Mike du Jour by Mike Lester for July 22, 2023

Mike it’s time to speak with the manger.

Last restaurant we went to had 20% tacked on for a tip. Not going back. I usually give good tips even for mediocre service but I refuse a required 20%.

Something I noticed recently is that sometimes your bill is different than the one you signed. I have this habit of making the tip balance the bill to come out even. If the bill with tax is 20.45, I will tip 1.55 (or maybe 2.55). Then the bill comes out to 22.00 (or 23.00 if both the food and service was good). In going through my credit card statements I’ve found a different total which up the tips making the bill charged to my card uneven. Sometimes I’ve called and other times I just stop going to that “joint”!

I knew Mike should have left sooner…and she’ll probably try to negotiate for the pie too!

I’ve often wondered that myself.

If “Mike du Jour” appears in one newspaper, or in twenty thousand newspapers, Mike Lester exerts the same effort. So why should he be paid any more?

Picnics are looking more and more attractive. Especially since the appearance of those three glass wine boxes.

… and you don’t even have to use a fork.

The assumption is that, if you can afford to order a more expensive meal, you can afford a larger tip. A lot of these customs developed during the Depression, when there were many who could not afford to eat and pay a considerable tip. A token tip was left by such people.

What a crappy tipper you are…..

I’d hate to wait on you!

Tipping works because consumers make buying decisions on prices, not costs.

This is why sales tax works. This is why luggage fees work. This is why resort fees work. This is why parking fees work.

You’re actually better off with tipping. You don’t have to pay sales tax on the tip, whereas you would if there was no tipping but the prices of the food reflected the true cost of labor.

I tip well because I grew up poor and I’m the opposite of that now.