BUZZFEE: Applebee's Server Gets Stiffed By Pastor Who Gave Her Tip To God, Promptly Gets Fired By Applebee's

[8181]

Yesterday at the bar I saw someone leave an $8 tip on an $82 tab.

---------- Post added March-16th-2013 at 04:40 PM ----------

I hope the bartender appreciated the $8 tip I left right after that....on my $22 tab.

I regularly tip 20% to 30%, so maybe the answer is people like myself...

But I remember 10% was considered acceptable about 10 years ago. Why is the tipping rate increasing so much? This is on top of the inflation of food prices.

Heck, I remember "keep the change" was OK for tipping pizza drivers, until the Internet became popular and a USENET group about pizza delivery drivers pretty much planted the seeds for tipping delivery drivers even more beyond the delivery charge (is this charge a scam? I'll have to look for that delivery driver FAQ LOL)

[GhostofSparta]

(is this charge a scam? I'll have to look for that delivery driver FAQ LOL)

As a former delivery driver (for almost 3 years) I'll let you in on a little secret. Yes, yes it is a scam. When I worked at Pizza Hut, they had a $2 delivery charge and I got 75 cents out of it. It was their way of keeping pizza cheap when gas costs skyrocketed on the backs of its employees (drivers).

I get it, I really do. You see a $2 charge, and you assume that it's going to the driver, then you have no incentive to tip any more. $2 seems like a good tip for a pizza (hell that's 20% on a $10 pizza!), but sadly it's not the case. You're expected to tip on top of the charge, which sucks for you. Or else you end up inadvertently stiffing the driver, who's using his own vehicle and paying for his own gas (and repairs) for this job. It sucks, but at least most of us drivers make minimum wage, so yay :doh:

[Bubble Screen]

I regularly tip 20% to 30%, so maybe the answer is people like myself...

But I remember 10% was considered acceptable about 10 years ago. Why is the tipping rate increasing so much? This is on top of the inflation of food prices.

Heck, I remember "keep the change" was OK for tipping pizza drivers, until the Internet became popular and a USENET group about pizza delivery drivers pretty much planted the seeds for tipping delivery drivers even more beyond the delivery charge (is this charge a scam? I'll have to look for that delivery driver FAQ LOL)

I honestly don't think tipping $8 on an $82 tab is that bad. I mean, it's not like you are waiting on them hand and foot like a waiter in a restaurant. With that said, I still would have given at least 10, and probably 15. If you tip $8 on an $82 ticket at a restaurant, you should be barred from that establishment, forever.

[Kosher Ham]

10% was acceptable....40 years ago.

8 on 82 is pathetic. That bartender will remember that and the next time you show your face...slow service, crappy service, crappy drinks. They don't want you to come back.

Bubble, it's that bad.

[skinsmarydu]

I was reading about this the other day and fell down an "internet rabbit hole."

After 20-30 minutes of reading dozens of random articles, I kept coming across mentions that Applebee's doesn't cook the food in-house, but instead microwaves frozen food that was cooked and shipped from a central location. Essentially, a place like Applebees is a glorified microwave dinner.

That got me searching on that issue and found that it is pretty well known that many national chains don't cook the food. Even things like steaks.

I don't eat at Applebees and Chillis - but I at least thought they cooked food. Strange.

Part of the reason I left Applebee's in '97...pasta came in pre-cooked, vacuum-packed in a bag. Kabobs already came with everything semi-cooked on the stick. I could no longer put that **** in front of people in good conscience. The only thing that's "pre" where I work now is the shredded lettuce.

10% was acceptable....40 years ago.

8 on 82 is pathetic. That bartender will remember that and the next time you show your face...slow service, crappy service, crappy drinks. They don't want you to come back.

Bubble, it's that bad.

Yes, it is. It's so much better to be known for saying please & thank you and showing your server that you appreciate their hard work at (what can be) a really crappy job sometimes.

[Botched]

As a former delivery driver (for almost 3 years) I'll let you in on a little secret. Yes, yes it is a scam. When I worked at Pizza Hut, they had a $2 delivery charge and I got 75 cents out of it. It was their way of keeping pizza cheap when gas costs skyrocketed on the backs of its employees (drivers).

I get it, I really do. You see a $2 charge, and you assume that it's going to the driver, then you have no incentive to tip any more. $2 seems like a good tip for a pizza (hell that's 20% on a $10 pizza!), but sadly it's not the case. You're expected to tip on top of the charge, which sucks for you. Or else you end up inadvertently stiffing the driver, who's using his own vehicle and paying for his own gas (and repairs) for this job. It sucks, but at least most of us drivers make minimum wage, so yay :doh:

Holy crap. I delivered for Pizza Hut like 10 years ago, and the delivery charge was only 50 cents, but the driver got all of it. I got stiffed all the time, it was an every day occurrence. One time I delivered over 20 pizzas to a medical office and got no tip.

[PleaseBlitz]

I would say this makes me want to boycott Applebees and church, but I already do that.

[@DCGoldPants]

I would say this makes me want to boycott Applebees and church, but I already do that.

Churchabees?

I personally found the Red Lobster thing funny.

[GoSkins561]

Yesterday at the bar I saw someone leave an $8 tip on an $82 tab.

