Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has listed a few of the dumbest “frugal” tips around. We liked (disliked?) these:
- Buying two-ply toilet paper and pulling the sheets apart – Ignoring the fact that you can just buy single-ply toilet paper, the time it takes and the “risk” involved in using single ply is too high to make this really worth it… right?
- Tip less than the customary 15% – If you get good service, why punish the server by saving a few dollars and short changing them on their duly earned money? If you want to save this money, don’t go out to eat!
And have to add:
Reusing Tea Bags – It’s a much better (tasting) idea to use a bigger mug than try to re-use a tea bag. Try it.
What are the dumbest money-saving ideas you’ve heard?
Ridiculous Money Saving Ideas [Blueprint for Financial Prosperity]
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@superlayne: In actuality buying used from GameStop is a good idea.
They offer a decent warranty and I never have had disc problems.
@markwm:
mark-
don’t make a mistake of continuing what amounts to a stupid argument.
It’s not that I fail to see what the other side is saying, I just don’t care anymore.
See, it seems to me that the resentment shown by people who take issue with tipping waiters in some form or another is how the waiter sees things (or at least how people think waiters see things).
What I am saying is that the argument is silly.
I bitch all the time that I deserve more money and should earn more. It doesn’t mean I resent my job, my boss, or my customers. I have a right to look at it however I see fit.
Do I care if a waiter thinks he is owed a tip or not?
No. because for all I care, a waiter can think he should earn $10 grand a check. He gets what I think is appropriate.
The main crux of this argument seems to be that some people resent that some waiters seem to think they are owed a tip. WHO F-IN GIVES A CRAP?
Why this matters to anyone is beyond me.
Yes, I don’t care anymore. Key word – anymore.
I took the time to respond out of courtesy and because this morning, while taking my shower, I thought about it and realized that the issue here doesn’t seem to be about the tip, but rather whether or not customer think that waiters think they are entitled to one.
Which, of course, is stupid because that doesn’t matter one bit to anyone – or at least it shouldn’t.
I think I am entitled to millions of dollars, a 6000 square foot house, and 7 luxury cars. Does that matter to my boss? Of course not.
Waiters are going to keep doing their jobs – some great, some suck.
Diners are going to continue to tip – some great, some suck.
Why should anyone who comes to the consumerist have to read yet another justification for tipping less or more based on the perception that some waiters think customers owe them a tip?
Really. Does it matter?
If so, fine. Be petty. Don’t tip waiters, tip them a little, tip them a lot – no one really cares what a bunch of internet brainiacs have to say about it anyway.
I will continue to tip huge for great service and 15% for regular, run of the mill service.
So tell me – what do YOU think the other side is saying?
Am I far off?
Have I been obtuse in any way? Am I dead wrong?
Go ahead – post it. I’m sorry I came back to this thread now more than ever.
Candyman is stuck on the entitlement issue – which is meaningless to everyone but him and others who might think their opinion matters to everyone else. And there is nothing wrong with it, per se, but enough already.
The great “tipping flame wars” of 2007 is officially over.
You want to think you won?
Fine.
You won.
Entitlement is bad for business, but I just don’t give a crap who thinks what – I tip on performance. They can think they are owed 15% all they want – when they get 20% from me it won’t matter anyway.
@killavanilla: You’ve been done for 5 posts now, yet you never shut up… And your still insulting people. My my…
And again you’ve missed the point. It’s not about whether or not waiters think they’re entitled to the tip. Of course they do, just like every employee up for review feels they are entitled to a raise. That’s no biggie.
It’s the fact that society as a whole is trying to say that the tip is mandatory. That’s the rub, because it takes away the incentive for a waiter to do a good job. He can slack off, and when he doesn’t get the tip, it’s because of the tightwad customer.
@markwm:
Mark-
Then I would say that the perception that society is saying a tip is mandatory is false.
