Multiple choice question.

The OP is under 20 years old
21-25
26-32

Calm down, I was responding to bsb21 opinion in this thread that everything is the Servers resposibility, and any problems should be reflected in the tip, regardless of whose fault it is.


I'll add a sarcasm smiley to clear things up.

It is pretty low for a decent restaurant not to accept credit cards. That's the first time it has ever happened to me and last I checked the date is 2008, not 1988. From what I read online, one reason restaurants do it so waiters can pocket the cash tips and not report all the income for tax purposes.

As a customer it is not my job to double guess my server's intentions . If I am unsatisfied with the experience, I am not going to tip regardless of whose fault it is. It is the server's responsibility to notify the responsible staff/management of things that are wrong.

The advice people are giving is ridiculous that I should fully tip the waiter AND go and give a piece of my mind to the dishwasher, cook, manager etc for each thing I was dissatisfied with. Please, get real.

The first choice.

What you read is wrong. Waiters' tips, for income tax purposes, are estimated based on the take of the restaurant -- whether they are tipped or not, the waiters are required to pay tax on this amount. Restaurants (and other businesses) that do not take credit cards do so because there is an added fee charged by the credit card processor, ranging from 2-7%. Margins on restaurants are very slim, which is why so many go out of business after only a year or two. The extra fee charged by the credit card processor can make the difference between a successful restaurant and one that goes bankrupt.

As a customer who dines out at a restaurant, it is your responsibility to be sufficiently familiar with how restaurants work to understand that the server is not responsible for restaurant policies, is paid well below minimum wage by the restaurant, and depends, entirely, on tips for making a living. Like it or not, that's the way it works in the U.S.

You will, of course, do what you want, but you're completely wrong in this regard.

And I'm sure the server does. The server does not, however, manage the restaurant, or have input into the prices or whether credit cards should be charged. The waiter is an employee and must follow his or her employer's policies and procedures.

We are very real. It is you who does not seem to understand that directing your dissatisfaction at a server who has no control over the circumstances punishes the wrong person. If your belief is that all employees are responsible for management policy, then you might want to reconsider eating at restaurants with wait service. Your problem is with restaurant management and that's where you should have directed your complaint. Punishing the waiter may make you feel better, but all you're doing is depriving some poor guy or gal for something beyond their control. It may make you feel better, but it's mean, petty and vindictive.

This is the way restaurants work in the U.S., like it or not.

Exactly, Thank You!^

The server should have maybe suggested a nearby ATM or maybe the manager could have arranged for a ride to the OP's hotel/residence.

That would have been good service and would have recieved a good tip. Once again, its the atitude!

Why do you keep blaming the restaurant? They are under no obligation what so ever to accept credit cards. It's your fault for not knowing that before you ate there.

Did every other table have the same problem? I'm betting not. They took the few minutes to see what the policy was, were cards accepted, what cards were accepted, etc before they sat down and ate a meal.

This has nothing to do with the restaurant, the dishwasher, or your waiter (who you stiffed by the way). This is entirely because you didn't do your homework first.

I will concede that I should reconsider eating at restaurants with wait service.

Might reconsider eating! at restaurants at least.

With the spread of debit cards, I would imagine that the number of merchants that don't take CC's are less than 10%. When we were in New Zealand, there were zero merchants that did not take debit/credit cards, even dinky antique stores and campgrounds. I don't look for logos in the window, because many restaurants don't display them. Unless the sign is at eye level before you walk in the door, it could easily get lost in the restaurant decor. How hard is it for a waiter to say, "The specials are fried squirrel, bat stew, and we are a cash only restaurant." ? That gives you the length of the meal to figure out how to pay.

I would have tipped significantly less or not at all.

ANOTHER multiple choice question:

He who posted the above question is
60-65
65-70
70+

Mrs. PTravel and I eat at a number of restaurants in SF and LA that are cash, only. They are, almost exclusively, small Chinese restaurants, but there are one or two others. I don't assume a restaurant accepts plastic -- if it's not on the door or window, I'll ask.

In many restaurants, tip money often goes into a "tip pool" and is divided among waiters, bartenders, and some other non-management employees at the end of the day... (Unless you're at a certain Starbucks in California, where the "tip jar" is split with management as well; lawsuit pending last I heard).

At other places, waiters/waitresses must give a certain per cent of their take to the bartender and another per cent those clearing tables (bus boys / dishwashers).

As far as minimum wage, I don't know what state the OP was in or what type of restaurant this was, but there are restaurants where the wait staff is unionized. The unionized wait staff typically have a decent wage (for a waiter) to start with. I've only heard of this in some places & states - and moreso at hotel restaurants - but in these cases they tend to earn more than minimum wage for a non-tipped employee.

As far as stiffing the waiter - understandable. The tip and amount depends on my entire dining experience. With a few exceptions, I would expect restaurants to take plastic for payment. I could see exceptions in NYC or at a place that isn't quite full service, but then again, many fast food outlets are taking credit cards, including the drive through as well. [edit to add]: I typically look for the Visa/MC logo, especially if I am in NYC or visiting a small Chinese / Vietnamese / etc. establishment or family run type business.

In the states we've become a society where most people pay with plastic and many people just don't carry cash, depending on what part of the US you are in.

Tipping is still voluntary.

It's not the customer's obligation to take a course in restaurant management before seeking to get something to eat, so if there are complicated rules, those in the business may have to deal with the situation of occasional non-tippers. Otherwise, they need to adopt another business model or seek other employment, like a government position.

I'm sorry, maybe I'm just dense, but I still don't understand why the OP stiffed the waiter for something that was clearly the restaurant's decision.

Mike