So my husband went to the Olive Garden for Dinner

[LaraMN]

:P upon the suggestion of one his Dad's friends, who wanted to take the group (of several people) out and treat them to dinner.

The bill came to well over $100, and the guy did not leave a tip, or want anyone else to, despite the fact that their server did a perfectly adequate job. Nice, eh?

My husband and his brother snuck a tip onto the table before they left, mortified by this guy's rudeness.

Some people... :crazy:

edited due to my addiction to comma use.

[DS1]

1. No tip?

Was he attacked by a Pit Bull?

[Shell Beau]

2. Why on earth would he not want to leave a tip? What sense does that make?

Why would he care if someone else left one? That is bizarre!

[bleedingheart]

16. loads of Europeans and Australians don't leave tips...

I had an Aussie friend who really was pissed off that he was expected to leave a tip...he thought it was outrageous...

Apparently waitstaff in other countries make more of a living wage...(but I have no clue as to whether that is true)...

[madinmaryland]

28. Don't they build it into the price of the meal?

[bleedingheart]

33. not sure...I have yet to add "international traveler" to my resume

so...I have to rely on what my euro/aussie friends tell me....perhaps someone else here will know???

[NewJeffCT]

40. I'd be shocked if they didn't know about tipping

While I know it is not standard in other countries, I do know that people that come to America usually know that you're expected to tip in a restaurant - my wife knew that when she came here from China, even though it's considered a bit of an insult if you tip in China (moreso if you're Chinese & tip in China than if you're American or European)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

51. not always, depends on how much they have done their reading prior to visiting

[La Lioness Priyanka]

49. yes, in other countries wait staff is actually paid. hence they are shocked when they are in america

and realize that wait staff depend on tips for their livelihood.

[LostinVA]

42. Yes -- it's added in as a "service charge," etc.

And, even in those countries, it's customary (and nice) for excellent service to leave a little cash on the table on top of the service charge you pay.

[Iris]

30. But in this country, waitstaff depend on tips.

There's no excuse for not leaving one. It's part of the cost of going out to eat.

[bleedingheart]

34. I do not disagree...

I tip...and I have explained the situation to the folks I have known from Europe and elsewhere...

[LaraMN]

19. He doesn't make sense.

He is one of the weirdest people I know. He almost lost an eye semi-recently, due to failing to treat an infected tooth.

[swimboy]

3. Somebody should have "tipped" him into a bottomless salad bowl.

:grr:

[Bassic]

4. Is the guy European? nt

[AllegroRondo]

5. no tip?

what an ass.

[AlCzervik]

6. why didn't he want to leave a tip? Thats just shitty.

[Pierre.Suave]

7. Strange

very strange.

[kay1864]

8. Was this guy married to a mail-order bride?

It would be consistent with your earlier post.

[LostinVA]

10. OMG -- I wondered if he was one of "them," too

[LaraMN]

15. He is!

He's an all-around *interesting* person...

[LostinVA]

21. OMG!

He'll pay for a mail order bride (which is tres expensive from what I've read), but won't put down a $15-20 tip??

Did he ever say why, Lara?

[LaraMN]

14. Yep. In fact he is.

Not mail-order, specifically, but yeah- he's one of the men I was talking about in the previous post.

[kay1864]

17. Quel surprise!

(not)

[LaraMN]

20. And even more shockingly, he's a raging right-winger.

He's really loud and habitually ill-informed about things, and I can't stand when he comes to family events.

His only redeeming quality is that he adores my Jack; Jack's got cross-species appeal, I guess.

[kay1864]

23. Waitaminit...

raging right-winger AND loud and habitually ill-informed?

This guy breaks ALL the stereotypes, doesn't he?


"cross-species appeal"

:spray:

:thumbsup:

[JVS]

38. So he doesn't have a mail-order bride?

[LaraMN]

45. Well, he didn't order her by mail or out of a catalog,

but basically, yeah, he does. She's from the Phillippines.

[LostinVA]

9. Even though we know my feelings about OG --TIP 20%, PEOPLE

Unless you have less than good service.

Geez, what a tool. I bet he's never had a public service job in his life.

[Lex]

11. Exactly why some tips are figured in automatically for groups.

nt

[DS1]

13. I thought it was because large groups are typically a pain in the ass

:-)

and not a tip-ducking thing

[Lex]

24. Both. Large groups are a PITA and more easily duck the tip.

nt

[guitar man]

12. what an assbite

I always tip 20% plus. I was out the other day with my 16 month old daughter and stopped for lunch. Being a baby, she made a horrific mess on the table and surrounding area, high chair and everything else.

I left a $6.00 tip on a $10.xx ticket for the great service and the hassle of cleaning up after us. I saw the waitress get the tip as I was headed out the door and I thought she was going to cry. Not enough people tip adequeately in these parts.

