OK! Magazine is trying to make a big deal of the fact that Robert Pattinson allegedly didn't tip very well at a NY restaurant the other night. If you have been reading the site a long time you know that I am a big believer in tipping and that I hate people to be cheap about tips. That being said I don't think you should ever be criticized for leaving 15%.
Robert was at Il Cantinori for dinner and his bill was $350. He left a tip of $50 which is 15%. Would I have left more? Yes, but how can you can get angry at someone for leaving what they should be leaving. I think that he could certainly afford to leave a little more and I guarantee you in the future he will probably leave more, but to call him cheap or a bad tipper seems kind of unfair. What if he didn't like the service? We are assuming it was great. The story in OK! said he received first class service but who determined that?
I am indifferent about Robert. I can take him or leave him, but I think that he has been riding a mountain of positive publicity and people are looking for negative things to say about him or to find something juicy. There are only so many combinations of people you can hook him up with and those are fast running out.
I guess to be safe if you are a celebrity you should probably always leave a 20% tip or maybe 25%. The thing to do though is whenever you have a meal that costs like $20, just leave a $100 and then you get a reputation as a big tipper.
Ah, he's English. I'm suprised he tipped at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm not rich or a celeb & I still always tip at least 20%. With all the free shit & swag these twits get, it's the least they can do.
ReplyDeleteI agree being a celebrity means you have to leave a $4,000 tip like Johnny Depp in order to be considered a good tipper. LOL!
ReplyDeleteThis is obviously the best they could come up with on the daily dose of Rob Pattinson gossip.
I find it disturbing that this is a story in a tab. Stories like this actually help me understand the rage celebrities feel about paparazzi. I mean he's being judged on a situation in which all the facts aren't present, and quite frankly they shouldn't be.
ReplyDelete15% is fine.
ReplyDeleteBtw, Il Cantinori ROCKS the house. The food and service are out of this world. They even let me back into the kitchen one time to show me how they make their meatballs.
I think this is crap. Why should he be forced to tip more than anyone else? What percentage of sales is taken out as income tax? Anything over that is a bonus. Bad mouthing patrons really makes the establishment look classy.
ReplyDeleteMy standard is between 15% and 20%-obviously for fantastic service I'll tip more-but if the service is horrible I don't kill myself trying to reach that 15%.
ReplyDeletehe's only required to tip the same as others. if he wants to give more, it's by his choice.
ReplyDeleteThey are clutching at straws for a story. Like it or not, tips are not mandatory. 15% is fair. What they really ought to do is pay wait staff a higher hourly wage.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd rather get paid per hour the set (below) minimum wage and take a gamble on the tips. If you raise the wage then people may not tip as much as they do now, and that would not make me happy.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is, if you're a good server and give people what they want(this includes some light entertainment)than you're laughing. I bet the server RPatz had wasn't all that fantastic in his opinion.
First, he's young; secondly, there's a cultural difference; and thirdly, he may be used to someone else (like his agent or PR person etc) he's dining with handling things when the bill comes.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a non-story. If I were the manager of that restaurant, I'd fire the waiter/waitress who snitched. It makes the whole place look bad.
*then
ReplyDeleteMy minimum is 20%, and I understand those whose minimum is 15%. Sometimes it'll be 18%, because I hate being that douche that tips something that doesn't end in a 0 or 5. I rarely tip below that, unless they've done a horrible job. Work in the restaurant business, and you'll understand why tipping's so important.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've said that, why on Earth is this in the tabloids? Was he high maintenance, rude, or snobby? No,he just left an average. Who cares?
I agree with everyone here. Someone is making a big deal out of nothing.
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me mad
ReplyDeleteok I'm not in the US but tipping 15% is enough in my books. A 10% tip in this country is standard.
Firstly it is the waiters JOB to serve the patron. And serve the patron well. Yes the basic wage is lousy, but that is the waiters choice to do that.
Does Enty expect everyone to tithe when reading his website? No. people in the service industry should have the sense to know they are there to SERVE and not whinge about 15% tips.
I pay for my food, pay the 10% and that is that. I never not tip. Even lousy service, i do know they rely on tips to supplement the wage. If I was rolling in it, yes I would tip more, but no one should expect it.
Good god, why should I go eat at a place where I feel obliged to pay 25% more above the bill. hell no.
If everyone thought that then the whiney waiters would be out of a job completely.
jeez 25%!!
Are you all nuts?
Celebs are held to an unreasonable standard when it comes to tipping. A $50 tip is still $50 in the pocket of a waiter/waitress. Are you really going to bitch to the press that you didn't get more?
ReplyDeleteI do like the Japanese attitude in this regard. Not only don't you tip, they get insulted if you do, because it is expected that you do your job properly to begin with.
