[metfoo]

Restaurant.com is having their winter sale. Now through January 28th, you can receive and additional 50% off their already discounted meal vouchers. Simply add the coupon code 93530 to your shopping cart upon checkout. You can get a $25.00 certificate for $5.00!! They do have a limited selection, but I have tried several new places at a fraction of the price.

You will get the vouchers after you pay. they are printable, so you can redeem them right away. there isnt any waiting for delivery or anything like that. I have never had any sort of hassle redeeming the certificates in the past either, because all restaurants have to signup to participate.

[IceEnclosure]

yea, great. and don't forget to tip at least 15% to your waiter based on the ORIGINAL total of the check before the discount.

it's only right. the tip is for service, and the server served you 100% of your meal.

so yea, if you're a 15% tipper, with one of these coupons, you get to be a 25% + tipper for the evening. you'll still have paid less than your original total (plus tip), and you'll put a smile on your waiter's face, so if you go back to that lovely restaurant, you won't be snarled at by the staff. bravo!

[The Godfather]

Speaking from experience:
Only tell the waiter that you are going to pay with a coupon AFTER everything is brought to the table. You will get bad service if you tell him/her before... and read the coupon's fine print.

[d4nth3m4n]

tip if you plan on going out to that restaurant ever again. and even then. it's amazing how much $5 means to a tron, and how little it potentially means to someone going out to dinner. make the tron's day.

oh and, we DO remember customers. more often than you'd think.

[Eriamjh]

You're assuming the service is worth 15%.

[Mastrap]

I know we've been here before but I till don't understand why a restaurant's or bar's staff costs should be my responsibility. Pay serving staff a decent living wage and end this ludicrous 15% - 25% minimum tip practice. If that means higher prices in restaurants then so be it.

I don't expect a tip from my own customers just because I've done my job well.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by The Godfather:
Speaking from experience:
Only tell the waiter that you are going to pay with a coupon AFTER everything is brought to the table. You will get bad service if you tell him/her before... and read the coupon's fine print.

Yep. That's exactly my experience. In fact, I had two vouchers for one restaurant. I only used one, never went back a second time, because the service sucked so bad.

A waiter giving me attitude for these vouchers is a self-fulfilling prophecy: he will get what he expects, because he deserves it.

-t

[wdlove]

My wife always lets the waitress/waiter know ahead of time that she has a coupon. Tips on the fill amount,

[anthonyvthc]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
I know we've been here before but I till don't understand why a restaurant's or bar's staff costs should be my responsibility. Pay serving staff a decent living wage and end this ludicrous 15% - 25% minimum tip practice. If that means higher prices in restaurants then so be it.

I don't expect a tip from my own customers just because I've done my job well.

Mr. Pink, is that you?

[IceEnclosure]

Originally posted by wdlove:
My wife always lets the waitress/waiter know ahead of time that she has a coupon. Tips on the fill amount,

you're a good soul.

(as if we didn't know that)

[IceEnclosure]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mastrap:
I know we've been here before but I till don't understand why a restaurant's or bar's staff costs should be my responsibility. Pay serving staff a decent living wage and end this ludicrous 15% - 25% minimum tip practice. If that means higher prices in restaurants then so be it.

I don't expect a tip from my own customers just because I've done my job well. [/QUOTE


who are your customers?

if you own a deli, and you make them a sandwich, no, they don't need to tip you.

even if you were a pimply teenager employed by said deli, you still don't need a tip, as you get paid 5-9 dollars/hr. US.

but I get paid $2.30 US per hour and it hurts to not get tipped.

When you ask for olive oil (for your bread) at the fancy Italian restaurant, and the waiter not only brings olive oil, but fresh cracked black pepper, parmesean, balsamic vinegar and fresh garlic. are you impressed? would that make you want to tip the guy? (keep in mind, that when i'm talking about getting tipped, I feel I deserve it, as I do a good job. if you haven't seen your waiter for 30 minutes... well, all bets are off. but you still should tip, just a lower amount.)

do you tip concierges? bellmen? valets?

they ALL get paid a lower amount/hour by law, in anticipation of tipping.


and yea, expect a check to be $20 higher per$100/US if tipping wasn't included. but then at least Mastrap would be out of the grip of the greedy server. He'd just be paying the rich guy who owns the restaurant.

eek, and imagine the service you'll get then? when the server doesn't try very hard to please you? cause he knows he's getting paid either way. it's a system you apparently don't understand.

[Link]

I know where I aint going to get a sandwich

[Mastrap]

Originally posted by IceEnclosure:



who are your customers?

if you own a deli, and you make them a sandwich, no, they don't need to tip you.

even if you were a pimply teenager employed by said deli, you still don't need a tip, as you get paid 5-9 dollars/hr. US.

but I get paid $2.30 US per hour and it hurts to not get tipped.

