What would you do if you receive an excuse instead of a tip?

1. 67

   creativesqposted 12 years ago

   What would you do if you receive an excuse instead of a tip?
   
   Single mom decides to go to a restaurant. After a enjoying a fine $140.00 meal she decides to pay with a credit card. Little did the waiter/waitress know, single mom wrote a sorry note on the slip instead of tipping. And to rub salt into the wound, she wrote a thank you note at the bottom of it.
   
   

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2. 60

   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   You know it is unfortunate.  But I am not going to judge this person.  I have no idea how long she saved for that meal, or what her other circumstances are. She may well have put it on her charge and not be able to pay the balance each month.  I would just be sure that I excel at giving service and be the best service person I could be. 
   
   Years ago, my husband, a Lutheran pastor at the time, got a "new-to-us" truck.  There were a lot of comments from parishioners about how nice it must be to have the money and the snide comments continued. These people had no idea how long we saved to buy this used truck. We worked hard and put every penny away we could to get him that truck.  But all they saw was a pastor with a new car. (it was 4 years old when we got it)
   
   We just can't judge people based on appearances or one instance of no tip.

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   1. 0

      Old Empresarioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You're right. There are two sides to every argument. But many waitresses are single moms too. And most in the US don't receive a salary other than tips.

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3. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   Ouch--I guess the only thing you can do is give her bad service next time and post her name on Hubpages.

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4. 0

   Justsilvieposted 12 years ago

   I would write it off as part of the job! A tip is not mandatory so we really should not assume everyone will leave one. And  think positive, maybe she just really did not have enough money and next time around she will make up for it.

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5. 65

   Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

   $140 is a lot to pay for a meal, so I don't really understand the "single mom" excuse.  A lot of people who are "money-challenged"  would keep their restaurant bill a whole lot lower than that. 
   
   BUT (and maybe this might seem like a stretch in the "give the benefit of doubt" department)....
   
   Who knows if someone else wanted her to have a special meal out and let her use their card to cover it (maybe a birthday or graduation meal, etc.).  Also, how many people ate?  Was she covering someone-special's celebration of some sort?  Her parents anniversary dinner?  A child's birthday party?  Or maybe she underestimated what the bill would come to and (as I think someone else said) realized she didn't have room on the card for a tip that size.
   
   20% of $140 is close to $30.  I can see how she may have wanted to cover a special meal but maybe couldn't cover the tip.  I can see how, too, she may have thought that leaving a small tip might look as if she didn't like the meal.  Or, maybe she's someone who has been a waitress, herself, and who thought she'd be OK with it if a single mother did the same thing.  People often do the thing, "If it were me I would understand", because we often tend to think that others think the way we do.
   
   Either way, I know it would be crummy for the waitress; but I'd consider it one of those crummy things that the person may/may not have had good reason for; and I'd assume the best about the person and the situation.  Maybe I'd be wrong, but I think it's better to give benefit of doubt to someone who deserves it than not to give benefit of doubt to someone who does.

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