Well said.

no apology needed, i sent you a pm. just two different opinions.

Restaurants typically send someone to the bank every day. It's easy to plan to be prepared.

I have a lot of family in the restaurant business, and my parents used to be concert promoters. Before a concert, where they knew they'd have thousands of people and need to be able to make a huge amount of change, they'd just call ahead to the bank and place an order for enough currency in small denominations.

That's your opinion, and it probably applies to some restaurants. Certainly not all.

If some restaurants look down on catering to their customers requests, their competition will do it for them. It's all about pleasing the customer; that's how all businesses stay in business. It's that simple.

OK, then how do you explain International Soup Kitchen (NY) (A/K/A The Soup Nazi) assuming you've see Seinfeld. Realize it's a portrayal.....


It is High. It is Far. It is.., No it was Caught!

I've been there a few times. It's a Seinfeld portrayal. Yet the soup, while good, is not worth the price. But that's just me. Besides, some New Yorkers plus the tourists will take a lot of abuse to get food they really like or be at "name" locations which have the cache but not the service....unless your name is Trump.

Obviously that's an extreme, as is "the customer is always right" philosophy; and that is my point.

What's your point? I'm lost. The customer IS typically always right. With the exception of abusive customers (and they exist is all industries too), businesses need to cater to those who give them business. If you don't, someone else will.

Most restaurants aren't so well known that they can get away with horrid service.

Show me a restaurant to which this doesn't apply, and I'll show you a restaurant just waiting to go out of business. They might have the happiest waitstaff in history, but if no diners pass through their doors, those servers will be looking for work elsewhere. I'll even expand this to "any retail establishment". I can't think of a successful retailer founded on the idea of annoying customers but pleasing its staff.

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The depth of this discussion about tipping amazes me... not knowing other circumstances I'd say the waiter didn't return one $20 two $10 and three $1 because this may have implicitly suggested he's out for a $10 tip which would be a couple % over the customary 15%.... If this is the case the waiter showed an excellent education and sense of serenity unlike the patron who didn't ask him kindly if he might be able to break up a $20 ....

How much easier is it in countries where a legally mandatory flat 15% service charge is added to all bills (i.e. several European countries). No discussion needed, no humiliating evaluation huge egos, easy expense reports, happy waiters, happy IRS....

Have a pleasant day

Dieter

I missed where this has anything to do with pleasing the waitstaff??? To answer your other point, take a look at Pasta Nostra in South Norwalk. (noticed you're from White Plains).
The owner is probably the most obnoxious, abusive individual you will ever find. He makes the Soup Nazi seem like Mother Theresa. He might throw you out of the restaurant if you suggest a different sauce than listed on the menu. No exaggeration! The restaurant is open when he feels like it and he does it his way. If the customer doesn't agree, tough s***. He once threw a customer out for asking for butter instead of Olive Oil with his bread. Guess what, the restaurant is always full and customers swear by the food.

Someone wrote a letter criticising him. He had it enlarged to poster size and plastered it all over the store front. He's been there 20+ years and he'll be there 20 more. He charges double what any similar restaurant would charge and it's a hole in the wall. When you're not McDonald's you don't have to worry about pissing off a few (thousand) people. If the food's good people come back.

Pepe's Pizza in New Haven, most ornery waitstaff I've ever seen. There's a line sometimes 2 hours long to get in. People standing in the rain (or snow) down the sidewalk waiting for great Pizza (not as good as it used to be). If you have a complaint, talk to the wall.

I eat out 7 days per week, I've seen it all; most of the kiss a** restaurants do so because they've become proficient at having to apologize. If your product sucks you better be nice to the customers.

I guess we've gotten off track somewhat.

1) This started out as disagreeing with the thought of a reduced tip because the change differed from the expected denomination.

2) A disagreement that the change amounted to poor service to the point of justifying the reduced tip.

3) A suggestion that restaurants should adhere to the adage, "the customer is always right". I disagree

4) The statement that not following the dictum of #3 above spells doom for the restaurant. I disagree

This thread is a perfect example of why I often 'roll my eyes' when reading FlyerTalk.

There are so many people on here who make ridiculous amounts of money yet toss around dimes as if they were manhole covers. And then there's the unintended hilarity of the poster who complained about service workers' "sense of entitlement" -- oh, that's rich!

To answer the original question: No, you're not obligated to tip more than $3. In fact, you're not obligated to leave anything at all if you don't feel like it.

But if the service was otherwise friendly and adequate, IMO using a last-minute oversight as an excuse to leave a 5-percent tip for someone who probably makes three bucks an hour... well, let's just say it doesn't reflect all that well on you.

Of course, on this board, I'm sure you'll have plenty of folks cheering you on for keeping the "help" in their place.

If the bill is $57, make sure there's a 5, a 10, and at least a few smaller ones... so that the customer can leave what he/she feels is appropriate... because everyone tips different.

In a situation where they don't have the right change handy, most will leave less, not more...

This is the poster's main point... and it just shows how different waiters put emphasis on only part of thier job (either that or he just didn't have it that day).

It's not uncommon for me to have to bring $200-400 of my own money, to make change for my customers... most people wouldn't bring money from home like a waiter is expected to... just info people may not think about.

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As for the saying 'The customer's always right'. To us it really means 'The waiter's always wrong'
You'd be amazed at the stories that are made up.