Originally Posted by
Westcoaster
How about a 2 cent tip? My father was usually a generous tipper so I was surprised when he told me about his experience many years ago in Manhattan on the lower east side. He had absolutely terrible service at a cafe. The waiter was aggressive and very rude throughout the meal. Apparently the guy acted like a real jerk. Dad had eaten in Manhattan many times before and said he'd never seen anyone like this waiter.
When he left the cafe Dad left a tip of 2 pennies on the table. The waiter actually ran out of the cafe and yelled at Dad on the street.
Originally Posted by
Christopher
Ha! I guess that makes the point much more effectively than leaving no tip. It's also ruder, but I guess that was the point here...
Interesting. I had never heard of this but apparently leaving two pennies is a way to communicate your dissatisfaction with the service:
(from tripadvisor...not exactly a bastion of accurate information, but...)
For bad or unacceptable service it is customary to tip as low as 10%. If service is bad enough to deserve only 10%, it is a good idea to let the manager know. Also, placing 2 pennies side by side on top of bills neatly placed on the table lets the server know that it is intentionally low because of bad service. If the server in some way offended you so that you do not wish to leave any tip at all, still leave the 2 pennies, so that they understand that you did not just forget to tip.
Is this common knowledge?