All-Star Grammar Thread - Have At It

[gofriars610]

It's like buzzfeed knows us: 17 Really Common Phrases You've Probably Been Saying Wrong

 

[Cheeranswers]

had to share.

 

[Official OWECheer]

I'm finna correct everybody that uses bad grammar.

BTW if you guys want to have a laugh, watch Rob Dyke's 'Why Would You Put That on the Internet' (WWYPTOTI for short). The bad spelling is HILARIOUS!

 

[quitthedrama]

At the bottom of the receipts, we even list out 15/18/20% tip amounts. Which I star so people see it. You don't even need to guess- this also means I know when you're a horrible person/don't know how to tip.

I worked in the restaurant industry all through college so I completely get how awful customers can be, so I get the frustration. I went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago and this was on my receipt. I was offended and irritated. I understand that a fair amount of the population is ignorant, but I am not, and I nearly always tip 20% or more unless my service is awful and it is clearly the servers fault. I don't need anyone telling me how to tip. Had I gotten that receipt and it was highlighted, I would have assumed you thought I was a fool and you had no respect for me as a customer (which if I understand your post correctly that indeed is the case) and I would have been inclined to leave less for a gratuity than I normally would. I think if the customer is ignorant no amount of hinting is going to get you a better tip, and this tactic may backfire on your good customers.

 

[MissCongeniality]

Ok. I fully admit to overusing ... BUT, there is a reason.
Imagine reading a teleprompter (way back in the dark ages when we were typing onto carbon paper too!). "," does not show up well in a script. So "..." was used.

 

[rrhhiannon]

all people? or teenagers? I've had people ask that or "what's good" and it just confuses me.. like i don't know, nothing? everything? WHAT ARE YOU ASKING ME

Everybody, it's actually less common in teenagers now. Sometimes I over hear things at stores and I honestly have no idea what they're saying.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

eg. vs i.e.
I.e.= that is, e.g. = for example

Yes! I'd say less than 10% of people know how to use these correctly. "I.E." does not stand for "in example!"

Don't leave out our friend the ellipsis. ;)

Guilty.

 

[kristenthegreat]

I worked in the restaurant industry all through college so I completely get how awful customers can be, so I get the frustration. I went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago and this was on my receipt. I was offended and irritated. I understand that a fair amount of the population is ignorant, but I am not, and I nearly always tip 20% or more unless my service is awful and it is clearly the servers fault. I don't need anyone telling me how to tip. Had I gotten that receipt and it was highlighted, I would have assumed you thought I was a fool and you had no respect for me as a customer (which if I understand your post correctly that indeed is the case) and I would have been inclined to leave less for a gratuity than I normally would. I think if the customer is ignorant no amount of hinting is going to get you a better tip, and this tactic may backfire on your good customers.

Most computer systems in NYC that I've used automatically put it on the receipt (And I've used the gamut- Aloha, RPower, My-something or other). Chains, mom n pops, fancy restaurant groups, you name it- they've all had it on there. Mine just lists the amounts for 15/18/20, some places actually have good=15=X, great=18=Y, etc. on there too (that's common in Times Square restaurants, I've notice). I wonder if they've just expanded that to all their systems nationwide just for ease- I can tell when customers have used it because it's often some weird amount like 20.52 or something lol. I'm glad you're intelligent enough to tip properly, but a good portion of customers I've served, unfortunately, are not. If I ever get an obscenely low tip (under 15% and the table isn't foreign), my manager will double-check with the customer to make sure they were satisfied. They usually are and say how wonderful everything was. It happens. We get a lot of tourists where my current place is, as we're surrounded by hotels.

Funny enough- most studies show that people have pre-conceived notions on what they're going to tip before they enter the restaurant. Very little actually moves the number higher or lower, unless the service was truly exceptional or truly horrible. My little smiley exclamation point or other bits don't really help or hurt much, but it's my personal touch. My favorite is when customers write back- I once had a bible verse about joy and good will left for me. I'm not religious, but I thought it was sweet. I also had a table leave Game of Thrones doodles 'cause we talked about the show. Even a 'Thank YOU!' is fun.

I average high (19-20% usually), because I treat my customers well. I've also had a table walk on a $170 check leaving NOTHING but the bill. I'm guessing they did it on purpose because they sat outside by the exit and left shortly after signing the checks. I also had a table try to tip under their gratuity because they 'couldn't afford their bill if it was on.' It was a $200 check. I've learned to appreciate my friendly customers. :D

 

[HeyMom]

I ALWAYS mess up affect/effect. The difference was never really explained well to me? So I apologize if any of my future posts use them incorrectly, but I'll do my best to get it right!

