Alan writes:
Three co-workers and I went out to lunch. We brought a coupon that said, “Buy one entree, and receive 50% off a second entree of equal or lower price.” Three of us ordered food from the Entree section of the menu, but one of us ordered something from the [cheap] Sandwich section.When the bill came, they had given us the sandwich for half price. I complained to the waiter, pointing out that the sandwich was not an entree. He did not budge. I asked to speak to the manager. After a while, the waiter returned and said he had spoken to the manager, who also refused to honor the coupon. He said that the 50% was off the
cheapest meal on the menu, whether it was an entree or not.For the next week, I scrounged up about 10 of the same coupons…
Then I returned to the restaurant with my co-workers. I handed out these coupons to other customers. The restaurant staff became furious. They wanted to kick us out, but we already had our food. They asked me which customers I’d given the coupons to, but I refused to say. I related the sandwich story, and they really didn’t have any recourse.
So I never did get the $3 or whatever they owed me. But I got way more than $3 in entertainment, satisfaction, and the admiration of my co-workers.
After we left, a waiter ran after us in the parking lot to write down our license plate number. Be we never returned.
-Alan
Great story, Alan. Now, if you wanted to elevate this to the level of “Unscrewed,” what you could have done is called the manager ahead of time and promised to do what you were going to do unless they refunded you the difference you were owed. Say something like you feel like the deal on the sandwich was so amazing that you feel compelled to share it with the other restaurant patrons.
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It’s been many moons since I waited tables. A really stressful job – having to deal with crappy hosts/hostesses, cooks and dishwashers making minimum wage, so no real motivation for excellence from most of the staff.
However, when the customer had a gripe, it was my job to be on their side. Any form of disagreement I did what was in my power, but if that wasn’t enough that was when I always got the manager involved. Let the manager be the bad guy. I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the bad guy since my tip rode on my service.
Some customers really tipped on service, regardless of the price of the meal. But most tipped crummy because they were cheap (servers make about 1/3 of minimum wage (15 years ago it was $1.35/hr,) and need the rest in tips to get above minimum wage) and others tipped purely based on the cost of the ticket, but were giving usually at least 10%. 15 years ago when I did this, I had to report a minimum of 8% of my total sales as “tip income.” I did a good job, and 99% of the time easily made that quota.
If you sense that your server is doing whatever they can for you, please err on the side of generosity. All too often, they have to apologize to you for things out of their control (a cook with an attitude, etc.) and still make your stay pleasureable. Granted, I’ve had plenty of servers who are just fricking lazy – the still will get a tip, but you can guarantee that they will be lucky to get that 8%…..
I probably would have volunteered to ring the meal up differently to get the extra $1-2 in savings for the cheap-ass customer BEFORE I even brought the tickets out and never had the manager involved. I never wanted to rip a customer and hated having to do all the “suggestive selling” that I was forced into…
That being said, this person seems to be a little too anal about this being an issue worth elevating to this level. The waiter pursuing them in the parking lot? Seems pretty far fetched to me.
@Consumerist Moderator – ACAMBRAS: I truly hope you are not a moderator.
Tips ought to be based on the service offered, not the quality of food.
If I go out to a place where a 4 course dinner is offered and the service is attentive I tip accordingly, not based on the price. If I get a quick bite and get out then I tip accordingly.
The amount of work and quality dictate the tip, not the price of the food. I wish there was a standard for that so we could tip what is appropriate and not what is expected.
@BeFrugalNotCheap: They may have tried to press charges (like fraud), but I’m sure the police told them to go pound sand.
I’ve never understood how people could be so allergic to the concept of tipping. If you would like to go somewhere and have your meal served to you, expect to add 20% to the stated price. Think of it as a shipping and handling charge. Similar to the poster above I refuse to go to dinner with people that don’t think tipping is something one should do. If it happens, I’ll pick up the other party’s portion of the tip to avoid being thought of as a cheapskate but that’s it, they’re on the do not dine with list.
