Who tips better, lefties or righties...

[gary m]

From my experience, people that eat with their left hand tip better than those that eat with their right.

Let the games begin...

[Gingersnap]

Former servers, hands down.

From my own anecdotal experiences in the biz it's like this from worst to best:

Group of just girls

Group of just women

People over 70

Women with kids

Families with kids

Group of men

Person eating alone

Mixed sex couple

Bar menu people

[Frostbit]

Former servers, hands down.

From my own anecdotal experiences in the biz it's like this from worst to best:



Canadians

Germans

Group of just girls

Group of just women

People over 70

Women with kids

Families with kids

Group of men

Person eating alone

Mixed sex couple

Bar menu people

FIXED

BTW, I'm afraid to ask…what's a mixed sex couple?

[Gingersnap]

FIXED

BTW, I'm afraid to ask…what's a mixed sex couple?

I didn't list foreigners because a lot of them don't come from a real tipping culture and they stiff the wait staff unintentionally (not the Canadians).

A guy and a gal - not two men or two women. A guy and gal are likely to be either romantic or just friends but still doing a superficial couple thing. Either way, the payer (usually the guy) is tipping partly out of habit and partly to impress his companion. It's more than two women doing lunch or two men unwinding after work will tip (in general, there are always exceptions)

[Gramps]

Snowbird Canooks are the absolute worst tippers.

In S Florida, most eating places include the tip on the bill, in season, because of the snowbird Canooks.

[Adam]

Since we're speaking in generalities....


:ulls pin::

Former servers, hands down.

From my own anecdotal experiences in the biz it's like this from worst to best:

Black people

Group of just girls

Group of just women

People over 70

Women with kids

Families with kids

Group of men

Person eating alone

Mixed sex couple

Bar menu people

Fixed.


Sorry, but it's true. Ask any waiter out there in a restaurant that has a pretty broad mix of clientele, and they'll tell you that generally speaking, Black people are piss-poor tippers.

[Gingersnap]

Since we're speaking in generalities....


Sorry, but it's true. Ask any waiter out there in a restaurant that has a pretty broad mix of clientele, and they'll tell you that generally speaking, Black people are piss-poor tippers.

Could be. My experience with black customers involved a pretty upscale establishment so they fit into the other groups in terms of tipping.

[Lanie]

I once overheard a waitress talk about Welfare Tuesday or Thursday or something. It's where once a month, everybody gets their welfare check and goes out to eat. They often don't tip.

[Novaheart]

I have worked in 18 different restaurants from cafe to fine dining. I can't really say that any identifiable group is more or less likely to tip or tip well. I was trained in the business by an old school broad who started many other restaurants. Her philosophy was "You never know, maybe not today but good will pays off." She implored all of us to treat every customer like a big tipper, even if we knew better. Her philosophy was that nothing will cost you money like a bad attitude towards customers and your job. Using her philosophy and training, I have made very good money even in lower priced places. I have also been stiffed repeatedly. I have allowed my attitude to go downhill and had to switch jobs to get it back.

I don't think you can predict anything about the customers but I have learned a lot about restaurant employees.

1- No one should be a waiter who has not been a bus boy and worked in the kitchen.
2- Cooks should train in the dining room and waiters should train in the kitchen. You must understand each station to make it work.
3- No one should be a manager who has not worked in every job in the restaurant.
4- No one should own a restaurant who has not worked in every job in the restaurant.
5- No one should be in a position of authority who has a girlfriend or boyfriend on the staff.
6- Alcoholics and druggies should not be tolerated whether they are employees or owners.

[phillygirl]

I have worked in 18 different restaurants from cafe to fine dining. I can't really say that any identifiable group is more or less likely to tip or tip well. I was trained in the business by an old school broad who started many other restaurants. Her philosophy was "You never know, maybe not today but good will pays off." She implored all of us to treat every customer like a big tipper, even if we knew better. Her philosophy was that nothing will cost you money like a bad attitude towards customers and your job. Using her philosophy and training, I have made very good money even in lower priced places. I have also been stiffed repeatedly. I have allowed my attitude to go downhill and had to switch jobs to get it back.

I don't think you can predict anything about the customers but I have learned a lot about restaurant employees.

1- No one should be a waiter who has not been a bus boy and worked in the kitchen.
2- Cooks should train in the dining room and waiters should train in the kitchen. You must understand each station to make it work.
3- No one should be a manager who has not worked in every job in the restaurant.
4- No one should own a restaurant who has not worked in every job in the restaurant.
5- No one should be in a position of authority who has a girlfriend or boyfriend on the staff.
6- Alcoholics and druggies should not be tolerated whether they are employees or owners.

Sounds like you know your business, Nova.

I only waitressed for 2 days. The rest of my "food" experience was fast food. A couple of observations:

The college kids from the black colleges down the road, particularly the women, were some of the most annoying. They would be demanding, at 2 minutes before closing.
Coming in at a close second (and sometimes garnering first place) were the high school athletes from the "rich" public school down the road.
Predictably small appetites (as in...here comes a bus, throw down the food on the grill...oh, no, it's them, just make a lot of coffee and danish) were the "blue hairs" (old people on a bus to, usually Atlantic City, New York, or just passing through.
Most likely to order orange drink: black people.
Most likely to order tea, bring their own tea bag, and not want to pay for the cup...mid-sixties.
Most likely to want to tip (even though we couldn't accept them) the really old guys (over 75).
Most polite/organized/gave absolutely no shit to us whatsoever: the athletes from the juvenile detention school down the road that "recruited" nationally for their school teams. They were almost all black kids and waiting on them was a pleasure. They lined up in military precision, stepped aside to wait for their food, and always said thank you. I'd take 8 busloads of them any day of the week over the athletes from my high school (see the 2nd place winners above).

