Some people are cheap AND uneducated. A lot simply don’t care about etiquette because they are white trash losers who work at Walmart, where tipping isn’t customary.
Of course, you will always have people that tip the same amount – regardless of the amount of the check or the service they receive. I gather this is because they only completed 4th grade and never learned how to compute percentages. They have therefore decided to just tip $4 or $5 every single time or stiff you completely if they send the food back because they don’t know how to read a menu or order steak cooked the way they prefer.
Others might not be able to afford to tip. In which case, they should stay home with their mullet-sporting, leg-brace wearing kids (like my mom did).
I hope this answer helps but I seriously doubt it will because shitty tippers cannot really be generalized.
I’m sure they have their reasons – you should just revel in the fact that you had the privilege of waiting on them and forget the fact that you were not properly rewarded. Knowing you do a good job is far more important than paying your bills. When your electric bill is due just mail them a letter that says:
“Thanks for the electricity, you guys are doing a fantastic job! I really enjoyed the cool A.C. – it kept my balls from sticking to my leg all month long. Keep up the good work!”
Twitter Updates
Hey,
Found this blog on a web comic (sock puppet army dot com), and followed it because I liked the sound of a server blog. Definitely like your writing style (lots of ‘fucks’ and ‘assholes’, etc.). Can certainly relate, being a server myself, so I find a lot of what you say to be generally true and quite hilarious.
This one I have to comment on. So many times, I have been overly nice or attentive to people, to have gotten a low tip. It is especially hurtful when I felt like we really had a rapport going, and then they just decide to tip 10-12%. It is when I realize they are scumbags, that I can be relieved.
Or sometimes they are foreign (Canadian, Asian, European, they all suck) and their customs are different. Though I have been pleasantly surprised by a good tip from a foreigner (if I was unsuccessful at giving the table away that is) for the most part they do not tip well.
The worst though, is when you get the people who obviously know how to tip, and choose to spite you by not tipping well, despite no fault of your own. Example:
I work for a restaurant chain of 13-ish in the local San Diego area. There is a company policy that any employee who dines at any of the restaurants must tip 18%, but because there is a 50% discount, it should be on the sub-total. So, I take care of an employee (who tells me he has been with the company for a number of years) who ends up tipping me 15% off of the -discounted- price… now, because this is a direct violation of “company policy”, I could have reported him, which I didn’t do. I suppose I regret that.
Anyhow, thanks for the great blog. Keep it up.