Hey Psychosarenuts!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to tip and aren't "rolling in it" then I suggest you stay home cook, clean and serve yourself cause it's WAY cheaper than going out.
He is not American, and it is my understanding that the British don't usually tip in bars and restaurants. So someone probably said to him, "you should leave 15%" so he did. I don't see anything wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteWOW. It's so obvious when people have not worked in the service industry! Let me tell you, serving tables is the hardest job I have ever had, and I now make my living as a biochemist! Although tipping may not be "mandatory" it is a social norm and the higher the bill the more work that goes into it- that may be 50$ in the server's pocket but since it was a vip table it was probably one of the only ones the server had that night- and it sounds like there was a lot of wine service etc. (pain in the ass, seriously). Anyway, what I had intended to say before I started to fume about a lack of empathy for those in the service industry, is that when I was serving tables, which was about 4 years ago, it was widely accepted that the standard was 18%, in fact that is the same amount that is added to a ticket when you have a large party, 18-20% was about the average, I rarely received 15% but if I had would have taken it as in insult.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ent for your balanced comment in this.
ReplyDeleteActually, Brits DO tip in bars and restaurants - please don't label all of us as cheap! As someone previously has mentioned, cultural differences need to be borne in mind. And I always tip. If I have no money to tip, I have no money to eat out either!
10-15% is an average tip in UK. Recently government regulations have had great force in stopping tight-arsed owners from making up (particularly wait staff) salary from tips to meet minimum pay levels. All (legally employed) staff are now paid atleast an hourly minimum, with any tips being dealt with either by being added to the already, or tip jar or whatever the staff/owner all come up with.
This is such a non-story.
Yes, I'm British as well and I really struggle with the American tipping culture. Why don't American restaurants pay their staff for the job they do? Tipping should be discretionary, for excellent service, and the way US waitstaff bitch and moan about the percentage is nasty.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurants who allow their staff to discuss what stars had to eat and the tips don't deserve to have them eat there again. Can't they have a little privacy? Very unclassy behaviour.
this is so lame as a story.
ReplyDeletethere are tons of celebs who regularly don't tip AT ALL.
at least he left something.
just sayin'
We, in North America, do what works for us. You do what you do, and we do what we do. Fair enough?
ReplyDeleteUgh, I'm getting annoyed because I cannot tell you how many times I've had to serve people from the UK who come all the way across an ocean to eat and drink what they do at home and then tip like they do(or don't) at home. YOU'RE NOT AT HOME. Why don't you save yourself a few grand and just stay home and have a dry white wine and a bottle of bud in your local pub. At least there, you won't screw someone over when you don't tip and they have to pay out of pocket to tip out the support staff at the restaurant. This is especially brutal when you're a really great server cause I don't deserve it.
I work at another restaurant in New York down the street from Waldorf Astoria, where I think Robert Pattinson is staying. He came in with his costar Emily (?) and friends. Their bill was probably about $200, he paid and left $65 - VERY fair.
ReplyDeleteHe's not cheap, his friends are.
Psychos are nuts, please eat at McDonald's. You dont have to tip there at all.
I should also mention that I have served many UKers that do tip and are willing to try things that are Canadian. I don't mean to tar everyone with the same brush.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sorry about the rant. It just makes me =/
Sue Ellen-I've had Canadian friends tell me that Americans are way excessive regarding tipping-is it a North American thing or just a US thing?
ReplyDeleteWhen I bartended a while back, one of my servers constantly bitched about her tips and typically it was tips in the 15% range. I don't get it. If 15% is not good enough for you then you need to cry somewhere else. If you work hard on a large party and get 10% or even less, then yes, I'd be mad. But 15-20% is a decent tip and if you get more, awesome.
ReplyDeleteBut to write a story about how RP gave a 15% makes it sound like he stiffed the server, which he did not. They just had dollar signs in their eyes when he walked in the door, probably fought to get his table and then was ticked off it didn't net.
This person, by the way, should lose their job, because now any celebrity would think twice about visiting this place and worry about their name and tip being published.
Oh no, we tip too, I just think, on average, Americans tip better. I've also noticed that people from certain states tip better than others, but I can only judge based on where I work and our customer base.
ReplyDeleteI've also heard that Canadians aren't the best tippers. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Other servers are definitely the best tippers :)
I sincerely agree with Iceangel. To me, it's more important that everyone(including the celebs that have come in) have a really great time and come back. Then you get great word of mouth going, get busier, and then get better tips, or more of them. Also, if you talk about someone being a bad tipper or what have you publicly, you care certainly not getting them as a repeat customer, so you've blown it either way.
