If I don’t tip, will they spit on my food?

[Baz]

Originally Posted by speeder

-snip-
I've been known to throw an exceptional tip, like 50%, on a check if there were extenuating circumstances.

Like waitresses named Jackie?

[Seahawk]

I worked in a number of restaurants as a waiter and bartender - also weddings and catering. The money was great, especially bar tending at weddings and college football games. Amazing, really.

I saw it once. I was busy with plates and by the time I got back it had been reported and the guy was already fired and out the door.

Can it happen, of course, but my experience is very rarely.

I am not a big fan of coins in my car so my standard method for fast food drive up is rounding up to the next dollar and adding a dollar. I hit the local Taco Bell once every few weeks for their potato soft taco. I also got to the local Dunkin D once every few weeks for the Humus and fried tomato toast. I always pay cash.

The exception is the Honduran place - the young ladies at the window play me like the silly old man I am and they get 15% minimum. That plus the food is prepared while you wait and is incredible.

For take out or delivery while at home or in a hotel, 10%.

[RobFrost]

A friend of mine at the pork pie factory said workers used to spit greenies into the pork mix all the while. And one time somebody had had sex with an enormous block of lard, so they cut out the contaminated part and used the rest.

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[Sooner or later]

Since the pandemic started I increased tips significantly. I have 3 places that I hit on a semi regular basis.

Mexican joint I eat at get $5 at the table for an $11 ticket.
Buffet get $5 for a $10 ticket
Texas Roadhouse get $9 on a $21 or $15 at $30.

Needless to say the waitstaff know me by name and treat me like a king.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

I never tip for carryout. And no you're not the only one worried about that kind of thing. One of the reasons I don't eat out often is due to that kind of thing. The other is that I can make most of the dishes better at home so why go out to eat?

All this, and I never gave myself food poisoning.

I waited tables to put myself through school.

Dad got me a job at a sawmill in Truckee, triple the current minimum wage all my other options offered. Truckee is a uniquely situated, in a meteorological sense. You may be familiar with the Donner Party, where travelers on the Oregon Trail took the road less travelled, and ended up eating a number of their group to survive, due to the extremely severe winter weather trapping them in the mountains. There is a statue where you used to turn off the interstate to get to Truckee commemorating this. Well, used to turn off. They totally changed that road. Used to be two roads you could take, one you could go to the statue, one was a bit of a treacherous road with an excellent view of the sawmill on the river, that floods from time to time.

Truckee is the coldest place in the continental USA at least one day a year. Every summer, there is a day when it is the hottest place in the continental USA. I pointed this out, as well as the fact that there is almost certainly a guy, Lefty, Trey(for the number of fingers on one hand), some person there without a full complement of fingers and toes. I passed on the sawmill gig.

I also had a friend who tried to get me to work with him at his summer job, cleaning his Dad's trucks. Owned Pacific Pride, delivered seafood to restaurants and grocery stores. They had this stuff they sprayed on the inside of the refrigerated trucks to "sterilize" them. 110* with the overpowering smell of fish and cleaning solution. I also chose to pass on this opportunity.

I got a job in a restaurant instead. Air conditioned, they fed you, I learned to cook and you walked out with cash in your pocket every night. During the Jazz Jubilee and the bike race, Coors Classic. I made stupid amounts of money in a three day period for slinging food and booze on numerous occasions. Got to meet Greg LeMond, very nice guy, I thought he would be taller. Met a lot of people from all over the world during the Jazz Jubilees, that was a pretty big deal for a long time.

How would they know you are not tipping until after they give you the food?

I tend to tip people in the service industry generously, when warranted.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by Fast Freddy 944

The thing I have come to understand is you better respect your food server and cooks. You better believe that they will do something nasty to your meal if you are a prick. LOL! Beware!

Being nice does not come with any guarantees.
If your server is a minimum wage dipsh i t, with questionable morals and sanitary standards…
Enjoy your meal, sir…
I you come to think of it, trusting strangers to make and bring you food is a weird thing.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

Since the pandemic started I increased tips significantly. I have 3 places that I hit on a semi regular basis.

Mexican joint I eat at get $5 at the table for an $11 ticket.
Buffet get $5 for a $10 ticket
Texas Roadhouse get $9 on a $21 or $15 at $30.

Needless to say the waitstaff know me by name and treat me like a king.

Right, when the bill is really small like that, my tip is more about a base amount, and less about a percentage. I went to lunch with a guy years ago, I think his portion of the lunch was between $5-10, and he tipped 15%. In situations like that, my tip is also $4-6 most of the time, or maybe more for really good service.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by shadowjack1

In my youth I waited tables.
Older ladies do not tip well.
Groups of kids tip poorly.
African Americans are the worst. Run you ragged and very rarely tip at all.
White men tip the best.

I bartended for ~5 years in topless bars. My experience was most older guys tip decently on average.
Black guys often didn't tip at all, but there were some that tipped really well.
And there were a few Arabic guys that tipped REALLY well.
Young guys didn't tip very well, but that's not surprising, they were distracted and saving their money for the entertainment.

