Let me preface my wonderful experience at the Montana's across from the Sunridge Mall in Calgary (32 St and Sunridge Blvd NE, just in case anyone was wondering) with my philosophy on leaving tips. If I'm going to give you more money than what is owed on the bill, it's because you have given me more service than for what you have been paid. I do not tip because there is an unspoken expectation or because there is a space for "Tip" on the bill. I will happily give you a tip for going above and beyond your required duties.
I used to carry Canadian Tire money with me for those times when the staff didn't deserve a tip, but I'm not allowed to do that anymore. So now I don't leave anything at all if the service has been poor (just think what they could've done with all that Canadian Tire money).
You will not get a tip from me if:
1. After I have been waiting thirty minutes for my meal, you come to my table to ask if I have received my food yet. I seriously couldn't give her an answer. Honestly, how do you answer a question that stupid?? My table is bare, there is no plate in front of me, my cutlery is still wrapped in the napkin because I haven't used it yet, and I've started chewing on the table to hold me over. It's not like she hasn't walked past my table repeatedly while serving other customers. "I'll go check the kitchen to see if it's ready yet." That's a good idea, princess. It tells me you haven't been watching for it and has probably been under the heat lamp for twenty minutes. Nothing hits the spot like a warm steak sandwich...
2. You bring my meal without any sort of apology for the delay. At least pretend to be concerned. I'm not asking for tears or an Oscar performance, but a simple "I'm sorry for the wait" would help.
3. You have walked past my empty glass eight times without stopping to see if I would like a refill. The menu says "free refills on soft drinks", don't hoard them as though you have to draw them out of a well from atop a treacherous cliff where even the mountain goats fear to tread with a bucket and a long rope.
4. You don't stop to ask if my steak is done right, or how the meal is. Granted, the piece of meat they stuck on the bread may not technically be steak (it may have at one point been in the fridge beside a steak), take a second to see if I need anything (like a Costco-sized jug of BBQ sauce to help soften it up enough to gnaw through).
5. You bring me the bill before you ask me if I want dessert. This, probably more than any other offense, is your tip's kiss of death. If the desserts were big enough, I'd order one instead of my meal. In fact, dessert is my favorite meal of the day. I really like their deep-fried cheesecake and was actually going to order the full-sized option, instead of the individual portion. Heck, I probably would've given her a tip after all that, just for letting me have chocolate and caramel sauce on it, which they do sometimes (I still don't understand why they offer those as either/or choices).
The sad part is how easy it would have been to fix any one of those issues, but she didn't even try. It's too bad there isn't a negative tip option...
I used to carry Canadian Tire money with me for those times when the staff didn't deserve a tip, but I'm not allowed to do that anymore. So now I don't leave anything at all if the service has been poor (just think what they could've done with all that Canadian Tire money).
You will not get a tip from me if:
1. After I have been waiting thirty minutes for my meal, you come to my table to ask if I have received my food yet. I seriously couldn't give her an answer. Honestly, how do you answer a question that stupid?? My table is bare, there is no plate in front of me, my cutlery is still wrapped in the napkin because I haven't used it yet, and I've started chewing on the table to hold me over. It's not like she hasn't walked past my table repeatedly while serving other customers. "I'll go check the kitchen to see if it's ready yet." That's a good idea, princess. It tells me you haven't been watching for it and has probably been under the heat lamp for twenty minutes. Nothing hits the spot like a warm steak sandwich...
2. You bring my meal without any sort of apology for the delay. At least pretend to be concerned. I'm not asking for tears or an Oscar performance, but a simple "I'm sorry for the wait" would help.
3. You have walked past my empty glass eight times without stopping to see if I would like a refill. The menu says "free refills on soft drinks", don't hoard them as though you have to draw them out of a well from atop a treacherous cliff where even the mountain goats fear to tread with a bucket and a long rope.
4. You don't stop to ask if my steak is done right, or how the meal is. Granted, the piece of meat they stuck on the bread may not technically be steak (it may have at one point been in the fridge beside a steak), take a second to see if I need anything (like a Costco-sized jug of BBQ sauce to help soften it up enough to gnaw through).
5. You bring me the bill before you ask me if I want dessert. This, probably more than any other offense, is your tip's kiss of death. If the desserts were big enough, I'd order one instead of my meal. In fact, dessert is my favorite meal of the day. I really like their deep-fried cheesecake and was actually going to order the full-sized option, instead of the individual portion. Heck, I probably would've given her a tip after all that, just for letting me have chocolate and caramel sauce on it, which they do sometimes (I still don't understand why they offer those as either/or choices).
The sad part is how easy it would have been to fix any one of those issues, but she didn't even try. It's too bad there isn't a negative tip option...
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