---------- Post added March-16th-2013 at 04:40 PM ----------

I hope the bartender appreciated the $8 tip I left right after that....on my $22 tab.

Were they eating?

Or just drinking?

If they were eating that's a horrible tip, if they had a few drinks, I don't think its a bad tip.

People expect tips for everything now a days , I don't think they deserve a dollar for cracking a beer open for me.

[Bubble Screen]

Were they eating?

Or just drinking?

If they were eating that's a horrible tip, if they had a few drinks, I don't think its a bad tip.

People expect tips for everything now a days , I don't think they deserve a dollar for cracking a beer open for me.

This post is spot on. It's exactly what I was talking about earlier. You don't deserve a big tip if you just hand someone a few beers.

[@DCGoldPants]

wait, so if the bartender served food he/she didn't make, then its a bad tip. But if he/she served you $80 worth of booze, then its cool? Shouldn't it be the reverse? Either its a bunch of beers, or a handful of mixed drinks. Either way, that's all bartender there.

[Forehead]

I hope the bartender appreciated the $8 tip I left right after that....on my $22 tab.

Let me know when you come down off the cross (Hey look, topical considering the original subject matter:ols:) $8 on $22 is nice if you want to blow through money. Me, I try to never run a tab at a bar. I order a beer, I leave a buck on the bar. I order a mixed drink, I might leave two depending on how difficult it is to make, but considering how much alcohol is upcharged, I don't feel remotely guilty doing it. If I plow through a bunch of $5-$6 drafts, the bartender will get a buck off each one, no more. I would much prefer a society that emphasized tipping less and paid the servers minimum wage at minimum.

[GoSkins0721]

Some of you might be too young to remember when they had ladies stationed at the fitting rooms of department stores, even JCPenney, to get you a different size if you needed, etc. The last time I tried on clothes in Macy's was years ago, the fitting room was filthy and the ceiling fans were so covered in dust and dirt it was hard to believe I was in a Macy's--but they have great sales! I just buy what I want now, try it on at home, and return/exchange what doesn't fit.

Service is a dying institution. And that's sad.

You're exactly right. There's a Macy's at the "old" mall here in Richmond that is almost a ghost town since they opened the new, shinier version 3-4 years ago. I still go to the old one when I'm shopping for clothes. Why? The 2 old men there will do anything to help me out when I'm buying clothes. They've both been there for 20+ years and still remember me when I come in to buy something. And I go in there maybe once or twice a year. The new Macy's? Not a salesperson in sight. Or if you see them, they're texting on their cell phone.

[renaissance]

Let me know when you come down off the cross (Hey look, topical considering the original subject matter:ols:) $8 on $22 is nice if you want to blow through money. Me, I try to never run a tab at a bar. I order a beer, I leave a buck on the bar. I order a mixed drink, I might leave two depending on how difficult it is to make, but considering how much alcohol is upcharged, I don't feel remotely guilty doing it. If I plow through a bunch of $5-$6 drafts, the bartender will get a buck off each one, no more. I would much prefer a society that emphasized tipping less and paid the servers minimum wage at minimum.

What can I say - the weather is nice up here on my high horse

I'm not saying I always tip 35%, but yes I judge people who don't even tip 10%.

I don't have an issue with the $1 per drink rule if you're ordering draft beers all night, but I'm pretty sure at $82 you ordered more than 8 draft beers.

[grego]

Let me know when you come down off the cross (Hey look, topical considering the original subject matter:ols:) $8 on $22 is nice if you want to blow through money. Me, I try to never run a tab at a bar. I order a beer, I leave a buck on the bar. I order a mixed drink, I might leave two depending on how difficult it is to make, but considering how much alcohol is upcharged, I don't feel remotely guilty doing it. If I plow through a bunch of $5-$6 drafts, the bartender will get a buck off each one, no more. I would much prefer a society that emphasized tipping less and paid the servers minimum wage at minimum.

while i tend to tip at or near 20% when i'm ordering food, when it comes to ordering drinks at a bar, i'm with you. $1 per drink seems fine to me.

i waited tables for years, but never bartended, but i always felt like i busted me ass alot more than the goofy bartender who always made more than me

so no, i dont feel bad about that.

edit- and the alcohol upcharge is out of control.

[Forehead]

Yeah frankly, I'm almost the same way with mixed drinks. Rare is the time where I get into the hard stuff, but when I do, it's either something simple like a vodka and cranberry, or a shot of something. I almost never get into the Long Island Ice Teas or drinks that have more than two-three ingredients. And they're still $8 or more at times. Sorry, still only getting $1 for that. So yes, it's very possible I could wind up tipping $8 on an $80 bar tab. Assuming it all came at once (perhaps buying a round for friends), why the hell would I drop a $20 bill for someone who turned over a line of shot glasses and filled them with the same thing?

[Special K]

My craziest tip experience was in Vegas circa 2008. It was there I learned the hard way never to open an all day tab in Vegas In' my "altered" state, I added an extra zero onto our pool cabana tab; pretty confident our cabana girl thought my group of girlfriends and I were a bunch of celebrities (whom she had never before seen ) when we left the pool that evening. Someone hit the jackpot that weekend...wasn't anyone in my group of friends though :doh1: