Using coupons at Restaurants

Is it tacky to use a coupon at a restaurant? Not fast food but I mean a fancier, sit down restaurant? I heard someone else say that they think it is and when i think about it, i have gotten gift cards for certain restaurants before but i never bothered to use them because i probably think its tacky too but just never said it.

I don't think it's tacky at all. They pay to put those coupons out there and they are happy when people use them because they know their advertising worked!

I agree. I don't think it's tacky at all. (I also never consider a gift card a coupon either.) They put them out there because they want people to come in. I don't think it's tacky at all!

oh, and you can bet I'd never let a gift card go bad! I love it when people give me gift cards because if they give me cash, I'll find a way to spend it on my kids instead of myself. Gift cards I don't feel guilty about spending on myself. My parents give us gift cards to The Olive Garden sometimes and we use them, it's not embarrassing at all.

thepossiblepolice wrote:oh, and you can bet I'd never let a gift card go bad! I love it when people give me gift cards because if they give me cash, I'll find a way to spend it on my kids instead of myself. Gift cards I don't feel guilty about spending on myself. My parents give us gift cards to The Olive Garden sometimes and we use them, it's not embarrassing at all.

I despise gift cards! (Unless they are to online only places) I can understand the temptation to spend money on somebody else and I guess that's a valid reason for gift cards. We used to get a lot of gift cards to the Olive Garden. It WAS embarrassing, really embarrassing, one time. (Which kind of aided into why I hate Gift Cards. ) BUT, I feel coupons are different. I love coupons and we love to use them! (Like Oliver Garden coupons. )

I don't see anything wrong with coupons. And as far as gift cards, those are actually paid for with cash so it's like literally throwing money away.

Forgiveness Man wrote:

thepossiblepolice wrote:oh, and you can bet I'd never let a gift card go bad! I love it when people give me gift cards because if they give me cash, I'll find a way to spend it on my kids instead of myself. Gift cards I don't feel guilty about spending on myself. My parents give us gift cards to The Olive Garden sometimes and we use them, it's not embarrassing at all.

I despise gift cards! (Unless they are to online only places) I can understand the temptation to spend money on somebody else and I guess that's a valid reason for gift cards. We used to get a lot of gift cards to the Olive Garden. It WAS embarrassing, really embarrassing, one time. (Which kind of aided into why I hate Gift Cards. ) BUT, I feel coupons are different. I love coupons and we love to use them! (Like Oliver Garden coupons. )

haha, next time someone gives you one, I'll take it! lol, I'm more embarrassed by coupons than gift cards though, because I feel like I might look cheap but I don't really care, I'll use them anyway.

I have used both coupons and gift cards at Red Lobster and Applebees and see nothing tacky about it. My wallet isn't overflowing, if I can save a few dollars here and there then that's just what I'll do.

thepossiblepolice wrote:

Forgiveness Man wrote:

I despise gift cards! (Unless they are to online only places) I can understand the temptation to spend money on somebody else and I guess that's a valid reason for gift cards. We used to get a lot of gift cards to the Olive Garden. It WAS embarrassing, really embarrassing, one time. (Which kind of aided into why I hate Gift Cards. ) BUT, I feel coupons are different. I love coupons and we love to use them! (Like Oliver Garden coupons. )

haha, next time someone gives you one, I'll take it! lol, I'm more embarrassed by coupons than gift cards though, because I feel like I might look cheap but I don't really care, I'll use them anyway.

Hey, we like them for the most part anyway. (Unless they are to a sucky restaurant, and we've gotten one of those. ) You could've had the last one we got. It was essentially a worthless piece of plastic that was never even activated. Only we found that out AFTER the bill came. (We got use out of the cardboard it came with tho. We get more use out of those! )

I don't care if we look cheap with coupons. It's a tight economy.

Hell no, neither one is tacky.

Paying with a coupon ripped out the paper I can see being tacky, but a gift card is money.

RobbieFTW wrote:Is it tacky to use a coupon at a restaurant?

Hell to the nah. Use them shits.

I work in a restaurant and I can tell you that lots of people use gift cards and coupons, and I've never heard anyone say they think it's tacky.

What IS tacky is people who think paying with a gift card means you don't need to leave a tip. Go to McDonald's or stay home if you don't want to pay for service.

CatEyes10736 wrote:I have used both coupons and gift cards at Red Lobster and Applebees and see nothing tacky about it. My wallet isn't overflowing, if I can save a few dollars here and there then that's just what I'll do.

