Is it usually slow in your restaurant? Refusing to serve them because you gave them lousy service, undeserving of a tip, last time isn't a great way to build up a business's reputation and keep customers coming back.

43, some people really don't know any better. You can give some the absolute best service and still get a bad tip. When I have a returning guest that I know tips bad, I just might secretly eat a few fried shrimp and green beans off their plate before serving them. :P

Seem what #74 is trying to say is, "It's your fault they didn't tip you, you must suck at your job." It's likely they didn't get good service, but it's more likely that the customer didn't want to tip well, or tip at all. My biggest pet peeves are; The cell phone talker, the one that orders while on the cell phone. The rudes, the one's that can't be please/don't want to talk to you after or while your taking their order. The one's with "perfect" kids, the kids that destroy everything on the table, and the parent's give them more to ruin/the kids that order the most expensive things on the menu and want then next most expensive thing, as a side. (And the parent's only stop them after you've taken everyone elses order.) The cleaners, the one's that require to-go cups and to-go forks/knifes/spoons with their meal, or hot water to "clean" the silverwear. (Yet they all eat off the same plates like everyone else). I don't really care, just venting, I just kill them with kindness and hope for a nice tip in the end.

I like the way you think. I'll que that to my friends, but they still avoid getting bunked with these customers to the best of their ability. My way might not be the best way, but it works. It doesn't work at times when you are super busy since you can't screw around to deal with them, but any other time it pretty well puts them in their place. Yeah it was pretty slow where I worked btw.

Agreed, if employers actually paid their staff properly this FML wouldn't exist. A tip should be a bonus if you do a great job, it shouldn't be necessary to survive.

wait, servers don't get paid hourly? they only live off tips? that's awful!

They get paid hourly, but it's minimal. 2.75/hr or something like that. Some states make your employer make up the difference if you don't get at least minimum from tips, but I don't think it's all of them and the minimum wage is too low to be a living wage anyway.

Agreed. I have a job as a host as does my best friend. I make 4.35/hr plus tips whereas she makes 7.35/hr plus tips on top of that. It just doesnt seem right that we get paid differently for doing the same job.

@92 The employer must make up the difference in all States. It is a Federal minimum wage. A State can pay more than the Federal minimum wage, but not less.

I disagree. I didnt choose to be in the restaurant industry, but I dont have many other options since I just graduated highshool and do not yet have enough experience or a degree to get a better job.

#152 but you DID chose to work in food service. I'm sure no one forced you to apply and you could have just as easily applied to grocery stores and gas stations.

It doesn't work like that. You take the job you can get and sometimes that's only a server job. The economy isn't anywhere near good enough for that rationalization to ok.

True, I did apply and I did accept the job, but because it was the only.one offered/available and I have bills to pay. I also applied at grocery stores, pet shops, for receptionist positions, etc...

Good luck, OP! Keep your head up :)

Just stay strong OP :) at the very least they complimented you :D gotta look at the "positive"

Yea true. The napkin did make smile for a bit.

Some people are tight on money. I always trying to tip something. But that was a nice comment.

if you're too tight on money to leave a tip, then you're too tight on money to go out to dinner.

thats not true! poor people deserve nice things too.

That's the same logic as your electric gets shut off and you say to the electric company "well I couldn't afford the bill but I deserve nice things so you should turn the electric back on!". They would ROFL so hard! Or how about a better example. You go into work one day but your boss says " sorry I can't pay you we are to broke but we still deserve top notch employees even though we can afford to pay you!" What would you say then?

Tipping in the US isn't necessary to eat a meal. In other countries service is included in the bill, but the point of the American system, which I personally don't fully agree with, is that more generous patrons can pick up the slack for others who are tight on money or unfortunately in some cases just stingy. So it's not necessary for you to pay tips to eat at a restaurant, so your examples aren't the same.

Actually, considering a tip is part of a lot of peoples income, his examples are exactly correct. If you don't have the money to tip, don't eat at a restaurant, simple...

Unless the waiter/waitress was REALLY horrible, I generally tip 20-25%, because I know how much waiters and waitresses have to deal with.

I agree with this. I'm pretty tight on money, but sometimes I gotta reward myself and go out to eat. I'll still tip, but sometimes it's not much. I'm not going to skip going out and treating myself just because I can't leave a great tip.

Yes it is necessary, that is the way it is in America. Just because people do it differently in different countries doesn't change that fact. That's how the servers get paid. If you don't want to tip, go somewhere where there are no servers like Chipotle or any fast food place. It's people like you that make us hate our jobs. For some people, serving is all they can find while in college and that is how they survive. If you don't like it, don't go to restaurants.

I'm broke, but I still tip. If you don't tip for good service, you are a ****. :)

Hey if I like the service I leave a 20 percent tip but although it is custom in the "USA" to tip you don't have to. I'm sure op deserved a tip and that sucks but the worst is when you have horrible staff that feel they are entitled to tips.

In England we generally don't leave tips, and if we do, they're no more than 10%. But that's still infrequent. No idea why, that's just how we are. On holiday my family was chased down by a French waiter as we hadn't as we thought nothing of it. Haha

Our staff actually get paid a wage, due to some odd bit of American law their employers can claim tips make up the wage to surpass minimum, thereby avoiding paying them a proper wage. When we tip it's generosity, they tip because it's socially unacceptable not to.

my thoughts exactly, which is why I don't go to these places. never understood why ppl pay for things the can do themselves.

Are you ******* kidding me. Please tell me you're joking. "Your job doesn't pay you enough, it's your fault for not getting a job that pays more derp derp just go out and get a nice high-paying job, I'm sure there are lots out there derpppp"

I usually maintain that every job pays employees what their skill set is worth and low paid equals low value skills, but servers are an exception to that rule and really aught to be paid as if tips weren't expected and the employer was paying all of their salary.

Wow really? I have three jobs. And this waitressing job pays the most (on most nights).

Servers are not an exception, but I agree they should be paid a proper wage.

Listen, there are not a lot of jobs to be had out there. A lot of servers are doing it because they can't find a job in their field. One guy said he went to school and has $60,000 in debt but is serving because the job market is bad. And that's just one example. So you want people who can't find jobs and bad attitudes to be servers?

Actually, 17% of the country is unemployed or under employed (less than 20 hours a week), only 7.6% are on unemployment and neither of those numbers counts the people who have given up entirely and left the work force and rely on a spouse or parents to provide for them.

Thank you! I appreciate that. I have a B.S. in biology and certifications in phlebotomy, EKG tech, and IV tech and I still can't find a job that uses any of those. I finally managed to find a decent-paying job outside of the restaurant industry, but it took a very long time, and it still isn't much. I'm going back to school for nursing, so hopefully the job market for nurses won't be flooded when I'm done.

Me has BSC + posgrad in Physics, near impossible to find work outside of academia. I work as a government temp :S Pays ok though

Original poster