Teenagers...

[bainsidhe]

When I was a teenager, I seldom went to a place that required tipping. That's the good news, since the bad news is that I wouldn't have tipped. Sorry everyone, that was the environment I was raised in. My family never had much money, which is why we didn't eat out very much. It was common for my Dad to tip a nickel, if anything at all.

My first pizza delivery job taught me the importance of tipping. So now when I take my Dad to a sit-down restaurant and he "generously" tips a quarter, I make sure a slide a few extra dollars under the plate.

And as for pizza delivery, college kids seldom tipped much. I really think they didn't know better (still sucky though), because you could tell which ones were taught to tip in that they made a point of doing it instead of counting out their quarters to cover a $10 pizza. Camp kids staying in the dorms over summer? Now that was a blast. You had 14-16 year-olds who wanted to show what manly men they were and tipped the driver rather well. These were also kids loaded down with parents' cash for camp, so they could afford it. Boy I loved camp.

[friendofjimmyk]

Friendly's

Friendly's?!?!?! WWWWOOOOOOOWWWWWW. Been a long time since I remembered Friendly's. I don't think those exist anymore.

[Geek King]

Friendly's?!?!?! WWWWOOOOOOOWWWWWW. Been a long time since I remembered Friendly's. I don't think those exist anymore.

I can name the location of three within driving distance of me right now, one less than five minutes from the apartment.

[SnarkyPie]

Friendly's?!?!?! WWWWOOOOOOOWWWWWW. Been a long time since I remembered Friendly's. I don't think those exist anymore.

My first job was at a Friendly's; I quit that about a year ago. They definitely still exist, I just never saw one until I moved a little farther north (from KY to PA).

[unclejampuff]

When I worked at Denny's, whooooo boy, did I get some sucky teenagers. My favourite was the one who asked me, "If we dine and dash, will you be mad?"
....
I always kept an eye on him whenever he came in.
We also had problems with large groups of teens who would either/and/or: Not tip, one or two people who slip out without paying, make a HUGE mess, belittle the servers, only get one drink for five people, etc.
But we also got some pretty frickin rad teens in. We had this HUGE party come in after a show. There ended up being about 60 people(about half the restaurant), and everyone was great. Not everyone got food, but the people who did were gracious, patient, and fun. In my orders, here was only one item that hadn't been paid for, a pop. This one guy overheard me tell the manager about it. He had already paid for his food, but then he pays for the pop and tips me an extra $5 on top of that.
The teens were not the worst customers we got, but they were definitely the most common.

[Madhatter_67_85]

Luckily we had an enclosed area that there was only one way in and out so managers would always stuff the teens in there. All the servers on duty at the moment would team up and help out the main server responsible for that section to keep them from getting overwhelmed and so that there was always someone present in that area to keep control.

We would also lurk around the hostess stand and make sure no one tried the ol' dine n dash routine. Still had a few that thought they would be the ones to get away with it, but they always got caught.

[Jester]

I mean, that's why they tip in bars: it's not because they appreciate the work you do. Just ask the bartender if he gets tips from guys under 30 who aren't gay, and I'll bet he says no.

And you would lose that bet. I get tipped as a bartender from EVERYONE. Of course, teenagers can't sit at the bar, so that helps somewhat.....and yes, I don't get the kinds of tips that the hot bartender chicks I work with get from the same under 30 guys.....but I make my fair share. So yeah, you lose that bet, buddy.

It was common for my Dad to tip a nickel, if anything at all.

So now when I take my Dad to a sit-down restaurant and he "generously" tips a quarter...

And both of those tips would be downright offensive to just about every server I have ever met or worked with.

My first job was at a Friendly's...

That, too, was my first job, both as a cook and later as a server. I remember the day I made $86 on one shift....at the time (mid-80's and my teenage years) that seemed like a lot of money. Nowadays, that is a slow shift. Amazing how things change, huh?

I do miss Friendly's, though.....they don't have them in Florida or Arizona.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Ye Gods, we got nailed twice by teenagers this weekend...

When I came in to count furniture, I found a note the closing manager on Sunday left me:

"Irv--You may need to make lots of tags today. There were some kids in here Saturday night who made a mess in the furniture department and there were pull tags all over the floor"

I took a look at the furniture pad and there weren't many pull tags on the floor, so they must have been swept up or vacuumed up. Nearly every single item needed additional pull tags made. Apparently these kids were jumping around the furniture like over-caffeinated monkeys, throwing pull tags at each other and spilling their sodas all over stuff before the manager on duty sent them on their way. There was a nice big stain on one of our display futon mattresses that is probably there for good.

I don't know who these kids were, but it wouldn't shock me to learn they were the kids I saw shortly before I left, who were slurping down sodas while standing in front of the condoms and other intimacy products giggling like morons. "Huh huh, it says 'Ribbed for her pleasure!' Ha ha! Hey look, KY Jelly! Hahahahahaha!"

Then last night, about an hour after close the store manager got a call from the alarm company. Apparently some punk kids took some Dollar Tree shopping carts that were in our parking lot and rammed them into the entrance doors, causing the alarm to go off and report a glass breakage. The police were called, but the kids had split by the time they arrived.

So we got issued a $125 citation for a false alarm. If we can produce video showing the kids who pushed the carts into the doors, they might consider dropping it.

[smileyeagle1021]

I hate to break it to him, but I was thinking 12! (And I say that as being the one who is 38 and still gets carded on a regular basis!)

that reminds me of going to wendover yesterday with a friend... oh he was pissed, I turned 21 9 months ago and I wasn't carded a single time... he is 25 and he was carded 4 times...