Couple arrested for not tipping

[Roy Tucker]

You still paid for and recieved your product. One that you can't return to the original owner. It may not have been exactly what you wanted, but if you finished said meal then you should have paid for it, at least partially because you did indeed finish it (or most of it) without asking to have it recooked or something similar.

Very true. I'll pay my bill and leave.

However, if no concessions were made, if no attempt was made to ameliorate the situation, it will be the last time I go there. And if anyone ever askes me about XYZ restaurant, I'll be sure to let them know how unhappy I was there and I wouldn't recommend it. But if they do make some kinds of peace keepting gestures, I'll be OK.

Case in point; my youngest had a group of 20 kids over for dinner before the HS homecoming dance. Everyone all dressed up, corsages, the whole 9 yards. We order food from Olive Garden. Pretty big take-out order, about $250. My wife calls the restaurant on the Wednesday before to order so its not a surprise. She calls in the morning of the Saturday to make sure the order is in their queue. No worries Mrs. Tucker, everything is under control. Pick up your food at 6. We're on a little bit of a tight schedule since we want the kids to have a good time.

So I drive over to Olive Garden at 6 and say order for Tucker. To-go order person looks through the orders and says hmmmmm....errr... hmmm.. Roy frowns. Person says let me go check. She checks and comes back saying it will just be a minute. I'm not filled with confidence.

6:05. 6:10. 6:15. To-go person is studiously avoiding my eye contact. Restaurant is extremely busy. I'm willing to cut some slack, but its running out fast. I wave at the to-go person. She flees. My little patience timer goes "ding". I go flag down the bar tender and ask him to get the manager. He says OK.

6:20. 6:25. Now I'm in a full-fledged Roy hissy fit. All of my buffer time has now been expended and now we're in big-rush mode for the kids. Manager finally comes over. I explain the details of the situation we're in. By my red face and talking very quietly yet intently, he picks up on I'm really not very happy. He drops what he's doing and goes back in the kitchen. 2 minutes later, a convoy of wait staff comes out with the bags for my order.

He rings up the bill. As he is taking my card, he says I'm giving you a $30 gift card for a future dinner at our restaurant. I'm sorry for your inconvenience. I hope we can make this up to you then. Instantly defuses the whole situation and I go "oh, well, gee, OK, that's fine.... great". I walk out with a little story thats fun to tell and much better feelings about Olive Garden than I had about 2 minutes before when I was in a torches and pitchfork mood.

[dougdirt]

Well certainly Roy, they should take care of you some. But I also don't think they should just hand you a free meal because of a mistake made somewhere along the chain of command. Giving you the $30 gift card seemed appropriate given the order size. I just can't stand when people think they should get a meal for free simply because something wasn't taken care of correctly or a waiter was slow or it took a while to get their food. If you ate it, pay for it, express your frustration in a calm manner and be done with it. If you don't like the response, don't come back and go somewhere else. Don't ask for the food to be free if you ate it. It just irks me the wrong way. I have never worked in a restaurant and I never will because I would go off on someone for something like that and I know that it happens all the time.

[westofyou]

The price of free food for a bad experience dwarfs a bad reputation.

Maybe one has to work in the service industry once to relize that but the point can't be any clearer.

[Johnny Footstool]

Am I reading the article incorrectly? Did they not talk to a manager? Isn't that Step One when you get bad service?

Also, shouldn't the bartender have contacted the manager before he called the police?

Most restaurants will bend over backwards if you're unhappy with the service.

[dougdirt]

The price of free food for a bad experience dwarfs a bad reputation.

Maybe one has to work in the service industry once to relize that but the point can't be any clearer.

Sure it does, but it doesn't get to the point that bad service shouldn't equal free food. It generally does because of the point that you make, but I think people in general think they deserve the food for free because of even slow service, not even bad service. My issue is with people who try to get things for free that they actually did eat. If you ate it, then it shouldn't be free. Discount, yeah, sure. Free? No, you got the product and you aren't returning it in the condition we gave it to you in. It bothers me.

[TeamSelig]

I hate it when restaurants include the tip. I've just glanced at a bill before, and threw down some money on the table along with that, without realizing.

[Chip R]

I don't think anyone covered themselves in glory in this incident.

[Caseyfan21]

Sounds like the restaurant will lose more from the bad publicity than if they had just accepted that they were off that night and let the patrons have there way.

I think the whole tipping system is stupid. Just charge more for meals, and pay waiters/waitresses better. Is it really that hard? No "expected" tipping. No "mandatory" tipping. No peeved off workers that just got stiffed.

Agreed, I despise tipping. Especially at a buffet, I mean you get your own food so why should I give you 3 dollars just because you bring me a cup to get my own drink?

I don't agree with these points at all. What incentive does the waiter/waitress have if they aren't trying to impress me for a good tip? I always will give 20% (or more) for exceptional service, 18% for average service, and much lower how I see fit. I do disagree with the mandatory 18% however. And if there is a mandatory tip and I get exceptional service where I would normally give more then I won't. Lose-lose from my perspective.

And for the tipping at a buffet or BW3's or wherever....my answer is simple....I just don't tip if they don't do anything. Maybe some people don't feel good doing that but if the waiter/waitress does nothing for me then I see no reason to tip. If they do provide good service then I might give them something but not as much as a traditional restaurant.

[Degenerate39]

Sounds like an episode of Seinfeld

[TeamSelig]

Buffets get a dollar a person

[dougdirt]

I don't agree with these points at all. What incentive does the waiter/waitress have if they aren't trying to impress me for a good tip?

A job next week? Of course the whole 'we can pay you guys less because you get tips' is ridiculous. Do away with tips. Pay them like normal employees.

[Razor Shines]

Sounds like an episode of Seinfeld

Curb. "So you're protesting math?"

[Dom Heffner]

Ate at a Cine Bistro last night, and they add 17.5% tip to the bill. In the fine print below, it says you can add to, subtract, or omit the amount should you feel necessary. This is a perfect way to do it.

I always thought tips was an acronym: "To Insure Prompt Service."

You can't charge for something you did not deliver.

In fact, the practice of guaranteeing a tip would lead to customer neglect- what incentive does the waiter have to do anything for you at all, if you pay them regardless?

I used to hate the practice of tipping until I realized that if the waiter doesn't treat me well, it's a 20% discount.

And it should be.

I suppose if you want to argue that the rules are listed on the menu and by ordering food the couple accepted the agreement, fair or not, I guess that is one way to look at it.

But for me, that's like paying for a shipping charge on an order that never left the dock and having the manager say, "Well, it says right here you pay the shipping charge."

[REDblooded]

As a server myself, I DO get the 18% thing... There are certain crowds that will come in for a meal that costs 50 dollars a person, get drinks, spend the entire dinner acting like you are their own personal slave, and "reward" you with 5% in the end... That's absurd. Most of the time though, I usually feel that the 18% gratuity screws me and that my tip would probably be higher without it... The 18% gives parties that may have gone higher an easy out.

[GIDP]

As a server myself, I DO get the 18% thing... There are certain crowds that will come in for a meal that costs 50 dollars a person, get drinks, spend the entire dinner acting like you are their own personal slave, and "reward" you with 5% in the end... That's absurd. Most of the time though, I usually feel that the 18% gratuity screws me and that my tip would probably be higher without it... The 18% gives parties that may have gone higher an easy out.

yea I certainly feel that it goes both ways.