Peter Frank writes:
> I was in California recently and had a breakfast at my hotel that was
> not included in the price for the room. At the end, the waitress
> brought me the check in one of those leather envelopes (or whatever it
> is called). I only had larger dollar bills at that time, so I couldn't
> just leave the amount including the tip on the table. The check had a
> line where I could note down the amount of tip, which I did (it was at
> least 15 %).
That line would be used if you wanted to have the meal and tip "charged
to your room", so you would pay them on the final bill when checking out
from the hotel.
> She asked "You want me to bring you the change?".
She was hoping you would leave the entire amount of your change as
the tip, in which case she would not have to bring it. I often do say
"keep the change" if the amount is right, but I consider inappropriate
for them to suggest it before I do. (Unless I go there often enough
that they know what tip to expect.)
> She then brought me the exact change without keeping the tip I
> noted down on the check. However, I didn't realize that right away and
> took all the change.
> Is this line only looked at when paying with a credit card?
Only when charging to the room. If you pay by credit card, there is a
line on the credit-card form.
> Or did the waitress expect me to take the exact change back and then
> return to her personally the tip I wanted to give?
Yes. Usually you would do that by leaving it in the leather cover.
> I also saw some people paying to the cashier at the exit. Do you take
> your check to the cashier then?
Yes, that's how they know how much to charge you. This is usually
done at less expensive places; the check will often be marked "please
pay cashier".
> I didn't see the people paying to the
> cashier leaving any tipping money on the table (doing this may not be
> possible if you only have larger bills or a credit card). If/when you
> pay to the cashier, how does your waitress get her tip?
If you didn't have the right change for the tip before, usually you
go back to the table afterwards and leave it. And note that if paying
the check still doesn't give you the small bills you need, you can
ask for change. (Total is $19.85, you give the cashier a $20 bill,
then hand over a $5 bill and ask them to change it; now you have the
$3 you need. Same idea if you want coins.)
> One last question: Do you always round up to whole dollars when
> tipping even if that would raise the tip a lot?
No.
--
Mark Brader "The spaghetti is put there by the designer of
Toronto the code, not the designer of the language."
msb@vex.net -- Richard Minner
My text in this article is in the public domain. |