How to deal with a consistently bad tipper?

Question

I work at an independently owned restaurant, and we have a guy who comes in about once a week, and he always tips only $1. I know that he is receiving good service, and that his order is made correctly. He seems to really enjoy coming to the place, but I (and the other servers) dread waiting on him due to his uncanny ability to run a server to near exhaustion (meanwhile taking away from the service at the other tables in the section). I talked to my boss, and asked him if it was ok to inquire with the gentleman on his next visit if he has been getting good service, because he always leaves less than 10 percent. I want to tell him that if we are doing something wrong that we would like to correct it, but I don't want to be rude. Should I or my boss say something to the guy, or what? any suggestions are welcome.

Answer 1

First I want to express my sympathy to you.  I understand your pain.  I am a waiter, and I don't work for my hourly wage; tips pay my bills.  I feel that if you can afford to buy a meal in a restaurant, you can afford to tip at least 15%.

Second if your boss is anything like my boss, he or she doesn't care about what this gentleman is tipping, since the restaurant gets paid in full every visit.

So here is how you remedy the situation:

1.  Provide good service.

2.  Make sure you are courteous at ALL times!

3.  Whenever you receive your tip, ask him what he thought of your service.

4.  If he says everything was good, offer the tip back to him (politely).  Explain that since everything was good, his tip has no value to you and you feel you are worth much more.  Chances are if you are polite and courteous through this process, he will not complain to a manager.  No one likes to admit that they are bad tippers, plus he said the service was good!

5.  If he says something was not good, ask him to clarify what was wrong.  Apologize and promise to fix the problem on his next visit.  If he keeps coming back though, I'm sure there is nothing wrong.

The worst case scenario is he complains to a manager.  If you have done your job and remain friendly the entire time, you have nothing to worry about.  The more-than-likely outcome would be that he is so embarassed that he will make sure that you don't wait on him again.

Remember you can say almost anything if you say it the right way!

Answer 2

How about making the service crummy for him so he either gets the point and tips better or never comes back.  If you know he is a bad tipper I would never let him take my attention away from the other customers, he should be your last priority.  Don't be overly friendly either, just do what you have to do to get by with him.

Or you should all refuse to wait on him and make your manager do it.

Hopefully he'll get the hint.

Further more...who cares if he is on a fixed income???  If he can afford to come in there and eat, he can afford to tip.

Answer 3

If it bothers you then you should deal with talking to the man instead of handing it off to your manager. It is okay for you to talk to him in a polite manner about this situation, just don't expect him to give you the answer you are looking for.

Answer 4

Give him really lousy service.

Answer 5

I worked at a restaurant while going to college and I never expected tips. It's our JOB to make our customers feel welcomed and to provide them with great service. Tips are just an extra perk. I bet some of your patrons have given you huge tips in the past. As a result, these generous tips will help balance out small tips like you have received from this gentleman. Yep, it's not right that this guy is giving such meager tips to you. But he should not be confronted with this issue. He is a regular customer that is bringing in business for the restaurant. You run the chance of him being offended and then spreading negative opinions about your establishment to many other potential customers.

Answer 6

yeah you and your boss should put a huge sign in the front door and every where around the restaurant that says, tip the waitresses and waiters At least 10% and then example like $20.00 - what ten percent of that is and examples like that.

Answer 7

You probably should have done this sooner, since it sounds like he's been coming in for a while, but you should catch him on his way out and ask if everything was okay with the service.  Maybe then he'd get the hint?  A dollar tip is ridiculous!  If he doesn't want to tip then he should eat at fast food places where he doesn't have to.

Answer 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SfIbm03q...

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr1cGY538...

Answer 9

maybe it is time to start putting suggested tips on the bills..  my boyfriend loves when places do that so he doesn't have to think..

Answer 10

Sounds like a sexist. If there are any male servers, have them wait on him and see if he does the same thing.

