Going out to a restaurant, bar, or cafe in order to grab a quick bite, enjoy a few cocktails, or sit down for a lavish meal is a luxury that many Americans like to indulge in on occasion.
When investing in a meal or drink at an out-of-home location, people often expect quality service from the bartenders and wait staff who work at the venue.
Unfortunately, not all orders are made perfects, not all waiters have smiles plastered to their faces all of the time, and the barista may have accidentally put whole milk into your latte instead of skim milk.
Working at these types of places that rely so heavily on customer service can be very difficult for the wait staff. These waiters, bartenders, and servers make their livelihoods off of tips. And while sometimes they do mess up, it is still important to tip them. Truth be told, their jobs are extremely stressful and sometimes they may be having an off day.
If a server accidentally brings you Coke instead of Sprite-like you asked, politely remind them that you ordered Sprite and they will be glad to fix their mistake. Servers are only human, and sometimes they make mistakes.
Sometimes people take these little mistakes as reasons to leave a minimal tip- or to even not tip at all. Regardless of how you feel the server acted or messed up, leaving even a small tip is better than nothing.
If you are able to pay for a meal at a restaurant, most likely a few dollar tips won’t put a huge dent in your wallet.