refused service because of bad tipping
 

http://www.click2houston.com/money/22655961/detail.html

Customer Dubbed Poor Tipper Refused Service
NC Woman Starts Petition Demanding Fair Treatment

POSTED: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
UPDATED: 8:27 am CST February 24, 2010

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A woman who says a local restaurant is refusing to serve her has started a petition to boycott the establishment. But Kampai Japanese Steak and Seafood House restaurant owners say they refuse to serve her because she is such a poor tipper, WXII-TV reported.

Monica Covington said her spat with the restaurant began in 2008.

"I noticed on our ticket that they added 18 percent gratuity and there was only two others with me at the time," Covington said.

The restaurant menu states that a 15 percent gratuity will be added to parties of six or more. Covington said she complained, but paid anyway.

When she returned to the restaurant a month later, Covington said she was informed that she would have to pay an 18 percent gratuity if she wanted to dine there.

"Before we could even get seated, we got into the door and they came to me and said, 'If you aren't willing to pay the 18 percent gratuity, then we can't serve you,'" she said.

Covington said she felt slighted and decided to start a petition demanding fair business practices. So far, 300 people have signed.

Kampai manager Michael Lam said Covington is a poor tipper, and after a number instances of her failing to tip accordingly, the restaurant ran into problems.

When asked if he refused Covington service, Lam said, "Yes, because we can't keep continuing to serve her anymore because the servers and chefs are not willing to serve her."

Lam said he's shocked by news of the petition, which reflects poorly on his business that has been in Winston-Salem for 13 years.

Winston-Salem attorney Carl Parrish said North Carolina law allows businesses to dictate payment terms upfront and to refuse to serve customers who don't agree to the terms, as long as civil liberties aren't in violation.

But Covington insists the business is discriminating against her.

"This petition is to make sure everyone who goes out there gets fair treatment," she said.

god i hope that twit is white

Someone's obviously lying.......

They probably looked at her and saw she was some dumb old bat who probably wouldn't tip (not gonna get into race here, but I have my theories), so they applied the tip and hoped she wouldn't notice.

Shitty service = minimal tip

however, if she's just a shitty tipper despite decent service, eff her.

If automatically adding gratuity to a bill for everyone is standard procedure, I have no problem with that...although, I would probably not eat there, but if they add it to only here bill just because she is a habitually poor tipper, than yeah, fuck that bitch.

WTF?!?!? Why would any sane person beg to go to or hire a lawyer to get them into a private establishment that does not want them eating there?

It'd be like if I invited some coworkers for an NFL game, food, and beer....and the coworker I didn't invite fucking sued me for it. Unreal.

.....

OHHHHH SNAP!!!!!

What'd I tell you motherfuckers!!

http://www.twowheelfix.com/showthread.php?t=11583

You are the man. :lol

:lol:

well, that explains the ''newsworthyness'' :lmao:

Black people don't tip.

Asian staff are too easily offended.

Kitchen staff don't work for tips.

Fuck the restaurant, the lady is in the right.

Like I said, I had my theories....

Yes and no. I agree with you in principal, but I went to a NYC nightclub on Monday (The Bitter End), and they had a two-drink minimum, as well as a $10 door charge.

I was struck by the fact that I would be forced to consume food or beverage, when of course, they could just charge more for the door...but I am an old timer, and am intimately familiar with the two-drunk minimum.

Both the compulsory gratuity and the food/drink consumption minimums are rather sketchy means of charging people more, when you get down to brass tacks.

It's really not right. It may be the custom, or excepted norm for us, but it borders on wrong.

I agree to a point.

The cover/drink charge are known ahead of time. You agree to it upon entering said establishment. Any other money you spend is discretionary.

If you paid your $10 to get in and $20 for two drinks, would you be pissed if they didn't allow you back because you didn't tip the waitstaff $2 per drink?

While I don't agree with stiffing waitpersons, tips are optional.

It's not uncommon for the wait staff to share tips with the back room folk.

Suing to get into a restaurant where they don't like you?

You might as well order boogers for take out.