When you ask for olive oil (for your bread) at the fancy Italian restaurant, and the waiter not only brings olive oil, but fresh cracked black pepper, parmesean, balsamic vinegar and fresh garlic. are you impressed? would that make you want to tip the guy? (keep in mind, that when i'm talking about getting tipped, I feel I deserve it, as I do a good job. if you haven't seen your waiter for 30 minutes... well, all bets are off. but you still should tip, just a lower amount.)

do you tip concierges? bellmen? valets?

they ALL get paid a lower amount/hour by law, in anticipation of tipping.


and yea, expect a check to be $20 higher per$100/US if tipping wasn't included. but then at least Mastrap would be out of the grip of the greedy server. He'd just be paying the rich guy who owns the restaurant.

eek, and imagine the service you'll get then? when the server doesn't try very hard to please you? cause he knows he's getting paid either way. it's a system you apparently don't understand.

Try and go to a good restaurant in, say, France. The waiting staff will be earning a living wage. Meaning, they are able not just to survive on their salary, but to pay their rent, buy a car, bring up a kid if they so desire. They do not rely on their tips to make a living.

The service is good because:

a: They are professionals who take pride in their work
b: They know that they are financially secure, regardless of the mood of the customer.

The customer know the price of the meal in advance. He'll know the service will be good. He'll know there won't be any of the idiotic antics many servers in North America think necessary to ensure that they'll get tipped some ridiculous amount. If the service is exceptional then he'll add a 5% tip. Everybody is happy.

Oh, and nobody forces you to work in a job that doesn't pay you a living wage. I am sick and tired of the bleeding heart complaints from waiters that the public doesn't tip them enough if they make less than a copper, a nurse, a teacher. Take it up with your employers, not the public.

Go and travel for a bit. Learn about other systems, then make up your mind.

[Kilbey]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Go and travel for a bit. Learn about other systems, then make up your mind.

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but this argument is weak. Just because it's done differently elsewhere doesn't mean it's a better system.

I prefer the tipping system. But I usually tip 20%-30% as I have had friends and family work as waitstaff and I understand the rigors of the job.

If I get bad service I usually let the server know, but I still tip about 15%. I also tell the management.

But honestly, I haven't really had bad service in a long time as I try to go to places where they know me because I frequent only those businesses. And they know I am a good tipper.

[Apple Pro Underwear]

i'm with Mastrap on this one

take responsibility in your own life

if your job annoys you, get another job.



my own personal experience living in NYC... HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO F*CKING PAY FOR A BARMAID TO OPEN A BOTTLE FOR ME?!?!

$1 dollar? $2 dollars? WTF?!

I feel guilty because i'm 25 yrs old and my salary is not extroadinary so I feel guilty when they look at me because I know the businessmen probably give them more. but why should I? I already pay 5-6 bucks a beer!?

i think the restaurant models need to change.

[Big Mac]

Originally posted by anthonyvthc:
Mr. Pink, is that you?

"You know what this is? It's the world's smallest violin playing just for the waitresses."

The problem I have with Mastrap's argument is that I don't believe servers should be entitled to a ballyhooed "living wage." If you wish to argue that restaurants should take the initiative by individually offering a living wage, that's one thing. But when you speak of a living wage, you're implying government mandated price floors for a legitimately private market service. If you're going to compel employers to inflate their wage costs, I know for a fact that you'll drive a good portion of people out of restaurants altogether.

Originally posted by Apple Pro Underwear:

i think the restaurant models need to change.

Agreed. The European system sounds much better. But I don't think it's easy to change it. I typically tip 15 - 20% unless I get bad service, but only because I know they make low wages.

I'd rather not have to though. Restaurants should pay their staff better, charge more for the meal to cover it, and fire any staff that doesn't give good service. I don't want to hear "I get paid the same amount anyway so why should I care about the customer." Because you agreed to when you took the job, that's why.

But for now, I'll continue to tip. And yes, I know they remember you. A friend went to a steak restaurant five years later (after only being there once), and the waitor, who still worked there, not only remembered his name, but where he sat and what he ordered. Of course, that is exceptional.

[Mastrap]

Originally posted by Kilbey:
I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but this argument is weak. Just because it's done differently elsewhere doesn't mean it's a better system.

I prefer the tipping system. But I usually tip 20%-30% as I have had friends and family work as waitstaff and I understand the rigors of the job.

I am not saying that it's better because it's done that way someplace else. I am saying that it's better because it's fairer on both staff and customer. Don't put words into my mouth, please.

Think about it. How would you be able to budget if you don't know how much your monthly salary will be? If it's a slow week, will you be able to pay the rent? A salary would give wait staff far more security.

