Let's go here, I have a coupon!*

If you didn’t read my last post or did not check out the first YouTube video, watch it.

Since I have already touched base on the issue about African-Americans and tipping, my next issue from this video is coupons. I know every server can agree with me that it seems like most people coming in with coupons are cheap.

The reasoning behind coupons is wanting more people to come, and this gives them an incentive to. Discounts are always great (cheaper bills), but it should not take away from a tip. You should tip the percentage of the bill BEFORE the coupon is entered in.

I worked (last night), and out of nine coupons I checked out, seven of them left a 10% (tip) or less. When a customer has a coupon, it’s four dollars cheaper for the meal, but then s/he should leave the same tip that s/he would have without the coupon.

I had one woman come in with her son, (last night) and I gave them great service. When I picked up her bill, I found a coupon for $2 off her meal and a coupon for one free kid’s meal, which made her bill go from $18 to $10. I thought, “Wow, she’s getting a really good deal here, which leaves her more money to tip,” but that didn’t happen. She left me 47 cents. Her bill would have been $20, which to me means to leave at LEAST $2 for a tip. This happens regularly, even with higher bills; people are confusing the coupon for money taken from the tip instead of the meal.

Since we have all-you-can-eat soup and salad at Olive Garden for about $10, coupons can make it cheaper, but that doesn’t take away from the work we do. But the soup and salad work is another issue for another day.