This reminds me of that scene in Reservoir Dogs in which Steve Buscemi refuses to tip because it's conformist.

Answer 11

Its something your boss should handle, and the tip percentage is 15% so if he is tipping only a dollar you are getting robbed of money. I hope this person pays what he owes the next time he comes in. Good luck.

Your in my prayers.

-Darkness

Answer 12

Is he old, because he may be on a fixed income/budget.  If your only getting $1 I wouldn't kill yourself to wait on him hand and foot.

Answer 13

The Restaurant Mgr. should address this since this person is clearly a repeat offender.

Answer 14

Slap them.

Answer 15

Ok first of all a tip is a gratituity. It is not a requirement.  I understand that many servers live off of their tips. However I feel that it is not my responsibility to supplement your salary to ensure that your ends meet.  Instead of confronting the tipper for bad tips, confront your boss for bad pay!! It is a d**n shame that I go into a restaurant and pay $20 or $30 for a meal  and they expect me to shell out another $5 or $6 dollars to supplement the salary of an underpaid waitress.  $2.13 (or whatever it is now with the new increase) per hour should be illegal in America!  Why do the restaurants that have chains and make millions of dollars in profit while they are paying slave wages expect the middle class to pay their employees?

Now everyone wants to demean the customer for not paying her enough!! He had enough money to pay for his meal, and that was all he was obligated to pay.  ANYTHING he left was extra and should have been appreciated! You are not ENTITLED to a tip.  Instead of blaming you issues on the customer, redirect them to your boss where they belong!

(I am a tipper, don't get me wrong, but attitudes like this is why I don't when I don't tip)

Answer 16

What did your boss have to say? If he agrees with you, then maybe one of you could politely ask the customer if he is in any way dissatisfied with the service he receives. What he is doing is outrageous. It is customary to leave at least 15% for good service in the US (assuming you are), and I've never met a diner who didn't know that. If you can't afford to tip for good service, you can't afford to go out to eat, because servers rely on tips for their income! GRRRR.

It might be more "diplomatic" for your boss (the manager/owner?) to bring it up since this is a delicate issue. See if he is willing. Good luck!

Answer 17

maybe hes new to the country since you said he has little english and maybe he doesnt know how much your supposed to tip and thinks one dollar is generous enough

Answer 18

Its funny that you mention it because one time I ordered pizza for my grandma. It was her treat. When the delivery guy came to the door she told me to make sure to only give him a $1 tip. I felt so bad so I threw in a extra few dollars because a dollar is even enough for gas - I felt so bad because she even paid with a $100 bill. I never really asked her why she is really tight. What I am guessing is that since they are older - they have to live off of those monthly checks and he must enjoy the service but doesn't have a lot to give for tip.

Another time I was working in retail and I remember that I rung up an older person and they threw a fit because my register was 10 cents more than what it should of been, when I apologized she told me that being older they don't get much money so they must be careful.. If I'm not mistaken, I think that its their checks they get when they retire. I'm drawing a blank on the word..

As to your situation, I would recommend maybe talking to him about the service and try asking if he would like to take the order home.. or have your boss automatically include the tips like some restaurants do. That's the best thing I can think off. Just be sure to mention that the tips are part of your pay and you need money to eat too .. =)

Heres a star.. hope your wish comes true =) =) =)

Answer 19

I don't think you even talked to your boss or he would have told you how he wanted the problem handled.  I don't think you should really say anything...he is a paying customer, after all, and not under any obligation to eat at your restaraunt.  It might also be possible that he just doesn't have a lot of money to throw around right now; and if that's true, having the subject brought up could make him uncomfortable.  I know that I've unfortunately had to tip low some times, and nobody has said anything about it to me.

Answer 20

Just give them the minimum service and get over it. At least he tips something! I'm a server, and bad tippers come with the territory. Tips are not automatic, they are a gratuity. If you really do not like waiting on him, don't. Your manager cannot force you.