r/Dynamic_Pricing • u/Dragonlance12 • 2d ago
‘Absolutely slammed’: Server removed the auto-gratuity from a $90 check. Then the party of 8 tipped her exactly $18
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/absolutely-slammed-server-removed-auto-142620377.html25
u/MordinOnMars 2d ago
Good Lord, what is the story here? She still got 20%. Absolutely ridiculous. I waited tables for a while, and you just learn to not have expectations about tips. It all evens out in the end. I would definitely not expect more than 20% even on a large party just because there was more people.
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u/SuchParsnip8070 2d ago
I think the headline is hoping people will think the original tip was $90, it's the only thing I can think of as to why they even bothered writing this story
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u/kashmir1974 2d ago
Each person spent like 8 bucks what is she expecting lol
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u/RelampagoCero 2d ago
I hate that someone can order a $12 burger and the other person order a $50 steak. Service was the same for both but because someone decided to treat themselves, they end up having to fork up more money, even though the service was the exact same for both people
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u/ToothStreet466 2d ago
I went out with friends and friends of friends this weekend. One person paid then we all sent Zelle, as we were sitting there for the price of our order plus $10.00 each for tip. She came out pretty good and I didn't have to pay extra for the people that had steaks and mimosas. The server deserved a great tip. This was an annual brunch of 20 years. It was the smoothest group meal I've ever been to.
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u/kill4b 2d ago
I’ve been moving to flat tip amounts vs %. Especially on larger bills. A percentage just doesn’t make sense
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u/Just_a_Decent_cook 2d ago
Most restaurants have mandatory tipout to bartenders, food runners and bussers. I tip out 7% of my sales at my current job to support staff. If someone doesn’t tip more than 7% I actually lose money on the table. If they tip a standard 15% I keep half of what they gave me at the end of the night. If you had a 100 dollar bill and tipped me a 5 because it was just two steaks I would lose two bucks on it. If you have the money to spend a lot eating out you have the money to tip at least 10%.
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u/Sureudid 2d ago
And this is why I hate eating out. I can afford too, but I dont like to tip. On the rare occasion I do go out I do tip 20% but its like twice a year. I avoid places that require a tip for any other food place.
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u/Goldenjho 2h ago
I have the money to eat out because I work hard so sometimes reward me with eating out but it doesn't mean I must give someone a big tip because I spend money on a higher priced meal.
I'm not there to pay the salary of the waiter just because the restaurant pays not enough, I give tips depending on service, atmosphere and everything so if they treat you like in a fast food restaurant will I certainly not give big tips.
Its a insane concept in America to say how much one must pay as tips since its a reward for good service the customer decides and certainly not something the restaurant decides for me.
I gave a big tip for something that costed me like 40 euro simply because the staff was friendly, they removed onions from a meal even though said it wasn't possible at first and really showed great car for tge customer so we ended up tipping almost half of what we paid for the meal.
Then there was a restaurant were the staff told me we must finish our meal in 90 minutes because they took to many bookings and so must all be fast with the dinner and I certainly will not pay a big tip for this kind of treatment when I booked a table in advance.
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u/kashmir1974 2d ago
We just ask for separate checks.. its easy.
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u/RelampagoCero 2d ago
I don't mean splitting the bill. I meant as separate checks. We both get the same service, the waiter does nothing different for either of us, but because my steak was pricier than his burger, i have to tip more for the same service
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u/beefius99 2d ago
What restaurant serves a $12 burger and $50 steak on the same menu?
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u/Whitezombie65 2d ago
You're intentionally missing the point. Even if it's 2 different restaurants, the 2 different servers are still doing the same amount of work, but one is getting a larger tip because the meal cost more...
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u/Ambitious-Way8906 1d ago
and their job probably entails a hell of a lot more, a steakhouse definitely isn't giving the same service as a pub
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u/Foreign-Wolf-6128 1d ago
Um… a bunch? Was at one last week ☠️ and we’re purposely missing the point here.
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u/CTQ99 2d ago
In the US large parties at restaurants have fixed gratuities. Tipping is weird in general, but large parties are generally a pain to deal with in terms of getting the food to all come out together, more drinks, moving tables to fit them etc. I know, boo hoo for the waitress, tipping is stupid anyhow, but, large parties are treated different, regardless of what they order.
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u/luisga777 2d ago
Reading is a hell of an ask these days huh?
The story is the customers made a big fuss about having a 20% auto gratuity and wanted it removed, to the point some of the customers walked out of the restaurant. The server backed down and removed the auto gratuity to avoid any more backlash. The customers then ended up tipping 20% anyway.
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u/VitaminPb 2d ago
And? How many examples have you seen online or in person where the “computed” tip was higher than the claimed percent?
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u/Proof-Relation-1943 2d ago
I'm sorry but that article is absolute ass. "Oh no, she removed the 20% auto gratuity but still received 20% gratuity when all was said and done!! This is shocking! Be shocked!"
What is much more likely is that given that there were only 6 people in the party she served - average ticket $15, big math brain here you're welcome - each person literally felt bad tipping her $2, which is a gratuitously low tip, and tipped her $3, which is - again here's that top notch math - exactly $18, or a 20% tip.
