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[SPIDERMAN]

I'm starting this thread because of something that happened to me this morning. It is a story about a cheap SOB I know casually. Please post any stories you have in a similar vein.

I had breakfast at the local diner this morning more to get out of the house than for the food. I went by myself, but was joined shortly after arriving by a guy I know casually from the local H-D scene. At the end of the meal, my check was $9.64 so I left two bucks on the table and took a 10 to pay at the register. This guy takes one of the dollars from under my coffee cup and places it on his side of the table saying. " you always tip too much and I don't want to break a $20 to leave a tip "  I walked up to the register , paid my bill and went back and left the other $0.36 on top of my bill thinking at least I was leaving the waitress 15% that way. I was so nonplussed, I couldn't think of a thing to say to the guy who "tipped" the waitress with my money.

B B

[Boatman]

An elderly well to do couple we knew used to buy one cup of coffee at a restaurant for the two of them at a meal.  That was sad enough, but what was really sad was that one drank their coffee black and the other with cream/sugar.  So the one with creme/sugar always got theirs last and was telling the other one to hurry up and drink their black half. 

[SPIDERMAN]

An elderly well to do couple we knew used to buy one cup of coffee at a restaurant for the two of them at a meal.  That was sad enough, but what was really sad was that one drank their coffee black and the other with cream/sugar.  So the one with creme/sugar always got theirs last and was telling the other one to hurry up and drink their black half. 

Who got the refill ?

B B

[kb]

We have a HOG member who believes that the shop owner should pay the waitstaff not her. Needless to say no one will tolerate her. Not only is she Cheap she is extremely FAT too. How do you like that combo?

[Wusaah]

I had a colleague (he retired thank goodness) that I travelled extensively with. He bragged often about how his govt retirement would be large and how large his bank and retirement accounts were. We made several trips to Thailand and even though the cost of living is VERY cheap for westeners, whenever we would have dinner or visit a night club, when it came time to get the check he would have a sudden bout of "i gotta go to the bathroom". I thought at first it was just me but then others started complaining. He would also try to eat voraciously when you ordered some type of snack to go with drinks, and then when asked to pay his share he would say that he had not ordered anything and so did not feel obligated to pay. So as a payback from all of us, we threw him a party for retirement, ran up a food and drink bill of astronomical figures and then when he ran off to the bathroom we all left the bar. He was not happy and sadly  refused to ever speak to or visit with any of us after his retirement.

Rob 

[grc]

I don't have an interesting story, and I'm a lousy story teller anyway.  My contribution to this thread is just my personal appeal to anyone reading it to be generous with your tips.  For anyone who isn't aware of the pay scale for wait staff, what most establishments do is pay about half of minimum wage and assume tips will make up the difference.  They are actually allowed to do that under the minimum wage law.  I've seen many a waitress bust her butt for an hour or more with a hard to please group and then get stiffed with a buck or two for a tip.  My personal feeling is 20% minimum for adequate service, and outstanding service can call for 30% or more.  When in doubt, round up.

Jerry 

[sadunbar]

I don't have an interesting story, and I'm a lousy story teller anyway.  My contribution to this thread is just my personal appeal to anyone reading it to be generous with your tips.  For anyone who isn't aware of the pay scale for wait staff, what most establishments do is pay about half of minimum wage and assume tips will make up the difference.  They are actually allowed to do that under the minimum wage law.  I've seen many a waitress bust her butt for an hour or more with a hard to please group and then get stiffed with a buck or two for a tip.  My personal feeling is 20% minimum for adequate service, and outstanding service can call for 30% or more.  When in doubt, round up.

Jerry 

I couldn't agree more, Jerry.  No one is a waiter or waitress because they want to be one....  I always envision 5 hungry kids at home that need shoes or something.  There wages are chit and they live off tips.  20 to 30% minimum is my rule.  And if I am with a cheapskate (like a relative of mine), I leave an even larger tip to make up the difference.

[RedDevil]

I don't have an interesting story, and I'm a lousy story teller anyway.  My contribution to this thread is just my personal appeal to anyone reading it to be generous with your tips.  For anyone who isn't aware of the pay scale for wait staff, what most establishments do is pay about half of minimum wage and assume tips will make up the difference.  They are actually allowed to do that under the minimum wage law.  I've seen many a waitress bust her butt for an hour or more with a hard to please group and then get stiffed with a buck or two for a tip.  My personal feeling is 20% minimum for adequate service, and outstanding service can call for 30% or more.  When in doubt, round up.