[bleedingheart]

18. I tip a lot more in the family diners

I took my kids out for dinner when Mr. B was out of town....the waitress was so good to my kids and really did a great job that I left her $10 for a meal that was $22....

She did a far better job than some of the waiters I have had in more expensive places...

[LostinVA]

22. Agreed -- 20% is the baseline for me

It goes either up or down, depending on service, etc.

[mulsh]

26. 3-4% tip if any is what

My Republican father-in-law considers a "good" tip. He's repug, raised in Utah by a repug Banker. Which explains but doesn't excuse his
My wife and I were married for 9 years before we discovered this. Her mother has given up arguing with him over this.

We remain dumbfounded but he's become something of a family joke. He's given me grief when I've covered the tip or am paying for the meal. He also has a habit of annoying the staff, tracking down the waiter to demand extra stuff. As much as possible we try to avoid going to places he has frequented. I imagine he eats a lot of stuff he didn't exactly order.

I normally tip 15- 20%. a little more if the service was outstanding. In over 40 years of dining out
I've only had rotten service once in my life. I left a $.10 tip and complained about it to the manager.

[Iris]

31. great story.

I often over-tip on purpose and always wonder if the waitstaff are pleasantly surprised. I've never had the opportunity to see and usually I don't want to. The whole tipping thing in lieu of a livable wage is kind of embarrassing in general. But I loved hearing your story! Especially the part about how you realized your bringing your child in caused more work for the waitress. Nice!

[guitar man]

35. absolutely

I know how much work it is at home to try and keep cleaned up after her, so I certainly don't expect a stranger to do it without being compensated. I'm a firm believer in the fact that the reast of the world does not exist just to serve me. I tip well regardless, if the service is good.

Interesting side note, I got some poor guy in trouble. His wife noticed that I was alone with my daughter and taking care of her, cutting her food into little bites and fixing a little plate for her, feeding her etc. etc. The wife launched into him, I don't think she knew I could hear her, but she started in "do you see that man over there taking care of that little girl? Why can't you do that, you act like you are helpless when it comes to takeing care of our children..etc etc."

He didn't look too happy at all....

[Iris]

36. ha! ha! Well, you are a good example - to both your daughter and that man! n/t

[guitar man]

39. yeah I guess

...waiting until I was 42 to become a father has its benefits, I don't think I would have been like this had she come along when I was 22.

[Iris]

41. makes sense to me! n/t

[DainBramaged]

25. I'm going tonight, cheap pasta, big tables for friends

I have no complaints. The people there are humans like anyone else, and should be treated as if they were DU members working there.

[TrogL]

27. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN OLIVE GARDEN

Olives grow on trees in groves. Being in a grove protects them from the elements. Olive trees do not play well with others and hence do not belong in a garden.

[KamaAina]

29. What's the punchline??

:shrug:

[LostinVA]

43. HOSPITALIANO!!!!!!!!!

[LisaM]

32. I usually tip well, but I don't consider 20% a baseline

I thought 18% was the baseline. I generally leave more, and 15% if the service is bad and it's the server's fault.

It really cheeses me when right-wingers don't tip. If it wasn't for them, and for Reagan, wait staff would make a far more liveable wage.


I agree that you should factor the cost of the tip in to a meal, with a couple of exceptions - people who are old and don't realize that it's customary to leave a bigger tip, and people who don't have very much money and save up to go to a nice dinner every now and then.

[LostinVA]

44. I would have to disagree with you on your last sentence

I can't afford to eat very often at a nice place, but when I do, I make sure I have the money for a good tip factored into my budget. I've worked enough service jobs in my life to know how mistreated wait staff are... and that they get taxed for a certain dollar amount in tips even if they don't earn that amount in tips.

[LisaM]

46. Yes, but I don't mean people like you. I mean people like the couple I saw once

years ago at a Bill Knapps in Michigan. It was a family kind of restaurant, not fancy at all, and I still remember a couple in front of us, probably in their 50s, and the man asked for a nice table because it was their anniversary. He clearly was not well to do, but he was so affectionate with his wife, and I think was trying to put on the dog for her as best he could, and it was really moving; 30 years later I still remember it. That's the kind of situation I'm describing, really. Luckily at this restaurant they took good care of their staff and I'm sure that the staff was well trained enough to understand that this was just a case where they were getting by as best they could.

I've been through lean times of my own and I never leave small tips, but this was just the kind of thing I meant, that's all.

[LostinVA]

47. I understand -- I wasn't being snarky, I promise

[LisaM]

48. I know; I don't think I explained well enough the first time.

I've thought about that scene so many times; luckily, it was the kind of restaurant where the staff would never treat one group of people any differently from another. Sadly, the restaurant went out of business not too many years back - they tried to get fancy and no one liked it!

[JVS]

37. maybe the gratuity had been included in the bill

If by several you mean 8 or more, it is quite likely that it already had been added in

[jakefrep]

50. The more important question:

Did he have the cornflake-crusted Chicken Parmesan?