Red Lobster is where I had a gift card from that i let expire. Not on purpose but I just wasn't all that bent on using it right away.

2xy said what I was going to...the only time waitstaff think it is tacky is when patrons don't tip on the full amount before the coupon is applied, or not at all with a gift card.

Around here, those Entertainment Books (thick books sold for $30 full of coupons0 are big. And so several restaurants are in there, both fancy and greasy spoon.

Any chance I can get some money shaved off my bill I'm taking.

2xy wrote:I work in a restaurant and I can tell you that lots of people use gift cards and coupons, and I've never heard anyone say they think it's tacky.

What IS tacky is people who think paying with a gift card means you don't need to leave a tip. Go to McDonald's or stay home if you don't want to pay for service.

If the service is lousy, then you DON'T need to tip. Doesn't matter if you're paying with a gift card or not. And quite honestly, if you're a waiter/waitress.......then that's a job you chose. Tipping is a courtesy. Nobody should be required to do it.

Nystyle709 wrote:If the service is lousy, then you DON'T need to tip. Doesn't matter if you're paying with a gift card or not. And quite honestly, if you're a waiter/waitress.......then that's a job you chose. Tipping is a courtesy. Nobody should be required to do it.

I knew someone would say something like this.

In our society, tipping for personal services is expected. And no, you aren't required to tip. Neither am I required to do anything special for you the next time I see your face sitting in my section. I never give lousy service and I never said anything about tipping for lousy service. If I recognize you as a lousy tipper, you will get adequate service but I will not go out of my way for you. I pay more attention to people who compensate me for my work; wasting time on bad tippers is unwise, as it takes away from the rest of my guests.

I've noticed over the years that poor tippers are also frequently the most demanding, obnoxious customers. They also often try to get stuff for free, like to eat out late at night, and order lots of flavored lemonade.

And yes, it's a job I chose. Did you choose your job? Does someone pay you for it?

2xy wrote:I knew someone would say something like this.

It's the truth though. Is tipping not a courtesy? Is it not required?

In our society, tipping for personal services is expected. And no, you aren't required to tip. Neither am I required to do anything special for you the next time I see your face sitting in my section. I never give lousy service and I never said anything about tipping for lousy service.

So why would you say that not tipping is tacky when someone pays with a gift card? Perhaps that person actually got lousy service and that's why he/she didn't tip. Don't generalize not tipping as tacky because someone pays with a coupon or gift card. You don't know why they didn't tip. If they're using a gift card, perhaps they can't afford to tip. They want their free meal and that's it.

If I recognize you as a lousy tipper, you will get adequate service but I will not go out of my way for you. I pay more attention to people who compensate me for my work; wasting time on bad tippers is unwise, as it takes away from the rest of my guests.

LOL. That's all you're supposed to do. Give adequate service.

I've noticed over the years that poor tippers are also frequently the most demanding, obnoxious customers. They also often try to get stuff for free, like to eat out late at night, and order lots of flavored lemonade.

I know all too well. I used to be a waitress too. I've given the best service in the world and still got nothing for it. I didn't take it personally. Whatever.

And yes, it's a job I chose. Did you choose your job? Does someone pay you for it?

Uhh, yeah. What does that have to do with anything? Your restaurant also pays you for your job. Yes, tips are where the waiters make the bulk of their money, but that's on top of what the restaurant pays you. And if they don't, then you need to contact OSHA.

Legally, tipping is not required. Ethically, I think it's required. I would never fail to leave a tip. It's also not legally required that I hold open the door for the little old man with a walker at the 7-11, but it's the right thing to do. It's not legally required that I provide anything for my children besides sustenance, shelter, and schooling, but most would agree that kids should have more than those basic things....right?

I don't care why a person doesn't tip. If they got bad service, they should bring it up to the management so it can be rectified. I'll say it again...this is not about lousy service. If you get lousy service every time you go out, maybe you should eat somewhere else or take a look at your own expectations. I'm talking about people who get fine service and don't tip. If you can't afford a tip out of your pocket, then you should order fewer things with your gift card. If they want their free meal, they can order it to-go and not sit in my section and hog up my table.

I don't know what kind of place you served in, but I've never worked anywhere that expected me to give adequate service. All of my employers expect their waitstaff to give EXCELLENT service.

