Good idea though. I'm going to propose to my boss I only work the week between christmas and new year's!

On the tequila comp question:

Disclaimer: I am Anglo so the UK is different (servers rarely comp) . That said whenever we get a discount we tip on the original would-have-been bill. For example we went to a restaurant "soft opening" so the food was half price but we tipped 20% on the pre-discount total (we frequent the same owners other restaurant so 20% is on the high side, I usually tip 15% in the absence of variables and would be considered generous by other Brits, I reckon).

So on that bill I would tip the equivalent of $5 (20pct of original bill) and that would be fine and dandy. In the US I would probably tip more: 5 for the 20pct and at least 2 more for each drink.

Of course, the more you plan to go there, the more you tip. Did I pass?

Edit: and, didn't realise via El D one should tip for savings. Good to know!

Also to note I am not in favour of auto tips and never pay tips on card, always cash. Thankfully it's becoming higher profile in the UK but paying on card gives servers less protection on receiving the gratuity.

Certainly agree with the last part.

PH,

Here's how it works in the us:

If some promotion is involved and you get a discount because of that (half price entrees Mondays, free beer if you bring in a ticket stub, etc) it is typical to leave a tip on the normal amount, and nothing more than that.

If someone "hooks you up" with something free, it is typical to leave a little extra for that.

Gotcha. The hook up thing is lost in the UK as server staff aren't empowered for that. But I definitely tip on pre-discount levels.

Cheers!
Best,
Pete

Heh, in most cases the servers aren't empowered to hook up out here either. It's just another way the employee steals.

how much are you supposed to tip for $70 hair cut?

how much are you supposed to tip for the free touch up a couple weeks later?

Just to clarify: by "touch up", you mean "happy ending"... correct?

wow, good call guys. i left 35, same logic.

when the employee is working in a an environment where expropriation, prejudice and coercion are fundamental characteristics of the job, "stealing" is a bit of a relative term.

If you say so, but charging less, or giving free drinks in hopes of splitting the difference in savings, it's pretty easy to see what's going on. Are they going to swing deals for known nits? No.

Nah, it's still stealing.

It just depends on the context of who/why you comp someone something. If it's your friend and you're charging 3 pints instead of a pitcher, that's stealing. If someone comes in and you just comp them to juice your tip, that's stealing. If someone comes in and some stuff gets screwed up and you pull some stuff off the bill then that's def not stealing. You're given a certain amount of leniency to make executive decisions on the fly usually. That's just part of the trust they have in you given you handle large amounts of money etc.

Sure. I was only commenting on the second example.

asdf,

Lots of staff also have some latitude in comping regulars and nice guests a reasonable amount of stuff (a free round every few, etc). But yeah, it's mainly stealing of course.

El D,

The slate article you linked sounds like it's taking about a higher end type restaurant where I don't doubt that things improved after tips were eliminated. They're probably also employing more experienced and professional servers. I doubt this model works nearly as well for the family casual restaurant. Places like Applebee's or Denny's and the like are employing a lot more high school and college students working for beer money or just general rejects who can't be bothered to care. Does anyone have thoughts on the impact of autogratting everyone at these types of places?

I hate scenarios where your bill is already pretty large and then the bartender or waitress will get you one free drink and save you 6-8 bucks because I always then feel obligated to tip more and it defeats the purpose of saving me money. It just ends up going in the their pocket instead of the restaurant's.

What do you mean?

You order 5 $6 drinks. Bill is $30, you leave $36.

You order 5 $6 drinks, but the bartender comps the last one. Bill is $24, you leave $32 (20% + half the value of the buyback)

Obviously % wise it's less as the bill goes up, but you still save roughly half the cost of the comped drink every time.

In the first example, the restaurant gets $30, the bartender gets $6
In the second example, the restaurant gets $24, the bartender gets $8

Basically, in AGame18's example, the bartender is comping him in hopes that a larger percentage of money will go in his pocket instead of the restaurant's. And it is (or, more accurately, can be) a form a stealing.

I understand what happens, it seemed like AGame was complaining that buybacks don't save you any money (which they do). You're spending less money regardless of whether it goes to the restaurant or bartender.

As was pointed out earlier, some bartenders do get some leeway, but yes, most buybacks are a form of stealing.

Yea, he's complaining (or whatever the right word would be) that the drink isn't really being "comped", but is closer to just being discounted due to feeling obligated to tip more.

EDIT: On the other hand, it's possible that he isn't following your recommendation of 20% + half the value of the buyback and is actually not saving any money, especially in cases where the bill is already large, as he stated.

Example
Bill with full price drink is $150, tip should be $30.
Bill with comped drink is $144, so according to you he should tip $32 (20% + half the value of the buyback)

However, if he feels obligated to tip more generously due to the comp, let's say $40, that comped drink is actually costing him money.

Why in the world would you complain about spending less money?

It could be that he means he's being comped an extra drink at the end of the night when he had no intention of ordering another.

It's not less money in the example just given with the $150 bill.

Fwiw, I thought it was pretty clear he's talking about being out at an expensive place eating and your last drink is "on the house". If in this spot you feel obligated to up the PERCENTAGE tip you leave at the end, a few percentage points can easily eclipse the cost of a single drink if the bill is hundreds of dollars.

Just splitting the buy-back amount on a large bill would alter the tip to such a negligible degree it would go completely unnoticed anyway.