[Frostbit]

Sounds like you know your business, Nova.

I only waitressed for 2 days. The rest of my "food" experience was fast food. A couple of observations:

The college kids from the black colleges down the road, particularly the women, were some of the most annoying. They would be demanding, at 2 minutes before closing.
Coming in at a close second (and sometimes garnering first place) were the high school athletes from the "rich" public school down the road.
Predictably small appetites (as in...here comes a bus, throw down the food on the grill...oh, no, it's them, just make a lot of coffee and danish) were the "blue hairs" (old people on a bus to, usually Atlantic City, New York, or just passing through.
Most likely to order orange drink: black people.
Most likely to order tea, bring their own tea bag, and not want to pay for the cup...mid-sixties.
Most likely to want to tip (even though we couldn't accept them) the really old guys (over 75).
Most polite/organized/gave absolutely no shit to us whatsoever: the athletes from the juvenile detention school down the road that "recruited" nationally for their school teams. They were almost all black kids and waiting on them was a pleasure. They lined up in military precision, stepped aside to wait for their food, and always said thank you. I'd take 8 busloads of them any day of the week over the athletes from my high school (see the 2nd place winners above).

Ah ha!! You admit to going to the "rich" public school down the road.


No wonder Bok doesn't like you.

[phillygirl]

Ah ha!! You admit to going to the "rich" public school down the road.


No wonder Bok doesn't like you.

I'm sure there's lots of reasons Bok doesn't like me.

My school may have been rich, but I wasn't. My parents were just smart enough to buy in a cornfield before the world learned all about Andrew Wyeth!

[Dallas]

Since we're speaking in generalities....


:ulls pin::



Fixed.


Sorry, but it's true. Ask any waiter out there in a restaurant that has a pretty broad mix of clientele, and they'll tell you that generally speaking, Black people are piss-poor tippers.

Unless you get a black person who used to work in the service industry. But I will say that goes for EVERYTHING pretty much. EVERYTHING.

~Dallas

[Adam]

Unless you get a black person who used to work in the service industry. But I will say that goes for EVERYTHING pretty much. EVERYTHING.

~Dallas

True. I will certainly say that anyone who has worked for tips generally has a good appreciation for others who do the same. I'm quite certain that my time waiting tables in high school immediately made me a more conscientious tipper, even before I had an actual job involving tips. It doesn't take long carrying a tray with food and place settings for nine out of the kitchen and to a table and then presenting properly (serve from the left, take from the right) to get a very good appreciation of what these folks do. Before I finished my sophomore year in high school, I had learned to anticipate tips for any given occasion and to have the appropriate money on hand: driving to a hotel, I made sure that I had a dollar for the car valet (back then) and a dollar for each bag for the bellman in my pocket and ready to go, for example.

It's a lost art of courtesy these days.

[scott]

True. I will certainly say that anyone who has worked for tips generally has a good appreciation for others who do the same. I'm quite certain that my time waiting tables in high school immediately made me a more conscientious tipper, even before I had an actual job involving tips. It doesn't take long carrying a tray with food and place settings for nine out of the kitchen and to a table and then presenting properly (serve from the left, take from the right) to get a very good appreciation of what these folks do. Before I finished my sophomore year in high school, I had learned to anticipate tips for any given occasion and to have the appropriate money on hand: driving to a hotel, I made sure that I had a dollar for the car valet (back then) and a dollar for each bag for the bellman in my pocket and ready to go, for example.

It's a lost art of courtesy these days.

That's true. However, it's coming back in some places due to most people just not knowing how resourceful the support staff are. Just a couple of bucks to the doorman each time walking in or out of the hotel can work wonders. Once I made a casual reference to a restaurant Mel and I were going for dinner before our Broadway show and he gave me his cell number to call when we were leaving the room. When I did, he arranged a limo to take us to dinner where a special table was waiting for us and the limo took us to the show and was waiting for us after the show. We paid for the dinner but got a discount and the hotel paid the limo. The staff are encouraged to take care of high value guests and they usually have a few slots free and the doormen can usually dole those out as they wish.

When we go to Vegas we call our casino host and ask for one of a few drivers we've used there. They usually remember us (Scott and Melanie from Florida) and we always get excellent service which is faster and most of the time cheaper than hailing a cab from the airport. We're usually flexible with our timelines so sometimes we use the limo for each trip out of the hotel just by texting the timeframe of when we want to leave and where we're going. 30-45 minutes around the time we specified the driver tells us he or she is out front and we leave. It works for them because they pick up a no-hassle fare. I tip $20 each time but I don't ever have to stand in line for a cab, tip the attendant $5, and get charged $15 +$3 tip for the smelly cab ride. Plus, most limo drivers can cut through parking lots and use back alleys that taxis can't take so we get there much faster.