tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7662693363599668405.post3500669769672785797..comments2010-05-08T16:51:26.809-07:00Comments on West Coast Hauntrepreneur: Tip or Fee?West Coast Hauntrepreneurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08489064154571896631noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7662693363599668405.post-4476586930264669462010-03-21T19:09:59.719-07:002010-03-21T19:09:59.719-07:00Thanks for the story Roman! I think that restauran...Thanks for the story Roman! I think that restaurants are the easiest target because we take food and the intimacy of dinner so seriously. Usually, this is where I experience most of the tipping frustration. I have encounter this also with valets and baggage handlers. At airports, I think that people get even more upset because that fees attached to baggage by the airlines. Once, when we were in Las Vegas (known for their hospitality in many hotels and their customer-oriented attitude), we exited our taxi and a hotel attendant took out our luggage. The luggage sat on the curb, and he extended his hand. While the three of us were trying to get to our wallets, the attendant walked away mumbling, frustrated that we were not ready to tip.West Coast Hauntrepreneurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08489064154571896631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7662693363599668405.post-41891677846675072552010-03-20T12:36:32.649-07:002010-03-20T12:36:32.649-07:00Tipping should be based on merit. If the server do...Tipping should be based on merit. If the server does a good job, is helpful and pleasant, than they get a tip. If the crew goes beyond the norm (keeping the water glass full and doing it with ninja-like stealth for example) then I tip them a bit more. If the server is inattentive, hard to find, and unpleasant, then the tips suffer accordingly.<br /><br />I know people have bad days and sometimes I feel bad about decreasing a tip because of a poor attitude, but at the same time, I want my experience in a restaurant to be pleasant. And as we learned from the famous MST3K short "A Date with Your Family", "pleasant and unemotional conversation helps digestion." I want to digest my food at a meal, so the server should be pleasant.<br /><br />But all kidding aside, the atmosphere of the restaurant is a key part of dining out. And for people who don't eat out often, it becomes a treat to go to restaurant. If the experience is tarnished by a bad server, than I don't feel the need to tip.<br /><br />One more story. I went to dinner with my parents once. The server was horrible. She was too busy flirting with the manager to pay attention to her tables. She took forever to get our drinks, to get our order, and to deliver the food. All the food was cold by the time we got it and our drinks were refilled by another waitress who we managed to stop on her way by.<br /><br />We didn't tip our server and left. The server went to the table, saw that we didn't tip and actually left the restaurant and followed us into the parking lot shouting about the tip. My dad turned around and shouted back, "Try working for it next time." I was amazed by the sense of entitlement the server had, and the guts to follow a customer into a parking lot. Her's a tip - you work in customer service - start servicing the customer.Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.com