What society is saying right now is that the standard tip is between 15 and 18 %
Waiters are not stupid (most of them).
They understand how the system works – if they do a good job, they are rewarded with a tip.
I’m not sure where this idea that a waiter can do a crap job and expect a tip comes from, but I assure you it isn’t from waiters.
I certainly don’t mean to offend of aggravate you, but you are the only person who said that society says a tip is mandatory for sub-par service.
For the record, I have always said that if service is bad the customer should complain and then reflect the service in the tip.
I believe at one point, I went on record as saying that rude or lax service (service where I am insulted or ignored for long periods of time for example) get reduced (10% or less) or no tip.
There is no objection to that whatsoever.
But some here seem to be saying that they figure out a tip based on how long a server is at their table and another said that the transaction is over when they pay for the food.
The standard tip for good service (everything is acceptable, problems are resolved quickly and without hassle, drinks stay full, the server is courteous and attentive) is 15-18% of the pre-tax bill.
The idea that a tip is mandatory is a concept created by non-waiters as a sort of strawman way of framing an argument against proper tipping.
No tip is mandatory. But when a waiter does their job properly, a tip is expected. If they suck and screw up everything? That’s a whole different story.
I can tell you as an ex-waiter, there have been times when things went poorly and I thought to myself “This is going to end with a low tip.” Good waiters seize this opportunity by working harder to ‘turn’ the customer.
When I bartended, they used to call me “the closer” because when there was an issue with a patron, I became the bartender and I did everything I could to turn the situation around. When I did my job correctly, I still got a good tip because customers know when things are being fixed and appreciate receiving great service, even after a major foul up.
I can’t WAIT for CDE to post about how I’ve been done for 5 posts and still haven’t shut up.
Even in this thread, there have been people who’ve said tipping is mandatory. I think that’s where the rub comes in, and where Candyman and I are coming from. We’re not saying we don’t/won’t tip, we’re just saying that it is a voluntary thing, and if the service does not warrant a tip, one will not be given. Some people have said that the tip is where the waiter makes all his money, and without it, he’ll be on the streets and starving, so it is mandatory to tip. That is the attitude that I, and I believe Candyman, am arguing against.
If my water glass sits empty for long periods, if I have to track down my waiter, or grab the first waiter I see, that will affect the tip.
There have been numerous times I’ve left no tip. There’ve also been times I’ve left a much larger than customary tip. It all depends on the service I get. As I said, I couldn’t care less what the waiter is thinking as far as the tip is concerned, other than I would find it amusing if he got mad at me for not leaving one after giving me insufferably poor service, and he honestly felt entitled to it, such as in the case in this anecdote:
Some friends and I went to a restaurant, a nice mid-level dining restaurant, not part of a chain, a few years back. There were six of us at the table. The waitress seats us and passes out the menus. The five menus. She starts to walk off and I stop her saying, “Ma’am, I did not get a menu.” “Well, you’ll just have to share with someone else. I’ve got other tables I have to get to.” and walks off.
This frustrates me, but I say nothing and instead wait for someone else to finish with their menu so I can use it. The waitress comes back and asks to take our orders. Another at our table asks if we could order beverages and have a few more minutes to decide our food orders, as we were a menu short.
She seems taken aback by this, but goes around the table taking drink orders, taking mine last. As I’m the DD that night, I just order a glass of ice water, no lemon. When we get our drinks, I ask if I can have a different glass of water, as I’d ask for no lemon. She insists I got plain water, no lemon. I then point out the seeds floating in the water. She jerked the glass from my hand and walks off, I’m sure muttering about how it was just a few seeds, or it’s just lemon, or some such.
She brings me a fresh glass of water, then proceeds to take the food orders. As she’s doing this, she’s literally leaning on me, her elbow on my shoulder and slouched. She takes everyone’s order but mine and starts to walk off. I again stop her and she says, “Yes?” in the aggravated, ‘what is it now’ voice.
