Today at work we were having 2 separate health insurance meetings during which we were getting pizza delivered (I resisted, thank you). Anyway, I'm at the front desk. So there were two separate deliveries about an hour apart. Each delivery consisted of at least 25-30 pizzas, which two guys delivered. They came in balancing stacks of pizza boxes. This is a place our company patronizes regularly and I'm pretty sure even our president is pretty friendly with the guys that own the place. So I call down our HR manager who's in charge of paying. She signs the credit card slip (we're talking over $400 worth of pizza here) and proceeds to put a $10 on the counter in front of them saying "I'm not putting the tip on the card, so here it is." One of the guys took a look at the $10 and just walked out, while the other guy just sat there and waited for her to sign. She's totally oblivious and I'm baffled. $10?? That's $5 a piece!! For TWO separate deliveries! I'm so embarassed that I was even up here to be associated with this transaction. I don't know who decides how much is allowed to be spent, so it may not be her fault. I felt so bad for the delivery guys and I wouldn't blame them if they refused to do business with us again.
Wow.. I would have been embarassed too.. This is exactly why I don't work in retail or food service anymore and I only worked in these two industries when I was realllly desperate most of the time so we could eat and buy food.
Sadly, there are lots of people who are just clueless when it comes to tipping *etiquette* (There is a rumor around here about a guy who won a multi-million dollar jackpot and left without even tipping the valet parking attendant ).
Most of those cheapos (oops, I mean people) are assuming that service people are being paid to do a job and tips are just gravy. What they aren't realizing is that people in positions that are considered "tipped" positions very often are paid really low wages because their bosses assume they will make it up in tips. The IRS assumes this as well so these poor people are assessed at 15% (used to be, may be more now) of their sales. So, IRS is assuming those guys made at least $60 on that delivery and that's what they have to pay the taxes on - depending on their bracket, that whole 10 might have to go to taxes.........
Maybe, print out this paragraph and leave it laying around where she can see it - tell her your planning a trip to Atlantic City and wanted to know how you should tip
We just visited USA last month and the tipping was an adventure in itself. We tried to leave good tips to avoid being considered cheap-o's... We probably left too much, but at least everyone was happy!
We just visited USA last month and the tipping was an adventure in itself. We tried to leave good tips to avoid being considered cheap-o's... We probably left too much, but at least everyone was happy!
No one ever complains about being over tipped And, at least you thought about it and tried to do it right.
But, I do still consider a tip to be a reward for a job well done. I have no problem at all short tipping if someone is rude or arrogant or gives really poor service (little human errors like a small spill don't count as poor service as long as the server is genuinely apologetic). I will tip the minimum if I'm in a nice restaurant and I get faces made at me when all I order is steamed broccoli - on the other hand, if the server treats my broccoli as though I've ordered a 7 course meal, I'm apt to way over tip. It's that service thing again.
My father was from a generation where 5% was a good tip. Whenever we traveled anywhere he and I would squabble over the tip. We often argued over who got to pay the bill too. So the last decade of his life we compromised. I graciously let him pick up the tab without arguing and he allowed me to tip whatever I wanted without complaint.
I remember many years ago, when 3 of my friends came over to hang out one Saturday night. Let's just say that the margaritas and beer were flowing freely, and we decided to order pizza. We ordered 2 large pizzas and all threw money on the table. We heard the guy pull up, I asked how much to give him for a tip, and everyone agreed to give him all the money, about $50-$60. Rang the bell, gave us the pies, we gave him the cash and 20 minutes later my phone rang. It was the delivery guy thanking us for the tip.
At work I will sometimes go out to eat with my co-workers, and we usually split the bill & tip.
Most of the time I am appalled at how little some people will chip in. They either assume the rest of us will cover their share of the tip, or they are just plain cheap.
It's pretty embarassing and irritating to me when a group of us leaves a really small tip, especially when I know I've already put down more than my fair share and others have not. (And I'm not going to put in even more money just to cover for their cheapness.)
When I see it happening I'm not quiet about it. I do speak up, and I don't mince my words on this issue. The last time it happened I managed to shame my co-workers into leaving a decent tip.
The reason I'm sensitive to this is that my SIL was a waitress for a short time, and she told me horror stories about bad tips, and even non-existant tips from overly demanding, fussy, rude, cheapskates. She hustled hard and cheerfully for these people, and was often rewarded with lousy tips. Sometimes she didn't get one at all!
Needless to say, her stories have inspired me to be a better tipper (although I will only tip the bare minimum for bad service, and I may leave even less than that if the service was truly terrible).
Last edited by Apple Cheeks; 08-15-2008 at 01:23 AM.
oh my god I'm so embarassed
). 
) are assuming that service people are being paid to do a job and tips are just gravy. What they aren't realizing is that people in positions that are considered "tipped" positions very often are paid really low wages because their bosses assume they will make it up in tips. The IRS assumes this as well so these poor people are assessed at 15% (used to be, may be more now) of their sales. So, IRS is assuming those guys made at least $60 on that delivery and that's what they have to pay the taxes on - depending on their bracket, that whole 10 might have to go to taxes.........
We probably left too much, but at least everyone was happy!
And, at least you thought about it and tried to do it right. 
