Money Matters
csuave
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Tipping, what are your thoughts?
H and I went to TGI Fridays and we both got the endless appetizers. They are $10 per person. We also ordered about $10 worth of drinks so our food and drink totaled $30.
TGIF calculated our total bill "value" at around $50. This showed each app refill and an associated cost that was then discounted to $0. Their recommended tips were based on the $50 so that 20% recommendation was equal to a $10 tip.
H and I had some discussion about how much to tip. Usually we would tip off of the $30, so $6 if tipping 20%. If we used a coupon we tip off of the amount before the coupon discount is taken. But this isn't really a coupon, it is a promotional price set by the restaurant and we don't know how much they are "charging" for the app refills when we order them.
We felt our server did a good job and she did have to make a couple of extra trips to our table for the refills; but she took our order for our first two refills upfront so she only had to deliver them later not stop by to take more orders. IMO (and I used to be a server) it wasn't a ton of extra work. We ended up tipping between $6 and $10.
How do you think you would end up tipping in this scenario?
TGIF calculated our total bill "value" at around $50. This showed each app refill and an associated cost that was then discounted to $0. Their recommended tips were based on the $50 so that 20% recommendation was equal to a $10 tip.
H and I had some discussion about how much to tip. Usually we would tip off of the $30, so $6 if tipping 20%. If we used a coupon we tip off of the amount before the coupon discount is taken. But this isn't really a coupon, it is a promotional price set by the restaurant and we don't know how much they are "charging" for the app refills when we order them.
We felt our server did a good job and she did have to make a couple of extra trips to our table for the refills; but she took our order for our first two refills upfront so she only had to deliver them later not stop by to take more orders. IMO (and I used to be a server) it wasn't a ton of extra work. We ended up tipping between $6 and $10.
How do you think you would end up tipping in this scenario?
Re: Tipping, what are your thoughts?
That's an interesting question! When I've ordered the TGIF Endless Apps in the past, I tipped 15% off the total original bill. To me, that seemed like a fair "middle" for more value than the face value of the check. I usually tip 20%, unless there was a problem with the service.
However, that was when that item was a promo. Now it is an established item on the menu. Where its price IS $10. I almost feel silly for saying this, but that makes a difference to me. If it's price is $10 now, it's $10. I'll lean toward a larger tip for the bit of extra work, but now I'm inclined to tip 20%-25% of the bill (not including the discounts).
It seems based on the receipt that the restaurant still views it as a promo item even though it's officially $10 on the menu. But your server did go through some extra work to deliver extra apps/refills. I guess in that kind of situation I'd tip higher in some way. DH and I tend to be pretty generous tippers anyway and probably would've tipped based on the pre-discount price but it's hard to say. I think it's a little disingenuous of TGIF though since the menu says the price is $10 but then you get a receipt with a higher list price. But that's not the server's fault or decision.
That said, I also don't think the check total should have anything to do with what the person is tipped. Just because I went to a fancy place with $60 entrées doesn't mean the waitperson did a better job than the person at the place where my entrée was only $10.
I also refuse to tip extra at places that auto-add the tip to the bill. I always have horrible service at these places pretty much without exception.
But to the point.....I've done the unlimited apps at TGIF three times now. The service was so bad the one time we went we left almost nothing. And do understand, I don't punish the waitress for the kitchen. But I do punish them for not making table rounds so I can place my next order and get drink refills. But due to that time, I make it a point to tip a little extra if the person makes the effort to keep up with us. I also take into the account that they're doing more work than if we just placed a normal order.
Sorry, I ramble......:(
I have mixed feelings about servers getting paid less than minimum wage per hour...at least I think they still do. Back when I was a teen I made $2.13 per hour as a server and I was taxed on an assumed 8% tip rate. At some restaurants that is not going to earn a server much.
I worked at a family Italian restaurant with no liquor (so lower check totals and lots of messy kids to clean up after) and then a typical chain steak restaurant with liquor (decent check totals). I made well above minimum wage at both. The $2.13 per hour wasn't much but I considered it gravy over what I was bringing home in cash. In my case I was really happy with what I made as a server, especially compared to the other options available to me at the time.
I went to our local Friday's a few months ago and asked about Endless Apps. The waitress was so rude and they had the endless app menu hidden behind the bar. I thought it was really weird that the company would have commercials for it, but pitch a fit in person if you asked for it. I ended up tipping her 20% on the total check and definitely not the value for all the refills we got. Had she actually been nice and attentive I would have tipped her substantially more.
I've never not tipped, but I did give someone a penny one time because it was by far the worst experience I've ever had.
ETA: I just saw that you went a few months ago. I think they only started going hard core about it in the last few weeks.