Cheapest celebrity tippers

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:12pm

No big surprises, I guess

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:14pm

Actually, I take that back. Cosby and Woods surprised me.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:35pm

Oh I figured Cosby would be on that list! Just from the few times I was on a commercial shoot with him it was quite obvious.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:39pm

Ah. Well, you were right.

People are remarkably consistent, aren't they? I mean, people with reps for being @ssholes in other contexts tip like @assholes.

You don't hear "Oh, Mother Teresa really stiffed me when I worked at Dennys."

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 4:48pm

Man, that broad could put away a Grand Slam though!

[strummergirl]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 4:49pm

Tiger's tipping was pretty notorious on the sports talk radio scene, especially during his whole scandal.

I think I know the source for the Rachel Ray one. Anthony Bourdain happened to be shooting an episode for his show at a restaurant where Ray also had her show feature, somewhere in Charleston, SC, and he, a noted Rachel Ray critic, asked a waitress what she tipped. She was about 10% according to the waitress. I have no idea why you would do that at a restaurant you feature on your show, unless she thinks she is giving the restaurant countless free publicity.

3 years ago, the LeBron one would shock me but now, it sits about right.
Updated On: 8/18/11 at 04:49 PM

[Marianne2]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 4:58pm

I'm having a tough time remembering 40 Dollars a Day, but I think Rachael always showed the tax and tip included at the end of each meal, and it was always ridiculously cheap.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 5:29pm

I served a lot of celebrities when I was waiting/bartending as a college student in New York. Many of them were very generous. Some, on the other hand, were some of the stingiest tippers you could ever imagine. And it should come as no surprise that many celebrity customers--especially those who don't tip well--are among the most demanding customers a server is likely to ever serve.

I never personally served any of the people on this list but I have heard tales about some of these people, particularly Penn (a notorious non-tipper who has been known to do things like smoke in restaurants with no regard for other customers the law), first-hand when I was waiting tables.

Even though this was years ago, I've always held a special place for my celebrity customers who tipped well and didn't act like entitled brats. Two of my favorites: Johnny Depp and Julianne Moore.

ETA: Ray was known to leave $1-2 tips on $40 a Day, regardless of the bill amount.

Updated On: 8/18/11 at 05:29 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 5:42pm

And this website is probably the most all-inclusive list of good and bad celebrity tippers:
http://www.stainedapron.com/celebs.htm

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 5:59pm

I truly believe that unless your service was beyond terrible, that it's inexcusable to ever tip less than 20%. And before anyone complains that it's not their fault restaurants don't pay a livable hourly wage, everyone (with maybe the exception of newly arrived Europeans not familiar with the customs of this country) knows the deal when you go out to eat.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 6:02pm

My standard tip when I go out is straight 20% on the whole check. 25-30% if the service is really exceptional. I can count on one hand the number of times I've left less than 20%, and each time it WAS because the service was truly unacceptable, rude, or incompetent.

I can't stand people who think that it's okay to not tip on liquor or who insist on tipping on the cost of the meal before tax.

Updated On: 8/18/11 at 06:02 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 6:44pm

My parents were both in the hospitality business and ingrained in me early on the practice of tipping at least 20%.

And I do it, and it's often over 20%.

However, I have had a few experiences in which I was given obviously subpar service by servers who, I suppose that because I was out with other college-aged kids, assumed they weren't going to get a good tip and weren't going to treat us as well as other tables nearby. Little did they know that I, and my close friends I go out with, all tip well.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 6:44pm

I was thinking how Madonna is all kaballah and "what goes around comes around" but then I remembered the story where she skipped out on a big tab because her presence was worth more to the restaurant in terms of publicity than any stinky old money would be.

What I really don't understand is how people take the risk of being rude and demanding to people who could, you know, ejaculate in your hollandaise.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 6:48pm

I just assumed that in her quest to become completely British she stopped tipping.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 7:26pm

Ha I can hear a waiter proudly proclaim "Madonna ate my load!"

[StockardFan]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 7:53pm

I'm not surprised about Rachel Ray. A friend of mine went to her show one time, and said she was a real biotch. And like Marianne said, on the $40 a Day show the tips she showed were always way less than what I think they should have been. I usually tip 20%. Sometimes more.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 7:59pm

"Ha I can hear a waiter proudly proclaim "Madonna ate my load!""

This is what a waiter told Chuck Palahniuk, except substitute Madge for Maggie Thatcher, when the waiter told Palahniuk the restaurant service sub-plot in Fight Club was so true to life.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 8:37am

Then, I guess I'm cheap. When I was a kid, 10% was the going rate for tips. Now, it's considered 15 to 20% which I have no problem with. I always start my tip at 15%. If I have great service, I will most definitely bring it to 20%, and I do not hesitate to drop it for poor service. I would guess, that most times, I leave an 18% tip. I actually think carefully about how much I tip.

I do, however, think that waitstaff does not see that a low tip means they provided poor service, just that the customer is cheap.

I apogize for the rant to follow:

Oh, and a great way to lose on your tip from me? Don't bring me my change. I see an ever growing trend that just keeps the coin part of my change. Sure, I've had waitstaff not want to bother with the coing when it costs them (The bill is 14.03, and they bring you 6 bucks change instead of 5.97.) Ok, well, that's the waiter's choice. But, if my change SHOULD be 4.34, for example...the waiter had better not bring me back only 4 dollars. Yes, most of the time I simply leave the change, but that is MY decision, not that of the waiter.

(Note: I don't think I've ever had this happen in Manhattan, btw.)

Updated On: 8/19/11 at 08:37 AM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 8:57am

Dramamama it does happen in Mahattan but in my experience only with pennies (which I think should be done away with personally) The waitstaff or merchants will round the figure up or down to avoid the use of pennies.

I do believe those coins are now more expensive to produce then their actual value!

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 9:12am

Most of the issues with change have to do with restaurants where the servers are required to provide their own "bank"--i.e., they are expected to bring their own stockpile of money from which to provide change for the customers, and then at the end of the night they pay off their balance to the house, leaving the rest of their money as their tips. This is a very common practice in restaurants around the country. Since most servers don't have an endless supply of coins, they might end up rounding off to the nearest dollar for change. THAT SAID, I don't think a server who decides to round off should ever round down. I definitely rounded a few times when I was serving and I only ever rounded up.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 9:21am

Thanks Namo...all I can think of now is "Barbara Broadcast."

I'm from the 20% school, but depending on service and available cash, I can go a few percent either way...

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 9:35am

I've NEVER had it happen with any merchants, just restaurants.

It may not be a lot of money, but it is MY money. It really gets under my skin. That being said, I don't think I've ever had the rounding down be only for pennies' worth -- that likely wouldn't faze me at all.

(And yes, getting rid of the pesky penny would be perfect.)

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 10:05am

When did 20 percent become the "expected" rate for expected service? I used to be a waiter in NYC (granted a couple of decades ago, but at two different restaurants), and the expected rate was always 15 percent. 20 percent was a "generous tip."

Now it's expected?

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 10:12am

When I started waiting tables (10 years ago), 18-20% was definitely the expected tip among most servers.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/19/11 at 10:17am

I sometimes think there should be some standard rate rather than a tip based on the bill, since the bill doesn't reflect how many items have been ordered or how hard the waiter had to work.