Was I wrong to not tip my waitress?

Question

I went to lunch with a co-worker the other day to Olive Garden. They were not busy at all, mind you.

We both got the salad/soup deal and those yummy peach teas.

Things started out fine, our waitress brought our food and drinks. When we finished our bowl of salad (still waiting on first bowl of soup though!) I couldn't find our waitress. I looked around to see if I could catch her eye, but didn't see her. So I asked another waitress if she could find ours. She smiled and said sure. So our waitress comes out reeking of cigarette smoke and asks "Did you need something?"

My co-worker said we needed more salad, our bowls of soup, drink refills and some more breadsticks.

The waitress kinda huffed and went away. About 5 minutes later, she comes out with a half a bowl of salad, two breadsticks, and two bowls of soup that looked sloppy. She then quickly left before we could say anything.

I got mad and asked to speak to the mananger and told him what was going on. He apologized and offered to bring everything out the right way. He also offered to not charge us for our meal.

When we were done, we thanked the manager for being so kind and informed him that we would not be tipping our server because of her poor service. He said that he completely understood and said that things like that do happen time to time.

So would you have tipped?

I don't believe that I have to tip just because someone brought my food to me. I'm an excellent tipper, usually between 15%-25% (25% is for outstanding service!).

Answer 1

Bad service equals no tips.

period...  

Answer 2

No.  I work as a cook.  I have known people who were wait staff at Olive Garden, too.  The soup salad special is considered a "cheapy meal" for people who dont tip anyway. So you received the service that the wait staff enlists for that meal.  If they act crappy, don't tip.  Let them perpetuate their own myth.  The problem is actually with the manager.  If I have never worked for OG and I know this, shouldn't the manager take this up with his staff?  On top of which, this is also a ticket used for scamming the manager (I wont give details, but always tear up your ticket after service).  Don't tip if they don't deserve.  Did you go before or after lunch rush?

Answer 3

No, I would not tip either. That type of service iritates me as well.

A hard lesson to learn for her, but hey, that's life

Answer 4

wouldn't have tipped either - the manager did need to know so good for you

Answer 5

Your waitress was nowhere to be found and when she did come to see what you "needed," she was rude.  I would not have left her a dime either--well, maybe I would have left a dime.  She certainly would have gotten the message then!

Answer 6

I wouldn't tip her but I would kind of feel bad that she might loose her job.

I know that's weird cause as customers we pay a lot for the food and service but in today's world it is difficult duddette sometimes life is hard on you. Maybe she had a bad migraine attack and money problems and you just cost her, her job.

Answer 7

You were right not to tip. I don't care what you ordered; if it was on the menu (or even if the kitchen had it and could make it) then it's her job to bring it to you in an orderly and timely fashion, and be polite about it. And she shouldn't have gone on a cigarette break when she knew she had open tables.

If this is how she treats tables that order inexpensive options because she thinks she won't get a good tip, then she deserves not to get one at all.

ADD: Some people here have said some really silly stuff. Don;t worry about getting her fired. She would only get fired if she had a habit of acting like this, not if she were a stellar waitress and this was her first complaint. In such case, she get herself fired by being bad at her job. Assuming she got anything other than a talking-to.

And what's this nonsene about maybe she was having an off day? I am a restaurant cook, and am in an open kitchen, so occasionally I have to interact with a guest. I don't get the luxury of taking out my "off day" on them; they deserve the best attention and service I can give regardless of what is going on in my life that they know nothing about and has nothing to do with them. It's called being an adult and doing your job right.

Answer 8

have u ever worked in the restraunt industry>? i bet you havent. waitress DO make mistakes! beleive it or not...i mean you have no clue what could of been going on  in that girls life for instance...she could be having family issues going on and might of went outside to talk on her cell phone and you "assume" she is smoking and yet she totally forgot about your refills and soup! not the end of the world expectally if she had other issues going on it could of sliped her mind.  people like you aggervate me. soooo picky! and the reason your soups prob looked SLOPPY was because she prob spit a big luggie in it and stired it around. DONT MESS WITH THE PEOPLE WHO SERVE YOUR FOOD.!!      

Answer 9

That's sad! You probably got her fired!

Answer 10

I wouldn't have tipped after that.

Answer 11

I wouldnt have tipped either.They already make a base pay- a tip is a reward for going above and beyond the minimum job requirements. In her case, she didnt even do her job. So dont feel bad. A lot of us have jobs where we get no tips. So she didnt earn it. Period.

Answer 12

I agree with you.   I would not have tipped her either  

Answer 13

No, you should not tip for bad service.  And since it was so bad that you felt the need to involve the manager, then of course you shouldn't have tipped her.  

Answer 14

The whole point of tipping is to show you're appreciation for the service! If the service is rubbish then NO TIP!!

Answer 15

I guess the neglect alone would justify not tipping, although its not her fault if the soup looks "sloppy" ...whatever that might mean. I guess if you were angry enough to get the manager, you probably would've looked weird tipping afterwards.

All in all none of that seemed like such an offensive experience, but i guess i might have needed to be there.

Answer 16

Listen, you did the right thing.  that waitress has to work for those tips... she knows this and if she was so rude to you and sloppy that you had to call the manager to attention then she didn't do her job so yes why tip her for poor service regardless of what kind of meal you bought.  My boyfriend and I went to Olive Garden once and it was so freezing cold in there, that we packed our food to go and left.  We had asked the waiter to have the a/c turned up and then we asked a manager ... 1 hour later we were still freezing so we got the manager again.  He didn't charge us and since it wasn't the waiter's fault we actually left him a really good tip.  He did his job really well but we just couldn't stand to eat there shivering  

Answer 17

Tipping is a privilege!  It does usually take quite a lot for me to not tip, but I think your situation would be one where I wouldn't!  My rule of thumb is that if I have to report you to your manager, you get nothing from me!

