The Fake $10 Tip Has Gone Mainstream

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow, I am stunned that waiting staff can be paid so little. Here in the UK they get the same minimum wage as anyone else, and tipping starting at 10% is considered standard, though it is not unusual for some people to give less. I work with 10% and then round up to the next value note.

On holiday I take into account the local economy and expectations when tipping. Have not yet visited the USA but I will remember to be generous now!

[Shirley MacLaine]

This is one area in which I feel I've had a very positive impact on my boyfriend. Made that boy a fucking good tipper. Leaving stingy tips is a turn-off of nearly dealbreaker proportions.

[StarrieEyedKat]

This is one area in which I feel I've had a very positive impact on my boyfriend. Made that boy a fucking good tipper. Leaving stingy tips is a turn-off of nearly dealbreaker proportions.

Totally agreed, the way a guy treated/tipped servers was a BIG indicator on whether I wanted to date them or not. My husband overtips a lot - we leave a minimum of 15% if the service was bad, and it goes up from there, usually in the 20-25% range. We also try to be as courteous as possible to our waitstaff when we go out, we tend to overuse "Thank you" but we've seen and heard how other people treat waiters so we try and compensate for their horrible behavior.

[Feberin]

When I worked at summer camp I once went out to eat with a bunch of coworkers when the bill came we stared dividing it up including a 20% tip since we were big group. One of the guys said that he doesn't pay tips that he didn't "believe" in them. He put in for exactly how much his meal costed (I don't think he included tax either). The rest of us contributed more so the waitress got the full tip including for his portion of the bill. I was really annoyed since I was in college and on a tight budget at the time and had stuck to something cheap because I couldn't afford to pay much while he'd gotten steak. The part of the tip I contributed was the same as the cost of my meal. He wasn't religious or a fundie just an ass but this makes me think of him. I believe he said his parents didn't tip either. I just can't understand that mentality.

[dawbs]

When I worked at summer camp I once went out to eat with a bunch of coworkers when the bill came we stared dividing it up including a 20% tip since we were big group. One of the guys said that he doesn't pay tips that he didn't "believe" in them. He put in for exactly how much his meal costed (I don't think he included tax either). The rest of us contributed more so the waitress got the full tip including for his portion of the bill. I was really annoyed since I was in college and on a tight budget at the time and had stuck to something cheap because I couldn't afford to pay much while he'd gotten steak. The part of the tip I contributed was the same as the cost of my meal. He wasn't religious or a fundie just an ass but this makes me think of him. I believe he said his parents didn't tip either. I just can't understand that mentality.

I can understand not LIKING the current tipping system.

If I had my druthers, I would pay 20% more and we'd abolish tipping. And if I"m asked, I'm quite blunt about that.

But I still tip 20%+ and think the system sucks and just rant when asked :)

[Feberin]

Oh I agree that I would prefer paying more for my food and tipping be something you do when you have an amazing server that really goes above and beyond. Some resturants are trying to get around people not tipping by tacking on a certain amount automatically for parties over ___. TGI Fridays tried tack on a $25 service fee when me, my best friend, her husband, daughter, my husband and son ate there. Our entire bill was like $50 so it was a 40% tip. Luckily they only tack that on for parties of 8+ and we only had six so we got it taken off. I'm fine with tipping but 40% is too much. Anyways if they're going to tack on the extra charge why not raise the food prices?

[browngrl]

My dear departed mother's family owned a bar back before I was born. Mom raised me to tip well out of respect for how difficult working at a restaurant can be. Even when we pay with a credit card we leave a cash tip for the server. It's just the decent thing to do.

Tricking someone into thinking you've left them a nice tip only to have it turn out to be a tract is a very unkind thing to do, and if I saw someone do that, I would be very tempted to punch their teeth out.

I put the tip on my credit card (there is always a line to put down what you want to leave for a tip). I almost never carry any actual cash. Is this wrong?

[apple1]

I put the tip on my credit card (there is always a line to put down what you want to leave for a tip). I almost never carry any actual cash. Is this wrong?

no

[Austin]

When I worked at summer camp I once went out to eat with a bunch of coworkers when the bill came we stared dividing it up including a 20% tip since we were big group. One of the guys said that he doesn't pay tips that he didn't "believe" in them. He put in for exactly how much his meal costed (I don't think he included tax either). The rest of us contributed more so the waitress got the full tip including for his portion of the bill. I was really annoyed since I was in college and on a tight budget at the time and had stuck to something cheap because I couldn't afford to pay much while he'd gotten steak. The part of the tip I contributed was the same as the cost of my meal. He wasn't religious or a fundie just an ass but this makes me think of him. I believe he said his parents didn't tip either. I just can't understand that mentality.

So he was basically willing to steal (force other people to pay for his share) from his co-workers, but not willing to tip the waitress.

What a jerk. Hope he doesn't eat out.

[dawbs]

I put the tip on my credit card (there is always a line to put down what you want to leave for a tip). I almost never carry any actual cash. Is this wrong?

Some less-than-reputable places won't pay out the server and/or insist on CC tips being 'pooled'. (that beign said, I leave CC tips. MOST places don't play those games w/ directed tips--tip JARS are a whole 'nother matter.)

[Austin]

I rarely carry cash, plus it's easier for me to keep track of electronic transactions, so I hope the wait staff is getting the tips I intend for them.

[MrsYoungie]

People who regularly don't tip - do they not realize how much other people's saliva they must ingest in a year?

[Angri-la]

People who regularly don't tip - do they not realize how much other people's saliva they must ingest in a year?

Or worse. You don't even know want to know what I saw once @ a corporate coffee place I worked at briefly...

