This happened last Friday at a restaurant in Bishop Arts. I am not naming the place because I am not trying to hurt their business — just questioning whether I was wrong.
My wife and I went out for a date night. Reservation at 7:30 PM. We were seated at 7:55 (25 minutes late despite having a reservation). No apology.
The issues:
- It took 20 minutes to get our drink order taken. The restaurant was not even full — maybe 60% capacity.
- My wife's cocktail came out wrong. She ordered a margarita, got a mojito. When she pointed it out, the server rolled her eyes and said "same thing basically" before taking it back.
- Entrees took 55 minutes from ordering. My wife's steak was ordered medium rare and came out well done. She sent it back. The replacement took another 20 minutes.
- The server checked on us once during the entire meal. Once.
- When we asked for the check, it took 15 minutes.
Total bill: $127 before tip.
The check had a tip suggestion section. The lowest suggestion was 25%. The options were 25%, 30%, and 35%.
I tipped 15%. On the $127 bill, that was $19. My wife thought I should have tipped 20% because "the server might be having a bad night." I felt 15% was generous given the experience.
The server saw the receipt, made a face, and said loud enough for us to hear: "Some people should not eat out if they cannot afford to tip."
I can afford to tip. I regularly tip 20-25% for good service. But I do not believe that tipping should be a guaranteed 25% regardless of the quality of service. That defeats the entire purpose of a gratuity.
So — am I wrong for tipping 15% on objectively terrible service?
Not wrong. 15% for terrible service is generous. A margarita and a mojito are NOT the same thing. Rolling her eyes? Saying "same thing basically"? That alone would have dropped my tip. Service is a two-way street.