ReplyDeleteI busted my hump waitressing to pay for school & I can say to all the naysayers about excessive tipping that when a guest tips well, they are sadly making up for the previous table that had no class and left 10% after you tended to them for 3 hrs. Also, you usually have to share your tips with other staff (busboy, hostess, bartender)So now your 15-20% is widdled down to 8-10%. Just like there are good/bad servers, there is also great/dickhead customers. Women are cheaper than men as a general rule, imo.
ReplyDeleteYou can think about it like charity, only cutting out the middle man. And you're donating to someone who is actually trying to help themself.
ReplyDeleteMUST BE A REALLY SLOW AT OK! MAGAZINE...THIS IS THE BEST THEY COULD DO ?
ReplyDeleteI don't think you can put Americans and Canadians in the same group WRT tipping. Canadians aren't under as much pressure to tip servers as Americans are - so we don't tip as much. Then again, we pay our servers a higher hourly wage. I get a little put out when I'm "expected" to dish out a minimum tip when the service is shit. I've left absolutely nothing when the service is crap and will do it again. If I get great service, I'll tip big. Period.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of restaurants where one is not waited on - if you choose to go to a restaurant with wait staff, the tip should be considered as part of the bill. Stiffing a waiter is wrong, 15% is standard and acceptable, and over 15% is truly showing appreciation for what is very hard work
ReplyDeletedifferent countries have different tipping customs.
ReplyDeletewe always tip 20% or more. if the service is bad, we tip less AND we tell the manager why.
food coming out slow doesn't get a lower tip (kitchen's fault, not servers) unless it takes forever AND it's cold, and we don't see the server again to tell them. especially if the restaurant is not busy.
agreed, non story.
Take into account that Rob is British and they tip less over there.
ReplyDeleteI:
--live in Boston
--waitressed throughout college
--tip 20% minimum unless the service (the SERVICE, not the FOOD) sucked.
Maybe I'm biased or wrong, but I look down on anyone who tips less than that.
I also once dated a guy who waits on Tom Brady from time to time and he gets pissed off that Tom only tips 20%. Then again, the ex is a complete and total jackass, so take from that what you will. ;-)
I read somewhere that RP didn't pay, his manager did.
ReplyDeleteYeah we tip less cause we pay our wait staff more in the UK. so you can all get off your high horse when it comes to America's great tipping culture! As a former waitress (and yes it is bloody hard) I have served plenty of lousy American tippers.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a waitress, I did come to rely on my tips...and believe me if I got a 15% tip I'd be thrilled. But then I left to work retail which is just as hard (I didn't work in some fancy boutique, I worked in the Oxford Circus Topshop) and the wages are about the same. I would run about all day serving people getting clothes for them and nobody was tipping me. And unless you work in a designer store you don't get commission! There are plenty of other low paid service based jobs out there that don't get tipped so wait staff should just stop complaining!
after reading all the responses i'll weigh in too!
ReplyDeletei agree with rocketqueen - canadians get a higher minimum wage for servers, but generally we tip around 15%.
but even if the service is horrible i find it hard to leave nothing at all, however if the service is good then its 20% for sure.
when i lived in the UK people would tell me that i left too much for tip!!!
sometimes you get sick of tipping though, especially on holiday, tip the hotel guy, tip the taxi driver, hair stylist, tattoo artist, pizza delivery guy, bartender..... where does it end?
When I was a waitress many years ago, we were paid $2.01/hour. The rest was made up in tips. When service was poor, I knew it. My section might have been oversat or the bartender was slow or the food not out quick enough or maybe I spilled a beer down on a lady's back (really happened). So, I might have expected less. The fact that the waitress spoke out, makes me leary of her and wonder if she, too, felt her service was subpar and blamed RP in order to save face with fellow servers. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteBEST Tipping Story I have: A louder Aussie (sorry!) "gentleman" comes into the bar, where I happen to be a cocktail waitress, waving his money around. The whole table (8 or so) orders drinks, which happen to be 1/2 price because it's happy hour. I mean, who doesn't like a few bucks knocked off their bill? Anyway, Mr. Obnoxious says, "How much is the tab?" I answer, "$14.95." He throws some money at me and very loudly says, "Keep the change." I turn to him and say, "No, that's okay," and put the nickel down in front of his drink. I figured that I wasn't getting a tip anyway, so I might as well let everyone know what a cheapskate this guy is. BTW, no one else left me anything either. Real class.
ReplyDeleteOkay, another tipping story since you are all asking....I'm attending (not working) a wedding where it's open bar. Before the reception starts, I put $10 in the guy's tip bar. I've been in the service industry and know that those working in it rely on tips and if people don't have to get out their wallets to buy a drink, they might not take them out to tip, either. Anywho, every time I came up to the bar, the bartender would put whatever he was doing down and get my drink. Finally, some guy asked, "How do YOU (I'm not that cute) get such service?" I replied, "I tipped him." No one said another word, but the bartender smiled a mile wide. I waved and turned on my heel to get back to the party. I hoped his tips picked up that night. People who have never had to wait on others don't understand what it takes, but I have used those skills the rest of my life. As my husband Jeff likes to remind me, "Good thing you're perfect." I couldn't agree more ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm American. My husband is English.