[annalena]

Uhhhh, really? That's so gauche. 20% all the way.

well, should have pointed out they do it here in germany. and depending on the amount on the check, thats a decent tip. HERE.

but it's just so funny when sometimes i am a bit surprised by the excessive (for our standards) tipping and then they explain it's "american style" and "over there you tip 10%".

:lol:

i was taught when living in the us that 10% says it sucked.

[Shirley MacLaine]

well, should have pointed out they do it here in germany. and depending on the amount on the check, thats a decent tip. HERE.

Word. I think I tipped like I do in the US the entire time I was on my abroad study in Germany... it's a habit I can't break! Even when I'm somewhere where tipping is nonstandard, I hear my mother's voice shaming me. IT'S THE HEIGHT OF IMPROPRIETY!

[annalena]

well, people must have been thrilled! :D

[alchemy]

Reviving this thread because this turned up in my FB news feed a few times this weekend.

dailyoftheday.com/no-this-is-not-an-okay-tip-to-leave/

It's an old article but it nicely expresses how a server feels when some douche leaves a stupid tract instead of a real tip.

FWIW, when I worked in the food service industry many years ago I, and nearly everyone I worked with, considered it the height of unprofessionalism to tamper with a customer's food no matter how awful they were, so our customers never go the spit treatment. A eleventy billion watt stink-eye, but never spit or anything else that wasn't supposed to be on the plate.

[halfheartedheroine]

Reviving this thread because this turned up in my FB news feed a few times this weekend.

dailyoftheday.com/no-this-is-not-an-okay-tip-to-leave/

It's an old article but it nicely expresses how a server feels when some douche leaves a stupid tract instead of a real tip.

FWIW, when I worked in the food service industry many years ago I, and nearly everyone I worked with, considered it the height of unprofessionalism to tamper with a customer's food no matter how awful they were, so our customers never go the spit treatment. A eleventy billion watt stink-eye, but never spit or anything else that wasn't supposed to be on the plate.

The restaurant I worked in /never/ did the bodily fluids/dropped on the floor route, but I do remember one burger going back several times because 'not enough mustard' 'not enough pickles' 'not enough ketchup', and the chef that day finally poured on an inch of ketchup and said, "If this gets sent back a fourth time, I will pay the man to take the burger and leave."

[snarkykitty]

Looking at the fake $10 bill, I notice that they tried to copy part of a real bill. Since those giving them out are leaving them in place of real money as a payment for a service performed, isn't this some sort of counterfeiting?

[Lillybee]

Bill Maher talks about this in his New Rules segment.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/09/m ... f-and-die/

[ohnomoe]

I'm Australian so don't understand tipping at all. When I go overseas I probably overtip because I'm aware that Australians have a terrible reputation. Hospitality jobs still tend to be low paid here relative to our cost of living and other professions but not so low that staff rely on tips to pay their basic living needs.

My mother flat out refuses to tip when she is overseas even though she is quite well off. It really annoys me when she talks about it like it is funny "hahaha everyone knows Australians don't tip...". :x

[PennySycamore]

Bill Maher talks about this in his New Rules segment.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/09/m ... f-and-die/

That was great! I'd read about this on DailyKos as well. I won't link to the diary as I assume the RawStory link has the video too, but Bill did mention right at the end of the segment that people who get this kind of crap as a tip ought to drop the fake bills in the collection box (plate/basket etc) instead of real money.

[Stephanie66]

If I get a particularly cheap meal I'll tip a higher percentage. For instance, I once split a £7.50 pizza with a friend and we both drank tap water, but we paid a 20-25% tip on it.

I have been proud of my son twice. Once, he brought his (then) girlfriend to a place that gave free birthday meals. They both had the same birthday. He tipped the waitress the price of the meals. :)

Another time (also on a date) he made sure he had the 20% for the tip when he ordered the meal. (He didn't realize how expensive the restaurant was and miscalculated a little, so pared down his food.)

I used to be a server, so this is drilled in his head.

My atheist husband never leaves under 20%, even if I grumble under my breath that the service was terrible. He reminds me that everyone has a bad day and they earn $2.13 an hour.

Also, with a coupon or gift card, the general rule is to include the price of the coupon or gift card in the price of the meal when calculating the tip.

[Flossie]

i was taught when living in the us that 10% says it sucked.

Actually, the worst thing you can do to your server is leave a penny behind as a tip. If you leave nothing, they're likely to think you're just a jerk who doesn't tip. But taking the time to dig out a penny and leave it is pretty much the FU of the tipping world.

Anyway, the Duggars are said to leave fake bills as tips, which I hope isn't true, because I imagine waiting on them is a hell of a job.

There was a story floating around a few years ago that a guy in town was printing out fake bills of the 1, 5, 10, and 20 dollar denominations, but at the bottom of the bill where it would say "FIVE DOLLARS", he'd insert a tiny "NOT" in front of the dollar statement. On the part of the bill where the statement was "This bill is legal tender for all debts public and private", he'd also insert a "NOT" in there. The back of the bills were blank, and he'd stamp on something like "I shouldn't have to pay extra for you to do your job." Sometimes the back was said to be stamped with "You'll laugh about this someday." One story had it that the back was stamped with "I'm just trying to impress my date - deal with it." I don't know if any of that is true.

Now in the art world, I've heard that a person could legally paint a replica of another 'important' piece of art as a practice tool. But they're also supposed to put their own signature on the painting instead of the original artist, and the copy is supposed to be at least 20% larger or smaller than the original. Maybe that's why the religious tracts are obviously shorter than a real bill.

[Stephanie66]

I remember a guy who could draw you a dollar bill. It was actually VERY good. BUT...he would give the server the option of his drawn dollar bill or an actual tip.