Posted on 02/17/2011 5:22:16 AM PST by PJ-Comix
please add me to your pinglist, thanks
Welcome aboard, PINGEE #196.
A 10% tip is very low. And no, I never worked in the restaurant industry, but that is verging on stingy.
btt
10% is MORE than adequate.
Of course there is an army of waiters and waitresses and of course RESTAURANT OWNERS trying to make customers feel “stingy” by calling it stingy all over the place, here included.....
Gee, I wonder why restaurant owners would want their customers to tip their (low paid) employees more....!
Join me up please...
Welcome aboard, PINGEE #197.
You gotta use it all at once.
When one of restaurant.com’s 80% off coupon codes comes out, we think ahead and buy a certificate to a nice place and just hold onto it for a special occasion. When you’re only spending $4 or $6 for a $50 or $75 certificate, it’s worth buying ahead of time.
Most of the restaurants on their list don’t interest me, but there are a few select ones that do and we’ve had some really nice meals at higher-end establishments and restaurant.com brought the price down to a really manageable level.
I’ve never had a certificate that placed limits on when the it could be used. I’ve never had one that wouldn’t allow it to be used on alcohol, although I have seen some that do. I’ve seen that restriction on certificates at the $25 level, but when you buy in the $50 or $75 range, that restriction usually isn’t there.
Also, when I buy from restaurant.com, I go through ebates.com, which gives me another 15% discount on the cost of the certificate. So a $50 certificate that normally goes for $20, but drops to $4 after an 80% off promo code, ends up at $3.40 after the ebates rebate. Hey, every little bit helps!
I seem to remember a minimum charge amount.
Or it could just be CRS kicking in.
“A 10% tip is very low. And no, I never worked in the restaurant industry, but that is verging on stingy.”
I was a waitress in college for 2 summers. It is the crappiest job ever devised by man. I always said I would go on welfare before I ever did that again and I have had some crummy jobs. 10% is not enough of a tip unless you get poor service. I tip between 15%-20% depending on service.
There was a new, trendy, rather expensive sushi place in town that had just opened a few weeks prior and I bought a gift certificate from R.com for this place because the food critic from the newspaper rated it highly and we were eager to try it out.
We got there, presented our gift certificate and the manager stated that they don't participate with R.com. He said the salesperson had come in when they first opened to try to get them to sign up with them and he told them no. Apparently this guy signed them up anyway w/o the owners permission.
He ended up giving us a measly 15% discount just because he felt sorry for us but I was mad, not at him, it wasn't his fault. I called R.com and gave them a piece of my mind and they refunded my $ but I've never gone back. Just do your homework first.
BTW, the restaurant was outstanding, they have a killer bento box. We've been back several times and they are always busy but it needs to be a special occasion to visit this place cause it's pricey.
In my area, no restaurant worth eating at is on the list. In my town, 3 of the 5 listed restaurants are out of business, yet restaurants.com continues to sell their coupons.
The only one in Manchester I might consider is out of coupons and has been for as long as I’ve been checking.
It appears that restaurants.com is the place for desperate restaurateurs who have no customers and are about to go out of business or new ones who are looking to build a customer base.
I would advise before buying a coupon from restaurant.com look up the restaurant in question on the web first. Sometimes the places are so cheap to start with it’s difficult for 2 and nearly impossible for 1 to get the sized bill necessary. So know your math first, if you’re in Tucson and it’s a minimum $35 check at Marisco’s Chihuahua it’s good to know that you can feed 2 to the point of obesity for $20 at Marisco’s so either plan on bringing friends or skip the coupon.
I was reading your blog and you mentioned 20 percent tip because it’s easier to calculate....in these parts, the tax is 9% so I just double up on that amount for the suggested 18 percent.
How do I find out which restaurants here in Honolulu this applies to? Thank you.
No, 10% is being a cheapskate. Remember that tip gets split up, cuts go to the kitchen staff and even busboys. All of whom work long days all on their feet, and the get stuck dealing with some of the worst behavior people have to offer (add booze to a person that’s already a jerk and nothing good happens). Food service is one of the hardest lines of work there is that doesn’t involve getting shot at, and it’s not made any easier by people that think 10% is anything other than cheap. Hope you don’t frequent anyplace, they’ll remember you. I frequent places, I tip well, having them remember me is a good thing.
purchase a $25 certificate for $1, $2 or $3 bucks and are good for up to 1 year after purchase date.
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That 1 year limit is not a “hard and fast” rule ... in any state where there is a law against gift certificates or gift cards expiring the certificates are good forever. I have used restaurant.com for years ,, it is most useful when traveling.
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