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What Do I Do Now?
How to Deal with Terrible Tippers
 
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  From the July 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
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Dealing with a cheapskate
 Coping with a cheapskate? Jancee Dunn polls the experts on how to handle a dinner companion who isn't tipping enough.


  • In a friendly, matter-of-fact way, tell your friend, 'I'll sleep better tonight if we leave 15 percent.'"
    — Anita L. Allen, Burger King worker in the seventies and current professor of law and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School

  • The pronoun we becomes very handy here, as in, 'Oh, I don't think we're leaving enough for a tip.' If your dining partner has a soul, she'll ante up. If she doesn't, do you really want to share ginger crème brûlée with her ever again?"
    — Faith Salie, host of Fair Game with Faith Salie, a nightly public radio show. She was never a waitress, "but I know they go through hell."

  • "Say, 'Our server did a great job tonight. I want to add a little bit more money. Being a former waitress, I'm tip-sensitive.'"
    — Michele Wetherald, executive director of the American Association of University Women, a former ethics instructor and a waitress at Perkins in 1973.

  • "My dad was one of the worst tippers in the universe, and I came to realize that many older individuals lived in an era when money was in short supply and tipping was for the privileged. On several occasions, I've just placed additional money on the table on my way out."
    — Pastor Rudy Rasmus, leader of St. John's United Methodist Church in Houston. He was never a waiter, but "I serve 7,000 meals a month to the homeless"

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