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Friday, November 7, 2008
Do You Tip In Front of Your Waiter?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DO YOU PAY IN FRONT OF YOUR WAITER?
Dining out on Wednesday night I had an odd experience with my waiter — he shared the same small hometown with a friend I was dining with and ended up overstaying his welcome exchanging stories. Seriously, it added a good 20 - 30 minutes to our time at the table. Otherwise he was a delightful waiter, but by the end of the evening I knew far more about him, his family and where he grew up than I cared to.
That’s a subject all its own, but think on this for a moment: after he finally delivered the bill to us, he lingered to talk more. For 10 more minutes at least. During that time, my husband nudged me towards paying the bill. But I never pay the bill in front of the waiter. I think it’s rude to pay — and tip — in front of the wait person.
After doing a little poll of my own, I’m finding that people are as divided over this as they are over politics — some agree it’s rude, others feel it’s perfectly acceptable. What do you think?
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