Okay, this is a minor issue but we are both insisting that we are right. So tell me, am I right or is DH wrong?
Last night we went out for burgers with DS. DH and I each got a burger & soda, and we split an order of fries. DS had a bowl of soup and a milk. Our waitress went above and beyond (she brought DS's soup out early so it would have time to cool and gave us extra noodles without us even asking, she put a top on DS's milk so it wouldn't spill, really on top of soda refills, and kept thanking us for being so patient because the food wasn't out right away). She was just a really good waitress. Plus DS is only 21 months so he made a bit of a mess while he was eating.
When she brought the bill, she told us she had taken off the french fries because we were so patient. Honestly, I didn't think we waited that long for our food at all and we weren't annoyed or upset about it at all. We also had a coupon (we rarely go out to eat without a coupon) that made one of our burgers free. So our total bill for everything came out to only $12.61. I thought we should leave an $8.00 tip because she was such a good waitress and our bill was so low. DH was so against this. He wanted to leave $5.00 at the most and kept saying "it's a 25% tip!" It's only a $3.00 difference but we sat there glaring at each other for minutes while he struggled with writing that tip in there.
I'd like to add that this is not a question of being able to afford it...the money is not really the issue, it's that DH is so hung up on the fact that she shouldn't get more than 25%. I say we should reward good service and that $20.61 for 3 people to eat a meal is a great deal.
This was last night, and I'm still annoyed with him.
You should tip on the balance before the coupon, so IMO you are right. You should have left at least that much and maybe an extra $1 if your kid made a mess
Oh yeah, and throwing in a couple of bucks for messy toddlers is a good thing to do. I try to clean up after my kids, but sometimes there are still crumbs or something, and I try to tip extra because of that.
I'm with you. $3 might not be a huge difference to you but yes for the waitress at the end of the day.
That's exactly what I told DH. He was not swayed. He uses our massive SL debt as an excuse to stiff people who probably need the money more than we do.
That's exactly what I told DH. He was not swayed. He uses our massive SL debt as an excuse to stiff people who probably need the money more than we do.
Not judging your DH, but has he worked in the food service industry? I think sometimes that gives folks a different perspective on really above and beyond service.
To clarify, the total before she took off the fries and coupon would have been about $20.00. So that is where DH is getting the 25% figure.
Oh. Well, $5 is still 25%, and that really would have been a fine tip. Your tip was nearly 50% of the original total. But it's like you were giving her the money for the fries that she knocked off. It's a nice gesture that would have probably meant more to her than the $3 would to you.
Although this is the cheapest restaurant in the world. I don't know of any non-fast-food place where three people can eat for $20. lol.
People who calculate tips down to a perfect percentage and refuse to go over that really enrage me.
When I have a low bill such as $12, it's not uncommon for me to give the waitress a $20 and tell her to keep the change. I do the same thing at a place that cuts hair. The girl is awesome, but she charges something crazy low like $15, so I give her a massive tip.
I realize it might not be MM (for me) but I feel like we are really lucky to have the income we have, and a lot of people who work jobs for tips are working there as a second job, college students, etc. I've never met a waitress who was loaded with cash. If they do a good job, chances are they are going to truly appreciate a larger tip. I like to think that way anyways. *farts rainbows and glitter and rides unicorn out of post*
I would have tipped 20% of the Pre-discounted bill. I don't think the waitress should be penalized a tip because I had a coupon for free food. And you were planning to pay for the fries already, so tipping on that makes sense.
Since the service was exceptional I would tip 25%. In her case that would be $5. So I am on her DH side. I dont think that is being stingy at all.
Just to clarify, the tip that DH wanted to leave WAS 25% of the non-coupon, paying-for-fries amount of the bill. My tip was 40% of the bill, but I was thinking more of the actual $$ amount than percentages. Because as someone mentioned, this is a very reasonably-priced restaurant.