Community Chat

[winamac1]

On 4/10/2014 JJsMom said:

Look at the receipt. He clearly put down $200. The customer should be responsible for the mistake, not the waitress.

By the way, he is a cheapskate for tipping $2 on a $25 bill.

ITA

What a miser. I'd have given $5 or $6.

[occasionalrain]

If the man had come in and said he made a mistake and left $2 when he meant to leave $200 would the waitress expect to get that $200 or should the restaurant keep it? It works both ways.

[AuntG]

On 4/10/2014 Moonlady said:

$200 tip for a 26-buck tab?

Once, after eating a hamburger meal at a bar/grill, I took the money from my DH and gave it to the bartender while my DH used the restroom. The bartender came over and asked if I meant to leave a $20 tip (no, I thought I had given them a $20 and a $1, but it was 2-$20's). Come on, it's an IHOP and the waitress should have known better than to think she deserved a $200 tip.

[SoX]

On 4/10/2014 Marienkaefer2 said:

I don't think she should have been fired over this. I think the restaurant should have covered it.

I agree ... a big chain like IHOP ... how cheap can you get?

[Shorty2U]

200 is too much but I don't see how its HER fault! My daughter gets tipped big all the time at her job (although she works in an upscale restaurant so the bill is higher than it would be at IHOP).

And he meant 2 dollars? How CHEAP can you get? I realize breakfast is less expensive than going out for dinner but 2 bucks? He does realize these servers earn 2 something an HOUR? We go to breakfast and say the bill is 15 we should leave 3 dollars but we leave 5 or 6 because 3 isn't enough.

Otherwise when the bill is higher we leave NO LESS than 20 to 25%.

At any rate yes 200 seemed overboard for IHOP. That I agree with. BUT how did she know it was a mistake? People come in places and do that sometimes. So IMO she should NOT be fired!

[JaneMarple]

The store should have covered it when the gentleman called and explained the mistake. She shouldn't be fired over it since the problem was not hers, I guess the manager got into trouble with his superiors and he was passing along the #$%&.

[azterry!]

If I Hop decided to reimburse the customer, that was their own business decision. The server should not have to surrender the money because of a business decision by her company. I'm sure it didn't cut into their bottom line, but it would sure hurt hers!

[sidsmom]

The more I think about it, the restaurant is wrong. The person in charge of balancing the books has the final say for all the wait-staff tickets.

[hennypenny]

When you are living hand to mouth as a server two hundred dollars is a lot of money. It helps to pay the rent, feed or clothe the kids. I imagine that money was already spent with no way to recoup. The restaurant made the error and should stand up for their mistake.

They put pancake batter in their scrambled eggs, beware!

[Suhse]

On 4/10/2014 azterry! said:

If I Hop decided to reimburse the customer, that was their own business decision. The server should not have to surrender the money because of a business decision by her company. I'm sure it didn't cut into their bottom line, but it would sure hurt hers!

I totally agree!

IHOP is a national chain. This woman is probably working for minimum wage and tips. Reimbursing the customer, even though, the error came up a week later, is good customer service and good PR.

Punishing an employee, for an error that was not hers, is just wrong. She would have no way of knowing the man's circumstances, or whether he was perhaps trying to do a good deed, quietly.

The restaurant paid the tip, eat the money!

Paying back that $200, with a deadline, no less, might have meant the difference to her, between paying rent, a car payment, utilities, etc.