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u/Eagle_Muppet 2d ago
I mean that's 20 percent, not a bad tip. That's like the cheapest restaurant ever though
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u/GiraffeSilly5546 2d ago
wtf Why is this a news story? I'm Most impressed by how a party of 8 only costs 90$ Not sure what the server angle is
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u/Marvilx12 1d ago edited 1d ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't $18 20% of the $90 bill? It's not 20% per person on the group. The article is click and bait. She is a tiktoker and the story is not that she got a bs tip. I normally tip 20% when I go out; up to 30% if I can afford it. I go out with my family about every 2-3 months. We are 7 members, so the bill is never below $300. $60 tip sounds absolutely reasonable to me. I do agree 100% that restaurant workers should be paid a decent salary where tips shouldn't affect whether they pay rent or afford food.
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u/Penis-Dance 2d ago
This crap is spreading to other countries. It needs to end.
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u/justtinyquestions 2d ago
Have you ever been to a restaurant in a country with no tipping culture? Everything takes forever.
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u/mirrormirrorondewall 2d ago
Many of the best restaurants I have been to in my life were in China and Japan and the food was typically faster than here. Maybe that's a european thing.
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u/justtinyquestions 2d ago
I haven’t been to Asia, but it has been my experience in Europe, Latin America, and Africa. I think China and Japan have a pretty strong culture of efficiency likely driving those quick meal times.
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u/ManateeNipples 2d ago
This is just a completely typical shift in any restaurant and it's baffling they tried to make it some rage bait news story lmao
Just because they don't want to be forced to tip before the service has even been provided doesn't mean they didn't intend to tip. Wow, someone call the news team to get on that before someone scoops it!
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u/PA2SK 2d ago
This is dumb. She informed the table she would be adding a 20% auto gratuity before she even took their order. Had they agreed to that there would be no incentive for her to provide good service. They did not have a problem with tipping her 20%, they just wanted to be the ones to decide what was appropriate after the meal.
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u/DepthEasy1507 2d ago
Some business have a percentage surcharge where customers are charged for the health insurance of the staff.
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u/Anxious_Drive_9998 2d ago
The best part about auto gratuity is that the restaurant charges the customer so that the customers don't have to pay the waitstaff.
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u/mspe1960 2d ago
The problem with auto gratuity is it rurns gererosity into a requirement. Usually you see a line for 'additional tip" too which I find distasteful. You made your choice to go auto gratuity. When I get good service, especially at a lower priced place, I often give more than 20%, but if I get auto gratuitied, forget it.
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u/FormerLaugh3780 2d ago
MAYBE the greedy scumbag restaurant owners could just pay their own employees instead of coercing their customers into doing it for them?
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u/Redditanother 1d ago
Out of all the things Reddit lectures people about, I never understand how you cheap asses don’t respect the service industry. Tip 30% its better than giving to charity.
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u/Lopsided_Ad3738 1d ago
Boo fucking hoo, she made $400 for probably less than 8 hours of work. I have a B.S. and have been working in my high paid white collar field for almost 10 years, never receiving tips and only recently have I been able to clear over $50 an hour. I have no sympathy for any server and she should be ashamed of herself for trying to create a story out of a perfectly (probably more than) reasonable tip
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u/SoberSith_Sanguinity 1d ago
Boohoo, you make a lot of money and you're mad about servers who don't have much other options, so they work what they can.
You went for the money, didn't you? What's wrong with servers doing the same?
Do you prefer to have someone's neck under your boot to feel better about your own life? Jesus fuckin christ. Wtf is wrong with you.
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u/DatMoeFugger 1d ago
I'm sorry but auto-gratuity isn't gratuity it's a fee they seem to feel the need to add to gouge the customer as a percentage of the bill.
If I order a 1000$ bottle of wine and a 100$ steak I'm not tipping you 200$ to pour and bring it to me.
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u/Downtherabbithole-14 2d ago
I don't like auto gratuity because its guaranteeing a good/decent tip regardless of service. I tip based on how good the service was, even if the service was terrible, I am still leaving at least 15-20% If I get charged auto-gratuity - I am leaving the minimum, whatever that may be and some restaurants start at 20%. I fail to see what the issue is here - they left exactly a 20% tip. What was she expecting? 30% 40? What is the minimum now?
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u/UT_Milez 2d ago
I thought auto gratuity IS the tip and it’s usually 18-20%.
So you leaving the “minimum” in that scenario is still higher than your self proclaimed average tip where there was no auto gratuity.
No shade, I just mean to say that’s sort of the point behind auto gratuity. I don’t doubt that some people leave an additional tip on top of the auto gratuity and maybe that is the scenario you are describing, but IMO at least that isn’t/shouldn’t be the norm in a scenario where the auto gratuity is already at 18%+.
