QUESTION:
"Okay not sure if this question is allowed here please don’t post if not allowed. My son took his girlfriend out to dinner tonight. He is 18 going into college in the fall, but he also sufferers from a significant generalized anxiety disorder as well as a social anxiety disorder. They went to a local restaurant. My son forgot to tip the waitress honestly just forgot while outside after paying the bill waiting for the rain to let up a bit, the waitress confronts my son, explaining to him that she only makes minimum wage ( my son obviously only makes minimum wage as well ) and demanding a tip. My son explains he truly forgets, goes back, and puts a tip on his card. He was pretty upset when he got home for forgetting the tip—and feeling pretty embarrassed and beating himself up for it. I feel pretty upset; although I always tip anywhere we go, have I missed something where it is acceptable for calling customers out for not tipping? Am I just being an overprotective mama?"
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TOP ANSWERS (AS SELECTED BY MODERATOR):
The following top answers have been selected by a moderator from hundreds of responses to the original question.
[between 10 to 15 good responses to question]
"Oh my goodness! Your poor son. Not only embarrassing and anxiety-inducing but horrible behavior on the server s part. Please call the restaurant manager or owner and tell them this is unprofessional behavior by his staff. I would never return there. I hope he and his date are doing ok regardless of that negative experience."
"This is unacceptable! I’d go to the restaurant & report her. To browbeat & humiliate a teenager or anyone for not leaving a tip is out of line. The quarantine has wait staff feeling a little entitled in my opinion. I tip based on service & always will."
"That’s highly unprofessional of her and your son definitely shouldn’t have been confronted. I’ve had low tips before for stellar service and a ton of people, not once did I ever confront the customer unless they wrote a nasty message."
"I waitressed all my life and have never confronted anyone about a tip or lack of. Very unprofessional. Getting stiffed(as we call it) is part of the territory."
"Definitely not normal and every place I’ve waited tables at would have fired me if I was that rude."
"Absolutely NOT. That was BEYOND tacky of her and should be embarrassed of herself. Sorry, that happened."
"I’d call and explain the situation to a manger. I wonder how many others she confronts or is she targeting a certain age group. Whatever the case, very UNPROFESSIONAL!"
"I’d call the manager honestly. She should never approach a customer like that. That’s just bad business. He shouldn’t feel bad either. Everyone forgets sometimes."
"She should not have comforted your son about tipping. I would be call her manager and make them aware of the situation."
"When I was a waitress, I honestly did not mind if people didn’t tip. Sure I was really happy if they did, but I’ve always hated the tipping culture in this country. It should be up to the employers to pay a decent wage, it shouldn’t be on the customer to provide the income. Paying for your meal should be good enough. I would have never confronted someone over it, only if they didn’t pay for their food. I tip because I understand the importance since this country has decided that’s how wait staff should be paid. But it’s a backwards and ridiculous tradition that most other countries have never even heard of because they’re smart enough to pay their staff decent wages!"
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