Tip if Comped?

I won't cry a river of tears if the answer is not but...

I had horrible (burnt, greasy, and cold) food issues at a fast casual restaurant (let's call them "I'm grateful its Tuesday"

today with A Closer Look, which resulted in a comped receipt - and no paper receipt. I still gave my waiter a tip of $7.00 cash, since it was all the kitchen's fault that the food quality was bad, not the waiter, and he was accommodating, running bad dishes back and reordering them, and he gave me paper napkins to absorb the grease and he kept following up and keeping positive.

I am wondering if that will be reimbursed for the tip since there was no receipt and it was comped?

#burntoutinthebigapple

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When the food is bad but the service is good, and the meal is comped, I still tip. That has happened twice on ACL shops. ACL has reimbursed me for the tip. When starting the report, they ask "Was any portion of the meal comped?" and you put in the meal cost (0.00)and the tip cost 7.00. Both times I was reimbursed without question.

If the meal's comped for a reimbursement only shop, I'll attempt to reschedule for a different day.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

@Tarantado -- Have you done that with A Closer Look? Did they reschedule? That seems a bit sketchy.

#burntoutinthebigapple

I would think ACL would reimburse your $7 tip. On a different note, I was on a shop once and the pizza was left in the oven a little too long and the vegetables were beyond "fire roasted." When the manager checked on our table, I pointed it out. We were given two free pizza certificates AND drinks and dessert for our next visit!

If the meal was that bad, which it sounds like it was, who'd want to do it again? I'd hope ACL will pay the tip and be done with it.

Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.

My question is (being I don't know the restaurant) you said a fast casual restaurant, 7.00 seems like a generous tip, what is the tip amount allowed? I'd guess a 20.00 bill for two would warrent a 3.00 tip.at 15%. give or take.

Live consciously....

I would think 20% tip on $35 bill equals $7.

I think I know the chain and I don't see how anyone could mess their food up. Doesn't it all come from Sysco and is boiled in a bag?

My fine dining allows an 18% tip, for reimbursement, not 20%, and to me 35.00 sound like a lot for a fast restaurant with greasy food....wish I knew which restaurant, I do a nice Japanese BBQ and get out for under 25.00....for the record 7.00 is over 20% on a 35.00 bill. I don't blame the MSC for not allowing that tip.
The question that the food was comped is yet another problem regarding such a high tip for lousey food.
even though it wasn't the servers fault, 15% would have been sufficient.

Live consciously....

On the few occasions this has happened to me I have kicked myself and thought...why does the comped food always occur when I am being reimbursed and have to write a report! But yes for ACL they will most likely pay the tip if it is within their % allowed. I cannot imagine calling ACL after the fact to change the date. At least on the west coast they would most likely be closed by the time I finished the meal. If anyone has successfully done that let us know.

$7 is the required tip on the $35 purchase for this shop. Total reimbursement is $42 - $35 for food, drink, and tax, $7 for tip, which is clearly outlined in the guidelines. If I remember correctly, they will be quite unhappy with the shopper if the required tip is not provided, although I think the shopper could justify a smaller tip with a reasonable explanation. I'm quite sure ACL will reimburse the tip for you.

20% of $35 is exactly $7 and 20% is considered a standard tip for good service. I rarely tip 15% unless service was below par while still being too good to justify a conversation with the manager. Obviously some MSCs insist on a smaller tip which is not fair to the servers. On my few shops involving tipping, I never limited myself to the reimbursement when it was below the norm. The difference just came out of my pocket.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
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20% is my standard tip, too. I never tip less even when doing a shop. The waitperson doesn't know I'm a mystery shopper, but they will certainly remember me if I'm a lousy tipper.

That mean the mediocre Server gets a much as the extraordinary server, not from me, 15% for average
18 to 20% for great service, and more if the meal is off the chart, including the service. I personally pay for the service I get. I dated someone that gave huge tips, deserved or not, just because he felt it a tough job, I have often tipped more than reimbursement if deserved.....just depends......

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2017 05:27PM by Irene_L.A..

From what I've read, some MSCs limit tips to 15-18% period, going over is not allowed. I could have sworn it was some nonsense about not wanting the shopper to be memorable. Yeah, it's not memorable to have to pull out a calculator to figure 18%, LOL.

@COMystery wrote:

If the meal was that bad, which it sounds like it was, who'd want to do it again? I'd hope ACL will pay the tip and be done with it.

If it's a pattern, then no one would. But every place (just like every shopper) has a bad day, and if they comp that meal, sure I'd give them a second chance.

@LisaSTL wrote:

From what I've read, some MSCs limit tips to 15-18% period, going over is not allowed. I could have sworn it was some nonsense about not wanting the shopper to be memorable. Yeah, it's not memorable to have to pull out a calculator to figure 18%, LOL.

