JUST SO YOU KNOW, I’M A SHITTY TIPPER
Before the rest of his party of ten showed up, the gentleman paying the bill asked me this question, because apparently, being cheap consumed his mind;
HIM: “Do you folks charge an *18% gratuity for parties?”
ME: “Yes with parties of 8 or more we put it on the bill.”
HIM: “Is it included in the bill?!”
ME: “No. It is SUGGESTED, but you don’t have to pay it. I will just remove it from your bill.”
WHAT I WANTED TO SAY,
“You mean to tell me that a man in his 60’s who is buying his family’s meal isn’t intelligent enough to NOT bitch about the gratuity until AFTER I have served you? Basically you are telling your server you are getting LESS then a 18% tip, so don’t work to hard.”
While I gave them good service, all I could think to myself was, ‘Cheap Fuck’ and sure enough, he proved it when he gave me a 12% tip on a $175 tab.
*(personally, my goal is 20% or more, obviously, especially this time of year, 10% is the going rate, but the reason 18% is suggested is so the server gets 15% and the other 3% is paid to the support staff. Trust me, it is not some mad conspiracy to screw you over, the state legislature has done a fine job of screwing over servers for years.)
S. L. Ehrisman (c) 12/20/11