I ask if I can please order. She takes my order then walks off. It was at that point I turned to my dining companions and inform them she will receive no tip, and if I see anyone put a tip down for her, I will pocket it myself. Of course they all agreed and could not believe the service she was providing.
As we were leaving, she was at our table looking around. She then turned and glared at our group. She said nothing, but you could tell she was upset with us for not tipping her. She honestly thought the service she provide was such that she should get a tip.
Perhaps she felt she gave spectacular service. Or she felt that the tip was required, regardless of service. Or maybe I reminded her of her boyfriend, who had just dumped her that day. I don’t know what was going on in her mind. I really don’t care. All I know is that was poor service and she received no tip.
I tell that story simply to illustrate to those out there who insist the tip is always mandatory that no, it is not.
@markwm:
a point well taken – your story illustrates an excellent time when a tip is not necessary.
One caveat though – as a former restaurant GM, I’d want to know about that sort of thing so I could explain it to the waiter.
Perhaps your post is the first to make the point well enough so that I could clearly grasp what you intended to say, or perhaps your viewpoint is unique to the thread.
Either way, it’s pretty clear that you have it right – good service gets rewarded with good tips.
The argument that waiters rely on the money and you are obligated to give it – even when service is horrendous- is absurd.
Waiters do rely on the money, but it is unreasonable to expect it when providing poor service.
Where was this 150 posts ago?
I never understood the two-ply versus one-ply thing. If I use one-ply, I use more of it than two-ply, thereby I consume the same amount of toilet paper, no matter the ply.
It’s just silly.
@superlayne: Buy a good condition used game, buy it from a smaller store or a private seller. Also be aware of prices, also WAIT to buy that game. Once the price has dropped from $60 to $40, buying the used copy at $35 (or less if you have a good store or buy from a person) has saved you $25 or more.
If you get a game that is used, and the disc is crap, it’s your responsibility to take it back and not allow the retailer to take advantage. I’ve hundreds of used games, mostly on discs (some carts too, some of those VERY OLD) and I’ve had very few problems, and saved a ton of money getting the games I want.
//
@Candyman: Agreed. I’m a waiter by night (I also have a day job) and I don’t think you need to tip me some super high amount. Personally if you give me a couple bucks (if everybody’s got meals, I’m hoping to get $1 per person, if it’s a HUGE PARTY you SHOULD leave more $2 per person maybe…but it probably won’t happen)
I do pretty well in tips…but it’s because I do a good job, I really try to take care of people, and I work for my money. I’m genuinely concerned when things go wrong, and I do my best to remedy the situation.
But I’m not entitled to a tip. I probably deserve it, but you’re not obligated to pay it for a reason.
I do however think that if I give you AMAZING service, and you’re telling all of your friends about this GREAT WAITER YOU HAD that you probably shouldn’t walk out without giving me at least a few dollars.
(for the record, I never complain about a table that leaves me a somewhat small tip, or even a damn small tip, I only care when I’m good, and I get nadda, and even then, I’ll probably make up for it on the next table, all the more reason to smile and step up my game for the next group)
//
@killavanilla: //No tip is mandatory. But when a waiter does their job properly, a tip is expected.//
Please, please, for the love of god/goddess/thor/science, go ask an English teacher or major to explain your sentence to you.
@cde:
Okay CDE.
It’s pretty clear that you are well educated and extremely intelligent.
Thanks for the grammar lesson.
I wasn’t operating under the impression that proper english was a requirement for posting on the Consumerist.
You aren’t being a catty prick now, are you?
Yup.
You are.
Go suck and egg, flamer. I’m not interested in getting into a flame war with an immature punk who wants to correct my english.
Killavanilla is quite insufferable.
I just don’t want him/her to get the last word.
Search the posts and see how many times he/she said that they weren’t going to comment any more.
Let’s see if his/her ego, misanthropy actually, prompts yet another reply….