Two customers are seated at a table. You remember both of them because of their past tipping habits. Person A is a consistently good tipper. Person B is a consistently poor tipper. The check is never split. Person A and Person B routinely treat one another, though there is no discernible pattern that would allow you to predict who is going to pick up the tab on any given occasion. You are in a position of having to provide service, not knowing whether you efforts will be rewarded with an appropriate tip. How should you act in this situation?
A) Provide good service to both parties--how people tip is their own business and there’s no sense fretting about the thoughtlessness a few customers.
B) Provide neutral service to both parties--do not go out of you way to be either hospitable or rude.
C) Treat Person A well and Person B poorly.
D) Treat both Person A and Person B like garbage.
Scroll down below the cartoon for the answer.
How will you act as these men play Russian roulette with your financial security?
ANSWER: D
Just to be on the safe side, treat both Person A and Person B like garbage. If Person B pays the bill and leaves a bad tip, your preemptive rudeness will have been perfectly justified. If Person A pays and leaves a reasonable tip, you will not have spent your limited store of friendliness needlessly. Besides, does Person A, a person who freely associates with a bad tipper, deserve your kindness anyway?
I read a study one time that studied servers and their tips and how that was related to their attitude and service toward the custumers. Basically the study proved that the difference in tips between highly professional servers and slouches wasn't that much different. The conclusion (which I largely agree with) was that people tip according to their own personality and not according to the quality of the service.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, I think treating both like garbage is the best idea. In fact I would go one step further and just treat every customer like garbage.