Answer 18

I suppose as a waitress you never got stiffed on a tip? She may have been having an off day. I understand not leaving her twenty five percent, but her earnings come from tips, if she provided you with any kind of service even poor service you should have compensated her with something a dollar etc. She most likely earns $2.13 an hr working at olive garden. And if you think about it day after day she probably has a number of tables where they are coming in and ordering this lunch deal so even id she was to get 20% of every deal check. That deal requires her to get refills over and over and most people no matter how much they run her around tip only of the total of the check rather than how many times they made her go get something. She should have treated you better, you should have treated her better. At the end of the day you got a free meal, didn't have to tip, got someone to cook your food, bring you your food, pay for your food, and clean up after you. I believe a dollar would have made more of a statement than nothing at all. It would have shown you recognize that you were provided with a service and a poor one at that.  

Answer 19

You are justified in not tipping. Tipping is a thank you for good service and you did not receive good service. I would have mentioned to the manager about the nice waitress, but that would have been it.

Answer 20

In this case, I would say you were right for not tipping. The waitress should have been more attentive to your needs. No excuse for bad service....

Answer 21

As a server it depends on the situation, you mentioned she smelled of Cigarette smoke, that means her "manager" let her go outside for a break to smoke (he/she is at fault as well) , she should have known better though, you don't go smoke when your customers are waiting for food you go when they are eating, then you wash your hands and deodorize yourself, that's discusting even if you smoke you don't want to smell it when your eating usually.

On the other hand her manager could have had her doing "side work" after the lunch rush taking out the food bins and throwing them in the dump while other people were outside smoking, again that would be the managers fault this happens a lot, then managers say oh' im so sorry. Not oh Im so sorry I had her handling garbage or she would get fired, so your service sucked.  

So obviously she didn't care about your tip or she would have made up for this mistake and because you only ordered probably about 30$ collectively she wasn't expecting much to begin with, now I don't practice this habit because all customers are good tippers to me until they leave, all treated the same, she on the other hand was practicing what we call " Lunch Rush Tip Judging" she wasn't going to work harder than she needed to for your 5$, that's wrong but its how it works.. with taxes and tip share honestly that would give her 2.75$ after everything from your tip.

You were right for not tipping, the only time I would say that is wrong to not tip at all is when the person is obviously strung out with more people than they can handle and no one is helping it happens. Were all just human right?

Sorry, it sucks to have cruddy service... I know a lot of waitresses who do this at lunch when people order the " meal deals" we don't make any money off it we just work work work. I don't mind I love serving but most don't.

Berry: Your sadly mistaken, if you consider 2$ an hour a good base pay then you have issues. Its still not right but thats all we make for " base pay" we live off tips....and we also get taxed and share our tips, a server at Olive Garden would probably bring in about 50-60$ for an 8 hour lunch shift because of the "meal deals"  an average "base pay" as you call it check every 2 weeks is less than 18$ for every server!

I tip 3% for bad service, that is so the server even if they suck doesn't end up 1: Being reamed by a manager at the end of the night for sucking, 2: Paying for my meal because every check every person you pay out 3% (less or more sometimes) on the total bill of that person you didn't get a tip from. She doesn't get a tip anyways but she doesn't have to pay for the food I ate.

Don't ever think your tip doesn't count!

EDIT: I don't think you should have to spend more either, I was stating why she might have not cared to much. Thats why they do it, I order the meal deals as well even as a server but I also tip 25-30% on meal deals because I know whats up, most people don't.

Answer 22

You were in your right to not tip her.  I wouldn't have either and I'm a former OG waitress!  I know exactly what that meal is all about.  Well, I'm here to tell all the other people (except the cook) that unless you've waited on tables AT an OG, you have no clue how much of a no brainer serving that meal truly is.  And if the waitstaff can't do their job with a least a little bit of decorum, then they need to find another job.  There's absolutely NO REASON for that kind of poor service, no matter what the situation!  

I was at a Denny's not that long ago.  My companion and I arrived there at 9:30pm.  Around 11pm, after having a wonderful conversation and lightly munching on nachos, our waitress came to our table, informing us that her shift was over.  We looked at one another, and even though I had ever intention of paying for my portion of the meal, she picked up the entire tab.  She handed over her credit card to the waitress.  Nearly a half an hour later, she returned with her card (after we jokingly made comments that she'd better not show up with Wal-Mart bags in her hands), and had the BALLS to ask if my companion was going to leave a TIP!  Then, she asked "HOW MUCH"?  MY GOD!  I couldn't believe my ears!!!  She didn't return but once to refill our drinks, and the rest of the time she couldn't be found!!!  Then to have the actual audacity to ask for her tip, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!  That was wrong on SO many levels!!  

Tipping IS a privilege!  It's NOT a requirement in any way!  Sure it sucks that most places pay nothing close to minimum wage, and expect your tips to make up the difference, but if you can't perform the simplest of tasks, then you deserve what you get!

Answer 23

Don't feel guilty because you responded to someone being rude. A tip is a thank you-should you have thanked her? No-

Answer 24

The only thing I would say is don't go back to the Olive Garden and have the soup again, in case the same waitress pee's in it in the kitchen.  

Answer 25

It sounds justified, but I might still have if I was with a co-worker, just for niceties.

Answer 26

As a veteran of a number of restaurant jobs, I come down solidly in your corner. The waitress was snotty, sloppy and doing her job poorly. If she expected a tip, she was delusional.

I do have a minor quibble.

15 - 20% does not make you an "excellent tipper". If you consistently tip better than 20%, then I withdraw my statement and call you a "good tipper". 25%+ on a consistent basis would justify the claim "excellent".