For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for March 29, 2014

I’m more miffed at the rude waitress.

Leave at least two dollars if you must, if the service was bad then they don’t deserve the tip

No Way should you leave a tip, Elly! Well, maybe a penny… ;)

Heck no!!!

People yesterday kept saying the waitress acted like that because they were only getting coffee, so wouldn’t be leaving a very large tip. Well, we weren’t shown them eating, but they must have, “I don’t know when I’ve had a more unpleasant meal.”And going back, it looked like they waited through two days of comic strips for their menus.

I still tip. At least in the US servers pay is pretty much just tips and the government actually assumes (imputes) a tip that the server must pay taxes on.

Twice I have given the tip to the servers manager asking them to please pass the tip on to the server along with the information that I was extremely disappointed in way they did(n’t) do their job.

Not saying this is right… just what I do. It does eliminate any self interest from the decision to change my tipping policy.

Are you kidding, Elly??

do make it a point to let the manager know service was poor. It gives them a chance to make it up to you, and hopefully improve things for all their customers.

Since this was a meal break for a conference I am sure that they had lunch. But even if it were just coffee service should have been prompt and the coffee hot and cream ready.

As the strip showed the waitress gave much better service to the single guy than to the two ladies. I was always told that tips (To Insure Prompt Service) are earned and not something that should automatically be given. Some places will automatically add a tip to your bill, those places I tend to avoid as there is no incentive for good service.

I’m philosophically opposed to tipping, having learned that from my mother. But I do tip as did she. In the U.S. tipping servers supplements a sub-minimum wage and I try to remember that servers, as with others, can have a lousy day.

Servers only make $2.10 wage an hour. We went to one place we sat at bad location. A young man complained bitterly how hard he worked. All he had to do was gather dishes and serve drinks. Results lousy on gathering used food left on dishes. I am unsure if management apologized for the worker got fired and we gained someone who would serve customers.

“…and the portions were so SMALL!”

I tend to tip too much. That is, I leave more money than necessary. But in the case above, where the establishment automatically adds a tip, I am totally against that. If the restaurant thinks the tips are mandatory, they should pay the wait staff more.

They’re Canadian I didn’t think they ever tipped.

If the manager had been around for only ten minutes he/she would have known by simple observation that the waitress was doing a lousy job. Some “managers” I’ve seen have been clueless teenage boys biding their time doing nothing until quitting time!

I left one penny once…for that very reason (and I usually leave 20-25%). Leaving nothing might’ve implied that I either forgot or added it at the register.

Mr. Pink approves

Poor service is a reflection on the server AND management. I leave the one cent “tip” and find the most senior manager on duty and let them know what I think. While I agree that men can still get better service than women (and especially women by theselves), that is changing. The worst servce I ever got (and it was deliberately rude since the place wasn’t busy) was with a mixed group of adults and kids. My impression was that the server didn’t like kids – and this was in a place that should have been kid-friendly.

If I get good service, I tip 20%. For outstanding service, it goes up. For poor service, they get anywhere from a few cents to a couple of dollars, depending on how bad they were. This waitress would have gotten a few cents and a word to the manager.

why would you tip at all if everything was as bad as this? Americans have been brainwashed that they MUST tip, no matter what. the tip should reflect the quality of the food and service. No wonder visitors from abroad are confused by the tipping culture!

This from the lady (Elly) who didn’t know how or how much to tip the doorman or the bellman at the hotel.

I would leave a tip in the form of a note reminding her that the service she gives is directly related to the tip she receives.

It all depends, if you ever want to come back leave a tip… or the service will get BAD.

For extra rudeness, put the pennies tails up.

About Tipping…from an ex- waiter

In USA, tipping is almost required. The pay system for Waiters is usually less than minimum wage, the employers assume the tips bring it up, and the government taxes you as if it does. 15% is standard in Diners and coffee shops, 20% in high end restaurants.

If a restaurant automatically adds a tip to the bill, they aren’t trying to cheat you. They are just paying their staff adequately, and telling you that you don’t have to tip. It probably means they have a lot of foreign tourists in the restaurant, and those countries don’t tip.

My daughter worked as a waitress (while going to school to become an RN)The worst days were when the business was slow and when it was overwhelming.When it was slow, few tips.When crowded, one just didn’t have the time to give everyone personal attention, and thus many but small tips.(Many restaurants add automatic tips to groups, otherwise everyone leaves it up to someone else to provide the tip and as a result no one tips!)

Tips may be the reason fast food joints are doing a booming in this downturn while the upscales are huring?

I would leave her this “tip”…..

Late to bed and early to rise….gives one bags under their eyes….

Friend & I once had bad service at a diner we liked. We left a tip of about 50 cents, mostly in pennies. The next time I went in, the waitress must have remembered me because I got wonderful service!

I would leave a tip, just to possibly reverse the waitress’ stereotypical thinking that “women don’t tip.” She knows she did a lousy job and maybe her feet hurt or something. I could never survive that kind of work.

Our dad would leave a penny for the tip when the service was terrible.

I like your style.

Yep. I left a nickel for blatant hostile service at a restaurant that got 30% tip the very night before. I didn’t want the server to think I had forgotten.

no don’t leave a tip ….

Gosh, for a comic strip, this really got seriuos! Have a good weekend evrerybody X

In Canada, coffee is served after the meal, after the other dishes are cleared.

Compared to what I’ve already spent, a tip is trivial, so I prefer to err on the side of kindness, with a possible option for guilt trip. Unless the bad server is a repeat offender or blatantly hostile just to my table, I leave 15% plus at least a dollar more, along with a note: “Sorry you’re having a bad day. Hope it gets better.”

Hey ,Elly, are you on something!?

From How to be a Gentleman by John Bridges: “A gentleman leaves a tip commeasurate with the service received. If the service was substandard, the best course of action is to forego the tip and take up the issue with the waitress’ boss. A gentleman NEVER leaves a tip of a penny or a dime. Doing so makes the customer as lousy as the service he complained of”