[jarek]

> It's a deal on the meal, not a deal on the tip.

The tip is obviously dependent on the price of the meal: most people will tip more for a more expensive meal, usually following a ratio. (20% or what have you.) People ordering the more expensive meal on the menu by and large tip more than those ordering the least expensive meal. Why should this change for the groupon meal?

[MichaelApproved]

Because when you get the bill, it's reduced from the retail price. People tend to tip on the price in the final bill. That final bill is discounted and they base their tip calculations on the discounted price, not the retail price. Even if they mean to tip %20, that %20 is based off a reduced number so the waiter is not getting tipped on the full meal price.

When I tip on a discounted meal, I calculate based on the retail price. My original comment suggested that many people might be tipping on the discounted price and that could be why waiters don't like daily deal customers.

[jrs235]

Unfortunately this is true. Most people [in the US] don't tip on the amount of a coupon and sometimes even gift cards.

I'm sure when waiter's see my wife and I with three little ones come in their heart sinks a little thinking they're going to get a bad tip. Especially when we split a plate for ourselves and/or our children. However, when the bill comes I tip around 25% of the bill and then add approx. $5 per split dish [when the restaurant doesn't already have a charge for doing such] when means they come out with a very nice tip percentage wise. ($5 is often less than a dish so I still save money, and a $5 tip would be 20% of $20 so the waiter is still tipped for putting up with my family and bringing out an extra plate.)

[jarek]

So, a disclaimer: I don't do groupons, restaurant or otherwise. But...

> Because when you get the bill, it's reduced from the retail price.

So? When you get the cheapest meal, it's 'reduced' from the average meal price too.

If hypothetically a restaurant's management was going to permanently drop its meal prices by half, would you still tip on the old price?

> that could be why waiters don't like daily deal customers.

If the restaurant is running a groupon, waiters have much more reason to dislike the management than to dislike the customers.

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The tipping mechanism for paying restaurant staff semi-decent wages creates some really weird cases like this one. The dislike of discount shoppers would never be an issue in locations where meal prices pay for semi-decent staff wages - the financial risk would be taken up solely by the owners/management making the decision.