112654 Thu Apr 24 18:18:54 -0700 2003 6 7 Chicago Area 0 612033 The Skyline paper 4-24-03 has printed a letter from a lady describing an unfortunate event. As she and her husband prepared to leave an unnamed Asian restaurant in the Gold Coast they were followed to the door by their waitress, who complained loudly that they had not left a sufficiently large tip. As the waitress continued to make a scene, the couple gave her $10 to shut her up. The waitress then explained that she was only carrying out her manager's policy to demand a larger tip. If anyone knows of a restaurant with such a policy I would appreciate knowing which one it is so I can be sure never to go there. Thank you. Thu Apr 24 18:18:54 -0700 2003 0 N Tocus 1 612034 yes, i'd like to know also. that way i'll be prepared with a nice ol 50 cent piece to flip in the air. Thu Apr 24 18:56:55 -0700 2003 612033 0 CMC 2 612038 Having waited tables to pay my way through college, I'm generally pretty liberal when it comes to tipping for extyrodinary service. However, you are right, CMC, when I recieve deplorable service, I always leave an extremely small tip as opposed to nothing so that it is understood that I didn't overlook it. I would have had no problem telling the server in the same voice that he/she was speaking to me exactly what was wrong with the service and why he or she wasn't receiving a better tip. Too many people tip well for bad service and not well enough for great service, IMO. Thu Apr 24 22:29:57 -0700 2003 612034 0 YourPalWill 3 612051 The behavior described is so bizarre that it has a bit of the smell of urban myth about it. But, assuming the story is accurate, we still seem to have leapt to several conclusions e.g that the tip was genuinely very small, that this reflected a problem with the service. In the end, nothing justifies the level of unprofessionalism and rudeness described, nor is it credible that this behavior reflects a management policy. However, it's still possible that the service was good and that the customers were lousy tippers. Some people are. Some people still think of a tip as a special favor, not as part of the whole dining out deal. I too spent time working in restaurants and though I always just sucked it up, there were plenty of customers in my experience who richly deserved a bit of public humiliation for their lack of basic manners and civility, let alone tipping. Fri Apr 25 11:22:31 -0700 2003 612038 0 mark 4 612054 I actually wrote a long posting about this as an urban myth and complaining about the recent profusion of somewhat mean-spirited postings about lousy service. We seem to have reached the nadir with this, a speculative complaint about rumored, bad service. But I decided my posting was just as mean spirited as what I was complaining about, and discarded it. I do not believe that service has gotten worse, thought that will remain unmeasurable and open to dispute. So I wonder if this sudden explosion is: feeding on itself, a continued expression of some spring orneriness, some expression of this phase of the economic cycle, or a safe expression of other anxieties. Or all or none of the above. Nuff said - I think I will go enjoy some good chow, and abuse a waitperson affectionately. d Fri Apr 25 11:41:12 -0700 2003 612051 0 dickson d 5 612068 Seems like just the right response to me. Fri Apr 25 13:56:08 -0700 2003 612054 0 mark 1 612117 I had a similar experience nearly thirty years ago in Manhattan. And, as my wife (who accompanied me then as my girlfriend) can attest, this was no urban legend. We were dining in a cheap, rather scruffy and dirty Chinese (Szechuan) restaurant around 105th or 107th and Broadway, the east side of the street. I have forgotten the name. You had to walk up a flight of stairs from the street to get to the restaurant, which was on the 2nd floor. This was the kind of place where you received much more vegies than meat in your entree. It was sometime around summer, for I remember it being daylight out even though I recall it was suppertime. Anyway, we had a real jerk for a waiter: The orders were screwed up, so that we didn't receive appetizers until an entree came, and the entrees came at different times. The food was extremely spicy, but the waiter was not available to get us water or another beer. He seemed to be ignoring us, or even irritated by our presence. In sharp contrast, he fawned all over an Asian family at the table right next to us. Probably, this was the worst service I had ever received in my life, and to this day I suspect that it was racially motivated. At the end of the meal, we had to put our coats on in order to get the waiter's attention, finally, to get the check. I deliberately left two pennies on the table for his tip. We departed from the restaurant, took the stairs down and headed north on Broadway, and after about a half block I heard a voice behind me: "Sir, you forget, you forget!" It was our waiter. I paused, checked my personal items: I had my umbrella, I had my magazines; what had I forgotten? Still, the waiter persisted: "You forget, you forget!" So, I approached him. "What did I forget?" I said. "I give you service, you no give me tip." "But you gave me BAD service." "I give you service, you no give me tip." "But you gave me BAD service. "But I give you service." Finally, I explained: "I left two cents on the table; that's what I thought the service was worth." It took a couple of seconds for him to comprehend the meaning of this, but he then became suddenly exasperated and shouted out: "F*** OU!" Me: "F*** YOU!" Him: "F*** OU!" Me: "F*** YOU!" Him (Finally apparently realizing the futility of this exchange): "You want FIGHT?" Me (At that time, just a few years out of Vietnam with the Marines and nobody to be trifled with): "Yeah, come here." Him: "OK, you WAIT." And with that, he flew back into the doorway and up the stairs to the restaurant. I figured he would bring down a half dozen friends or a cleaver, so discretion being the better part of valor, I quickly found myself and my then-girlfriend around the next corner. I have often wanted to post this little anecdote on the general board or the NY board, but I never really had the occasion to do so. Incidentally, I'm generally an overly-generous tipper, and I have stiffed probably only two wait-persons in my life, this being one of them. Sun Apr 27 18:37:51 -0700 2003 612033 0 Bruce