Waitperson can't make proper change
 

So the bill is $57 and from a $100 bill I receive back two $20s and three ones. I say the proper tip is $3. Your opinion?

Sorry i'm a little off topic -- I had to think about it for a second but is the "proper" change a twenty, two tens and three ones? It would make sense -- just want to know to see if I figured it out or if this is way over my head. Thanks.

American waiter, I presume, since you said dollars? Maybe he knew he gave you lousy service and didn't want to insinuate that you owed him anything more than $3.

Assuming you had no other [legal tender] banknotes, the proper tip was not $3 (assuming otherwise decent service). One of the $10 bills from the twenty you asked the server to break would be more like it.
I'm mildly horrified at foregoing the 67 airline miles by paying cash though. :eek:

I had somewhat of the opposite experience when I landed in Puerto Rico after traveling overseas for a year. At that point I knew I was back in the US by the way my change came back. I paid for a $12 meal with a $100 and got (roughly) 13-$1, 3-$5, 2-$10, 2-$20. I thought that was a bit overboard on the trying to get a big tip.

Probably more likely due to the waiter not having adequate change in their pocket. Hundreds are hard for waitstaff to break in cheaper restaurants.

$3.00 is a cheap-o tip.

When I'm traveling, I make sure I keep a stash of small bills separate from my other money just for tip purposes.

Me too.

Proper tip = $3?? People have lots of ways to calculate the value of service. Looking at your method from another perspective -- you gave the server about 5%. So are you being clever or cheap? How well did the server take care of you during the meal? Granted, at the very end of the service, the server did a possibly boneheaded thing and gave you change that couldn't be used to make a tip in any common amount. However (1) there could be other reasons besides being a bonehead -- what if he's out of smaller bills, the bar can't help, and he can't find a manager, so he decides to get you the check because he's concerned you've already waited a while while he runs around looking for change? (2) that last interaction was only a small part of the service received.

If you'd like change in other denominations in order to give a tip in a certain amount, would you ever consider asking?

Most people would indeed ask for change. But I think that the OP's point is a valid one. IMHO , part of professional, gracious service is for the server to go to the trouble of securing proper demoninations.

My very rough guidline for a moderate cost restaurant is to tip 20% of the pre-tax amount for good service, or 25% of the pre-tax for really excellent service. Once I had my proper change in hand, I'd probably reduce the tip, maybe by 5 to 10 percent of what I would have given otherwise.

The handling of payment is the final part of what should be an overall pleasant experience. To have the customer walk away from the restaurant on a negative note is not something I'd want, were I the restaurant owner or manager.

I don't think this was the case that time. I was at a mid price restaurant, eating a cheap meal at a fairly busy time. Change came from a central till not the individual waiters pocket.

Well, if you're not going back to the restaurant ever again, eh, just stiff 'em ...just kidding. :p
Just ask to break the twenty. Yes, it's kind of stupid to bring change like that but if the service was decent it would be pretty mean spirited to just tip three dollars for which there could easily have been a number of reasonable explanations for the denominations. On the otherhand, if this just topped off a really poor dining experience overall, I'd say sure, consider tipping the three.

Waitperson??? Snort, snort... :rolleyes:

How about Waitunit? Waitbeing? Waithuman? Waitanoid? Waitominid?

Seems to me the waitperson made correct change, just not the way you wanted it

Unless your waiter did an absymal job, I am not sure why you think a 5% tip is appropriate. Clearly the waiter wasn't too bright to give you change like that so you just ask him to break the 20s in the denominations you want. Then tip based on his level of service to you.

Generally, I would rather be given as few bills as possible since I carry my wallet in my back pocket, despite all the advice to the contrary. (For the same reason, I would be quite happy if ATMs spit out $50's or $100's instead of $20's.) I am quite capable of asking for change if needed. In extreme cases (such as a $5 drink, pay with a $20, get back 1 $5 and 10 $1) I will make a point to ask the waiter to change at least 5 of the singles and all 10 if I have another single.

In the OP's example, I think it would have been fine for the waiter to provide the change as 1 $20, 1 $10, 2 $5, and 3 $1. However, IMHO there was nothing wrong with the denominations of change received and should not have impacted the gratuity.

Having to ask him/her back to the table to break to $20...
 

...is a reflection of bad service. Making you wait at the end of the mea for something that should have been so obvious, makes him/her deserving of getting stiffed. Short of an explanation "sorry we didnt have any small bills in the till" I think you did the right thing. However I wouldnt go back to eat there for a while :D

im a waiter and bartender at a bar and grill. i always give "proper" change. i would have given you the 20's and 1's. i think that giving you a breakdown of change is rude. it would seem like i am giving you some fives and tens just so you can tip me. i would prefer the customer to ask, can i get a ten and two fives for this 20.

I think the OP's point is that he/she shouldn't have to make a second request for the "correct" change by breaking a twenty. My guess is that the OP realizes that a 5% tip is probably grossly inadequate, but if the waiter/waitress can't think through the fact that bringing back two twenties and three singles is just begging the question "will you please break a $20?", then maybe 5% is appropriate.

I have to say, this is one of my dining pet peeves. The "correct" change was one twenty, two tens, and three ones. In fact, as TRRed said, I think that the two tens should really be one ten and two fives, just to cover all the bases.

wouldnt you see this as the waitperson expecting a tip? is it not like they hold out there hand just that half beat extra waiting for you to put more money in their palm?

