A few people need some tips on tipping
You know, we have a growing community here in Fairfield Glade.
Amongst the residents and all our wonderful guests and employees of Fairfield Glade businesses, I would say 97% are class individuals with solid character and manners.
The other 3%, however, may be giving us all a bad name.
They are the ones who insist on being waited on first at Wal-Mart or Kroger because they live in Fairfield Glade. Arrogant, absurd, presumptuous with a dash of ignorance.
Oh, and they are probably the ones who are lousy tippers.
Now tipping poorly isn’t a crime — but, in a sense, it should be because it’s robbing the server of what is rightfully theirs.
No, you aren’t required. Just like you aren’t required to hold the door open for an elderly woman or offer a beverage to a thirsty house guest. But most of us do these things because we were taught something called manners and we are decent folks.
If you go to any of the restaurants in Fairfield Glade — and do not leave a tip, or leave a miniscule one, or even worse — leave NOTHING and/or write something nasty on the ticket — than shame on you, buckaroo!
These waiters, waitresses and bartenders RELY on YOUR tips to make a decent wage. Many have the false belief that servers are paid minimum wage and then get tips on top of that.
That is simply not the case. Servers at Druid and Stonehenge, for example, make a, uh, hearty hourly wage of $3. And, whatever they make on tips must be shared with hostesses, bussers and the IRS.
If they do not bring home good tip money than it is hardly worth their gas and time to work there. Hey, see how fast you get your food then.
But some protest, “I am on a fixed income so I can’t afford to tip much.”
You can pay for dinner but not a tip? Then you shouldn’t eat out. Problem solved. You’re welcome.
Some think management should pay them $12-15 an hour so that they shouldn’t have to tip. But something tells me these folks would be the first to grumble when the prices double at their favorite eatery.
Then, there are people who say, “But what if the service or the food is poor?”
Ahhh, there we have it — the main justification offered by non-tippers. But really, it is not so much based on principle as it is on punishment. They say they will not tip when the service is “bad.” But you’ll notice that these people somehow encounter “bad” service almost every time they go out to eat! Seems to be a pattern!
I hear stories of waiters who waited hours on a table with a bill well over $100 and were left a couple bucks.
Disgusting.
Me? Yes, I tip. I have many faults but tipping is not one of them. Twenty percent is the baseline minimum. No one should EVER get less than 15%.
And it’s funny — while I can be nit picky at times, I don’t (in my older age) look for reasons to find fault with service.
This isn’t because I am better than the next person, it’s just that I choose not to constantly look for the smallest reason to feel slighted by customer service workers.
I think some patrons only see that their glass remained empty for 78 seconds and not the fact that the waitress is handling several other large tables.
You asked for ketchup and it took forever to arrive, or not at all — oh, the horror! Someone get the firing squad ready!
And if the meal was not as good or as plentiful as anticipated, the bad tipper will reason, “I know it probably isn’t the server’s fault but … doggone it, someone has to pay for it!”
Amazingly, after all the trifles they have worked up in their own mind, they figure the server owes THEM $9 dollars -— plus a tip for being such a patient patron.
These type of folks should just tell their server, “Hi Lisa, I’m happy to be here. I won’t be tipping you tonight. Anyway, do we get free refills on the salads?”
To be sure, there’s one word that comes to mind concerning non or bad tippers: Cheap.
Check that, there’s another word that comes to mind — cheap.
To save a few bucks, they like to pretend the server’s “errors” are the reason for their terrible tipping.
If that helps them sleep at night, good for them.
If you can sleep well after stiffing a young college student, a single mother, a newlywed husband, a person working two or three jobs, or any other server with any other circumstance — then you are a special person.
A very selfish one.
And you know who you are.