JC

...and my point was that drink should be "optional" too.

Otherwise, WTF is the cover for? ...But we generally except this as custom, though really not right.

It's another example of restaurateurs moving items from the "optional" column to the "required" column for payment.

My mom lives in WS I will have to check that place out! :lol:

Tell her to be sure to leave a tip.

:rofl: :rofl:

Agree 100 %

So she's not a big fan of "Just the tip"

Got it.

I hate when I go out to eat with stingy tippers. One girl left 2 bucks and change on a 25 dollar a piece meal a few nights ago and I actually felt bad enough to tip a little extra.

Gotta love strip clubs that are no-alcohol, and still have a 2-drink minimum......$5 cokes....

How about strip clubs where the strippers don't strip? They have them here.

It's Snapple here :lol:

Why, is Grand Rapids a pastie town?

It IS a conservative mecca.....

Yes.

That place is a toilet

Ghetto japanese to say the least

Believe it or not, one of the best sushi places I have been to looks about like that.

The two times I've been....

How about strip clubs where they do strip but theres always that one chick who thinks shes too good to get naked like everybody else. No tip from me! :lol:

Well since none of them get naked here, I don't go and they all miss out on my tip. Fuck'em. I hope all 3 in town here go out of business.

I will never, ever understand someone's want to be somewhere they aren't wanted. In this case, especially because they serve food... wow.. No way!

Because of the freakin' sense of entitlement these days

Or (speculation) because certain ethnic groups, in certain parts of the country, take things too personally.

The only undeserved entitlement in this case is the waitstaff.

No. It's a private business. They didn't want her there - I'm questioning why she would want to go back.

Everything hinges on her claim that her party was only 2-3 people. And even if she's telling the truth, she might have stiffed them in the past and that's why they slapped the gratuity on her.

Sorry the servers probably make 4.50 an hour and depend on tips to make up for the rest.

I understand.

I agree with you, especially in a place that serves food.

Raw food at that.

The point is she paid her bill, that entitles her to food.

Bringing her food to the table does not entitle one to a tip.

I fail to see your point. There are many people who work harder and only make minimum wage and never see a tip.

As well, there is no law anywhere in the books that I know that tells me I must/should pay a gratuity.

Don't want to make 4.50? Don't be a waiter.

She paid her bill the last time and she got served so that isn't a question. I still say if she got crappy service and that's why she left a crappy tip then she should just say so rather than going on a crusade. As I said earlier, however, if she received decent service and still stiffed the server, eff her and the horse she rode in on.

I'd be embarased to tell people.
If I'm getting banned from somewhere, it better damn well be a good story to tell my grandkids.

"...then I stood up and vomited on the lobster wedged in her ass crack, as ABBA blasted from the speakers glued to my nipples.
Yada yada yada....I'm banned from the place for life and my ankle bracelets gives me a little shock whenever I get within 10 yrds of the front door. 2 days later, I wed your grandmother"

:lol

This is why you NEVER send anything back, or leave a bad tip


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Cover charge= Pay for the band
Menu prices= What you pay the restaurant/bar
Tip=What you pay the server

Don't like the arrangement?..eat at Mickey D's; cook at home, eat out of a goddamn trash can, but don't expect good goddam service.

Sorry, spent my whole life in the biz...it's convention, it's expected and eating effing out is bloody optional. It's an effing luxury...so follow effing convention, but don't blame the effing server, or the effing owner or the effing bartender or the effing stripper if they don't want you if you consistantly don't effing TIP (To Insure Promptness).

You don't like the system? Start your own "no tipping" restaurant, but your gonna go broke 'cause your MENU prices are gonna be 15-25% higher to cover the additional labor costs and everybody's gonna tell everybody else how high your prices are.......ask me how I know this...............

I hear she finally got mad enough that she ate a trainer at Seaworld...

PS. Don't want to tip, but can't cook?

For $250/hr I'll give you private lessons....but only if you effing TIP......

Authoritative ownage of the no-tipping advocates here.

Effing Rant
 

So, I guess we know where I stand, EH?

