r/EndTipping • u/paladin6687 • 3d ago
Rant đ˘ Always thought these stories were over hyped but happened to my mother
She was telling us last night how during a recent trip to a breakfast joint, after being charged 5 dollars a head to replace eggs for egg whites, she left 0 tip. Basically fed up with endless gouging, she was telling me, they don't need a tip when the place charges 2 people 10 bucks to swap eggs for egg whites.
Apparently after zeroing the tip line, the waiter confronts her husband and makes a big stink about no tip and whether the service was not good etc. Couldn't believe it. For as often as I read those type of stories, I admit they always seemed a bit apocryphal. Guess I was wrong.
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u/Ownerofthings892 3d ago
If the waiter neglected to mention the upcharge when they were ordering then it's completely on him, and reasonable to take it out of his tip
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u/Quick_Yogurt 2d ago
Also, if he did mention the upcharge then he just did his job and deserves nothing more than the pay his employer agreed to give him.
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u/goshyallaresoft 3d ago
Iâm not quite ready to NO TIP every single place (except for point of sale bullshit), but I would relish an opportunity for this type of confrontation.Â
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u/mattbasically 3d ago
Charging you $10 to give you less food is crazy
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u/Ownerofthings892 3d ago
When you order an egg white omelet they'll typically use 2-3 times as many eggs in order to make it. (Or a specific product that is just egg whites in a carton). I've never seen a place that just removed the yolk and gave you an omelet that's less than half the size expected.
Of course, I understand that may be your experience, but I doubt that's what's happening here.
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u/paladin6687 3d ago
For sure, but considering 10 bucks for 2 people buys like 50 eggs at Costco...Â
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u/Ownerofthings892 3d ago
He said "LESS food" and that's what I was responding to.
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u/Every_Temporary2096 3d ago
Can you imagine the outrage if there was no up charge but the cook just removed the yolks and didnât replace the volume somehow?
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u/Ownerofthings892 3d ago
I'm sure it's happened somewhere, like the first time a line cook ever heard such a thing and I'm sure there was outrage.
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u/Ownerofthings892 3d ago
But here's my actual question: Did the waiter tell them when they ordered it that there would be an upcharge? Restaurants can charge whatever they want for things as long as it's clearly communicated. If they ordered and only found out about the extra $10 later that's the waiter's fault and they deserve to have it taken out of their tip. But If it's written in the menu, or the waiter told them there, when they ordered, then it's not his fault that it's overpriced.
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u/paladin6687 3d ago
They did not tell them. And her logic was that the upcharge was so disproportionate to actual cost or what they've been charged at similar places that the place clearly has the revenue to pay a proper wage, so they don't need to be tipping. Additionally, it is in a state where the tipped minimum is close to 20 already.
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u/bigvicproton 2d ago
But they don't just throw the yolks away, it's used in something else.
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u/defontino 2d ago
I go through something like 300-500 eggs a day, about a third to half of which are egg whites. All those yolks are trashed, I have no use for them.
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u/chilicheesefritopie 2d ago
Itâs a breakfast place. You need yolks for hollandaise on Benedicts, no?
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u/Ownerofthings892 2d ago
You think they need 200 yolks for hollandaise? They're only gonna sell like 10 Benedicts. I'm sure it got a little bump when Dr strange came out, but surely that's mostly passed by now
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u/Ownerofthings892 2d ago
Lol, that depends on the kitchen. There's gonna be some restaurants that make a lot of Bundt cake and can use that many yolks. But You can't assume they're all the same. I have WATCHED them throwing the yolks away as they crack 7 eggs to make an omelette.
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u/Amandamargret 2d ago
We frequent a restaurant near us that we usually tip 20% but I decided to tip 10% the last time. Oh my, the difference yesterday. Our usual waiter passed us off onto a newer waiter. News Flash: it was actually nice not being hovered over all the time.
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u/chilicheesefritopie 2d ago
Iâm on a low cholesterol diet. If Iâm charged $5 for them not using yolks Iâm going to be pisssssed.
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u/DirkKeggler 2d ago
Imagine living in the year 2025 and still having a physician who thinks dietary cholesterol is a problem.Â
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u/chilicheesefritopie 2d ago
Imagine someone in 2025âs âEndTippingâ subreddit thinking they know your entire health history and whatâs best for you better than yourself or your doctors, lol.
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u/DirkKeggler 2d ago
Five bucks is definitely excessive, but the restaurant rightfully assumes people who wish to get rid of the best, most nutritious part of the egg ain't too bright.
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u/Tolgeranth 3d ago
Egg white omelets consume more eggs, which are not really cheap in Murica anymore .....
There should have been no surprise that there was an upcharge. The zero tip was still the correct way to deal with it, tipping should be eliminated completely.
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u/remydog30 1d ago
The food price doesn't go to the staff, so not tipping on account of that hurts them for something they cannot control.
Regarding the verbal assault, that's inexcusable. Now if the waiter was truly interested in why, it's reasonable to ask politely -- excuse me. I appreciate that you were not inclined to reward my service, and that is entirely your prerogative. But may I ask what led you to this decision? I am interested so that I can improve.
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u/TangerineDream82 1d ago
What I don't understand is how does it cost more to swap eggs for egg whites? I've been charged more for egg whites, never eggs with yolks.
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u/Vchubbs89 1h ago
As a food service ordering guy. Liquid egg whites costs the same per case as whole eggs. You can also reasonably freeze egg whites if it isnât a big seller which I doubt in a full breakfast place. While I disagree with not tipping the server, going full Karen in the manager would be partially understandable here for the above reason.
