Where do you draw the line on what is comped? Should a dessert or salad be comped? A bottle of wine? Where does it end?

Heck, I am sure more customers would come in if meals were given away....

no kidding, he tipped an appropriate amount, 20% is too much especially on a huge tab like $450

You would think that at a certain point common sense would prevail. We are talking about tap water, with gas which we exhale, added. I was just surprised that he took the bill back and re-calculated. If an establishment such as that chooses to be by the book I'm fine with that. They have every right to charge me; I will pay every time and never complain..........I just just will never go back. And I did tip appropriately.

Um, then what is this thread?

And there are clearly differing perspectives on what constitutes "common sense" - more than few folks seem to think if "you order it, you pay for it" is the true definition of common sense.

How can you "pay every time" if you never go back? More importantly, why would you never go back over something pretty trivial? It's 1% of the bill!

The waiter probably looked at it the other way. "Seriously? What's wrong with plain water? Could he have not ordered a drink from the bar before I brought his check? Now I have to go re-do it."

Or even better, "First he doesn't want to pay for bottled water for the table, then he orders a drink after I bring the check so he won't have to pay for it... I bet he's going to stiff me on the tip, too. I might as well go ahead and ring up the drink." :D

Seriously, though, what I don't understand is why there wasn't water on the table already? To me, that seems like an oversight on the server's part in the first place, especially if 3 people are finishing their second bottle of wine. To me, the absolute stupidest time to let a patron go thirsty is when you are bringing them the check... so 15% (especially if it was tipped on the entire bill including alcohol) seems fine. <shrug>

My first thought when reading this thread was that perhaps he intentionally paid the bill and then ordered the drink, hoping that the waiter would be too lazy or forgetful to fix it. I now don't think that is the case, but the waiter might have.

To me, this thread is a good representation of the entitlement mentality that many people have. People expect free things, people expect that the rules don't apply to them, and people get upset when they are made to pay what they owe. Businesses sometimes give things away for free, or bend the rules, for their best customers, so eventually people start to expect it.

If you get something for free, it's a bonus. You have no basis to complain if you don't.

I must admit at first I thought your summary was a bit harsh .. but I re-read the OP, and ... you know ... it does rather sound a bit like the OP ordered the club soda after the bill purposefully "expecting" not be charged. I say this because of the subsequent thought processes that the production of the new bill produced.

"I was dissappointed and surprised to say the least. I usuallly tip 20% and decided to give only 10%. I then thought some more and decided to give 15% and never go back."

No one knows for sure except the OP, and it is unlikely such an admission will be made. But the mention of the soda coming from a tap and the rather extreme reaction rather nudges the idea forward and gives the impression that the timing was purposeful ie the thought was that "I'll order now and I wont be charged" and when the waiter, possibly feeling the same - added it to the bill, excessive retribution was exacted. T

It does seem a bit mean to time it that way, it was clearly from the comments expected to be free and the subsequent reaction ie both the tip and "I'm not going back" seems rather extreme and mean spirited.

Come on OP .... fess up! :)

It isn't so unreasonable to be surprised that a club soda to settle the stomach after a $450 meal would not be charged. Many places wouldn't have charged for it under those circumstances, but OP paid for it without any fuss and still gave a 15% tip, which is still a good size tip. I don't see any blame here.

No fuss? :confused:

Reduced the service tip by $22:50 for the $4.75 soda and started a thread!

No fuss. Really?

What I find amazing about so many of these DYKWIA threads on here is that people expect service employees to do them favors that might get the employee fired, and then squeal like stuck pigs when the employee doesn't take the risk. It can be high stakes for the employee.

Step back and look at it from the other person's viewpoint.

OP didn't make a fuss over it at the restaurantt, he just tipped a reasonable 15% and quietly departed. The fuss being made here is by the folks who think he was in the wrong to reduce his tip. It is a customer's right to tip on based on the overall experience at the restaurant, not just the waiter. For example, my reservation might be messed up so that I have to wait or I might get a bad table or I might not like the food, and while none of this stuff is the fault of the waiter, I would not tip as generously as for an overall great experience. Especially not at a top restaurant where high prices justify high expectations. Waiter staff don't have any particular right to always expect to get a minimum of 20%.

In what universe is a 15% tip "stiffing him?" How did we go from 10% being the gold standard to at least 20% tip for every meal? It's madness.

You have completely missed the point.

The OP reduced the tip he had planned because the waiter charged him for the soda that the he had ordered. That is the point. It isn't about percentages - it is about the principle.