Couple of crass generalizations and then I'll sit down and STFU.

After 40 some-odd years, I'll say these things:

As a rule (there are exceptions, but as a rule) congenital non-tippers DEMAND better service than generous tippers; they are frequently high-maintenance, querulous, and complain and expect "discounts"....in other words, they are cheap bastards with an inflated sense of self-importance.

I tip a lot (25-40%) or average (15%) or not at all, as service received demands: a fast, efficient, PLEASANT, organized server working in a busy place is a skilled person, a pleasure to be served by, a joy to behold and is someone who can likely barely stand by the end of a busy shift. Good servers have to deal with crazy, shitty, groping, cheap, crooked, nasty, lazy/incompetent (pick any/all that apply) managers/coworkers, short supplies; barfing babies; rude people; pressure pressure pressure; smiling all the time and never letting the customer know what they had to really do to get that rush order out to you on time... they just cruise up to your table with a 50 lb serving tray, everything hot, steaming and looking perfect; whisk it on to your table (not dropping it in your lap when the drunken prick at the next table puts his hand on her ass while she's trying to serve you).

Yes, there are shitty servers out there; lazy, sloppy, assholes who think you OWE them.

But ,for the most part, folks who stick in the HOSPITALITY business know what the word means and will try to move Heaven and Earth to get your needs met, without you EVER knowing what they had to go through to take care of your little "special requests".

So, don't stiff 'em......

You can yell, holler and shoot puppies out of catapults. It still does not make tipping mandatory.

Funny thing.........When I waited tables at a ski resort, the biggest tippers were locals my age......Who, like me, were basically just getting by, but still tipped generously because THEY worked in the service biz as well, and knew what it was like.

It was the tourists, particularly the international ones from certain European and Latin American countries, who either gyped us or treated us like we were beneath them.

It does if the restaurant recognizes your cheap ass and slaps it on your bill, which they absolutely should do if you are a habitual non-tipper.

(I don't mean you, I know you prob. tip fine.)

Neither is bathing or not picking your nose in public and eating the boogs,,,you just look like rude, self-righteous and cheap

Don't tip: I don't care: just don't bitch when none of the servers wants to wait on your sorry ass...

Find a nice fast food joint where your can feel superior for not tipping......

Bathing, picking my nose and eating it are all personal choices, just like being a server. Strangely enough, I would use almost the exact words you used to describe non-tippers to describe self-righteous, rude, and undeserving servers.

Don't wait on my ass? No problem, I complain get a free meal and move on with my life. It's a restaurant, not some life altering experience.

Enh, Im with OTB. I've worked it. Fucking hate sunday churchgoers with their pamphlets and 20 people with no tip and europeans as well as some ethnic groups, but by no means would you treat the next table shitty because you got stiffed on the last.

Tmall, dont lump the bad service you've gotten with the good servers you cheap out on. Thats just being a dick even if you are right.

Good servers also earn repeat business, clientele and extraordinary tips from those they treat well. (Except for cheap asses who think they deserve shit without giving the same consideration. thats a good way to have a server see you come in and tell the hostess "fuck no, I aint waiting on those assholes again".)

I'm in Japan right now...no tipping. It's great as with the 2 pieces of sushi for 150 Yen.

That's why I generally ask for separate bills. That way the wait staff always knows who the stingy bastard is. I got tired of doing things like going to someone's birthday dinner, slipping in enough to cover both my meal and that of the person having the birthday, along with a 25% tip, and STILL having a group of 10 people come up short on just the cheque!

It's just an excuse. "I had bad service four years ago so I'm not going to tip anybody ever again".

I'm a notorious over-tipper, but I'm not shy about giving no tip when there has been no service.

even worse i hate when i go out with a group and everyone figures out "their" total, after i have plunked mine down with a good tip. then they look at it and say "oh looks like we're good if i just throw in X amount" of course that is less then their meal and brings the total up to just the amount of the bill with no tip.

