How much would you tip for this meal?

[Renew Deal]

"10. It was a brand new Lower East Side restaurant, and we arrived at 7:30. The menu for the night hadn't been printed yet, so four of us shared one handwritten copy. Our pretty, dead-eyed waitress treated us like we were her high school teachers and she, like, hadn't turned in the homework. With great effort, we finally communicated our order. We never saw her again. Only two glasses of water arrived. We rationed. The place filled up; other tables ordered. An hour passed, but not a scrap of food emerged. People at other tables also grew restless; we feared cannibalism. Two hours later, we received part of our order: a floppy-skinned chicken, with over-salting so severe it could cause chemical burns. We asked after our missing herring. There were still 13 orders in front of it."

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2010/02/our_10_worst_re.php

[SharonRB]

1. Not only would I not tip at all,

I would have walked out long before the two hours.

[Renew Deal]

22. Why do you hate workers?

Who are struggling! :spank:

[stray cat]

26. LOL! Paying people to abuse you!

[BrklynLiberal]

29. exactly

[Bitwit1234]

43. I am going to mention the restaurant

My friend "cousin" and I doing research in Virginia stopped at an Applebys in Front Royal Virginia. We sat down at a table the person at the door instructed as he handed us a menu. Fifteen minutes no waiter, no water, no silverware. People who came in after were being giving service after almost 1/2 an hour much to my cousin's embarrassment I approached the person at the cash register and asked if they had forgotten that "our" table was part of the restaurant? She sent someone over immediately the took the order. Half an hour later the cold food arrived. Fortunately I ordered a club sandwich and it was OK. but my cousin had ordered a hot dish and it had congealed. She didn't want me to make a fuss. SO WHAT DID IT DO. I took a penny and put it consciously right in the middle of my place and did likewise to my cousin and would not let her give a tip. We sat there til the waitress came to give us the check and cleared the table because I wanted her to see the penny. We then walked out and I said to the cashier. Boy southern comfort and hospitality sure missed this place. I hope the waitress doesn't spend her two cents all in one place. We were white so it could not be blamed on racism.

[spanone]

2. i would have walked out WAAAAY before 2 hours were up.

[eleny]

8. Yup - At that hour mark we would have been eating pizza a block away

[Feron]

9. +1

The last time I went to Denny's, the waitress took our drink order and disappeared. Forty-five minutes later and no drinks in sight we left.

[givemebackmycountry]

25. I had that happen once-after 20 min with no drinks I got up and...

Went behind the counter and started getting our own drinks - water - soda - OJ all that stuff.
No one even batted an eye.
I'm thinking I could have went into the kitchen and started preparing our own breakfast and no one would have said a word.
We walked out without paying, but I did leave a tip that would cover the drinks and such.

[WCGreen]

37. We once had a waitress ar a restaurant I worked at quit in the middle of her

shift...

Just walked right out the door with all her checks...

That wasn't cool at all.

It happens. I went to all of her tables to explain what happened and told them all they would get a discount if they stayed. Several walked out but most stayed.

that's when I started to think that maybe i wanted cut out for the service industry.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. no tip

[rcrush]

4. $1

But thats only if I stayed the entire time. Which I probably wouldn't have.

[NightWatcher]

5. "two hours later"? I'll leave a place if it sucks fifteen minutes in

[Raven]

6. $0.00...maybe they should have paid you for that experience.

[SPedigrees]

7. no tip; no brainer. nt

[LanternWaste]

10. I would have...

I would have left after twenty minutes and handed her (the waitress) a ten spot on the way out.

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. I would have been gone before the two hours were up n/t

[wtbymark]

12. Were they filming 'Kitchen Nightmares'?

it seems nobody ever eats until the last day on that show

[LaydeeBug]

13. I would have been long gone, and the manager would have been comping EVERYTHING. nt

[HereSince1628]

14. This is one of the very few posts of that I am sure poses a rhetorical question.

I am disappointed that I must answer this way...

If a couple doesn't know how to figure a tip, they shouldn't go out to eat.

This is the "twitter/facebook" generation at its worst. They can't walk into a grocery store and buy milk without consulting at least three 'friends.'

Toss the technology, kids, and make some decisions on your own.

[customerserviceguy]

23. This isn't a math problem

It's a sociology question.

