Listen up, lousy tippers. Yeah, you. You know who you are: stiffing your restaurant server, leaving him or her less than what they're owed after you've filled your face, and especially the guy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who, after having dinner with his family of five, left me the "tip" of a religious pamphlet.
Your day of reckoning has arrived.
Thanks to our sister blog Squid Ink, we've been alerted to the fact that there exists something called the Lousy Tipper Database. Found at LousyTippers.com, it's a virtual wall of shame where servers, bartenders, and delivery folks can enter the names, addresses, and other information like the total bill and tip (if any) received from those who've done them wrong.
Created by a frustrated food delivery driver who has chosen to remain anonymous, the site is dedicated to those who make a living off of gratuity, giving them an opportunity to "complain to the world and expose those who take advantage of your hard work."
But there are a few ground rules.
For one, what constitutes a bad tip?
The site answers this question by listing tip guidelines for over twenty different types of service jobs. For example, a tipping chart says that a a server should be tipped "15% to 20%, more if the service is very good," and a pizza/delivery driver should be tipped, "$2.00 or 15% to 20%, whichever is greater."
And secondly, there are some folks who are off limits. Before posting a bad tipper to the database, the site's rules state the following:
"No really old people. I know they're often terrible tippers, but they're old. They grew up in a time where a quarter really meant something, and they often live on a fixed income. So in my book and on my website they get a pass. Also, no handicapped people. Their life is rough enough and they too also usually live on a fixed income. Finally, no kids. We all know that parents often give kids the money to get the pizza at the door and the amount includes the tip but the kids pocket the extra and stiff the driver. This is wrong but they're kids and don't know any better."
Surprisingly, there are only four submissions for stingy Arizonans this year. In past years there have been more; and the comments attached to some of them are rather harsh. "Cheap bitch! Don't let your man drink so much so you can tip the server," reads one. Says another, "Drink less alcohol so you have money to tip your server, jackass!"
It remains to be seen whether the Lousy Tipper Database is truly having an effect on all the crappy tippers out there. But perhaps knowing the world wide interweb now has an arena of public shaming for lousy tippers, more voices can be heard and bad behavior won't go unnoticed.
Table for two?