As for people that simply don’t leave a tip, quit being such cowards. If the service was so truly horrible that you feel justified in leaving no tip, you should at least have the courtesy to speak to your server about it and explain why. If the server doesn’t seem to get it, do future patrons a favor and speak with the manager about your experience. If your only feedback is no tip you are at best thought of as forgetful and at worst a cheap asshole. No one gets that you are a dissatisfied customer.
“Hello, police? There’s a mad woman in the parking lot and she’s handing out great savings on entrees!”
seems like a lot of tools here that don’t like tip.
unless you eat out a friggin ton how much money does it cost you in the long run to be a bit generous with a tip for good service?
I am an American living in New Zealand where the culture is toward not tipping (or using coupons, for that matter) and wait staff are paid nearly a livable wage – something like NZ$12/hour. Result? A total change in restaurant style. 99 out of 100 restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, bistros, delis, ‘takeaway’ shops and pubs here are near-McDonald’s style or exactly McD’s style, with or without a few plastic lawn chairs. You enter, waddle up to the counter, stare at the menu (usually overhead, giving staff a lovely view up your nose), order at the register, pay, get a number, have a seat if you’re at such a fancy place, then wait. You will probably see wait staff only when they bring your food. You have to pretty much tackle them to catch their attention after that. What do they care? You’ve already paid. Another result is fewer staff – no busboys, no hostesses. I don’t like the style much but to go to a ‘real’ restaurant means paying much, much more.
Ah well, I need to stop eating out so much anyway.
I can’t believe that some knuckleheads think that tipping should be based on the service and not the price of the bill. This “logic” might apply if the service started and ended with delivering food to your table. But in a fine restaurant a professional waiter does more than just slop the hogs. He has to be knowledgeable about all the foods involved, their preparation, the chef’s history and more. If you’ve ever had a bad waiter at a good restaurant (which is unlikely because they don’t last long) you know the value of a good waiter.
Those who fail to understand the value of professional service should stick to fast food and frozen dinners.
That reminds me of a story my dad told me. Back in the late 60′s he used to hang out with a biker gang in michigan. They stopped into a road side diner and because there where about a dozen guys they took up three tables. The one waitress that waited on them was nice and seemed a bit miffed at their appearance and somewhat rowdy behaviour. My dad insists they did’nt do anything like throw food at the bussers or the like. Just laughed alot and were all around boisterous. Yet the waitress was reserved and polite and tended to their needs like refreshing coffee, etc. On the way out they left $100 tip for the waitress and while they all mounted their bikes and proceeded to drive from the parking lot the waitress came running out of the front door, jumping up and down and waving at them with a huge smile. Moral of the story: I’m not sure exactly. There’s too many. I just liked hearing about his exploits back then.
Classic. If everybody followed this type of strategy we could scare every business to do right or else.
It sounds like the restaurant provided bad customer service in not honoring the discount on the least expensive entree. However, if you’re going to follow up by going back and handing out coupons to all the customers, may I suggest that you have too much time on your hands and should get another stress-relieving hobby?
What about tipping? We haven’t talked about that aspect of the- hmmm? What did you say? We have? Oh. Ok. I’m ready to talk about tipping!
Since this has turned into a tipping etiquette post, does anyone here tip at Luby’s now that they have ‘wait staff’?
This is a serve yourself cafeteria where you pick out your food and take it to your table. A waitress will come over and offer you a straw and then asks for a tip when you leave. You have gotten your own order yourself, taken it to the table you have picked out, and you get your own drink refills. Now why in the world do I have to tip? I do not need or use a straw. I would give a tip to the line servers because they actually do more work for me personally that the so called waitresses but they do not allow that.
@gniterobot: I think “Consumerist Moderator” being in the name kind of gives it away.
@j-yo: Aw, it probably didn’t take that long to do. Besides, what other hobby is going to provide that level of entertainment? Not to mention the joy of giving to others.
@DeeJayQueue:
No, no. Not if the bartender just hands you something without you asking. If you order a drink and the bartender waives payment.
