Do you still leave a tip afte bad service at the restaurant?
@cgrant (270)
Spanish Town, Jamaica
April 22, 2011 1:51pm CST
last night my friends i went to one of the popular spots in town. It was three of us and we told the young lady at the front that we wanted a table for three. She gave us the table but we were not pleased with the setting and location so we got up and requested another. We were told that there were no available one at the moment and we should have taken the one that we got. Trying to maintain our professionalism we asked her to inform us as soon as another was available. we waited about an hour at the bar and nothing from her. While waiting at the bar we realized that tables we vacant but she was placing other persons there. By now my friends and i were all upset that we had to confront her and she finally gave us a table.
The server that we got was quite pleasant but at that point we did not care. We spent quite a lot of money there and could have left a tip but we didn't because of one employees action.
should we have left the tip anyway?
4 people like this
19 responses
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
23 Apr 11
Yes, you should have tipped. It wasn't the server's fault. If you had a problem with the hostess, you should have told the manager. It was unfair to take out your frustrations on the employee that served you well.
1 person likes this
@gelayagui98 (1336)
• Australia
23 Apr 11
If I were on your shoes, I will leave the tip but leave also comments for the improvement of their services with my professionalism way.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
22 Apr 11
I understand that you were upset with the hostess for not giving you a satisfactory table. I agree with the person who said you should have told her immediately that you did not like the table she offered and she should have taken you back to the front to wait for another opening. However, you penalized your server because you were displeased with someone else's work. In some restaurants and bars, at the end of their shift, servers may offer a portion of their tips to hosts, hostesses, bus boys, etc., who do not generally earn tips but that is often at their discretion and doesn't always happen. So, the person who did their job correctly and gave you proper service earned their tip, irregardless of the work of another. Instead of penalizing your server, it probably would have been a good idea to speak to a manager on your way out regarding the seating issue.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
25 Apr 11
I don't think mystery shoppers are a bad idea at all. I mean, some establishments put out those evaluation cards on the tables or at the point of payment but I'm sure very few of them ever get filled out. I also think that people with a bad experience would be more likely fill them, not giving credence to the positives. Mystery shopping can be an objective way to assess what's going on because management evaluations are pretty obvious ~ and staff will go out of their way to do their best work when a manager (especially one who is not usually on the premises) suddenly shows up.
@cgrant (270)
• Spanish Town, Jamaica
22 Apr 11
We did inform the receptionist thatwe left the table so all she could have done is replace our add back our name to the top of the list. i think she was rude because her reaction showed that she dont care anymore because she gave us a table already. He actions seemed spiteful as well which is not professional. Sometimes e bad service can cause the organization to loose millions. It is important that employees in the service industry maintain tolerance at all times. There are some employees that send out mystery shoppers to the business place as a means of testing the level of customer service displayed by their employees. the waitress would have failed the test.
What do you think about managers sending mystry shoppers to test customer service level?
1 person likes this
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
22 Apr 11
The waitress who served you apparently did a good job & she was the one who would have received the tip, not the receptionist. You slighted her...
From the sounds of things you may have actually caused the situation to begin with. You have to be understanding. The business had other customers to serve. You gave up your position when you left your table. Had you said something when you were first seated & requested being put back on the list & let the next person have it instead it would have gone more smoothly. By sitting down, waiting for a bit & then going back up they had no choice but to move you back to the bottom of the list.
@cgrant (270)
• Spanish Town, Jamaica
22 Apr 11
I really do not think i was an insult to the waitress but thinking back we should have really given her a tip because she deserved it.
My table was given to other guest so I think i should have been at the position they were on the list. This was like a switch and she did place us somewhere on the list. Yes the business have other customers to serve but isnt it a first come first serve? i did not get that vibe at all. People have choices and the table we get was not to out liking so we asked for something else. We we only practicing our rite of choice.
@cgrant (270)
• Spanish Town, Jamaica
23 Apr 11
That is not extra difficulty because another set of customers were placed in the seat that we refused. all they had to do was place our name in those customers space. We were already patient for one hour and i dont think that's fare. The restaurant made the situation difficult not me.
@youless (112710)
• Guangzhou, China
23 Apr 11
We don't have this habit here. Usually our bills already include the service tip. And some restaurants will charge you extra 10% as the service tip. This is why we normally won't pay for extra for our bills.
I love China
@cgrant (270)
• Spanish Town, Jamaica
23 Apr 11
I am in jamaica and there is also a 10% service tip at some of our restaurants. They still expect tips at these restaurants and give you a look as if you are mean if you don't leave a tip. This means we are charged double although the tip is at the customer's discretion. If i get a bad service i will never leave a tip, no matter how they try to make it up to me.
