My mom and I went to lunch yesterday at The Tin Muffin, a restaurant she’s been wanting to try for awhile. You know when you walk into a place and you just know it’s not going to be good? That’s what happened there. The restaurant is very tiny and everyone in there looked like they were either from old money, Junior League or had a bad plastic surgery story to tell. To say we didn’t fit it is an understatement.
We weren’t dressed in our pajamas or anything (I would seriously wear them 24/7 if it were socially acceptable) but we didn’t look like we were on the same level as the other customers. A server who would soon be taking care of our table told us to pick any table we want and when we did, she gave us a few minutes to look over the menu. With the name, The Tin Muffin, one would expect a place that has some kind of pastries or desserts on the menu but there were none to be found. Ok, weird. They mostly have salads and sandwiches for lunch. The prices are what turned me off, $10 or $11 for a sandwich or sandwich/soup/salad combo. I wistfully longed for Panera Bread where I could get a combo with a side item and a drink for under $10. When the server came over to get our drink order, she kept suggesting different drinks to us but I just wanted a water and the beezy gave me a mean look when I ordered it! My mom was going to order coffee because she is a senior and that’s what she does with each meal but after hearing it was vanilla flavored coffee (yum!), she just wanted water. And we got another dirty look from her. What the hell was going on? I know that if you order drinks, it increases the ticket price and if you give good service, your tip possibly but there is no need to be shooting rude looks if we want water. Another server came over a couple of minutes later to get our food order and took our table over for the rest of the time. The first server walked by our table and sneered at us twice after that which I’m still really confused about since you know, this is a place of business and all. The food was mediocre at best and we barely saw our server the rest of the time we were there and saw the first server when it was time to pay. I just wanted to finish the meal and get out of there because the lack of service and off feeling of the place left a bad taste in my mouth. We ended up leaving a little more than 10% which is a rarity for me.
But then I went to Tee Jay Thai and Sushi for lunch today and had a terrific experience. The staff smiled, sat me right away and was prompt with service. They have amazing lunch specials of both Thai and sushi dishes and as anytime I’m at a Thai place, got the Chicken Pad Thai with a salad (only $8.95, not too shabby)
I think it’s interesting that all Thai places I’ve been to in Florida serve white rice with the lunch portions of pad thai. The portion was large for lunch and I ended up getting it to go since I didn’t want to go into a food coma at 1pm. I love when places offer to box it up for you since I tend to spill at least two things on me in a given day. I was in and out of there in less than 30 minutes and kind of want to go back before I leave just to try the sushi. Service was fabulous, I got my refills and food in a timely manner so I left 20% this time around. It was a complete turn around from the Tin Muffin.
I’m a firm believer in tipping well since I worked in restaurants for seven years and waitressed for four of those years. I loved working for tips and could see a link in between days where I was in a horrible mood and got less than stellar tips. Whenever I go out to eat, I’m usually more than patient with servers and the restaurant as a whole because I’ve been there before. But I feel like in the past few years, bad service is starting to pop up more often and that we’ve become accustomed to the logic that you always have to tip 20%. I would say most of the time I do tip 15 to 20%, more than that if I had amazing service which someone who went out of their way. However, I don’t think some servers try any more because they figure they are going to get 20% no matter what and I don’t think it should be that way. Yeah, they make minimum wage of less (not sure what the hourly wage for service is currently) but they should do their job and make it a somewhat pleasing experience while you’re out spending your money at their establishment. I believe in giving the tip you give should reflect the service you got.
However, I would never resort to this because that’s just disrespectful (16 year old me may disagree)
And before I end this, can I just throw this out there-Holiday Hotcakes at IHOP???!!!
Thank you baby Jesus!
What’s your take on tipping? Do you stick to a standard percentage regardless of service or believe in tipping for the service you received?
Have you ever worked for tips? If you were a private dancer, a dancer for money, you don’t have to say so.
I find it hard to dip below 20%. I mean, they are SERVING ME. It’s my own laziness and guilt talking haha,
You know the title of this post is going to bring in all kinds of pervy weirdos, right? Present company excluded, of course.
Anyway, I also worked in restaurants for years, so I’m a huge believer in rewarding great service. That doesn’t mean the food is perfect–servers can’t cook the damn stuff themselves–but that the experience left me satisfied and feeling like it was worth my time. I also know how it is to have a great table and then get screwed. That pushed my bitch buttons.
Yeah, I say bring it on, I haven’t had any weird search results in awhile. I agree with the experience and not just the food. You really can’t blame the waitstaff for how something tastes.
Thank you for getting private dancer stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Love it.
I always tip a little bit more when I have great service and a little bit less when it’s crappy. I think it’s important to show your appreciation when service is great. I’ve never not tipped before but I have confronted a manager about not getting served after 45 minutes.
45 minutes is a ridiculous amount of time. The worst is when you speak with a manager and they could care less, I’ve boycotted places because of that.
20% is my standard. However, I do reflect how pissed off I am if you make a standard 30-minute experience into a 1:30-hour nightmare… Not that it happened or anything…
Hour and a half? Oh hell no.
My first job was waitressing at a dockside restaurant so I know firsthand just how much it sucks and how tough it can be. That being said, there is absolutely no excuse for bad service. I generally tip VERY well (just because I have waitressed) and you really have to be a complete fuck up for me to tip badly. If I have to wait more than ten minutes for my check, that’s usually a deal breaker on the good tip for me. Or forgetting to put my food order in and then pretend like it’s the kitchen’s fault (I HATE this, hate hate hate).
