[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

Not intimidating. Just expected, assumed and entitled to it, you cheap %^&#.
I say, let them be fully paid by their employer first. The, and only then, the customer can decide if the person who willingly chose to work part-time with no bunnies, deserves a gift rather than put it in a fund for junior.
Last night wife and I had a simple dinner item at N. Lopez. Our waiter was serving a table of 12, a table of 8, and a couple tables of 4 and we 2. A party of sorts at the 2 larger tables although we noticed the couples all got separate checks. Thy all had appetizers, cocktails, soup/salad, entree. And bottles of wine for each table. Desert, of course? Hefty bills, I'm sure.
Wife and I had a single dish each and 1 Coke each. A small loaf of brown bread, not ordered was brought to our table. (A freebie? ). Our bill, $108.xx. service was fine. We tipped the requisite 20%.$22 (rounded). IF every couple tipped only $22 like us tips came to $660. And we know the filled those tables again because all tables were full when we arrived and when they departed the next groups arrived. I would be curious to know how much that waiter makes in a year, cash in hand, tips only. It only takes $62.50 per hr in the 800 hrs he works in a year to make $50,000. If minimum wage is $13, he only needs $49.5. 3 $20 tips won't be hard to com by in a half decent place. Of course you won't see that everywhere, but waitstaff don't all have it bad. Many are making a far better living than I ever did.
Just saying.

- You have your waitress simultaneously handling the equivalent of eight tables. Does that seem right? (I've never eaten at Lopez or paid that much attention)

- Your math is a bit off. You listed 30 people which would be 15 couples and would come to $330 at $22/couple.

- Were you really part of a group of 30 waiting for those seven tables to clear and did you really have to push your way through the next 30 who were waiting for you to finish and leave? Not to mention those who were waiting for other tables in the restaurant.

Busy nights vs slow nights, busy shifts vs slow shifts, tip-outs.... all will work to lower the nightly tip. One online source estimated $200-$300/night in take-home tips. $300/night * 200 nights = $60,000. Good money just in tips but I bet there are few who actually make that. (I just checked and we have spent over $100 *including* tip only three times this entire year. Meals at most restaurants don't come to $108 per couple)