Jerry 

Jerry, I agree with you.  My daughter worked in food service as a waitress while going through college.  The "salary" that they paid her essentially covered anticipated taxes, so every two weeks, she got a -0- balance paycheck and relied solely on tips.  What a lot of people don't realize but in restaurants where they have a bar and a different staff that brings you your food, they get a portion of the tip.  At the end of the night, my daughter had to cough up 3% on every bill to the staff that brought out the food to the tables, and 3% to the bartender on every bill that had alcohol ordered, whether it was wine or mixed drinks or beer didn't matter, the bartender got a flat 3% from every waitress's tips.   So if some cheap SOB would only give a 10% tip after having alcohol, my daughter would end up with a 4% tip.  And trust me, there are a lot of people in the Winston-Salem area that don't believe in tipping more then 10%.  And she stated that she would be told by some patrons that they didn't believe in tipping and that the restaurant should be paying their salaries not the customers, so she got nothing from those people.  Unless the service is absolutely horrendous, I'll give 20% all the time.

 

[MUFFMAN]

WE used to hang with a cheap SOB years back. (Very well off by the way)A group of about 8 guys would go out once a month on the town at the same watering hole.Everyone used to take their turn to pay on said night. Didn't matter if last months bill was $500.00 and this months was $600.00. It all adds up in the end. When it was  this guys night to pay he would try to slow the drink ordering down or get the meal specials for everyone. But, when it wasn't his turn MF was ordering surf & turf etc. Well , we fixed him on his Birthday. Took him out, blew a wad of money & when he went to the washroom we took his credit card from his wallet , ran it through & ran a very large tab. This guy was was ordering the most expensive chit all night, ordering drinks for complete strangers thinking he was spending OUR money. The final bill was well over a grand. All was well until he got HIS visa statement in the mail. We have no idea what ever became of him as he has no contact with us since that night.THE MUFFMAN

[SPIDERMAN]

While some of the stories about how cheap people are get me worked up, reading how folks get even is sweet. Keep em comin

B B

[AXIL]

  my ex had a lady ask for change for a nickle.     axil

[iski]

Traveled with a guy for years on business trips.  Entertaining customers, huge bills at great steakhouses and bar bills so huge that they would make you start drinking again.  Guy never picked up a tab.  He would just sit there playing "check roulette" until me or somebody else in the company picked it up.  Same thing at company meetings - 14 of us drinking and eating & he would NEVER pick up a tab.  Would go to the rest room never to be seen again.  These bills for the most part were expensable to the company BTW.  Several of us got tired of it but could never figure out how to get him back.

Sooooooo...... at a company meeting at a huge conference a few of us were sitting in the bar as usual drinking & entertaining a few clients & running up a BIG tab.  Nobody ever made it to dinner that night - just stayed & drank & ate the over priced bar food (fancy hotel where burgers are $15) and had a great time.  Bill comes & as usual he downs his drink & off he goes.  I knew the guys room number so I put the bill with a 30% tip on his room.  Well over a grand.  Signed his name, told everybody what I did & we all laughed.  A lot.  Think we drank some more even - same tab.

When he checked out he had a chit fit - saw the tab - saw his room number & a signature that actually looked like his (heh-heh) & had to pay it.  Hell, it went on his expense account but he was so pissed he told the company owner about it. Whining & biatching & sniveling like a baby.  The owner laughed himself sick almost.  Knew what el cheapo had been doing for years & evidently enjoyed this a lot. No idea if he picks up tabs now or not.  


A more minor peeve is when I ride with somebody I don't know all that well & I buy a round or 2 or ? plus tips.  Then the next day riding, I buy a round or 2 or  ?  They just sit there like I am the only guy drinking.  So I ask them to leave a tip & they leave $2 on a $30 tab.  So I throw out a 5 or 10 & give them the "look."  Never seems to sink in usually so I just go Dutch with them from then on.



BTW - I tip 20% for good service & tell the manager when service sucks.