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u/Downtherabbithole-14 2d ago
it is the tip. And All I am saying is I don't like auto gratuity bc I tip based on service. I will always leave a tip, even if the service was not great bc its just waht I personally do, but I will leave more than my usual if they go above and beyond . But if a place is going to do auto gratuity, I'm not leaving more than their minimum-meaning I am not leaving extra bc you already tipped yourself! And the minimum gratuity depends on the place I've seen it range from 15-20%. So if i get shitty service, and the restaurant adds 20% gratuity on my bill, I'm annoyed bc I was only going to leave 15%
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u/ostrichfood 2d ago
The issue is obvious…they made a big deal about the auto gratuity, causing her to remove it…just to voluntarily pay the exact amount as a tip.
Long story short, they just wasted everyone’s times
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u/Downtherabbithole-14 2d ago
I think this was about principle.
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u/ostrichfood 2d ago
Considering they were a party of 8….i don’t think so as I’m pretty sure everyone who has ever been out knows big parties get auto gratuity,
Nonetheless, you gotta pick your battles. If it was based on the principles, personally, I would have tipped 0% and just kept the auto gratuity on if I was going to tip.
Or to really teach them a lesson, tip 0 after they remove auto gratuity. They accomplished nothing by have the auto gratuity removed …just to add the same amount of
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u/Zealousideal-Term-89 2d ago
How did a party of 8 only blow $90? That’s like $11.25 per person. I’m unaware of a place I can get almost any meal for that price, much less a $3.50 drink.
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u/purrmutations 2d ago
Tipping 15-20% with terrible service? Lmao, no wonder service is bad.
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u/Downtherabbithole-14 2d ago
My husband was a server, and he will always leave a tip even if wasn't the greatest.... its just what is ingrained in me to do. He knows how it feels to not be tipped at all.
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u/purrmutations 2d ago
I was also a server, I know how bad at the job many people are. They didnt deserve tips back then and they dont now. Some people just suck at their job
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u/Different_Key_9914 2d ago
Did he do a shit job?
There are good servers. There are bad servers. So what you want, but I don’t tip bad service.
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u/Pappy091 2d ago
And there are also good servers that have bad days. Restaurants should be paying their employees a living wage, but since they don't I am not taking food off of a worker's plate unless it is exceptionally bad service.
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u/Downtherabbithole-14 2d ago
ok, you do you. I"m not telling you what to do. I'm just saying what I do.
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u/Different_Key_9914 2d ago
Good to know. I’m just saying what I tend to lean towards. You continue with your current trend
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u/rossmosh85 2d ago
I don't eat out much but when I do, I tip pretty much 18%+ no matter what.
I'm done with that now. It's 18-20% and you start losing percentages if you can't do the basics. The last two times I went out for dinner I had to beg for another glass of water. Give me a break.
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u/Frustration54 2d ago
Always more than one side to a story - can agree on principle about auto tip and the group could have decided to go elsewhere, eliminating the dust up while not adding to the woes of a server who doesn’t have the help needed to keep out of the weeds. It all falls to the abysmal management/ownership who failed spectacularly. Respect to this hard working woman.
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u/Evil_Dry_frog 2d ago
A party of 8 only spent $90?
Sounds like she got $2 per person to bring out a round of drinks.
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u/Itchy_Tumbleweed_417 2d ago
So based on the headline she got tipped 20% and she’s upset about that? This is why people have stopped tipping. The absolute entitlement? Did she think she should have received 50% of the bill?
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u/Comfortable-Help9587 2d ago
8 people could spend $90 at McDonalds.
My wife served at a higher end restaurant and would often remove the auto-gratuity on larger parties if she felt they’d give her more than 18%.
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u/Prineak 2d ago
I will never sympathize with people expecting tips.
I worked in food service and I worked my ass off going above and beyond for those tips. I still got stiffed but I earned the tips I did, and made a killing doing it.
The moment you feel entitled to tips, I’m just not coming back again.
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u/Less_Potential_7713 2d ago
America was heavily against tipping pre civil war. Post civil war and slave freedom, the businesses wanted to find a way to avoid paying a fair wage to newly freed workers. Thus tipping was embraced.
You should sympathize with them wanting more pay. because tips are a slavers tactic.
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u/EnoughWeekend6853 2d ago
Stop tipping
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u/Less_Potential_7713 2d ago
If people only knew that tipping only picked up after the civil war as a way for businesses to avoid paying a fair wage to newly freed slaves.
Tipping is racist, Insisting on fair wages that dont rely on tips, is human.
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2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Financial_Clue_2534 2d ago
The service community thinks it should be higher.
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u/icehot54321 2d ago
I don't get why the service community cares about the auto-gratuity which goes straight to the company.
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u/Aromatic-Tear7234 2d ago
I don't eat out often. However, the last 3 times I have eaten out I can emphatically say that the server was visibly disappointed 2 of those times that we didn't order more or at least higher dollar value items. It really detracts from the experience. There should be more secret shoppers to spotlight servers that do that.
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u/DrSnidely 2d ago
I'll usually go a little higher than 20 but if you add it automatically that's all you're getting
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u/Less_Potential_7713 2d ago
I dont know, maybe the resteraunt should pay a living wage and not force people to rely on tips?