A Fistful Of 37 Cents
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“Another person and I were at a restaurant for a business meeting. The total came to $49.63 with taxes. My company refunds all business meals, but does not refund tipping at all. For this reason, I like to pay the main bill with my credit card (in the company’s name) and leave the tip in cash at the table.
“I left $10 on the table, then went to pay (at this restaurant, you pay at the entrance, not at the table). I rounded the bill to $50 and paid this amount with the company’s credit card.
The waitress, seeing my low tip, took around 37 cents in the cent jars and threw them right at my face, yelling, ‘Here’s your freaking tip, jerk.’ Everyone in the restaurant looked at me. I was humiliated in front of a potential customer. I explained that I tip in cash and that I had left $10 at the table, and she smiled and said, ‘Yeah, right.’
I told her I would call the police, which I did, and at the end, I had her cited. I felt it would be unfair to let this happen and do nothing and there was no way I would accept that. She got arrested partially because of video recording. I settled the matter with the owner, without involving a lawsuit for defamation/assault. This sucks. It was a restaurant I liked a lot.”
Thank You For Your Lack Of Service
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“I had a waitress not serve me. Really.
She took the order and she never came back. Instead, the busboy did everything! He was fine, but the waitress did nothing. The funny thing is that my wife and I were the only people in the place at the time.
After being annoyed by her lack of service, I went to pay the bill. It was the type of place where you pay at the counter and she was also the one we had to pay. I walked up and stood there quietly for a good three minutes. I think I started to tap something just to pass the time and she asked, ‘What’s that noise?’ in an annoyed tone. It was then when she realized that I was standing there waiting to pay.
Instead of apologizing, she said, ‘You know, you could of said something,’ with a lot of attitude.
I responded by plainly saying, ‘I shouldn’t have to.’
I paid the bill without tipping her, walked away, and handed the busboy the tip in cash. As I was walking out, I heard her say, ‘Don’t you just love it when people don’t tip you?’ sarcastically.
No, you did nothing and get no tip for it. I am normally a decent tipper.”
If The Server Drove To Your House, It Would Be A Different Story
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“I was at a restaurant picking up a carry out. I left $0 tip. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think it’s customary to leave a tip for carry out?
Anyway, the guy was angry. He shoved me and crushed the carry out boxes. The next day, I returned and complained to the manager. They settled with me by reimbursing my meal.”
A Server Never Forgets… Except, Maybe, A Food Order
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“I was once almost kicked out of a local wing place one time because a waitress told the manager we had made obscene statements to her. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
It turned out that she remembered us from the week before. We had tipped poorly because she took 20 minutes to get our drink order, 40 minutes to bring those drinks, and another 30-40 minutes to come back and take our food orders. On top of that, she didn’t put our orders in and lost them, having to start the process over, but she was a little quicker that time.
It was pretty awful but our group is easy-going and really liked the wings (it was a weekly event for six or so of us to go), so instead of complaining to a manager, we just left the appropriate low tip. She basically had decided to lie to the manager to try and clear the table up for someone else.”
Don’t Ask This Bartender For Friendly Advice
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“My friend and I were at a club/bar just hanging out. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so we sat most of the night catching up. We closed the place, so I walked to the bar to close tab. The bartender, a guy probably around the same age as me at the time, was in a timid mood for some reason.
He looked at me and said, ‘What do you want?’ I made the universal motion for ‘tab-out,’ which is acting like you are signing something in the air. He got my receipts and card together, put it on a plastic tray, and flung it at me.
I did what he should have expected: I left no tip. I took my card and put the signed receipt back in the tray. I looked at him and said, ‘Here,’ in a snarky tone, and left the tray on the bar. He came over, saw the bill, and flipped out. He walked around the bar to come to my side and got in my face.
Completely unexpectedly, he reached up and grabbed me by the throat. My friend who, like me, is a Marine, started beating the crap out of the bartender. Anyone with bar experience should know what came next: a crapload of bouncers. I managed to get a kick in on the bartender before the bouncers got to me.
They threw both of us out, obviously, and stood at the door. We decided to call the cops. Both of us had a couple of insignificant injuries and could have easily called it a night, but we decided we wanted the bartender to pay for his actions.
The cops showed up. My friend and I filed the complaint. My friend told the cop about how bad his neck and back hurt and showed her his elbow scrape. She did her report, asked us to be on our way, and said she would be in contact.
The bartender was arrested. My friend and I filed suit against the bar. My friend got paid and the bar closed down a month later.”
The Quality Of A Milkshake Is Not To Be Taken Lightly
“The location was a restaurant in Chinatown in Manhattan. I purchased a milkshake and my seven other friends mainly bought drinks. The quality of the milkshake: terrible – ice cream plus crushed ice plus water, but mostly water. The service: terrible – we ordered quickly and behaved in the restaurant, but they wanted to kick us out so they could close early.
The tip we left: 10% – we decided that it was more than enough for the way we were treated. Their reaction: they chased us down the block and demanded 15%. We gave them about a dollar in nickels, pennies, and dimes. They told us to keep the pennies.”
