ive cleared my plate and they have refilled my drink for the last time, Im not overly worried about what they might think of putting in someones food.

Trust me, we can spot you from a mile away. Ever notice that the people who complain the most about shitty service are shitty tippers? I try not to let my prejudices affect the service I give, because I am wrong all the time when it comes to who will or won't tip well. But, I can spot the I'm not gonna tip because they won't know that I didn't until after I left crowd 999 out of 1000.

My grandfather was that guy and he always insisted on paying. I remember him stiffing a server at a 3ish star place on a 20+ person party that was at least 50% 12 and under. My parents tried to sneak back in and leave a tip (that they probably couldn't afford) and my Grandaddy bitched them out for leaving a tip behind his back. After ten years as a server, its an unseemly memory of a man who I idolize.

[Zaximus]

On 2/16/2016 at 4:11 PM, Chimera said:

Exactly. I only worked that job for like 3 or 4 months, but you best believe I remembered who was a good tipper and who wasn't. I learned the girl who showed up with one boyfriend on Tuesdays and another boyfriend on Fridays - she may have been a good tipper so I'd keep quiet, idk. I remembered the lady who tipped $20 on a $30 bill. I remembered the group of teenagers that ordered from the kids meal and had that one guy who always found something to complain about so his would be free.

This is true.  My wife and I usually eat a restaurant 1-2 times a week after work and it's usually the same ones (no kids so honestly, it's cheaper sometimes).   I'm not joking, we have the same table every time at 2-3 of these places and they all remember us.   In fact, they remember our orders every time too (I usually find something I like and stay with it).   I'm not talking about super fancy places either.   We always get great service unless it's super busy and that is where some understanding is needed because it's not the server's fault that either A) there isn't enough help or B) it got really busy for no reason out of nowhere.    But we always tip well and are respectful of anyone that is just trying to make a living.   I sit at a desk all day, I have tons of respect for jobs like this.

 

[Inimicus]

17 hours ago, Stumpy said:

Trust me, we can spot you from a mile away. Ever notice that the people who complain the most about shitty service are shitty tippers? I try not to let my prejudices affect the service I give, because I am wrong all the time when it comes to who will or won't tip well. But, I can spot the I'm not gonna tip because they won't know that I didn't until after I left crowd 999 out of 1000.

My grandfather was that guy and he always insisted on paying. I remember him stiffing a server at a 3ish star place on a 20+ person party that was at least 50% 12 and under. My parents tried to sneak back in and leave a tip (that they probably couldn't afford) and my Grandaddy bitched them out for leaving a tip behind his back. After ten years as a server, its an unseemly memory of a man who I idolize.

And trust me...

After 10+ years in foodservice I can tell the difference in a waiter who is hustling but just can't get on top of it and a waitron who is a clueless fug that needs to be taken out by the kitchen staff.

The former gets a tip despite the fact that I didn't get their best.  I know a good waiter who just can't catch a break when I see one.  If the latter had the foresight to know that I wasn't going to tip then they would have properly timed my app/salad/entree, kept my water full, not ignored the table once the main course was out, and know what it meant when I put my knife and fork at 5 o'clock.

[Stumpy]

As a career server (good googly moogly) I would walk out before I stiffed a server on a tab I paid. When you stiff a server you are not only not holding up your end of the social contract when you walk in to a full service establishment, you are actually taking money directly from that server.

Currently, in the service industry tipout runs around 3-5% of your sales. This is a relatively new phenomena that I have been able to observe directly. When I first got into the business, tipout was voluntary, a little extra for a busser who busted their ass or a bartender who got your drinks out fast. (sound familiar?) Then management realized they could use this to cut costs by making all front of house staff tipped employees.

The reason that gratuity has continued to rise is twofold. When minimum wage was first established, the non-tipped rate was $3.13, the tipped rate was $2.13. As the minimum wage for non-tipped employees rose over the ensuing decades, server's wages never did.To this day, the overwhelming majority of tipped employees make $2.13/hr. And in the ensuing half century, unscrupulous management realized they could use this loophole to pay more and more of their staff less and less. 

In the modern restaurant industry, 2/3rds of your staff is making less than $5/hr. Hostesses, bussers, bartenders, foodrunners, server's assistants and foodrunners all rely on your generosity to make ends meet. In some more unseemly places, management even takes their cut. And the resulting tipout can be as much or more than 20% of a server's tips for the night.

The bottom line is, if you have a problem at a restaurant, speak to a manager. There may be extenuating circumstances, or the server may just suck at their job, either way, good management will take care of the problem. There is no need to steal money form someone who is living not paycheck to paycheck, but shift to shift. If the manager refuses to address your grievances, and you truly believe that your experience, from start to finish, was worthless, walkout, because that is an issue with management. Despite what they may tell patrons and employees, it is 100% illegal for a restaurant to hold a server accountable for an unpaid tab.

But, if you REALLY want to punish a restaurant for a bad experience, hit up Yelp. Trust me as a 12 year vet, there is nothing that gets under a manager/owner's skin more than a bad review as the number 2 google result when you type in their name.

[dave-o]

I was at Jack-A-Lope Jacks on 7th St. years ago..... It was me and my ex-wife's local watering hole...   We always sat at the bar..  Anyway....  This one night the gal behind the bar didnt seem to like anyone...  Very rude to us....  Over and over again...  But she was sure yuckin' it up with her coworkers and having a great time....  Well we ask for our check, she was flat out rude again, she just threw the check at us...  I wrote a note on the bill that there would be no tip tonight that the waitress was rude.... Looked at my bank online the next day and she added her own tip to the bill.....  Paid a nice visit to Jacks and got my money back and never went back !  

[Anybodyhome]

Couple weeks ago it was cold as fug when we took the dogs out on the trail to let them run for a while. So when we finished we were kinda chilled and wife says, "Why don't we get some coffee at the Waffle House?" I have to think for a minute to remember where the Waffle House was- that's how often I've been there....

Anyway, the place is full, just a couple stools at the counter so we grab them. Girl is genuinely smiling and taking care of us. We ended up getting something to eat and I said to the wife, "Nice to see a real smile on someone these days." 

I ended up tipping the girl $20 on a $15 tab; I just appreciated the fact she was working hard but still took the time to acknowledge and speak to her customers. 

[SmokinwithWilly]

The only time I don't tip well is when I am ignored and it has nothing to do with the server being busy. I worked as a server/bartender for several years so I know there is a ton of stuff that has to be done back of the house and you can get easily tied up doing that. What I despise is watching my server stop at the bar after I ask for something and standing there laughing and talking with other servers for 5 to 10 minutes and completely forgetting what I asked for when they eventually do come back to the table. This usually happens most after the lunch/dinner rush and late at night, which is why I no longer eat out at those times. Usually I will leave enough to cover what would have been tip share if the service is absolutely deplorable (and is completely the server's fault), notify the manager, and leave a bad review. I would absolutely love for restaurants to do away with tips completely and put the cost of paying servers into the price of the meal. 

[CarolinaNCSU]

I wait tables on the side at a friend's restaurant and weirdly love it...but I've also always been a psycho who loves the restaurant industry. 

I'm at a small town steakhouse (not a chain), that doesn't serve alcohol, where a majority of customers think 10-15% is a great tip. If you tip 20% or more, you're doing the Lord's work and I'll spoon feed your fatass that extra ranch dressing all night.