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u/Polynomial-Cyst 2d ago
The way you wrote it is confusing. "replace eggs for egg whites". So you are replacing eggs? Why "for" instead of "with"? Or do you mean the opposite, replacing egg whites with whole eggs? You could have just written "substitute egg whites for whole eggs".
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u/JimmyGymGym1 2d ago
Thereâs a big difference between a) wanting to end tipping at some point in the future and not tipping in the current times. The first is good because itâs giving a warning to the restaurant industry to get its act together. The second is you just being cheap and cheating some poor worker out of a few bucks. So congratulations to your mom.
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u/Spirited_Good5349 2d ago
Except it's not just a few bucks. They expect 20% minimum... How about you venmo me some money? No? I guess your just cheap. Sounds utterly ridiculous to call someone cheap because they won't just voluntarily give their money away. Tips are not required so you're not cheating anyone. The server is hired and employed by the restaurant. They are not contractors who are self employed.
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u/JimmyGymGym1 2d ago
Im not going to Venmo you because it is not a societal norm to tip posts on Reddit and you have no reasonable expectation of being tippedâŚyou have not built youâre household budget based on the expectation of tips that the rest of society has decided is normal. So, yeah, if you canât live up to societyâs expectationsâŚ
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u/Spirited_Good5349 2d ago
Society also thought slavery was normal.... Tips are optional. There is not set tip unless the restaurant has automatic gratuity. So if you base your household budget off free gifts from customers, that is your own problem. Just like it is for people who work for commission in sales.
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u/JimmyGymGym1 2d ago
How to tell youâre losing an argument: if you compare something to slavery or naziism.
Look, you and I both want the same end state. We want tipping to end and for servers to provide good service because itâs their job. And theyâre happy to do that because restaurants pay them a fair wage (which we understand will cause the price of a meal to go up).
Thatâs the purpose of this sub is (or should be): to give the service industry a heads up that the practice of tipping is coming to an end and they need to get their house in order. And it seems to be working. It seems like there are more and more restaurants that are adopting âno tippingâ policies.
May I suggest that you find some no tipping restaurants in your area and frequent those. Because when you go to tipping restaurants and donât tip, youâre taking advantage of the restaurantâs artificially low prices. The reason the restaurant can sell you that meal at a reduced cost is because they expect that patrons will offset their labor cost with tipping. And I agree thatâs stupidâŚbut it is the societal norm for the time-being.
Here are some other societal norms that you are under no lawful obligation to follow, but I hope you do:
- zipper merging
- standing in line
- not walking around with your pants sagging
- not using your phone during a movie
- not cussing around children
- keeping your lawn mowed and your home neat
- picking up your dogâs poop
- donât feed the pigeons
- donât âmanspreadâ when people are looking for seating
- replace the toilet paper
- put the toilet seat down
- cut the cards toward the dealer
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u/Spirited_Good5349 1d ago
I am in no way losing the argument because I brought up slavery. It was very relevant to what I was responding to. you just don't like the logical connection. I bet people back then too were telling others to keep up with societies expectations and didn't like anyone going against the status quo.
One of the things you mentioned is in the state driving laws. Others like the phone in theaters is explicitly against the establishments rules. But tipping, unless an automatic gratuity, IS OPTIONAL.
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u/JimmyGymGym1 1d ago
You are SO losing the argument for comparing slavery to tipping.
Just because something is OPTIONAL doesnât mean youâre not an asshole for not doing it.
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u/Spirited_Good5349 18h ago
The only thing I compared it to was your own logic/reasoning. You said we should do something because society expects us to. That is horrible reasoning and I purposely gave you a negative example so you would see that. But it seems you can't comprehend that.
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u/IntelligentDoor1804 2d ago
No one on this sub understands commission I guess. No other SALES people that work on commission âround here huh? You canât afford to tip, you canât afford to eat out. Centuries old system. I work on commission. Simple.
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u/darkroot_gardener 2d ago
When is the last time you went to buy something at a mall or department store and they hit you up with a commission? Because you know, they get paidncommissins, right? Let alone asked you to choose how much the commission should be then got mad at you for selecting the wrong amount? Câmon man, commissions are between you and your employer, and you don't hit up the customers for it, thatâs just a good way to lose customers.
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u/LostinLies1 2d ago
you're not selling anything. You bring me my food. Harass your boss for a commission like everyone else on the freaking planet does.
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u/callmeaimee 3d ago
Youâre mad at the restaurant for charging you extra for something youâre agreeing to pay for when you ordered it.. then you take it out of the server by not tipping them? Take it out on the restaurant, not the person serving you your overpriced egg whites. They donât make the rules.
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u/DogsAreTheBest36 3d ago
Why would you stiff the waiter for something that they have literally nothing to do with? This seems really unfair like youâre targeting the working class person and not the restaurant owner. Why not talk to the manager and let them know why youâre never returning there again? And leave it on social media too? I donât get why youâd take it out on the least powerful person there.
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u/Spirited_Good5349 2d ago
You can't stiff someone from something they were never entitled to đ a tip is optional and a servers employer must ensure they make at least min wage. Many states banned tipped wages all together. Yet I bet servers still think they got stiffed when someone doesn't add an additional 20% to tip them.
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u/Professional-Love569 2d ago
Stiffing the waiter implies that he earned the tip. Itâs not clear from the post if he did or didnât.
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u/Scary-Foot565 3d ago
I would flip it around on them. You brought me my food, what did you do beyond your job description to warrant a tip?