reciept gone viral

United States
November 2, 2012 12:56pm CST
I guess there's a receipt of someone's from a restaurant where instead of a tip the person wrote about being a single Mom in the tip line and the great service. Now one can take this in many ways. My take is if she's a single Mom and she can afford a $138 meal she could sport a tip! I know I can't afford to pay that kind of money for a meal for my family. Though the article says it could be a prank of some sort. Personally, I don't think it's uncommon for people to not leave tips or only leave a small tip when they eat out and they are making too much out of this. I remember one time a server chased a customer out the door when the server saw they didn't get a tip hollering about what was wrong with his service. So what's to say this wasn't posted by a disgruntled server? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/single-mom-leaves-outrage_n_2051354.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
5 people like this
15 responses
• United States
2 Nov 12
If you have the money to dine out, you have the money to leave a tip... and a decent one at that. Also, abide by the tipping customs of the nation where you are dining. Just because something is okay in one place does not make it okay in another.
1 person likes this
@deedee328 (1122)
• United States
2 Nov 12
Pointless: If restaurants paid higher wages for wait staff, then the price of your meal would go up, so either way you would feel like you are paying the waitress. At least with tipping, you can control how much you think the server is worth. Do you refuse to tip other people who provide services to you as well?
• United States
2 Nov 12
I don't feel it's the patron's job to pay outrageous prices for food and then pay the wait staff too. This is why I refuse to go to a fancy restaurant. I feel the restaurants should pay a decent wage and not pass the responsibility on to me. I would never choose that line of work because they aren't paid well. But with $50 dinners or higher, I would never afford or even think its my job to pay their wage.
• United States
2 Nov 12
This is too funny! Granted wait staff and servers don't make much, but I don't think it's my job to pay for my food and then pay someone to bring it to me. It's up to the restaurants to pay a decent wage. It's not up to me.
@deedee328 (1122)
• United States
2 Nov 12
Pointless; The way I see it, if I want to go to a restaurant where I can sit down so that someone has to bring me my food, then it is worth a couple bucks for me to be able to sit on my rear and have everything brought to me. If I don't want to tip, then I should be willing to stand at the pickup window and carry my own food to the table or else go to a fast food joint to start with.
1 person likes this
• United States
2 Nov 12
Well, the way I see it, $5 isn't bad. But to expect me to pay 20% of the bill is outrageous. I won't go to those restaurants. I'll cook at home for that. The last time I checked that was the going rate. Restaurant owners should pay their staff a fair wage instead of gouging the customer.
• United States
12 Nov 12
it is a big deal if you earn standard server's wage-less than half of minimum-and expect to pay rent that month.bosses are technically supposed to make up the shortfall,but often they get out of it. some people say "then they should get a better job"..ok,then who will serve them next time if they all do? yes,it could be a disgruntled server,but more often than not,any kind of tipped position is at the mercy of the customer regardless of quality of service. i'd rather they walk out without tipping than pulling the "what can i get for free by complaining" comp game tho.
@mzz663 (2772)
• United States
2 Nov 12
This is just sad. I always tip good if my server is good. I know servers don't make as much money as people at other places, not even minimum wage. The funny thing I've noticed lately is going to places where they serve coffee and having something out to put tips in, while these people get paid at least minimum wage. Needless to say, I don't leave tips at coffee houses. I have to agree, though, if someone can take their kids to dinner and the bill comes to $140 why can't they give a tip?! That is just sad. I could buy a weeks worth of food for that amount. I'm thinking too, that the poor server, having to deal with kids is usually like trying to deal with a circus. Not that I know how many kids this person had with them, but still, kids aren't easy to keep happy in a restaurant. Maybe it was octomom!
@deedee328 (1122)
• United States
2 Nov 12
mzz: The thing is that the server was stuck cleaning up the mess left by this woman's kids. Kind of like being slapped in the face twice since she didn't get a tip. Laugh out loud, it certainly sounds like it might be her considering the size of the bill.
1 person likes this
@mzz663 (2772)
• United States
3 Nov 12
That is the worst problem, people letting their kids do things in public places that they wouldn't let their kids do at home. (or maybe they do?) I used to waitress and never understood it. Ever since then, I always try to make things as easy as possible on my server and the better the service, the better the tip!
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
4 Nov 12
I am with you..if it was a struggling single mom..she's not out spending that much money on a meal. I think that dragon brought up a great point. Sometimes people have no clue as to how the tipping system works. I was taught that you pretty much tip anyone that does you a service that is extra than what you actually buy. I do know when I went further north that gratuity was added to the bill automatically. Here I have seen that if your group is of a certain number, they automatically add the tip too. I am not crazy about that because if service is really bad or the server is rude, she gets tipped anyway. At the same time for those servers that are really good, it ensures that they get paid. Now I do know that what the server does not make in tips, the business is supposed to make it up to at least minimum wage.
• India
12 Nov 12
Hi friend, giving tips to server is our own wish. The server will get payment from the hotel admin for his work, it is not a good thing to chase the customer and ask money from him. Also it is not a good thing to eat too much of meals and avoid to pay bill for the reason of single mum. It is not an excuse to escape from paying bills. As the mum take the meals for 138 dollars, it is really a great bill for a single meals. I think she don't worry about her kids food and interested in taking care about her as well as her food
@peavey (16936)
• United States
3 Nov 12
Surely it's a stupid prank? Most single moms wouldn't spend money like that if they didn't have it (but what about octomom?)It's hard to tell, I guess. It could be a prank, it could be a lazy, entitlement rich single mom... or it could be something else entirely. Don't know what, but things are not always what they seem.
@GardenGerty (157813)
• United States
2 Nov 12
This may be actual, or it may be a mock up. I did not look at the link, but I have seen on television and other places where things like this are made up and then posted. Not sure why anyone would want to spend their time doing so, but it does happen.
@AmbiePam (85887)
• United States
2 Nov 12
My dad told me if you can't afford to tip, then you can't afford to go out to eat. And I think it is true.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
2 Nov 12
I don't know if anyone remembers this but the server has 8% of their sales taken out by the government to cover the taxes on what people eat....so if her bill was that high just think of what the server had to pay in taxes and got nothing to cover the expense to them. I don't know if everyone knows that....but they don't have a say....it just gets taken out of their checks..if you don't like the service...then leave just enough to cover what the government takes...I can't afford a meal like that either...
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
3 Nov 12
It's just tacky and someone is trying to get something for free.. which is BS. If you can afford to spend $140, then you can afford to leave a $10 tip. I may not always tip the expected 15-20%, but I always tip. Servers aren't even paid minimum wage. They earn their living off tips. They generally earn quite well.. but they work hard for their money. I agree with tipping based on service. If they were a bad server, they don't deserve a tip.. or perhaps just a small one.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
2 Nov 12
Many here in Mexico dont leave tips. Many cant. The rest. are lucky to have business at all. I feel sorry for the waitresses here.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
3 Nov 12
i think the woman wanted to intentionally annoy the server. she'd have preferred giving the tip to her children, being a single mom, than the server, which would possibly annoy the server. it is just a reckless bit of humor on the part of the mother. i wonder how the server must have taken it?
• Philippines
3 Nov 12
Here in the Philippines, we give tips but it's very uncommon. It's usually given in well established restaurants. It's not that others are stingy; they don't really have anything to give. But yes, it's true that servers really have to depend on tips to make-up with their low wages. I think the daily minimum wage here is approximately $10 for 8 hours. I try as much as possible to give around 10% of the total bill for tip whenever I eat out. I think it's already sufficient because students here my age rarely give tips.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
2 Nov 12
its easy because one can easily afford for it and pay with ease without any hurdles