Could have been worse. I had paid for dinner that was about $30, paid with a $100 bill, and got mostly ones back :mad:

Depending on the restaurant, it may not have been the waitperson that made the change. It could have been given to the restaurant cashier who made the change.

maybe you should have asked for the change you wanted...the waiter could have been busy, didn't have the proper change or that's what the bartender gave him when he asked to cash out...if you got good service than $3 is a bad tip regardless....have a heart waitng tables is hard work

Well said! Not only does a waiter have to perform their service, but apparently needs to be able to read minds as well. Some people will find any excuse to justify being cheap. Since credit cards have become the primary method of payment, cash isn't always abundant, especially when everyone has 20's dispensed by ATM machines. If the service is good tip accordingly. I prefer when the gratuity is included, in fact I usually leave a little extra, expecially on small bills.

Not on a $57 check. I'd say the waitperson was expecting the appropriate tip. Giving me back two twenties and three singles is just begging for trouble, in my opinion. Assuming that the $57 did not include taxes and that the service was good, I would have been prepared to tip around $11, so the change received by the OP would have been useless to me, again, assuming that I didn't have other denominations (besides $100s) in my pocket. I wouldn't want the waitperson to assume that. Bring me the change that will make it easiest to give you the "right" tip. Even if I was planning to tip 10% or 15% for crappy service, I'd still need something besides two $20s and three $1s.

So you would have been all set for the "adult" clubs! Just kidding, of course. I hate getting a wad of singles, too. Worse is getting more than a dollar's worth of change.

I think it's the restaurant's responsibility to have an appropriate mix of cash on hand at all times. The customer is always right, and a good waitperson will help him/herself by giving a guest the change that ensures him/herself the best chance for getting a decent tip. Making guests ask to break 20s isn't the way to win a good tip.

Restaurants aren't banks, there was probably a legitimate reason why the change came back that way. It's obvious that a wait person would try to enhance the opportunity of getting a decent tip, not purposely give change back that makes it more difficult.

More often than not, the customer has smaller bills and is saving them for something else.

The three greatest lies:

1) I love You

2) The check is in the mail

3) The customer is always right.

I agree that that a customer should not have to ask for correct change. I think waiters who don't do this probably aren't such good waiters. Really good waitstaff knows what to do. That said, I still don't think that a $3 tip on a $57 meal is appropriate unless everything else about the meal was horrible.

Why? It is truly inconvenient to the customer when waiters don't do this.

You act like there is something wrong with that. :confused: They are waiters. Their money is made on tips and hence they are incented to give the best service they can in order to get a decent gratuity.

That's really odd considering they may need ones later on.

I don't tip because I have a heart. I tip for good service. Tips aren't charity; they are payment for services rendered. That said, if the service is bad, the tip will reflect that. Customers shouldn't have to ask for the denominations of change. Good wait staff never assumes that.

Do you have ways of seeing what's in people's wallets? When ATMs start dispensing 5s and 1s, you might have more support for your supposition.

tip(s) is an acronym. To Insure Proper Service. The tip is supposed to be given before any order/transaction is done. But that is no longer the case. I think the whole idea of tipping is outdated and screwed up. no one is supposed to give a tip. it is just a way of showing you did a good job. when i wait tables or bartend. i always give all their change back even if they say the rest is for you. i consider it to be rude when a waitperson gives me a great deal of change. but then again, what if i am giving you the right change. if youve got the cash and paying with big bills im gonna give you the 20's back for a big tip. but im not that way, just would like you to see the opposite side of it. then again, im in grb which is nothing like the outside world.

I never knew that a tip is an acronym. Learn something new everyday. :p That said, why would anyone pay for their meal including the tip before they received it unless they were at a cafeteria which would then eliminate the need for waitstaff?

not to pay for your meal before you get it. think of the idea behind the way the acronym reads. just like you would tip the mater'd for a nice table. if you didnt you would get an ordinary table, or lets say you slide a 20 across the coutner at a hotel and you get a better room. works on the same premise. if i were to be tipped generously before anything went down, i would be hell bent on making sure that table was taken care of. if bartending, a few free drinks would be given.

omt - it could also work against you, that is what i think most people are afraid of. the waitperson may think, i already got the tip, why do i need to do anything more? i understand the reason why that doesnt happen anymore. but i think people may be surprised at the honesty and morals of some waitstaff.

In the examples you give above, you are paying under the table for an improvement and/or upgrade. It's not for standard good service. In addition, it takes a few seconds to lead you to a nice table and a few seconds to go through a computer to find the upgraded hotel room. Waiter service is constant and in fact laborious. Also, I tip a percentage of the bill. I haven't ordered yet so I am not going to guess what the amount should be. In addition, wait staff turnover is huge.....why offer a gratuity in advance of knowing if the person will actually provide such good service? Lastly, many pay by credit card and add the gratuity to the check on the card.

i completely understand this, was just trying to explain. going to a restaurant and ordering and the waiter well doing their job is standard service. its all a given. yes there is always an expception to the rule. this is just my thinking, im not trying to pursuade or start something but just think of this. why suffer through a bad experience and leave a bad tip to show your dissatisfaction. but instead give a five or some small tip to get the waitstaff to do well in anticipation for a nice tip in the end. i have done this a couple times at nicer restaurants in the area and has worked out well. ive also done this when at a bar. give them a five or ten when you know your going to be there for an extended period of time and ive seen free drinks and shots come. never have to wait for a refill. just an idea.

Most etymologists have dismissed this theory.

William and Mary Morris posit that tip is a corruption of stipend (from the Latin stips, meaning "gift").

Here's the majority opinion, which concurs with the OED's etymology.

There's no legitimate reason NOT to have a proper mix of cash and coins on hand. It's inexcusable. Make a daily bank run and solve the problem. It's as bad as running out of food.