Well, That’s One Loyal Boyfriend That Server Had
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“Back during the days of high school, a couple friends and I (with no car) went to an Applebee’s and ordered waters. Then, we all split the cheapest appetizer. When we paid for the bill, it was only about $6 for all three of us. We ended up leaving a $10 bill for the total dining experience.
We left and headed down the street to a gas station where another friend was working. When we were leaving, a car screeched to a halt in front of the station. A guy got out and started swearing at us and screaming about how we didn’t tip his girlfriend enough. Then, he complained that we needed to go back and pay her more money.
The best part about all of this is that I kept the receipt with her name on it. We went back to the Applebee’s. Not to pay her, but to get her fired for her boyfriend threatening us.”
How Hard Is It To Bring Someone What They Ordered?
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“We went to a restaurant with my entire family to celebrate some occasion and the waitress was horrible. First, she ignored us. Then, she argued with my mother over which salad to order. Finally, when my mother ordered the salad she wanted instead of the salad the waitress recommended, the waitress refused to bring out the salad.
My dad wrote a giant zero with a slash through it and complained to the manager, saying that it was the worst service he had ever experienced.
Once we got to the parking lot, I watched in horror as this woman ran to block us from leaving our space and screamed at my dad for a good 10 minutes about how big of a jerk he was. My dad stayed calm and simply said, ‘You’ve just proven to me that you don’t deserve a tip from anyone. Get away from my car before I call the cops.’
When she continued screaming about how he didn’t know a thing about restaurants, he laughed in her face and told her that he owned the competing restaurant (true at the time) and would never hire anyone as rude and incompetent as she. We haven’t been back since.”
When Your Wingman Is A Cheapskate
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“I went to a bar with a friend and a few women. I was buying rounds like I was a baller when my friend suddenly got the urge to splurge on some lady beverages. He took their requests and walked to the nearby bar and ordered the fruity concoctions. Being the polite and accommodating man that I am, I decided to join my friend at the bar to help carry back the drinks. I got up to the bar and grabbed some of the drinks. My friend paid the tab, plus what I’m assuming was a tip so meager it would have been better to leave none at all.
Then, the music cut out. The barkeep rang a bell, points in our direction, and, over the crowd of 40 or so patrons, yelled, ‘Ooh, look out ladies – biiig tippers over here!’
Everyone laughed. The ladies waiting for us were embarrassed to be seen with us. They promptly excused themselves to blend in with the crowd after politely pretending to listen to my friend claiming to have left the barkeep a $20 tip, which I knew to be bull.
I’m a very generous tipper so it was extremely embarrassing for me. The bartender was a total jerk for doing that, though.”
You Got To Love Being The Customer Everyone Wants
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“When I was just a wee lad, my parents went to some restaurant and apparently left a very generous tip. They decided to go back the next week since they liked the place. When we entered, the server who had served them the last time recognized them and immediately went to greet us and bring us to our table.
When she went to the kitchen, we could hear someone yelling at her about taking our table. Soon, a fist fight started in the kitchen. Apparently, the other server had heard of our tip and wanted it this time. We left a small tip and never went back there again.”
Ya Know, If Taken Out Of Context, This Server Committed A Federal Offense
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“A few college friends and I went to a local bar just off of campus. It was around 11 pm on a Tuesday night, so it was dead. I met them there and we got a seat in a corner booth. It was literally 15 minutes before the waiter made his way over to our table. Mind you, we’re almost the only ones in there, minus a few people at the bar.
The waiter took our drink orders and disappeared. Another 10 minutes later, he returned with our drinks. He then wandered off again. We chatted ourselves up, finished our drinks, and all wanted another, but the waiter was nowhere to be found. We banged our glasses on the table before eventually going up to the bar to have them re-filled.
Finally, our waiter returned to the table and asked us if we wanted anything else. We just scowled and asked for our checks. He promptly got our checks before, once again, disappearing. After he wandered his way back, he swiped our cards and left. Out of the four people in our party, one person rounded up his total to the next dollar, two of us wrote $0 for the tip, and one simply wrote ‘LOL.’
A buddy of mine and I made our way back there a week later. It turned out that we get the same waiter. He remembered us and our ‘LOL’ tip. He refused to serve us and suggested we go elsewhere. We ended up going up to the bar.
At this place, they have a thing called a ‘passport,’ which means that if you drink the nearly 50 different drinks listed in the book, you get a T-shirt and your name on the wall. When you leave, you have to give it back to your waiter so that you don’t stamp them all on your own. My buddy was about halfway through his. Needless to say, his was ‘missing.’
We talked to the manager and he defended the waiter as much as he possibly could, saying we should have said something when the crappy service happened. He offered nothing in return and scoffed off.
All of us really wanted to find his car and leave him a nice message on it. I believe he got fired shortly after. I haven’t been back since.”
All Of That Over A Few Plates of Free Chips?
“I once went to a Mexican restaurant with my friend. We ate four or five plates of free chips and salsa. Then, we ordered a $1 stack of plain corn tortillas, put salsa on them, and ate them. We left the waitress what was left over from the $10 bill I paid with, which totaled to a tip of about $8.90.