Beware the person who picks up all of the money "... just to make sure that it's enough." It is that person who will put in just enough, on his own bill, to cover the exact cost of the meal.

and it's a luxury to get a tip. it is DESERVED not MANDATED. you bring food to a table and walk away. A bit later you say how's your meal. after that would you like dessert. this is not good service, it is basic service mandated to keep your job. tips are earned by someone who goes the extra mile.
a group of friends and i used to go out one a month or so. we would throw $50 on the table when we first sat down. that was the tip unless wait staff screwed up. everytime a drink was empty a buck or two got lifted, every time things were forgotten etc. you would be surprised how many times we left leaving little or no DESERVED tip. a couple times we left the whole thing. (best time in the world to watch a young waitress see that for a tip)
i have a few friends in the business and they do very well for themselves. they have excellent personalities and are very tolerant of people. yes it is a crappy job in a way but if you're the right person for it, it pays very well.

I've never once said I was a bad tipper. It just seems like if anybody disagrees with the sense of entitlement the service industry has with tips, you guys think they're cheap. And it's the farthest thing from the truth.

When I'm paying 15 dollars for a plate of fries and a burger and 6 dollars a beer, I am more than covering the expenses of the establishment. And if you're doing a shitty job, like bringing me the wrong food or drink, I will not tip you, or at least not very well.

How you cover your bills and how much you make per hour are of absolutely zero concern to me.

You all bitch and complain about being taxed and don't want to pay for somebody's health care, but see no problem with being taxed an additional 20% for food.

Again, tipping is not law. It's just become common place due to a greedy society. In fact, if I had the option of ordering from the kitchen and getting the food myself, I'd gladly do it. I don't need somebody to walk 45 feet for me and expect 20 dollars for their "effort".

It's like the pizza guy, some times he gets 5 bucks, some times he gets jack shit. If they quote me 40 minutes, and he has it there in 30, 5 bucks for him. If they quote 40 and he's just on time, I'll give him keep the change. If it's anymore than 15 minutes late, well better luck next time..

:lol

PLease quote where I said this.. You're making yourself look like a fool.

Holy double post batman...:lol: I think we're on the same page.

I'd say its the other way around.


Being in college, the majority of my friends have at least worked in the food industry at some point in their lives. They come home fucking exhausted after working a shift, or a lot of time doubles on weekends. They work a hell of a lot harder than most minimum wage people and get paid less for it. I've heard stories about known bad tippers getting pushed down the line and people who are more likely to tip better being bumped up. You can bitch about it, but the managers all understand and wont give a fuck about you either.

OTB, we've already had this debate, Tmall is absolutely not going to agree with you.

Maybe restaurants should have an option when you walk in the door.

"Do you want the menu priced for tippers or non-tippers?"

"I dunno, what's the difference?"

"Oh, about 50%"

Or maybe, just maybe, we should get back to a situation in which we actually have professional servers, who earn that "gratuity"?

Main Entry: gra·tu·ity
Pronunciation: \grə-ˈtü-ə-tē, -ˈtyü-\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural gra·tu·ities
Date: 1540

: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; especially : tip

I don't know where you eat, but I get stellar service 90% of the time...and we eat out quite a bit. Stay away from chain restaurants run by a corporate entity that really treat their people like shit and you'll get better service....and usually better food.

TGIFridays? Really? People still eat that shit? Jesus.

So what would a professional server do better than the college students who are working their way through college and eatin ramen at home?

A lot of very good points being brought up on both sides of this argument. I do tip and tip fairly well imho BUT it is earned...not just deserved for slapping down my plate of food and walking off and forgetting about me.

I absolutely don't agree with NOT tipping unless the service is terrible.

Below average service warrants a below average tip and above average service deserves an above average tip...pretty easy I think.

I also DON'T send food back ever...too many horror stories on that one. :lol:

Ya, you guys seem to be missing the point Tmall is getting at, ill put it in simpler terms for a simpler audience. And thats pretty much, that if your dumb enough to work for less than minimum wage, fuck ya....

That shit isnt even legal here. Minimum wage is like 7.50 up here or something. You cannot pay anyone less than that. Its the MINIMUM FUCKING WAGE.

