I’m not used to tipping waiters in cheap fast food restaurants. Frankly, I’m not used to having waiters in fast food restaurants. However, I recently had just such a situation come up. Quite unexpectedly, this guy did the following tip-worthy things:
- Brought the food to our table.
- Asked us if we wanted ketchup (which typically has to be requested in other places like Europe)
- Refilled our drinks.
- Brought Stella a balloon.
Even in a place where I would typically expect a waiter, this guy had done a good job. So, I decided to leave a tip. Much to my surprise, he actually followed us out of the restaurant to give back the money. The conversation went something like this:
Me: I didn’t forget the money, I left it there for you as a tip.
Him: No, I couldn’t possible.
Me: Why not? You did a good job, and clearly deserve to get a tip.
Him: Well, it’s my job.
Quite a bit different than the way things work in the US isn’t it?
9 comments:
oh great.. which place was this in beirut ? we can all go and try to tip him ;)
wow. all of what you said was true. He did seem to do a really good job, what with the refill of drinks and balloon. You are also right that you probably wouldn't have been followed out to give the money back.
I went to a Chik-Fil-A last week and had similar service, except that I waited a very short time and took the food to my table. They had a pleasant hostess who inquired about our needs several times and then offered to "top off" my drink when I got ready to go. Maybe it will be a trend.
As you said, it's cultural.
We don't tip in fast food joints or taxis in Lebanon, but we ARE expected to give a hefty tip to the guy who replaces the coals on the waterpipe.
Go figure...
let's hope this is not a trend. i hate paying tips in full sevice establishments (although, i do tip well when the service is average or above). the last thing i want is to is pay $6.00 for a big mac meal and have to tip the kid who walks around with three pitchers of various drinks.
I don't think we will ever have a trend of tipping at fast food places in the U.S. The difference is in the pay, not the service. At a sit down restaurant the waitresses and waiters get paid below minimum wage and the tips make up for that. At a fast food place everyboyd gets paid minimum wage and above.
When I was a freshman in college in Los Angeles, the local Burger King was part of a company experiment to try table service. Seriously. I ordered, and then they invited me to take a seat and said they'd bring my food to me. While I was eating, an employee came up to me and said, "How is everything today, sir?" I was like, "Ummm...it's a burger in a box. You're not getting a tip."
My question: tip at Starbucks/other coffee places or no? I mean, it's not really that hard to serve up a cup of coffee, and I usually don't order fancy drinks, just a Grande drip with room. I only tip if the barrista is hot, which I guess makes me a terrible Christian. Sigh.
"If you have time to lean- you have time to clean…”
That is an awsome quote! I should hang it up in my apartment and aply it at home! Wow! The only thing I wanted to add about the guy...I guess he just liked his job. People who like what they do usually do a good job doing it...and for tipping the person who brings the coals....sounds like the Lebanonis one of the countries were you tip the people you depend on....hahaha no tip...no coals for the next winter...right?
Karin
as a former steak n' shake server, i was on the receiving end of some very poor tippers. i dont care if it's not a 'nice' sit down reastaurant...it is never appropriate to leave a good server a single dollar for two people- the time and effort i put forth to serve people was worth far more than that, yet many thought this was an ok practice. i'm resolved to never ever leave a bad tip for a server, unless it's truly deserved.
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