And for the customer, he'd know that he'd get the same level of service regardless of whether he'd order a bottle of beer or a three course dinner for ten. Why? Because the waiter doesn't have any incentive to give him any less attention.

I've worked my way through school as a waiter and barman, I know that it's a lot of work. But it also my personal choice to do the job. Why the customer should be responsible for my personal income escapes me.

In continental Europe I normally tip a fiver or a tenner on good service (we're talking dinner here) and that makes everybody happy. In the UK barstaff don't expect any tips, waiting staff will get between 5 and 10%. In the US I tend to tip 15-20% for good/excellent service, but I also tend to cap it. Meaning that just because I have had an expensive bottle of wine I will not add 20% of that price to the tip. That would be lunacy.

[Mastrap]

Originally posted by Big Mac:
I know for a fact that you'll drive a good portion of people out of restaurants altogether.

I think it's the other way round. I tend to avoid restaurants where waiters react surly when tipped less than they think they are entitled to. I most definitely avoid restaurants where waiters fight for the best tables whilst ignoring everybody else.

That's what driving people out of restaurants.

[Link]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
I think it's the other way round. I tend to avoid restaurants where waiters react surly when tipped less than they think they are entitled to. I most definitely avoid restaurants where waiters fight for the best tables whilst ignoring everybody else.

That's what driving people out of restaurants.

Yar. My feelings too, here's one though -- I don't feel obligated to tip a bad server.

They get 0%, or a penny or something.. why the **** should I give a tip to someone who pisses me off? If they're doing this to other people as well (most likely), then they shouldn't be doing that kind of job.

[TubaMuffins]

I'm not complaining, I love my job as a waiter. the tipping is an incentive, much the way other employees of businesses are given stock in the company, the harder you work, the more you get paid. If I weren't tipped, I would probably only work hard enough to just get everything done that I need to do, but being tipped I am encouraged to work harder and make sure all my customers are happy. Nobody has to tip, but it shows me that I have not done a good job. If I didn't get tipped ever I would think I was a crappy server and stop trying. Plus, my tips are not taxed, so thats better for me instead of just higher menu prices.

[IceEnclosure]

WHEN IN ROME. whoever thinks otherwise is a ****tard. and yea. when 'ROME' is the US, you tip. 15%+ please. less if you're a cheap ass.


do you hide your shitty tip from your girlfriend when you take her out, Link? She's probably embarassed when you do that.

Mastrap _ perhaps the model is better across the pond. I'm not arguing that. I happened into this job, and I've found I'm good at it. I make my guests happy, and I make a living.

but for what it's worth, I'm in the 'US' model, which involves tipping. think of it as the menu being a slightly reduced price, and you have room to adjust the final bill based on service.

fair enough, when in rome.

half of you people in this thread astound me. and Link, I'll kick you ass if you come to my town.

btw, I'm super awesome, and I encourage anyone on this board to come see me at my restaurant in FTL, if you're ever here. I'll buy you a drink fer shure!!

[IceEnclosure]

Originally posted by TubaMuffins:
I'm not complaining, I love my job as a waiter. the tipping is an incentive, much the way other employees of businesses are given stock in the company, the harder you work, the more you get paid. If I weren't tipped, I would probably only work hard enough to just get everything done that I need to do, but being tipped I am encouraged to work harder and make sure all my customers are happy. Nobody has to tip, but it shows me that I have not done a good job. If I didn't get tipped ever I would think I was a crappy server and stop trying. Plus, my tips are not taxed, so thats better for me instead of just higher menu prices.

do you get paid $2.30/hr?

an incentive? good for you.

[IceEnclosure]

Originally posted by Link:
Yar. My feelings too, here's one though -- I don't feel obligated to tip a bad server.

They get 0%, or a penny or something.. why the **** should I give a tip to someone who pisses me off? If they're doing this to other people as well (most likely), then they shouldn't be doing that kind of job.

I failed to mention that on weekends, when I visit these boards - I'm friggin' drunk. usually.


I, as I always do, seemed to have skimmed over your post.

you feel it's okay to not tip at all when a server sucks, or pisses you off. I suppose that's cruel, esp. when you know that the server (in the US) is making LESS than half the minimum wage. and they're not making that little because they are awful people who suck, but because a tip is part of the deal, even if they suck.

consider 12% percent part of the bill. 15% if you liked everything, but weren't astounded by service. 18+% if eveerrryyything exceeded your expectations.

oh, and if you get laid after going to said restaurant, the next time you go, you tip 25% (that's my rule. enjoy)

a server is doing his/her job, and probably actually trying to make you happy. I've found that all walks of life and all sorts want to be good at their job, and would like to be proud of the job they do.

link, perhaps you should buy more at Publix and dine out less often?

(this post was unnecessary)

a penny? dude! I WOULD SO kick your ass.