Fiancé confronted over tip, even though I paid
This happened tonight, and I'm still reeling about it. My friend, fiancé, and I went to our local KPOT in Fredericksburg, VA. We only saw our server three times in 90 mins, and our total interaction with him was less than 5 mins.
He never checked on us, so we had to ask other employees for rice because otherwise we weren't going to get any. Our dirty plates were never cleared, so they just kept piling up. Once we finished eating, we waited for him to come by so we could pay but after sitting there for about 30 minutes, we finally had to flag him down ourselves after he sat another table next to us.
I paid for my fiancé's and my dinner, that came to $102, and I left a $5 tip. On the way out, I went to the waiting area because my friend paid separately and had a coupon that needed to be applied. I thought my fiancé was right behind me, but he came a minute later. As we were walking to the car, my fiancé told me that our server said to him, "Let her know that the tip is typically 20%."
Sorry, but you don't earn a 20% tip for simply walking us to a table and bringing a couple of sodas, especially when you barely checked on us, never cleared the table, and left us waiting half an hour just to pay. And to top it off, I was the one who paid the bill, yet he didn't say anything to me.
You don't earn a 20% tip for doing the bare minimum. The interaction at all-you-can-eat is already low since the servers aren't bringing out most of the food, so it's less than a regular restaurant, but that's not an excuse to disappear for most of dinner. He could have checked on us a few more times, made sure we had everything we needed, cleared the plates from our table, and helped us get out in a reasonable amount of time instead of leaving us waiting around for 30 minutes just to pay.
Friend called the restaurant to speak with a manager, but they were told the manager was busy and would call them back. I guess we'll find out whether they actually care enough to address what happened. While to food is good, and I have been there multiple times before this, I am not inclined to go back or if I do, ask for a different server.
Edit: Manager did not call back (not suprised), so will send an email and review and stay away from there. I tried calling twice with no answer and mailbox was full. Friend called and actually got someone who said the manager would call him back but never did.