Posted on 03/27/2007 9:26:39 AM PDT by Hildy
Actor Jeremy Piven has reportedly been banned from America's Nobu restaurants after paying a waiter's tip with a DVD. The Old School star was dining at celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurant in Aspen, Colorado during the recent Us Comedy Arts Festival. When the bill came, Piven paid up and left the waiter a copy of his Entourage series DVD as a tip. The outraged server threw the DVD at the celebrity diner. A fellow diner tells the New York Daily News, "He (Piven) came in with a large group of 12 or more without reservations and asked for a table. It was a very busy night, but a table, although cramped, was provided. On his way out, he made a nasty comment to the manager: 'Thanks for nothing.'" The actor was later advised to steer clear of all Nobu restaurants. But Piven is playing down the incident in Aspen: "I'm such a fan of Nobu and all of his restaurants. I had a great dinner at the Nobu in Aspen. As always, the meal was excellent and the service was great."
You always talk in doublespeak? Sounds like who's on first.
Hope the server's arm was in good shape, and that he threw a fastdisk and hit him.
I will say that this part, throwing the DVD at him, was way over the top, and that should probably have gotten the waiter fired. On the other hand, I once ran after a family of 6 (4 little children, who absolutely destroyed my station, cracker crumbs mixed with juice all over the place, and my other guests complaining about the horrible way the children misbehaved), who left me a .42 tip on a $64.58 dollar bill (the parents ordered a number of drinks), announcing loudly that they had left their "forty two cents change" at the table in the lobby. They left and to the best of my knowledge, the never returned.
Mark
Wait staff are not owed any extra compensation for serving you.
That being said, if wait staff exceed my expectation for the restaurant I am in, they will receive compensation over and above the price of the meal.
Shoot, I have left a tip in a Burger King because I was served graciously and over and above what I expect in a Burger King.
Read it again real slow and try to think. It's all there.
In this case, the tip obviously wasn't added onto the bill, unless you feel like making up facts.
Anyone who doesn't tip is a cheap, egotistical, and condescending SOB who thinks that they are owed everything without having to give anything back.
It is a classless act by elitist snobs.
IMO of course ;)
I'll pass. Too much work, and I'm not a stupid person. Just not in the mood to figure out a run-on rambling sentence/paragraph.
This thread reminds me of an allegory:
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied."
The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away.
The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies
- You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
Mark
20% tip, having worked in the restaurant industry. If the service is bad, then 10%. Waiting tables is no easy feat, and you have to put up with a bunch of creeps who think they deserve service.
No, it wasn't. It was a defensive sneer, which I called you on.
I'm always surprised that people here have to make it a point to let everyone know that they are not familiar with the person in the story...but they wear it like a badge of honor. Be honest, that's what you really wanted people to think or else you wouldn't have mentioned it.
No, my point wasn't that I am culturally superior. It was more along the lines of "why is this even a story?". "Man Doesn't Tip Waiter" is the whole story here, and the fact that it was a "celebrity" is merely incidental to it. Yet, for some reason, people are paid to write this and others pay to read it.
People who think they're superior because they don't keep up with popular culture are funny to me. I think it's important to know popular culture...it tells you alot about the direction a society is going.
There is pop culture, and then there is the "news" about pop culture. What you call "keeping up" with it is just a self-perpetuating PR churning. That is another layer down. It is one thing to see movies and TV shows and discuss it with friends and such. It is another when there are magazines and TV shows obsessing with non-entities like Anna Nicole Smith.
The first is experiencing pop culture, the latter is merely gossiping about the players and purveyors. Buying into that kind of hype is what endows these pop icons with the credibility to spout off about terrorism, climate or the plight of Nepal without any credentials on the subject at hand.
That was my first thought - is Nobo the only restaurant to not put the gratuity on the bill for large groups?
I didn't state that it was the case, in case you didn't notice.
You say, "obviously"? No, it isn't obvious either way.
In most fine dining establishments it is the norm.
Not always... It depends on the restaurant's policy, and if the manager is willing to stand up for it. I once had a late night party of more than 30 (it was a local college football team on the way back from an away game, and there were only 2 waiters left by that time) and the manager agreed to waive the 15% added on to the bill. We got stiffed. No tip at all. The manager refused to make it up to us, and we both quit that night, without even cleaning our station...
Mark
Ooops, Hildy, I just read your post after sending my quip about the "cult of celebrity" fostered by slick grocery-store checkout magazines.
I always enjoy your posts and think you bring a lot of wisdom to FR, but I find that I'm happier - and hopefully no less informed - ignoring "popular culture".
Good for you.
Most, not all. Sometimes it's left up to the waiter. The articles states that Piven left a DVD for a tip, which OBVIOUSLY means there was no tip included on the bill.
He had a chance to be the bigger guy and he didn't. Barging in with a large party and no reservations and expecting the royal treatment was bad enough, but if the meal was excellent and the service great, according to Jer, then why not use that as an opportunity to show off a little more and drop a huge tip on a waiter who may have or may not have been gruff at having to find an immediate place for a large, unannounced group during a rush? And what waiter would be excited about a DVD unless it was wrapped up with a couple large bills? As a former waitress, I surely wouldn't.
Piven had a chance to really shine and chose the low road. If he was whoring for attention amidst that Aspen crowd, he could have been the big tipper, the gracious guest. He's really changed since his HBO show became a hit.
Jeremy isn't the only one:
www.bitterwaitress.com
I worked for tips for 7+ years. I wasn't at Nobu, neither were you. I don't know Piven whatsoever, and neither do you.
Not directed at you but -- This site is full of people who refuse to believe *anything* the mainstream media prints. Unless, of course, it's celebrity gossip.
I'll stay skeptical.
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