[DCFIREMANN]

I'm starting this thread because of something that happened to me this morning. It is a story about a cheap SOB I know casually. Please post any stories you have in a similar vein.

I had breakfast at the local diner this morning more to get out of the house than for the food. I went by myself, but was joined shortly after arriving by a guy I know casually from the local H-D scene. At the end of the meal, my check was $9.64 so I left two bucks on the table and took a 10 to pay at the register. This guy takes one of the dollars from under my coffee cup and places it on his side of the table saying. " you always tip too much and I don't want to break a $20 to leave a tip "  I walked up to the register , paid my bill and went back and left the other $0.36 on top of my bill thinking at least I was leaving the waitress 15% that way. I was so nonplussed, I couldn't think of a thing to say to the guy who "tipped" the waitress with my money.

B B

BB I don't know if I should laugh or not. Man the chit some people do and this one over 2 bucks. I heard a very nice lady tell me once that BEING CHEAP IS SO UNATTRACTIVE!!!! I am so glad she was not talking about me.

Be Safe

THE DAWG

[MUFFMAN]

Traveled with a guy for years on business trips.  Entertaining customers, huge bills at great steakhouses and bar bills so huge that they would make you start drinking again.  Guy never picked up a tab.  He would just sit there playing "check roulette" until me or somebody else in the company picked it up.  Same thing at company meetings - 14 of us drinking and eating & he would NEVER pick up a tab.  Would go to the rest room never to be seen again.  These bills for the most part were expensable to the company BTW.  Several of us got tired of it but could never figure out how to get him back.

Sooooooo...... at a company meeting at a huge conference a few of us were sitting in the bar as usual drinking & entertaining a few clients & running up a BIG tab.  Nobody ever made it to dinner that night - just stayed & drank & ate the over priced bar food (fancy hotel where burgers are $15) and had a great time.  Bill comes & as usual he downs his drink & off he goes.  I knew the guys room number so I put the bill with a 30% tip on his room.  Well over a grand.  Signed his name, told everybody what I did & we all laughed.  A lot.  Think we drank some more even - same tab.

When he checked out he had a chit fit - saw the tab - saw his room number & a signature that actually looked like his (heh-heh) & had to pay it.  Hell, it went on his expense account but he was so pissed he told the company owner about it. Whining & biatching & sniveling like a baby.  The owner laughed himself sick almost.  Knew what el cheapo had been doing for years & evidently enjoyed this a lot. No idea if he picks up tabs now or not.  


A more minor peeve is when I ride with somebody I don't know all that well & I buy a round or 2 or ? plus tips.  Then the next day riding, I buy a round or 2 or  ?  They just sit there like I am the only guy drinking.  So I ask them to leave a tip & they leave $2 on a $30 tab.  So I throw out a 5 or 10 & give them the "look."  Never seems to sink in usually so I just go Dutch with them from then on.



BTW - I tip 20% for good service & tell the manager when service sucks.

With you on the tip thing. 20% is reasonable if service is good. Waitresses & staff rely on tips to make it work. THE MUFFMAN

[iski]

With you on the tip thing. 20% is reasonable if service is good. Waitresses & staff rely on tips to make it work. THE MUFFMAN

If service is excellent have been known to tip more.  Agreed on wait & service staff - pay scale is too low without. If the manager knows the service is lousy at a restaurant, they can do something about it - or not.  Worst thing to do is walk out & not say anything if service/food is not as expected.

Will never forget a night at Hooters where I was served FROZEN chicken wings.  Told the waitress who just acted addled/goofy so asked for the manager.  He came by about 30 minutes later as we were finishing the meal.  I waited until the others ate - kinda lost my appetite after a frozen bloody bite of chicken wing.  We never got our fries after asking repeatedly - so we told him.  He told us that due to that, we would not be charged for fries. So I said "So we never got any fries, & you are telling us that since we did not get them, we do not have to pay for them?"  Manager says "yeah."  I start laughing at the guy - very hopeless & tell him we are SOOOOOO grateful we will not be charged for the fries we never got.  It escalated some then he finally says  "And you will not be charged for the wings you sent back, either."  I say "The ones that were not cooked?"  And he says "Yeah."  We left. Did not leave a tip that time.