And im a great tipper, probably tip far more than 15-20%, I dont actually do the math. But I sure as fuck expect good service if your gonna get that tip.

And a lot of those horror stories at leave have a little truth behind them.

My remarks were addressed to those that feel they don't want to tip for any reason, that are opposed to tipping on "principle".

If the shoe fits.......

So it is dumb to work a job where you could potentially earn quite a bit more if you do well at it, than to work a job where you are set at 7.50 an hour. Makes sense. To the simpler mind, of course.

Oh, heres one that will fire you all up!

I tip hot chicks more than regular chicks, regular chicks better than ugly chicks, and ugly chicks better than men. Yes, thats right folks. My dick has a say in how big your tip is.

I dont tip anyone 'badly' though. Ill always leave at least 5$ on a meal, even if it was a 12$ lunch.

I don't know if you're referencing my post but a lot of those horror stories have alot of truth behind them.

Both of my sisters used to be waitresses and I've dated many waitresses plus my father ran hotels/motels/ and restaurants his whole life so I know for a fact that a lot of the stories ARE true.

I'm not sure what "at leave" means from your post.

*edit* Well I now realize you posted "have a little truth" behind them so I guess we're agreeing ? :idk: :lol:

That's the point that the Tmall crowd misses. Servers are not working for less than minimum wage, they're working for tips. When people are too cheap to tip despite getting good service you're fucking up the system and messing it up for everyone else.

Yep...that's why people from Canada and the US don't see eye to eye I guess.

Minimum wage doesn't exactly mean the same thing to both. In the US minimum wage is different for the service industry...at least food servers anyways. :idk:

it means "at least" but I can't type and think all at once.


Apoc, I think most all guys tip the same way as far as how good the girl looks. I think that looks and service have an inverse relationship though. The hot girls know they don't have to work as hard to make a good tip, but the uglies know they are going to have to give great service to get a good tip.

Ya, the only way i've ever seen an ugly stripper make any money is blowjobs :lol:

lmao. I have a few friends who have been strippers at one time. All gorgeous girls. They loved it, but got out of it because they hated all of the sleezy old dudes all of the time.

Right, I think it's like $2.18 an hour...or something like that. Your survival as a server is literally dependant on tips.

So people say, "Well, if you don't want to make 2 an hour then don't be a server" Fine, but then who's going to bring my fucking Taco plate with a smile, a Sam Adams and some fresh motherfucking salsa?

I want clean, well-spoken, attentive and competent servers. IN ORDER for people of that quality to be in the service industry there has to be money for it. That means, IF you enjoy eating out, then YES tips are mandatory. The beauty is that you control the response to the service. Shitty service = shitty tip. The system itself works great, keeps food prices down (restaurant profit margins are thing guys, nature of the business) and allows for a more enjoyable environment.

Why can't people just be thankful there are decent people willing to do the job instead of judging them and making excuses to screw them over? Meh, I don't get it.

Note: In this situation "Mandatory" does not refer to a legal status, but to a standard that must be maintained for quality of life reasons.

Actually, we do have "professional" servers; people who have gone to school for service, done legnthy apprenticeships for little money, worked their way up through better and better establishments, so perhaps, depending on the [places you frequent, you may come across one.

By the same token, I was GM of a 3 star place a few years back; most of the staff were VERY talented. But every barrel always has a bad apple or two. I had one waiter that scooped up a smaller (10%) tip off a table, scoot up to the front of the restaurant and hand it back to the customer with the remark...."Here, you must need this more than I do".........

Fired on the spot.......

Not saying this pointed in any person's direction here, but kaneman's post made me think of it.

It is amazing how many people don't understand business and that the owners have to make money to support their families too.

Good post. :cheers:

Bullshit. They had self esteem issues and loved the attention, or they tried it once or twice, stumbled around in hooker boots, and thought they loved everything but the sleazy men, because they had no idea what the business is really like.