@hypnotik_jello:
If I get a free drink worth $10 I’ll tip $5 if I have a $5 bill. I’m not giving a $20 bill for instance. Depends what bills you have. $10 is ideal.
@Skeptic:
Exactly, giving free drinks to increase tips technically ‘steals’ from the bar. However, long-lasting bars use free drinks as a marketing expense to reward influential or high-spending repeat customers, who are critical for ongoing business.
I have a friend who found a cockroach in his meal and was unhappy with what the restaurant (a local place in Boston near Fenway Park) did (or did not do) to make up for it. He printed up legitimate-looking coupons and handed them out before a game to fans as they came out of the nearby subway station. The coupons said: “Good for one free cockroach with every appetizer!”
that’s a fun little story and got everyone fired up to toss in their two cents (me included), however…
(a) why post the article if you don’t tell us the restaurant.
(b) the restaurant should be asked and/or be able to comment in return.
(c) i can’t believe the story is true unless given proof that can be checked.
(d) without (a) through (c) this is not journalism, it’s “reality news”.
Okay, I’m not sure about this. I can see how a sandwich is an entree–even if the sandwich was ala carte (and I’m not sure it was in this case). I think the customer was in the wrong. However, I don’t think the customer was wrong to hand out coupons. If I was in the restaurant and someone handed me an unexpected coupon I would’ve said thank you.
@Skeptic:
If the menu says “18% Service charge added to all parties of 6 or more” and you are a party of 6 or more you have no recourse except to go somewhere else. The fee is stated up front, just like the menu prices.
–
The menu probably did state the if there were 8 or more people. I didn’t look or care. I would have tipped no matter what.
But since the restaurant decided to state they only wanted $131 I felt there was no reason to give more. If they would have not told me what to pay, I would have left over $160.
The point being is that, the restaurant should have let me decide what I wanted to pay… the server would have been better off.
If something like this happens again just tell the waiter that it’s coming out of his tip. That should fix things.
@RowdyRoddyPiper: Your paradigm is precluding objectivity. Tipping in not an international phenomenon and the world still spins in places where tipping is not prevalent. You need to accept that there are other more equitable models that actually work better than “mandatory” tipping (i.e. tipping so somebody else can earn a fair wage).
I go to a restaurant to be served a meal, the prices on the menu should include service unless I can choose to serve myself. Let’s see a resturant say okay to me when I walk in and say, “I’ll have the experience at the menu price please, I don’t intend to tip and would like to serve myself”.
@endless: You are the tool I’m afraid. Spend some time overseas and you’ll understand tipping is a stupid system that is particularly unfair to service staff, there are no controls in place to ensure they get a fair deal and service quality is a subjective thing – I for sure don’t want my income based on this level of subjectivity. Pay the staff properly, include the service costs on the menu and encourage tipping for service over and above the call of duty. Everybody wins.
@harblz: Doesn’t sound like NZ is the place for you, please go home. If you can’t find a restaurant in NZ unlike the ones you describe you’re too stupid to stay, we don’t want you here.
It’s obvious half the people complaining about tipping haven’t BEEN servers. The mandatory grat. (usually for 6 or more) is so you don’t get completely screwed by people who aren’t decent enough to tip 18-20% but can spend $50 on drinks.
I hate to be rude, but if you can’t afford dinner + $18-20% tip, then you cannot afford to eat out. In most places, servers are paid below minimum wage. It’s not some awesome gift you are giving by tipping, it’s making the person’s hourly go up to minimum wage or more.
I have a different job now, but unless you have been a server, you don’t know how hard it can be. People can be absolute jerks and you are at their mercy.
I wasn’t there, so I can’t say if the server was rude in this instance. But if the manager won’t allow a server to do a discount, then that is out of the server’s hands. I do like the original fight back method, though, of giving coupons out!
(Just remember, tip is calculated with tax and before discounts. Servers have to tip out with tax, so tippers shouldn’t skimp on this)