baksheesh
or bak·shish, bak·shis
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There was something wrong with Julie’s date, Cody. She could not immediately put her finger on what it was, but it was definitely something. Something that irked her. It was nothing overt. He seemed like a nice guy. He did not spend the entire night talking about himself, and he was able to maintain eye contact reasonably well. He was decent looking and was not eating like a pig. Everything should have been good. But still, there was something.
Whatever it was, she would figure out later. Their dinner was done and the check was being delivered. The waiter set the check down and gave the standard response. Cody did not acknowledge the man in the slightest. Maybe it was because he was talking? But wait, had he ever said a word the waiter other than to place an order?
“Don’t worry, I’ve got the check.” He said, taking out his wallet. He placed his card down and acted like that was all he had to do.
Julie gave the waiter a polite word of thanks as he took the card and check. Cody raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The conversation continued, with that feeling in Julie’s gut only getting worse the entire time. It was like he did not even think about the waiter.
The bill came back a few minutes later, and Julie watched carefully. That was how she saw it. He left the line for a tip blank. Nor did he make any more to drop some cash. Julie frowned, and went to take out her wallet.
“Hey, hey, what’re you doing? The bill’s all settled.” Cody asked.
“Oh, well, I just noticed that you didn’t leave a tip, so I was going to.”
“A tip? Why would I do that?”
Julie looked confused. “Uh, because it’s standard practice?”
“Meh. I’m sure it doesn’t matter all that much. I don’t think the waiter cares.”
“Oh, I guarantee he does.” She said. “You do know how much of a waiter’s pay is tips, right?”
He shrugged. “Not all that much. Not enough that it matters.”
“Are…are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Trust me, that guy not getting a tip from me won’t matter much. Besides, it’s not like he’s worth tipping anyway.”
Julie got a sinking feeling.
“What?”
“Yeah. If he was any good at anything, he’d get a better job than taking orders in a place like this. Trust me, he’s only here because this is the only job he’s capable of doing.”
And there it was. The thing that rubbed her the wrong way. How had she not seen it before? How had she not realized how he treated the poor waiter. Cody treated the guy like he didn’t even exist.
“You can’t seriously think that, right?”
“Why not? It’s true, isn’t it? People always get the best job they’re capable of getting. That’s just a fact of life. Anyone doing a crappy job like this doesn’t deserve anything more. Any they definitely don’t deserve handouts like tips. Now come on, we can continue an actual conversation at my place. I’ve got some great wine chilling right now.”
She took a deep breath and took out her wallet, making sure to maintain eye contact with him the entire time. She pulled out enough for a 30% tip and left it on the table. The only time she looked down was to confirm how much she was giving.
“No, I don’t think I’ll be joining you anymore.” She said. She stopped looking at him as she headed for the door.
He looked at her with confusion as she left the restaurant, never to see him again.
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Seriously people, tip your waiters and waitresses. You don't know their situation, and they probably depend on those tips more than you think.
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