Before long they would have been drug addicted whores, conning 'sleazy old dudes' and screwing strip joint staff while the jockeyed for the lead of the 'Idiot strippers club'

I met three that had been in the business and werent fucked up. One had a huge home in ottawa and a mercedes( and the club payed a fortune to get her to dance), the other two were actually really intelligent studendts.

The other 500 or so i've probably met at the bar (a constant cycle/stripper circuit, youve got a few 'locals', and the rest kinda travel around), have all been fucked up, retarded whores.

Unfortunately the smart ones I met, were the ones too smart to let me have my way with them... :(

Which they wouldn't be able to without the tip system, or you paying a shitload more for your food.

:lol: I can see you being a trip to hang out with...well at least when I was younger and single. I may not agree with everything you say but sometimes you hit the nail on the head and this post has a lot of truth in it and your description had me rolling. :rofl:

I generally get good service too, hence why I'm known for being a notorious over-tipper. Servers tend to remember me if I start to frequent a place. It doesn't matter if it's a 4-star, or Denny's.

My job is to provide a service, whether I'm doing it with a camera or fixing someone's computer issues. Been doing computer service for 20+ years either in the manufacturing end or here, in the university (last 12+ years). I've also worked in a parking lot in every position from parking attendant to assistant supervisor. I know what it's like to be directly serving the public, believe me.

Ummmmm... ACT like a professional, perhaps? If you're in a service industry, you provide service. That is your product. Do better than basic, and you get paid better than basic.

You don't need to go to school, in order to be a professional server. You need to act like a professional, have pride in the job you do, treat the customer like the boss that he is, and not do the sort of thing that you described here.

My objection is to the idea that giving extra, on top of the basic cost of the meal, is MANDATED. In one case my group waited 45 minutes to be seated, another 45 for our server to come by, and a half hour for our meals. If a server from another section hadn't topped us up with hot bread and water every now and then, we'd have been long gone. The only reason our server showed up at all was because one of our party went to the manager and complained. It wasn't THAT busy, that night. When the server finally did show up he took a seat at our table, then went on to explain that he'd been slow because he was on a "team building session" with the other servers, the night before, and was massively hung over.

I don't care what anyone says. I DO NOT give a gratuity in a situation like that. I will not be mandated to do so.

I agree 100%. I wasn't sure what you meant by professional server. Like I said, half of my college friends do it to get by in school, and no matter how hungover they are, act professionally.

Spoken like someone who's never waited tables. At a busy & nice place it's one of the hardest jobs you could ever have.

When you go to a nice place with your girl, would you prefer some illegal immigrant giving you service? Because that's the only kind of people who would take those jobs if all they could make was $8/hr and no tips. At that wage, most normal people would rather work at Barnes & Noble where there's 10 times less stress. They wouldn't be busting their ass off at a restaurant.

Can you prove it was his fault for being late? What if it was the cook's fault or his manager's fault? If so why does the driver deserve to get stiffed?

These guys use their own car and their own gas, and often get held up at gunpoint for money........and you stiff them without any proof that it was their fault. Nice. How about maybe calling the manager and asking for a discount instead? That way the driver isn't affected.

Ya, im sure it can be directly compared to soldiers in afghanistan, or men out in boat in 50 foot seas hauling up traps, hoping not to get swallowed by the drink.

Dont try and tell me because something is busy, and your on your feet, its hard.

True story.

No it's dumb to work a job that pays less then minimum PLUS EARNED TIPS and then complain when you don't get tips because they were NOT EARNED. you take the position saying i think i can bust ass and make big coin and if a patron feels you haven't EARNED a large tip you feel slighted. (i do not mean you personally here just a server in general)

you take a less then minimum job knowing you may actually make less then minimum wage unless you EARN THE TIPS

There is a difference between hard and dangerous.....

Theres a difference between hard and serving tables too.

Servers seem to think they are special, and they deserve some kind of respect. They are no different than the guy who pumps my gas. And he doesnt get a tip, ever.

just a thought here but maybe you get great service 90% of the time because you return to establishments where you recieve great service?

i know i do. i even request certain servers when I go. great service, great tip, and I'll make sure to get your table next time. it's a reciprocating thing.