Sorry your experience there was less than stellar :/
I cannot stand when they say that the kitchen is backed up when it’s not, that drives me absolutely batty. Whenever I was serving I would always say that I messed up and forgot, thankfully that didn’t happen too often.
HA! I went with a friend while they got electrolosis last week, and the same place also did plastic surgery/botox. In the waiting room, I had to sit and listen to promotional videos lauding the wonders of botox and how there’s something wrong with you if you get wrinkles. All the staff there also looked a little too…stretched. I hear ya on the “absolutely not my scene” feelings
Tipping: I usually give 20 percent, more if they’re absolutely awesome. I will de-tip (ie 15 to 18 percent) for bad service and leave the bare minimum for TERRIBLE service. I waitressed for years, so I try to tip well, but also can spy bad waitstaff easily too.
That is insane, I think I would go crazy sitting in the waiting room. But then again, people watching would be great right? I’ve noticed that there have been some Groupon and Living Social deals for Botox lately-what’s up with that?
Gah I HATE bad servers. I worked at restaurants all through high school and college so I feel like I have a pretty good grip on what makes a good server. I try not to fault when I know the server is busy or if a mistake is the kitchen’s fault. I’m normally forgiving even if the server makes a mistake (forgetting food – it happens), but just being rude or not doing the work you’re getting paid to do it is unacceptable.
I was a waitress for like 5 years (thru high school and college) and it was either really great or really awful. The worst are people who just don’t believe in tipping, so even if you gave them amazing service, they’d leave you pennies. And there was a strict “no chasing people out of the restaurant demanding you be compensated” rule in effect so we just had to suck it up and move on.
Which is why I love that show “2 Broke Girls” because that snarky chick from Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist always tells people the deal. Love.
I saw a preview for the show last night and thought it was that Nora chick. I need to check it out. I dont think I could ever run out after someone though, I was too afraid I’d get cut or something. Not like that would happen in a college town but hey, you never know.
I love TeeJay! It’s so good!
I usually tip around 20% if the service is good…15% if it is a little less than average I guess. I gave someone a 5 cent tip once, she was a total biotch! Then I wrote on a napkin… “here is the rest of your tip; be nice to your customers.”
I never dip below 20%, that’s just how I was raised – unless it’s pick up/take out. But when I get excellent service, I always tip more.
I worked in the food industry when I was in high school and it really made me appreciate waitstaff. Unless my service is HORRIBLE, I leave a minimum of 20%. On my first day of serving, I had an elderly couple who was not sympathetic at all that it was my first time. I warned them from the start and asked for their patience and I think I got a $1 tip? They also left a “helpful” note, telling me why my tip was so low and wondering why I was so bad. I told myself they were old and probably forgot that I told them it was my first time everrrr. I got better though and never got a tip like that again, but sheesh.
I think the note is more insulting than $1. Who does that?
I’ve never worked in food service, but both Andrew and my sister Kelly have. I’m generally a 20%+ tipper, but I get annoyed a lot faster than either of them do and they subsequently find themselves talking me down from cutting the tip.
On one occasion, though, my sister was up from TX with her 6-month old. We went to Fridays and had THE WORST service of all time. Took forever, disappeared for huge amounts of time, etc. 40 minutes later, having only placed our drink and app orders (Kelly did one of the $20 3 course things but had only ordered the app part before the waitress disappeared), she told the waitress we were pissed and were leaving — who then had the balls to act like she was doing us some kind of favor by “only” charging us for the app, and not the full $20 3-course meal! My “I ALWAYS tip, no matter what” sister not only $0.00-ed out the tip line, but wrote a note on the restaurant copy as to WHY she didn’t tip, knowing that the waitress would have to turn it in to the manager. Then she followed up with a phone call. Lesson: never piss off a new mom who wants food.
I think I would start laughing uncontrollably if I was in this situation because this had to be a joke right? You sure you weren’t being punk’d?
i agree with you about tipping. like you, i’ve worked as a server for a number of years in college. sometimes, it does just get hectic and servers do get stressed out but that doesn’t mean that the quality of their service should suffer. i get that everyone has bad days but if your job entails you to provide a service (of any kind! hair, nails, food, taxi), your job is to put the bad day away until you’re not in service anymore. or, be a sourpuss like your experience at Tin Muffin (just typed tin man muffin haha) and get a sour tip.
In general, if I’m eating in the restaurant, I leave a 20% tip… it might go a tad lower if the service was less than stellar. But for the last few years, I’ve been getting my food to-go… so if it’s a place I like and know I’ll be returning, I’ll leave a 10% tip. Figuring that I’m in the system (since I called it in) and hope that in the future they will give me even better service (making sure all the extras are in the bag).
I’m never sure how much to tip my hairstylist though… do you know the general percentage that is acceptable? I currently give about 15%.
if it’s shitty service 15%….my friends won’t leave anything but I’ll still leave them something out of guilt…since I was a waitress. But honestly…no matter how great the food is…if the service sucks..i’m out of there….I WANT HOLIDAY PANCAKES!
for great service, i tip about 20%. when the service sucks, i tip about 5%. Just to prove a point. leaving no tip is mean, but when they get a measly few bucks, i feel like its a bigger slap in the face.
I agree. I will never just skate out without any kind of tip because they would probably think that I forgot or something.