Originally Posted by Geronimo '74

Being nice does not come with any guarantees.
If your server is a minimum wage dipsh i t, with questionable morals and sanitary standards…
Enjoy your meal, sir…
I you come to think of it, trusting strangers to make and bring you food is a weird thing.

Nope, being nice has no guarantees. And you never know when you can get a normally good server who's have a really bad day so the service might suffer.

People have been relying on others for food service for a long time. I don't think it's that weird.

Most of the time, I think it's fine.

Some places probably have a higher chance of shenanigans. I'm thinking places like Chili's, Olive Garden, or places that mostly hire young folks that are HS or college aged.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

How can they spit on your food if you're tipping after the meal?

They ask for it back, open the burrito to gob in it, then bring it back to you.

Seriously, the only way this spitting theory could work is if you frequent the same place and they know you as a non-tipper. It really makes no sense.

I'm starting to get annoyed with the *forced tip* touchscreen when paying at coffee shops and other places where tipping should be optional. OTOH, I've noticed that Starbucks has no tipping available on the payment system, I hand them my card and they run it and say, "thanks." I need to reach for cash if I do want to tip and I usually do if they are nice.

[mattdavis11]

I haven't ordered in or out in a long time, but I've been tipping a local bakery. I buy a dozen reject buns @ $1.50, give them $2 and tell them to keep screwing up, I'll be back!

[stevej37]

The system is screwed up.
The tip should be paid when ordering...not after getting the food.

If you want your food spit-free....pay a little extra.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by masraum

I bartended for ~5 years in topless bars. My experience was most older guys tip decently on average.
Black guys often didn't tip at all, but there were some that tipped really well.
And there were a few Arabic guys that tipped REALLY well.
Young guys didn't tip very well, but that's not surprising, they were distracted and saving their money for the entertainment.



Nope, being nice has no guarantees. And you never know when you can get a normally good server who's have a really bad day so the service might suffer.

People have been relying on others for food service for a long time. I don't think it's that weird.

Most of the time, I think it's fine.

Some places probably have a higher chance of shenanigans. I'm thinking places like Chili's, Olive Garden, or places that mostly hire young folks that are HS or college aged.

In So. Cali, the douchebag male juvenile age goes up to 65.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by shadowjack1

In my youth I waited tables.
Older ladies do not tip well. ...

My wife always complains when I tip. She has not paid for anything herself since 1977 and thinks tips should not be paper money. I keep telling her that "a $100 is about like a $20 these days" but she just doesn't seem to buy it. She also hates women servers...and always comments on how the men do better. She always seems to think tipping a woman is like buying their affection.

When I tell her that the people I tip don't make a lot of money, she just says, "If they want to get paid well, they should get a real job."

[Tobra]

Fint, I think our wives would get along very well.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fintstone

My wife always complains when I tip. She has not paid for anything herself since 1977 and thinks tips should not be paper money. I keep telling her that "a $100 is about like a $20 these days" but she just doesn't seem to buy it. She also hates women servers...and always comments on how the men do better. She always seems to think tipping a woman is like buying their affection.

When I tell her that the people I tip don't make a lot of money, she just says, "If they want to get paid well, they should get a real job."

Yikes, I'm glad that you (presumably) love her. Would definitely not be my cup of tea with that sort of attitude.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by masraum

Yikes, I'm glad that you (presumably) love her. Would definitely not be my cup of tea with that sort of attitude.

Stepford wives are a dime a dozen.

[cockerpunk]

Originally Posted by fintstone

My wife always complains when I tip. She has not paid for anything herself since 1977 and thinks tips should not be paper money. I keep telling her that "a $100 is about like a $20 these days" but she just doesn't seem to buy it. She also hates women servers...and always comments on how the men do better. She always seems to think tipping a woman is like buying their affection.

When I tell her that the people I tip don't make a lot of money, she just says, "If they want to get paid well, they should get a real job."

yikes.

feels like the dating thread, but a big red flag for me on dates is "doesn't respect the service staff" no second date there.




that being said, i much prefer gratuity included restaurant business model rather than the tipping one. tipping is an artifact of a bygone age, an excuse for people to be dicks and not pay what their meal actually cost them, and for businesses to not pay their employees what they are worth. gratuity/service charge should just be included. its included for basically every other good/service you buy.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by masraum

I bartended for ~5 years in topless bars. My experience was most older guys tip decently on average.

Did you bartend topless? Maybe that's why they tipped well...




I usually tip pretty well. The coffee place I normally mine at, I usually leave a $1 tip. As far as restaurants go, it all depends on the server.

.

[hbueno]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

Stepford wives are a dime a dozen.

I think we were supposed to be impressed. But it's fascinating to have proof that women can be misogynists too.

[NYNick]

I owned restaurants for decades. Several. Any hint of such behavior by my employees would result in immediate termination.

Still, if you're a total d-bag and regularly frequent the same restaurant, I wouldn't expect great service. I had regular customers that the servers almost refused to wait upon. Some customers come in angry and treat the staff like inferior humans. If you're that pissed off every time you come in, why do you keep showing up?

The servers rely on tips for income. Sure, most of it is not declared and they don't pay taxes on them, but they need the money. You should tip well for good/great service and ok for ok service. I can't remember ever stiffing a server in 50 years but if the service is terrible, I won't be back.