The Black Vault

Not sure about all 50 states, but in California, it is standard practice on large parties to do an automatic tip usually for parties over 8. Personally I think that minimun number of people should be a little higher, and if you are a large single family going out, it should not apply. I think the rule should not be clearly the number of people but the situation. Forinstance a birthday party (You are safe OT ) usually includes many parties of 1 or 2, splitting the bill up per, cakes or presents, etc. Or a holiday(safe again OT ) office party thing where a dozen or so are in the party. Those things take some level of extra service, so I am not against it. Many times parties of 8 should not be held to the steadfast rule.

As it turns out, the waitress, was not the person waiting on the table, that person showed the reciept in question, and a waitress unrelated to waiting on it, posted it along with another comment, "Jesus does not pay my rent or buy my groceries". The Pastor was a lady Pastor, who now regrets writing it on the reciept.

I think what you are talking about OT is the misuse of airing your feelings and using the internet. If the waitress did show the signature, or Applebees logo and flaunted that all over the internet, I agree that is termination justified. She signed a privacy agreement when hired. She lost a valuable job, and this will also follow her, so she really did hurt herself, and will pay a high price for it, in job applications of the future. I worked in the retail business for 12 years as a service manager, and you have to develop a tough hide to deal daily with the public, and let it roll off you. This waitress, unfortunately reacted without thinking, and this is why Facebook and twitter, has become a tool for abuse, and now people are paying for it. Sad part, it was not even her table or tip.

Turn about is only fair, and if this Pastor is accountable to a higher level of his particular church, he should be equally chastised and maybe even fired for her behavior, unbecoming an ordained Minister. Unless she was born under a rock, the menu states this, and I think just about everyone knows these are standard policies today, plus it was not the waitress who made the policy, nor programmed the computers to apply it. All the waitress did was wait on the table and do her job, and the Pastor instigated and provoked her with a level of nastyness, taking her trouble out on the help and not where he should have. She should have demanded talking to the manager on the spot, and not take it out of employees, only doing what they are told to do. Most places have complaint cards you can fill out, but they end up in the trash. If anyone did the wrong thing, in the first place, it was the Pastor, or so called Pastor.

One has to question the mindset of someone who claims to be a man of God, than proceeds to treat a waitress like a someone beneath themself. The Pastor also took the premise with her nastyness, the waitress was someone who has no Faith of her own. How dare she,she does not even know the Waitress, yet he just invoked a statement, intended to question her belief in God or Scripture, because of an Applebees's policy.

If the waitress got fired, so should the Pastor.

at1with0,

Tis a shame that most atheists are more generous than you.

This is your opinion and you are entitled to it. No problem by me...I just don't agree with it nor that I have to try out with my monies/risks to prove it.

Greeny,

I believe the Bowl game is on now or has begun. No matter ..I am not watching it but preferred to respond to some e mails and other businesses on this computer today.

I saw Halfabo's post on the other thread about tips and I agree with him. I don't care to be shaken down like this and will take my business elsewhere. I don't mind tipping for good service at all.

Something interesting happened to me last night in that I took a woman and her child to a restaurant . She wanted to go to some place called Red Lobster. I said ok. I had not been there in years and years. I do not care for lobster and such...but do like fish.

Nonetheless...when the bill came ...it was for some $57.00. To my surprise it was exactly as stated in your OP...a 18% gratuity was tacked on to the bill. I was going to leave a $20 on the table as I only had $20 bills. I decided there and then to leave nothing. I will also not be going back to that place of business again. If this woman and her child want to go there again....she pays.

I decide what to put on the table. I do not care for such business practices..and will vote with my feet and dollars.

I am with Halfabo on that. It is not a gratuity the way they are doing it. It is a shakedown..or his term I think was extortion.

I have bussed tables and helped waitresses aplenty in my youth.I know what is involved.

No Bowl game for me tonight..I will find out all I need to know tomorrow at work. NO great mystery here.

Thanks,
Orangetom

orangetom1999 wrote:at1with0,

Tis a shame that most atheists are more generous than you.

This is your opinion and you are entitled to it. No problem by me...I just don't agree with it nor that I have to try out with my monies/risks to prove it.

You don't agree? You mean you consider yourself to be generous at the restaurant?

at1with0,

You don't agree? You mean you consider yourself to be generous at the restaurant?

What I think is that you have great difficulty with comprehension due to going to pubic schooling and or television and movie conditioning. Or put another way..you are sitting on the only one in town which counts. This therefore entitles you to put words in someone else's mouth with such technique. You need some serious practice before trying such non stealth techniques.