She then got her manager, who informed me that I was not welcome in that establishment anymore.
I went there again a few weeks ago. I met the new manager and told him the story. He laughed and gave me free food.”
Mischievous Server Thought His Con Was So Smooth
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“I went to Applebee’s recently with my friend. Her boyfriend had just broken up with her and she wanted a fishbowl drink. We paid on the bill, which was about $22 and left a cash tip of $7, which I thought was fair. The service was slow but it was around 11:30 on a Monday night, so we didn’t really mind.
A few days later, I saw a $40 charge on my credit card from Applebees. The server rounded up my bill and decided, in addition to the cash we left, that he deserved an additional $18 – an over 100% tip. I ended up calling the manager, who said the waiter forged a new copy of the receipt and had disposed of the old one.
This disgusted me. I always, always leave at least 20% because I know it can’t always be fun waiting tables and I would rather be remembered as the nice person who left a decent tip then a jerk. I just don’t understand why, after leaving a good tip and being polite customers, this guy felt the need to steal from me.
Although there’s no real ‘justifiable’ reason to steal, as a former waitress myself, I would be a heck of a lot more sympathetic to someone who stole from a table of jerks, rather than someone who tips well. I won’t ever go back.”
How Bold To Ask Such A Thing!
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“My friends and I were at a pretty nice sports bar and we usually get pretty good service there. It was a somewhat busy night and our waitress was constantly talking to a booth full of guys behind us.
My best bud’s fiancee asked for some cheese dip. Our waitress showed up around 10 minutes later with no cheese dip. We asked her about it and she said, ‘I am soo sorry. We are just really busy tonight.’
She then left our booth and stopped at the booth behind us again to flirt with the guys for about five minutes.
Needless to say, we were not going to tip her. After we finished our meals, she came over and said, ‘I know I don’t deserve it, but I need to know if you are going to tip me or not.’
I was instantly ticked off, as well as my company, but we ended up giving her a $2 tip. We haven’t been back since.”
The Cost Of Pride
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“A girl I was working with was waiting on a table of gentlemen who racked up a pretty hefty bill. As most waiters do, she assumed the tip would be fat and was gloating about it the whole meal, bragging to other waiters about her up-sells as she printed out the ticket.
The men paid out, got up, and left. She walked over, grabbed the book off the table, looked at it, and immediately slammed it back on the table. She walked up to the bar at which I was working and began ranting about how these ‘stupid imbeciles just stiffed me on $250.’ She started insulting their Southern drawls, called them rednecks, and accused them of being poor.
The whole time, she was completely oblivious to the fact that the head of the party was at the bar asking me for change on a $100 bill. I give him his change (not knowing it was her guest). He walked down to the end of the bar where she was still ranting about him, threw $80 in front of her, and said, ‘I used to be a waiter and I hated having to break $100 bills for customers. I was trying to save you a step on a busy night.’
He then turned around and walked out, leaving this stupid little girl to cry and moan when she finally realized what a jerk she had been for using preconceived notions to judge this guy who was one of the rare people whom every waiter loves to wait on.
The best part about getting out of the industry was not the fact that I didn’t have to deal with customers anymore. It was that I didn’t have to listen to waiters rant every shift because they take everything so personally all the time.”
Of All The Bad Experiences You Could Have With Sushi, This Gets The Tip
“This happened to me at an old favorite sushi place I used to go to which I, sadly, have not returned to. I was picking up the bill for myself and several friends. I put the bill on my card and paid the tip in cash (two tips really – one for the server and one tip for the sushi chefs, which was about $80 total). Everything was great, as usual, for the service, food, and night, except the server saw I did not include a tip on the receipt.
She made a big guffaw noise and then said, ‘What? No tip?’ She then got very angry and vocal and threw things at me in front of my friends, telling me, ‘Get out, cheap American.’
Everyone was stunned. She had not seen the $35 in cash on the table UNDER the bill. We were all pointing it out, but she kept throwing a fit and hissing at everyone at the table. The manager came over to see what was up. He and the server had an argument in front of me, screaming in a language I could not understand. My friends, equally embarrassed, just grabbed their stuff and began leaving without a word, but I stayed behind to clear this up. They let the manager know that this was our last time here, citing that this was unprofessional, embarrassing, and so on.
The one thing I never do is NOT tip and I had already tipped the sushi chefs, who were yelling at the manager, too, in my defense. But, the server was out of control. They were yelling at each other, I kept pointing out the tip was on the table the entire time, and she snapped at me and at the manager.
The manager saw the tip on the table and, finally, he just slapped her good and hard in the face a few times and pushed her to the back area and into the kitchen. He then took the tip off the table and put it in his pocket and yelled at some other servers to come clear the table. He then disappeared to the kitchen and the yelling proceeded on.
That was the last time I ever ate there. As mad as the manager was, I feared the server was going to be on the menu. I wrote a letter of complaint but received no reply. Maybe she was having a bad day. I don’t know and don’t care, but that whole incident enraged me because until that time I was very generous. Now, not so much. You earn it or you get minimum.”
