Comments on: The Biggest Tip She Ever Got

By: Richard Mason

Richard Mason — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 17:07:36 +0000

My problem with tipping in restaurants is the way the amount depends more on the menu prices than on the service delivered. Ok, so this sandwich is five dollars and this steak is twenty-five dollars. But the steak isn’t five times heavier and I don’t think the waitress who brings you the steak works five times harder.

And of course, alcohol is the real profit center. There’s just something weird about how the task of bringing me a glass of beer is so much more highly paid than the task of bringing me a glass of water.

However, I haven’t figured out a socially-acceptable solution to this problem yet, so I sheepishly go along with the social norm.

By: introspectre

introspectre — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 13:04:58 +0000

The note to the waitress was so cute I have just finished vomiting into my cheerios. No, seriously, very cute.

By: anonymous city girl

anonymous city girl — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 05:41:49 +0000

I tend to over tip, unless the service just isn’t, but the waitperson acually impacted the meal negativly. I took my grandmother out once and the bitch was so condesending to her, I left a 10% tip and let the manager know.
When I am with someone who under-tips when I think the server should be getting tepped well, I will try to compensate. I had a bad date who under-tipped and when I dropped an extra $10 on the tabl, he tried to pick it up for himself (he was going to leave $5 and pocket $5). I made sure the $10 never left the table and he almost lost his hand.
And when my server is an actor I have worked with, if I have it, I will way over tip. When they say something (something like they can’t take a 50-100% on the meal), I just tell them to pass it on to another theatre person when they have it.

By: xtessa

xtessa — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 03:32:46 +0000

that letter to the waitress is hilarious. my father was never a big tipper, wouldn’t tip if he could get away with it. i got the guilt complex so i compensate for my father’s cheapskate ways by tipping big. when i moved to Hong Kong, i was surprised that tipping was not of the norm. waiters and hairstylists actually gives me the evil eye when i try to tip.;)

By: jenny

jenny — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 23:50:58 +0000

i love it! i just had a conversation with someone about tipping and how i always want to make it the perfect amount to make the bill an even number. ok, i’m not OCD…but why does it have to be so fricken complicated?

By: Leesa

Leesa — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 23:36:35 +0000

I was a waitress for years and I’ve gotten a couple of notes like that. I just believed it was sincere and at least I didn’t do something to not deserve a tip. I didn’t keep the napkins though.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 23:04:26 +0000

“Often I go out of my way to tip so no one will think I’m a cheap Jew.”

Ha ha. I do that, too, PsychoT. I always leave 15% for bad service, 20% for good.

By: Megan

Megan — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 22:23:04 +0000

The topic of tipping was one of the first thing my ESL class spoke of on the first day of class this summer. My Korean students told me that this was the biggest change they noticed between American culture and their own. I was fascinated by that.

I bet that waitress thought the note was cute, especially since she already acknowledged that you boys were young. If she cared enough to ask about you drinking coffee, I bet she’s caring enough to find the note sweet.

Or, she’s a total bitch and has been cursing you to this day.

By: leesepea

leesepea — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 21:53:50 +0000

I paid my way through (junior) college as a waitress.

There are some people who you can just tell would leave you a bigger tip if they could have afforded it, and some who you can just tell are just being cheap. It’s all in the way they treat the staff; if they complain a lot and act like you’re not doing your job well enough, they are going to be cheap as hell. If they are polite and treat you like a human being, you will get 15 - 20%, even though they didn’t make you “work” for it.

I’m sure this waitress could tell you would have given her a nice tip if you could have.

By: The Moviequill

The Moviequill — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 21:14:28 +0000

in Vegas we tip a buck, two if she has nice legs…