Thursday, August 31, 2006

This Guy's Got Class, That Guy's an Ass

I bartended in restaurants for over three years. This guy never came in.

I did however have a regular customer (and big pain in the ass who always tipped me 8%) leave me an $86 tip on a $14 dollar tab once. It's not 10K, but I found it to be an extremely lovely gesture.

Until that is he returned days later asking for it back, explaining what he had left was his change, by accident, and it was not a tip.

"Oh, no?"
"A hundred dollar tip?"
"It was $86."
"Ok, 86. Come on, Anne, you can't possibly think I left that as a tip."
"It is out of character for you, yes."
"That's like...a 600% tip."
"I've gotten better."
-silence-
"Well, what kind of tip do you think I deserve? That is, how much of the money which I've already spent, would you like back?"
-silence-
"You come in here three times a week to eat a hamburger perfectly cooked to your liking, a nice draft beer in a chilled glass--both needs anticipated for you as I see your mug coming through the front door-- and someone to listen to you talk about stuff, mostly about what an accomplished M.D. you are with a fine practice built up in the neighborhood. Am I worth a $70 tip? $60? How about $50? What about $40? Ok, $30? Today might I qualify for a proper 20% tip of $2.8 dollars, or do you want to stick to the usual $1.12?"
"Forget it."
"Great."

Would you know that bastard kept coming in? He must have gone to the Katie Couric School of Tipping.

God, I hate cheap!

1 comment:

Teri said...

Did he understand that most servers only get a $2.00 paycheck and they have to survive on their tips?

cheap bastard?

but the story was funny!