@rafiholmes (2896)
• Malaysia
23 Apr 11
no..if bad service..i wont leave a dime..
but even normally nowadays i dont give tips..especialy most restaurants here now in malaysia have service charges etc,, so they will split that amount end of the months between them..so i guess thats tips enough..
but some time i do tell the waiter to keep the change if i know its gonna be just a few cents..
@cgrant (270)
• Spanish Town, Jamaica
23 Apr 11
Bad service do not deserve any tip. the tip is really in the cost for food. i realized that two taxes were taken from my receipt. One for 16.5% and another service charge of 10%. Nothing is wrong with giving a tip but reward comes with good work. Restaurants have a way of taking what they want with a lot of extra charges. Normally when i get bad service i do not complain to the manager. i just don't go back there.
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
24 Apr 11
Personally I would have probably either have said something to the manager about this person, or got up and left when she reacted that way. Personally you would think most places would want to bend over backwards especially in this economy and try to make and keep everyone Happy. But like you said if this meant you spending more $$ than you were planning on, it could really go either way with this for sure.
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
23 Apr 11
Hi Cgrant, I would not have given a tip too.
It is bad service to let customers wait an hour or more for a table even though it is readily available.
I would not have made a complaint too.
It is just an one-off matter, but I will avoid going there in the near future.
I know many of my friends will ask for the manager, and make a complaint about bad service.
@cgrant (270)
• Spanish Town, Jamaica
23 Apr 11
The hostess was obviously being spiteful because we refused the first table she chose foe us. I am not a person who loves to complain so i didn't. I wouldn't want a person to loose their job because of me. They have done this to me before and i gave them a chance but i do not think that restaurant deserve my money.
@tyronie4cash (925)
• Philippines
22 Apr 11
I should still give them tip in that situation, not too much though. A lady's fault is not ALL their fault.
just relax. :)
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
23 Apr 11
I always leave a tip. Somehow I feel badly if I don't. I have no quarrel with others strong stance on this but for me I always think perhaps the server has some really tragic things happening in their lives and is not as pleasant as they could/should be. HOWEVER, I do not leave as big a tip.
It sounds like it was the Hostess not the server you had a problem with and certainly I would have complained about her.
@ohsodianne (433)
• Philippines
23 Apr 11
Nah. Tips aren't really required in the first place and I'm almost sure that what you paid for already included the service fee. If you don't like the service, don't leave a tip. While it is polite to do so, remember that it is your money and you decide when to use it. :)
@ofabiania (421)
• Philippines
23 Apr 11
whenever i get a good service i give a little larger tip.. however, if i receive a bad service i usually do not give any or just a very small tip.. i think that rewards should be given to those who are deserving.. also, if there is a comment/suggestion box, i try lo fill it up and write the things that i do or do not like.. :)
@butterscotsh (1012)
• Philippines
21 Apr 12
I usually don't give tips to anywhere I eat.
I always think it's already included in
the receipt whenever I pay.
@krajibg (11922)
• Guwahati, India
22 Apr 11
Hi cgrants,
Well, I can guess the sort of irritation you had for not getting the type of table you wanted and the lady at the counter did not inform you. This is her fault and you should have booked her.
Later when you had better service from the servers. And seeing nothing on the table they must have been upset. Yes you should have left some for them.
@jahernandezrivas (11288)
• United States
22 Apr 11
I would have left a tip anyway and I would have looked for the manager there and told them what she had done and explained it nicely to him or her what had happened,I would have been mad too but I would have looked for someone with a higher position than her and let them know about how you and your friends were treated!
@sender621 (14890)
• United States
22 Apr 11
I tip what i feel the service is worth. If it was worth a good tip that is what the erver will see. if if could habe been better, they will see that too.
@lou_is (665)
• India
22 Apr 11
I have faced so many situations in the restaurants where the person who served to me was not good but still i left tips because he may be very much tired by serving from the morning. But some times i haven't left tips because they have to behave because that is there work or duty which they need to follow. But anyway it depends on my mood, if i am happy mood then i will leave tips other wise i won't.
@Rapuncille (597)
• Philippines
22 Apr 11
Poor service deserves NO reward. I will not put in any in the tip box nor leave a tip on the table which later on might be divided equally among employees, one of which is the girl who had kept me waiting for so long. I would consider though personally giving a few extra bucks to our server who did well on her job and satisfied us with her service.
