While chatting away in between bites of delicious chocolate goodness and Mike telling me to wipe it off of my chin and corners of my mouth, (I was really enjoying it.) I couldn't help but notice the couple that walked in the door. As the couple perused the ice cream selection, I guiltily told Mike I felt like I should buy the lady her ice cream...
You see, for years (and maybe still is) this older aged lady was a waitress at a iconic restaurant during my high school and college years. Most of my friends, my BFF and I in particular frequented the restaurant throughout those years. And well, though I am somewhat ashamed to admit it publicly, Melanie and I were not very good tippers...
(It is at this point that I defend myself and say I am not the same way at all, as for Melanie, well, she'll have to speak for herself...)
But all this brings me to my controversial point.
Sometimes I have a slight problem with tipping.
(Melanie and Tiffany, 1996--obviously this sign caught our attention...)
Not necessarily at restaurants, that is fine. (Although I have HUGE frustrations with waitresses/waiters that complain about their hourly wage/tips, etc. And though I have NEVER taken that type of job, so I may not understand it entirely, I do know that when they take the job they KNOW that their base pay is minimal and they have to rely on tips. They know this!!)
For the record though, I really am a decent restaurant tipper now. In fact, I consider myself a good tipper. Especially on the rare occasion we are at a restaurant with all five of the children!
Ok, so restaurants may not be my huge issue anymore. But, what about a deli? What about nail salons? What about hotel bell boys? What about taxi drivers? What about the high school kid that carts out your groceries? What about the guys that deliver a new sofa?
And though my restaurant tipping is far better than years ago, I had a moment of my old tipping days just recently when my girlfriend and I were beginning a fabulous afternoon/evening of no children at a nail salon getting a pedicure.
Small Details:
#1 I did not turn on my massage chair. I do not like them. The lady came and turned it on for me. I turned it off.
#2 I think their talking in a foreign language the whole time is very rude to the customers that obviously can't understand them.
#3 Something started burning. It was not a good smell. I asked the man about it and he did eventually open the door, but it smelled very badly in there.
And so, when it came time to pay. I did not feel inclined to pay my usual pedicure tip...
I had a headache from the smell...
My girlfriend was still wobbly from her massage chair (Ok, not really, but why did that lady think she could keep turning them on and off?)...
The people were kind of rude and unfriendly...
And so I made an executive decision for the two of us... Kim and I saved our tip and enjoyed an ice cream treat later that evening.
Am I wrong to think those at our service are not entitled to tips, they must earn them?
(And no, I didn't buy the waitress her ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Nor did I leave any change in the 'tip cup' by the register...)
Which lady? I bet I know which one. I will stand true to our philosophy that if they don't do a good job, then they don't deserve a tip!
ReplyDeleteHA HA! When I started to read this I giggled and wondered if I'd make the post! I told Sara about it before she went there the other day and she said the insense (or whatever it was) was burning then too. Oh well, it was a great night and last Friday I was wishing we were doing it all over again!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I only tip at a restaurant, after getting a massage, and getting a haircut. That's it. I must be a bad tipper then because it hadn't even dawned on me to tip all those other people. hehee
ReplyDeleteI, personally, like the idea of telling the waiter/waitress that their "potential" tip is $__ and sit it at the edge of the table, but that it is POTENTIAL and they have to EARN it. But they SHOULD KNOW THIS! So I just do it in my head and as frequently as they forget me, I forget them!
ReplyDeleteI hate "tipping cups"!!! I didn't recieve any additional service that I wasn't already paying for. The stupidity of them upsets me. I would never even put my change in there out of principle.
ReplyDeleteOkay... sorry people but I have to leave a comment for servers in general. The difference between servers and the other people that could get tipped is that they at least make minimum wage. Servers get $2.13 an hour in Utah. And no not all of us know this, nor do I think that all people know that their is a minimum tip percentage - By the way: went up to 15% about 2 yrs ago in Utah. And if servers don't make that, then they risk getting audited because they should be able to make at least minimum wage off of tips and there are many of days where we don't. People don't even tip 10% if they get so called "super great service" or are given "super great deals". People can be down right rude or clueless! You will more likely be remembered if you are pleasant, leave a good tip, and realize that people make mistakes and get busy. Some people come in and think that they are the only people in the world, then want everything free, complain about everything and even if servers are patient and do their best people still don't even tip minimum. Servers have rules/regulations/procedures/policies that need to be followed and they do there best to meet the needs of the customers while trying to follow the rules. While I think that servers should not have to rely on tips, it is what it is. So I hope that the next time you go out, you will consider what your server has been through, going through, and that you look around and see how many people are in the restaurant. Just remember they are people too and they are just trying to make their way in the world. And rely on you more than anything. After all, think about where your paycheck comes from and think about what would happen if you didn't get that paycheck because people didn't think it was necessary to pay you regardless if you did a good job or not... Just sayin!! I work part-time as a server and rely on customers and I work part-time in a doctor's office and I rely people to pay their bills so that I can receive my paycheck.
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ReplyDeleteHa. I am with you. Restaraunts should pay their people more money. They shouldn't depend on their customers to pay their help. Seriously. It isn't right. Tips should not be expected, they should be earned. I recently found out that you are supposed to tip at Sonic. What the.....
ReplyDeleteI don't get tipping. I tend to overtip actually. Although I think, from the server's point of view, there is no such thing as overtipping. I overtip mostly because I don't want the servers to hate me.
ReplyDeleteSo yea, I don't get it.
I am Fickle Cattle.
I'm curious as what iconic restaurant this was and if I know this waitress. I saw a certain older woman that owned the chinese restaurant adjacent to our place of employment... you know- the one that would come in 5 minutes before closing time and start shopping. I didn't want to do anything nice for her. She'd return boxes of ziploc bags because the box was bent.
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