ReplyDeleteIn the US, I always pay for the (sit-down) restaurant bill, including at least a 20% tip.
In the UK, he pays and never tips. But then, we have never gone to an expensive restaurant, so perhaps he would.
We generally follow whatever custom is in our respective countries and keep our opinions on tipping to ourselves.
I'm from the UK but moved permanently to Australia 5yrs ago. In the UK i always tipped. There was only 1incident that i can recall that i didn't tip. It was because the waiter was a total and utter prick to us. At this particular restaurant (The Big Easy on the king's road in Chelsea for any Londoners out there) they include a 12% tip in your bill that's itemised. I refused to pay it. I'll probably get lambasted for this, but, i don't care. Tipping in the UK is optional not mandatory. So i chose not to pay the tip because the waiter was sooooo awful, rude, and obnoxious. The manager even came over and asked why i wasn't tipping. I told him that it was optional and i then explained point by point why i wasn't tipping. To his credit he said 'fair enough'.
ReplyDeleteNow in Australia i was shocked to discover that you don't tip AT ALL. it's just not done. Ever. It took a while to get used to it. You can leave a tip if you want, but it is absolutely not expected. There have been a few occasions when the service was outstanding so we've left generous tips. However in every restaurant here your are charged a 15% surcharge on sundays and public holidays... so maybe they work it out that way..
At least he tipped. I'll give him a pass. He could have been like that bl about a star who thought the privledge of serving him a meal was the best tip his waitress
ReplyDeletecould have.
I live in NZ, and like Aus we rarely tip, because we pay decent wages so they don't have to be topped up with tips. At the moment minimum wage is NZ$12 an hour (approx US$7.88), although I don't think many restaurants and cafes etc would have you on minimum wage.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in the states before and it was a bit of a culture shock to be expected to tip everyone. I know some people try to justify low wages and tipping resulting in better service but there is no difference, the service standards are the same here than in the states, but I feel a lot happier dining out here than in the states, because I don't have to worry about tipping!
Such b.s. Tips are based on the amount of the bill, not on income.
ReplyDeleteIt was already posted that his manager, Nick, paid the bill. Robert Pattinson did not pay the bill. Try as you might to make him out to be a bad guy, you need to try another way.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least he tipped!
ReplyDeleteI've worked in the food industry and I also used to do hair so I know what it's like to depend on tips as income.
I once complained that a customer didn't tip and was promptly given a lecture by my manager that, like it or not, the customer wasn't required to leave one so therefore I should never necessarily expect one. Just because I felt like I had given the customer my all, that doesn't mean they felt the same.
I used to have a friend who would NEVER tip ANYWHERE, didn't matter where he went or what kind of service he was receiving. He said it wasn't his fault that employers didn't pay employees enough and that it wasn't his responsibility to make up the difference in income.
After being in the service industry for years, I've only ever stiffed someone once and that was for horrendous service.
15% is cheap and outdated, I always leave 20% and I'm broke.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what I would have tipped for average service for that price of a meal. Maybe he paid cash and he happened to have $400 on him. If I have something close to what I should pay in cash, I just leave that to avoid waiting to use my card. And like you said, what if it wasn't great service? Aren't celebs entitled to tip what they think is appropriate for the service they got? And I also don't think it's fair for a server to expect an enormous tip just because someone has a lot of money. It would be nice, if they all did, obviously, but then tabloids would be writing stories about how so and so is spending all their money frivolously and will run out soon.
ReplyDeleteI think that 15% is a good tip; and I've been a waitress. I've seen people give crappy service and then be ticked off when they don't get a better tip. But the customer is still paying for the food and your service (I understand that often restaurants pool tips & it gets split between a lot of people). That said, if someone always checks on the table, makes sure drinks are filled, checks how the food is, is pleasant etc, they more than likely are getting more than 20% from me-I think it should be based on service not "just because".
ReplyDeleteAnd, seriously, this is all they could come up with on him?
ok i was a server for almost 4 years. i will say that it was the HARDEST job i have had thus far in my 23 years, and it will likely go down as the hardest in my life. it is incredibly difficult to please people, especially when people just want to bitch about something it's very easy to take it out on a server.
ReplyDeletehowever, i will say this. i wouldnt bitch about a 15% tip. especially if i knew the person was from the UK where they normally tip 10-15%.
that's the thing about waiting tables, some nights you make NO money and others you make a killing.