[liberalhistorian]

41. Ummmm....WTF does that have to do with anything?

This has nothing to do with calculating a tip, it has to do with payment of a tip for horrendous or completely non-existent service. Perhaps you should try actually reading something before posting, maybe? Just a suggestion.

[Hekate]

15. Bad food is the province of the chef, but waitressing that bad deserves NO TIP and a walkout.

I've done it.

However, sometimes you end up trapped by your own expectations that it simply can't be this bad, when it is in fact this bad.

Hekate

[WeDidIt]

16. No tip, would have walked out at the 20 minute mark

That's ridiculous service and deserving of not a penny.

[panader0]

31. a penny or two tells them that you didn't forget to tip and sensa a message

[we can do it]

35. +1

[polichick]

17. "Two hours later" - why would anyone sit there and wait?!? nt

[Juneboarder]

18. One Penny

And then I'd go home and write a review on the experience so others could know...

[Cirque du So-What]

19. Tip? You MUST be joking!

They waited for two hours before getting any food? I would have walked after 45 minutes, which is pretty much the upper limit of my patience.

[customerserviceguy]

20. You were far more patient than even I would have been

and I'm not a native NY'er.

In any case, you won't have to worry about that place for long, a lousy restaurant that takes two or three years to go out of business in the Pacific Northwest is dead after a month or two of crappy service and/or food.

Tip? Hell, I wouldn't have even paid the bill.

[Warpy]

21. Two hours?

Obviously, there was a major crisis in the kitchen and whoever was back there was not the chef or even the regular staff.

I'd have left after the two glasses of water (and I'm assuming there were more than two people at the table) tipped me off as to the nature of the front end service. However, the more patient people in this article should have left after an hour when water had not been replenished nor had their order arrived. This was the perfect storm of bad service and bad kitchen. My leaving quietly was the very best they could expect under those circumstances. They wouldn't have liked it if I hadn't left quietly.

[Edweird]

24. Eh, I would have left. Which, it sounds to me, like that's what they wanted.

If you don't like the color of my money, I'll find someone that does.

Don't fight with people you are buying food from. Even if you 'win', you lose.

Seriously.

[Arkansas Granny]

27. I would have been long gone before two hours were up.

[BrklynLiberal]

28. Not only no tip..I would not pay a dime for the meal at all.

I cannot believe they sat there for two hours. I would have been long gone.

[proteus_lives]

30. No tip and and complain to the manager.

[Obamanaut]

32. I tip for the service. There was none. No tip. Would not have waited that long, either. nt

[timeforpeace]

33. The "dead eyed" comments gives away the writer's assholeishness at the outset.

[Double T]

34. Spring for a penny; you'll have gone above and beyond.

Sounds like the place didn't have refrigeration; therefore the salt cured chicken.

[TwilightGardener]

36. No hope of food after a full hour...I'd leave money on the table for any drinks

I'd ordered and leave.

[TheCowsCameHome]

38. I would have left THEM a bill.

[ellenfl]

39. our party of 8 walked out on the check (but NOT the tip)

after the manager would not come to our table when asked because he was having a meeting with the wait staff. after waiting for an hour with no manager in sight (well, we DID see him having his meeting on the patio), we walked. i assume he was teaching the wait staff that the customer is always right. :sarcasm:

ellen fl

[edbermac]

40. They'll be closed in a few months.

My cousin lived in NYC for many years and took me to some packed, tiny restaurant where I had the greatest cheeseburger I ever ate in my life. He said you open an eatery in NYC with crap food and bad service, you disappear very quickly.

[slackmaster]

42. I would have spoken with the manager long before that first hour passed

The problems may not have been any fault of the server.

[On the Road]

44. I Would Guess Management is to Blame for a Lot of the Mess

The key here is "brand new restaurant."

Restaurants take awhile to work out the process and work flow and for all the staff to be educated about all the menu items. You can't just get the bodies in place, open the doors, and expect things to function. That's asking for trouble, and is a sign of an owner who has never waited or cooked. I have heard of restaurants where the staff did not even have a chance to see the menu before customers started ordering. That's asking for trouble.

Doesn't excuse bad attitude, but there's a reason the entire place was in such chaos. Definitely deserved a walkout without paying.

[Vinca]

45. I would have walked out long before the floppy-skinned chicken arrived

and would have left the dead-eyed waitress nothing unless she was profusely apologetic about the situation and was obviously trying to do something to make the patrons happy.