Big Tip

Scott Hardie | August 4, 2001
Last night I left a huge tip for a waitress. I want to explain why (it's a short tale). If you think I did the right thing, leave a +1, and conversely a -1 if you think I made a mistake.

Kelly and I went to Denny's in Aurora at midnight last night. There were some other customers, and only one waitress to serve them. She made prolonged eye contact with me as she walked towards me while I stood in the lobby waiting to be seated, and I nodded at her, then she turned and ignored me while she served someone. The manager seated us.

This waitress, whose name I think was Amy, gave me bad vibes the whole hour we were there. She seemed reluctant to help us, and preoccupied, like she was having a really bad night. But she did keep coming back to our table to bring us things, and she did put up with our repeated requests. (We wouldn't have had to make so many requests if she didn't forget things in the first place, like a straw for a drink, or barbeque sauce for Kelly's barbecue burger.)

I had recently read advice that you should do nice things for mean people, because they need kindness the most. So, despite Amy's generally chilly tone, I left her a $10 tip on the $18 bill. The manager, who rung up my credit card at the register, seemed surprised. I told him that she seemed to be having a bad night and might be able to use a pick-me-up. Normally I'm rigid with my tips, not exceeding 20% even for very good servers. After I left, I didn't regret what I did, but I did wonder if I made a smart choice or a dumb one. What do you think?