That's right, some fine dining insist on not going over 18%, but if you do, you pay the balance of the tip. I never bring a calculator, just figure out what's right.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2017 05:28PM by Irene_L.A..

I recently read a newspaper article in my local area that mentioned tipping...I believe they spoke with servers to find out what the majority tipping percentage was overall in my area. For my area they said most people still tip 15% for expected service, more for better than average. On the other hand most restaurant's pay scales start at $12-13 here and not $2+ as in some states. I do know a lot of people who always give more no matter what is expected..and others who always give less. I was surprised a few nights ago when I had dinner at a restaurant who put their calculations on the receipt ...generally around here they add a note at the bottom of the amt that would be 15, 18 and 20 % but this one had 20,22, and 25%. Some restaurants are also charging an extra fee to cover the required health insurance now. For the most part these are very high end establishments that are probably making enough money to pay for part of their full time employees health insurance.
Bottom line is that i find the tipping amt has something to do with the area you live in plus the group of people you hang around with.

In my opinion, 20% is industry standard for full-service restaurants, and is based on the net amount (not including tax). I tip that amount regardless if the meal was comped, or if the food was sub-par.

I expect that ACL will reimburse.

I usually tip at least 20% unless the service is really bad. Often I figure out what the 20% tip would be and then I round up to the next dollar. Servers are grossly underpaid in this country. And keep in mind that often they have to share their tip with bussers, greeters, runners, etc. And I always tip in cash unless I don't have the amount of cash I want to tip. The reason? I use to work at a restaurant where management took 10% right off the top for the house with tips on a credit card. The only way I know of to guarantee that won't happen is to tip in cash.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

I also won't go to restaurants who pool tips before dividing them among all the servers. Those places need to just pay their servers more and do away with tipping. It's not fair for one server to bust their ass and make no more than someone who barely does their job.

Do you all tip before tax or after? If $35 is the total bill, $7 is more than 20% since I was always under the belief that you don't tip on tax. I see it done both ways with the receipts that provide the tip calculations at the bottom. That being said, I always go over the reimbursed tip on shops. It doesn't bother me to give a few bucks more when most of the meal is being reimbursed anyway. I was a server and can tell you that $5 tips take a long time to add up. Even the nicer places often have to tip out hostesses and kitchen staff as well as their server's assistants and bussers, all who usually don't pay taxes on the tips they take home (I'm not saying none do, places I worked only taxed the servers while everyone else walked out with the money to presumably claim on their taxes at a later time

Doing what I can to enhance the life of my family! I LOVE what I do

The 18% has to do with what companies are allowed to call "expenses" when they do their taxes. Any MSC that is allowing over that is not able to claim the full amount.

@ShopSouthTexas wrote:

Do you all tip before tax or after? If $35 is the total bill, $7 is more than 20% since I was always under the belief that you don't tip on tax. I see it done both ways with the receipts that provide the tip calculations at the bottom.

Convention is that the tip should be on the pretax amount. The server earns a commission on that in the form of a tip and the local and state governments take a commission in the form of the tax.

@eodermatt wrote:

@Tarantado -- Have you done that with A Closer Look? Did they reschedule? That seems a bit sketchy.

Is it more sketchy than doing a report and only getting reimbursed a tip?

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Yes, I do think it is sketchy. You are on a job and are getting reimbursed and/or paid. Do the job regardless of being comped or paying. Trying to reschedule is taking advantage in my opinion.

BTW, I always tip 20 percent or more if service is good.
18 percent is if you are really bad.

@LisaSTL wrote:

From what I've read, some MSCs limit tips to 15-18% period, going over is not allowed. I could have sworn it was some nonsense about not wanting the shopper to be memorable. Yeah, it's not memorable to have to pull out a calculator to figure 18%, LOL.

An ACL editor once pointed out that I didn't tip enough. I really wanted to give the answer you just stated. In that case, I was ordering at the counter where it was also being rung up. I am supposed to know in three seconds what the tip is (18% in this case?) I ballparked it. This is a place where it you order at the counter and someone brings the meal to the table. In my area, tax is about 9% so I usually double that and add a buck. That usually works as a tip at the lower-end QSR places. But when all you get is a credit-card bill with no breakdown, that is tough to figure fast. (I had to ask for a separate receipt that broke down my order to prove I had ordered, beverages, apps, entrees etc.)

A personal gripe is with restaurants that put the tipping calculation on the bottom of the check that does not factor in half-price day or happy-hour discounts. The total on which the tip is calculated is a half-price total, not the full price sub-total. That means the server is getting half pay for full pay work!

Shopping SoCal and Maui.

I figure it as $1.00 per $5.00 which is 20%. If I am only allowed to tip 18%, then I take 20% off the tip and that makes it 18%. It is all done in the head.

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