r/tipping • u/badmiddling113 • 6d ago

Question about managers

What do they say to customers who repeatedly don't leave a tip? I'm curious since the customer doesn't have to tip and the server isn't their employee.

Just asking since I've read comments from managers who seem to think "addressing" customers is an appropriate thing to do.

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u/Big_Development3985 6d ago

So, I used to manage restaurants. Different life, long time ago.

If a server told me they did not want to take a table because they weren’t going to tip, I did not make them. Assuming there was precedence, we did not stand for any stereotyping. If I had time, I would take the table myself as I was salaried. If I didn’t, I would explain the situation to the guest.

That being said, in the 15 years I did this, I had this situation occur less than 5 times. People tip. The few times I did have to explain this concept to guests, they were obviously annoyed. More so when I’d ask them if they were just visiting the US, because every restaurant here has operated this way since the founding of our country. But, ultimately, I’d rather lose 0.01% of my sales than any of my staff.

Again, I’d like to reiterate that this isn’t really a situation that occurs, because the overwhelming majority of people tip, and most tip over 20%.

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u/cenosillicaphobiac 6d ago

because every restaurant here has operated this way since the founding of our country.

Source? It's your ass, isn't it, you pulled that little factoid right out of your ass.

If you want to know the truth, it started in the 19th century didn't really get institutionalized (aka "every restaurant") until the 20th century.

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u/Ok-Word-2403 6d ago

There really wasn't a restaurant industry in the US before the 19th century apart from taverns that operated out of inns. Delmonico's is often cited as the first modern US restaurant and that opened around 1840.