Tips are where I make all of my money. My hourly only covers taxes. And my taxes are based on my sales, which means that if you rack up a $100 bill and don't tip, I actually lose money because I have to pay taxes on those sales....so I've paid out of my pocket in order to wait on you. I also have to pay my busser, bartender, and food runner out of my tips. So when you don't tip me, you hurt most of the front-of-house staff. The whole "you chose this job" mentality is a crappy reason to not leave a tip. Luckily, there are people out there who are generous and, as usual, take up the slack for the deadbeats in society.

People who don't tip for no reason other than to save a buck are rude, but it is a reality in the industry.

Personally, I skip the tip, or tip very poorly if my waitperson has been rude or has done something that I felt was very unprofessional. I'm not going to bring it up to management. The lack of tip speaks for me.

One of my pet peeves is a waitperson who brings my water over palm or fingers touching the area my lips will. If a waitress does that, I tip poorly because I will not have had a drinkable water to enjoy with my meal. And that happens probably 3 out of 10 times I go anywhere. Yeah, I could (and should) say something, but I am not going to piss off the person handling my food before it reaches me.

2xy wrote:Legally, tipping is not required. Ethically, I think it's required. I would never fail to leave a tip. It's also not legally required that I hold open the door for the little old man with a walker at the 7-11, but it's the right thing to do. It's not legally required that I provide anything for my children besides sustenance, shelter, and schooling, but most would agree that kids should have more than those basic things....right?

I don't care why a person doesn't tip. If they got bad service, they should bring it up to the management so it can be rectified. I'll say it again...this is not about lousy service. If you get lousy service every time you go out, maybe you should eat somewhere else or take a look at your own expectations. I'm talking about people who get fine service and don't tip. If you can't afford a tip out of your pocket, then you should order fewer things with your gift card. If they want their free meal, they can order it to-go and not sit in my section and hog up my table.

I don't know what kind of place you served in, but I've never worked anywhere that expected me to give adequate service. All of my employers expect their waitstaff to give EXCELLENT service.

Tips are where I make all of my money. My hourly only covers taxes. And my taxes are based on my sales, which means that if you rack up a $100 bill and don't tip, I actually lose money because I have to pay taxes on those sales....so I've paid out of my pocket in order to wait on you. I also have to pay my busser, bartender, and food runner out of my tips. So when you don't tip me, you hurt most of the front-of-house staff. The whole "you chose this job" mentality is a crappy reason to not leave a tip. Luckily, there are people out there who are generous and, as usual, take up the slack for the deadbeats in society.

I'm sorry, but........................ . It's hilarious how you demand patrons to pay you extra money for doing your job. And for you to think that they should complain to management when they get bad service, but still leave a tip anyway is even more hilarious. Your job when you are hired by the restaurant is wait on customers. The restaurant is paying you to wait on their customers. Get them their food and water quickfast, do it with a smile and that's it. All a customer has to do is pay for their food. Granted, because tips are expected, they might not pay you as much hourly as the cook or the dishwasher but they are still paying you do it. The fact that you chose this job is not a crappy reason because it's the truth. You chose to wait on them. Just because I can't afford to leave a tip, I can't sit down at the table and enjoy my food like other patrons? LOL. I actually do agree a bit that leaving something should be the decent thing to do if you got great service and you know you did and you're still being cheap, but your whole attitude about it is just funny to me.

Sometime I don't tip, but it's never because I'm being cheap or rude....if I don't it's usually because I'm paying with plastic and have no change or spare dollars on me. I'm not going to stop at the ATM machine beforehand just so I can tip the server.

Marc™ wrote:Sometime I don't tip, but it's never because I'm being cheap or rude....if I don't it's usually because I'm paying with plastic and have no change or spare dollars on me. I'm not going to stop at the ATM machine beforehand just so I can tip the server.

marc dont they have a "tip" section on the receipt when you get your bill? thats where i add my tip in.

obviously not where that red arrow is pointing, but...

by the way my tippin depends on service, your service is lousy, i wont tip very much.. but i still do leave somethin.

If you can't afford to leave a tip, you can't afford to dine in a full-service restaurant.

And I cannot "demand" anything. I can only expect that people have enough class to do the right thing....pay for service. Again, I don't know where you have served, but most waitstaff only make $2-3 hourly. It's expected that our pay is based on tips in most states. When you pay your bill at the restaurant, you are paying for overhead and product. When you tip, you are paying for service. Most servers do not earn real wages by the employer; it's sort of like working for commission. If you don't want to pay for service, you should eat somewhere that you serve yourself.

Please...if you find my views amusing, just own it. No more fake "I'm sorry, but" stuff. You are obviously not sorry in the least.

And Cheaps...once again...nobody is talking about tipping for bad service.