What is going on here with 18% gratuity being put on my ticket without my permission...is that you can say ..since you are want to do the saying here for the rest of us.....is that the Restaurant is being generous with my monies ..not me.

Now is that not simpler than the poor non stealth method you are want to use and misuse to put words into someone else's text here??

You seem to have a penchant for getting things backwards as a standard bill of fare ...then try to hold others to account for your backwardness.

It is clearly the Restaurant trying to be generous with my monies...not me...by default.

How can you miss this obvious sequence of events??

You need some serious practice with thinking.


Thanks,
Orangetom

We have Red Lobsters in my area, they are a chain fish house IMHO, and there food is not bad, but I do not consider them to be higher caliber than many other chains like Olive gardens, or that level of place. I am very surprised to hear they added on a mandatory 18% tip, for a party of only 3 people. I would also be very surprised to hear if they charged a splitting fee, it the Lady split her meal with a child.

Did you ask to speak with a manager about that automatic tip? That does not seem correct to me, but as I said every state is different now. The 18% automatic tip is only done on parties over 8 in California. Was the Bill $57 before the tip, or after the tip was added In? Were you buying them all dinner, or going dutch? Not understanding leaving a $20 unless you were all paying 1/3rd.

Greeny2,

We have Red Lobsters in my area, they are a chain fish house IMHO, and there food is not bad, but I do not consider them to be higher caliber than many other chains like Olive gardens, or that level of place.

Hmmmm...I had not thought of them being a chain fish house but now that you phrase it in that manner yes I can see that. Now that I have been again ..years later...than the first time..I now recall that I was not all that impressed with them back then. To me they did not offer anything for my palate that I could not get better and at a less expensive price locally.

I have been once to Olive Garden Once here and they have good soup..but again ..I found them to be similar to Red Lobster. It is not a place I would want to frequent alot. I tend towards supporting locally owned restaurants and not so much big chains. It seems that the chains are driving out alot of the locally owned businesses now days. I dont particularly care for that kind of trend.

I do not know what the practice is here ..for parties over so many or otherwise as I dont really get out all that much to the latest shopping mall..restaurant ...et al. But the bill came to somewhere around $57.00 with the tip figured in.

As I was attempting to explain to at1with0..I dont like others being generous with my monies/risks. I prefer to decide upon that myself. I was going to leave a 20 as that is all I had was 20s. I have no problem leaving a tip..but dont decide for me. I will do that myself. Hence I left nothing on the table. As it is, I will from now on decide with my monies and feet. I do not plan to ever go back to Red Lobster and if this woman wants to go again...she can pay/risk.

Thanks to all for their posts,
Orangetom

If you did not know it, Red Lobster is a chain nationwide, we have quite a few in California. If they are not in your state, they are probably unknown to many people, but they are definatly a chain, like Olive Garden is also a chain. Coco's, Carrow's, Denny's, etc. many are owned by the same conglomerations(not sure about those). Sometimes when you get a gift card, it lists many locations and names it can be used on.

Back to the automatic tip, I may understand it with a large group, only becasue it has become customary, I still do not agree with the automatic add on. I definatly against an automatic add on for this size party. Are you sure it was added on, and not just calculated as a suggestion of what 18% would be? (Which is rude)


http://www.redlobster.com/ link to their website is you are not familar with them.

Greeny2,

Are you sure it was added on, and not just calculated as a suggestion of what 18% would be? (Which is rude)

My impression is that it was added on...or calculated into the bill as if it were a program already in the computer or adding machine.

I dont care for it either way. I do not like to be considered expendable and disposable with the monies and the risks I take for it ..by anyone. I decide what is the gratuity based on my thinking and value system.

Nonetheless..I am making no plans to go back to Red Lobster.



I have heard of some of those places you listed in your last post. However I do not get out as much as in my younger years and not really interested in it.

My pet peeve with many people who want to go out is to go to one of these restaraunts where they give you one of these electronic LED beepers to hold while you wait because they are so busy. I just dont care for that when I can cook it myself at home or go elsewhere. My time is valuable and I dont care for waiting for much of anything in a strange place. Not in lines at the grocery store nor in restaurants. But that it just me and how I prefer to drive my bus.

Thanks for the info and the update.

Orangetom

The good part about being older and retired is planning to do things when nobody else is there. When your kids are young and in school, sometimes weekend trips are the only option, but when school is in session, Sunday - Thurs specials are nice, and no crowds to contend with. Weekday trips instead of crowded weekendsare much nicer. We like to sneak into places about 5 pm before they get too crowded, if it is a Friday or Saturday night.