I also beg to differ that you can’t complain to a customer about being stiffed. I’ve done it, and my boss has supported it because she knew that she couldn’t keep good wait staff if cheapskate swine were allowed to ride on the coattails of good customers who played by the rules. Don’t know the rule? Here’s the rule: We allow you to participate in setting the final price of your meal by paying the wait staff sub-minimum wage, thus letting you the customer determine the level of compensation for service rendered. That does not mean you should expect to receive service for free simply because you can’t afford the customary tip. If you can’t afford to tip, stay home or eat at a fast food place where you serve yourself.

Let’s not jump too hard on the waitress until we have some facts. She did not get a tip until a Clinton staffer returned to the restaurant to rectify the matter. The two waitresses each got $20 in the end, which is more than a 20% tip on the total bill. In Iowa, that’s better than average by a long shot. What happened to the original tip? That remains to be seen. Could have been a mix-up by the staff, where one person was taking care of the bill and another was assumed to be leaving the tip. The tip could have been stolen by any number of people from a member of the entourage (including the press) to a fellow employee with a political agenda, to a manager just seeking notoriety or a collector’s item. But to start pounding on the waitress is just plain wrong.

You MIGHT complain to your boss, but they’re not real sympathetic.

You CAN’T complain to the CUSTOMER–which is exactly what this woman did, through the MEDIA.

Finally: That waitress was wrong. The Clinton campaign DID leave a tip.

The restaurant manager, Brad Crawford, confirmed in interviews, including with The New York Times, that Mrs. Clinton, of New York, and her retinue had indeed left a tip, though he did not say how much…

She said that when she and her colleague said they had not seen a tip, the staff member gave each of them $20.

Wow. It looks like that smarmy restaurant manager stole their tip. What a shock. Either that, or the waitress is lying.

Facts and information. Not always equal…

The above were comments I left at the Daily Kos comments section at the link for this story.

She should be fired. I know I would have been fired if I had DARED to complain to ANYONE except my fellow servers that someone had stiffed ME. And I waited tables for about twenty years.

How do we know she wasn’t tipped–except that she SAID she wasn’t tipped? Why on earth would I trust her word for this as fact? Again, the real problem for the campaign is this–do it on paper. Keep a paper trail. Of course, they’ve learned that one by now.

How do we know this woman isn’t a Hillary-hating Red State Bible-thumper? Who is she? And why didn’t she get fired for complaining about not getting tipped? And why wasn’t the TIP INCLUDED in a large party, which I would assume a $157 bill would have provided for?

I don’t know what really happened, but the possibilities that haven’t been addressed speak louder than the ones that have been. “Why would I lie about not getting a tip?” she told NPR. She also maintained that her co-workers at the restaurant had not received tips.

Something stinks here. An entire restaurant of wait staff who ALL got stiffed? Sounds like bullshit to me, and I’m an old pro.

I’m not defending Hillary…she isn’t even the issue. She doesn’t pay the bill. But there are so many fucking holes in this story, it’s an old piece of Swiss cheese, as far as I’m concerned.