I am not sure I can explain this in writing but here is how I remember. If it is the noun I want then I think of it as theee eeeffect (don't really know how to convey the long e sound in this post) Something like "The effect of her outbursts is affecting my ability to remain calm" - if that makes sense:confused:

 

[Official OWECheer]

all people? or teenagers? I've had people ask that or "what's good" and it just confuses me.. like i don't know, nothing? everything? WHAT ARE YOU ASKING ME

That reminds me of "I'm good" versus "I'm well"

Or "I wish I was" instead of "I wish I were".

Or "career" versus "carrier". I.e. "Justin's has been very successful in his carrier".

 

[Ashley]

I worked in the restaurant industry all through college so I completely get how awful customers can be, so I get the frustration. I went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago and this was on my receipt. I was offended and irritated. I understand that a fair amount of the population is ignorant, but I am not, and I nearly always tip 20% or more unless my service is awful and it is clearly the servers fault. I don't need anyone telling me how to tip. Had I gotten that receipt and it was highlighted, I would have assumed you thought I was a fool and you had no respect for me as a customer (which if I understand your post correctly that indeed is the case) and I would have been inclined to leave less for a gratuity than I normally would. I think if the customer is ignorant no amount of hinting is going to get you a better tip, and this tactic may backfire on your good customers.

Not really related, but I spent a lot of time on wedding planning message boards in the last year or so, and their etiquette advice is along similar lines to what you're saying here. Don't put a start time on your invites 30 minutes before your ceremony starts - guests should know to be on time, and it's offensive to those who do know and end up there 30 minutes before they need to be (happened to me once. I was SO MAD). Don't put a dress code on your invites unless it's black tie - the majority of your guests don't need to be told not to wear jeans and those who don't will probably wear jeans regardless. Don't have a honeymoon registry - no one needs to be told that cash is an acceptable gift. Etc. Your customers aren't idiots. Most people (maybe not in NYC) know how tipping works and don't need to be told what an acceptable tip is.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

Most computer systems in NYC that I've used automatically put it on the receipt (And I've used the gamut- Aloha, RPower, My-something or other). Chains, mom n pops, fancy restaurant groups, you name it- they've all had it on there. Mine just lists the amounts for 15/18/20, some places actually have good=15=X, great=18=Y, etc. on there too (that's common in Times Square restaurants, I've notice). I wonder if they've just expanded that to all their systems nationwide just for ease- I can tell when customers have used it because it's often some weird amount like 20.52 or something lol. I'm glad you're intelligent enough to tip properly, but a good portion of customers I've served, unfortunately, are not. If I ever get an obscenely low tip (under 15% and the table isn't foreign), my manager will double-check with the customer to make sure they were satisfied. They usually are and say how wonderful everything was. It happens. We get a lot of tourists where my current place is, as we're surrounded by hotels.

Funny enough- most studies show that people have pre-conceived notions on what they're going to tip before they enter the restaurant. Very little actually moves the number higher or lower, unless the service was truly exceptional or truly horrible. My little smiley exclamation point or other bits don't really help or hurt much, but it's my personal touch. My favorite is when customers write back- I once had a bible verse about joy and good will left for me. I'm not religious, but I thought it was sweet. I also had a table leave Game of Thrones doodles 'cause we talked about the show. Even a 'Thank YOU!' is fun.

I average high (19-20% usually), because I treat my customers well. I've also had a table walk on a $170 check leaving NOTHING but the bill. I'm guessing they did it on purpose because they sat outside by the exit and left shortly after signing the checks. I also had a table try to tip under their gratuity because they 'couldn't afford their bill if it was on.' It was a $200 check. I've learned to appreciate my friendly customers. :D

My dad has always told us that if you go out to eat, you leave a 20% tip, unless they were horrible. And extra if it's a special day like Christmas Eve. Tipping is part of eating out. If you can't afford to tip then you can't afford to eat out. Plain and simple.

Do you often find that there is a certain demographic of people who don't tip? I ask because I have friends from other countries who don't understand the concept of tipping, so they don't. One of my friends is from Panama and it took him two years to understand that you are supposed to tip at restaurants. (whenever we went out to eat with him, we'd always have to cover his portion of the tip since he would not pay it. I'm glad he finally understands it now.) Apparently it's not something they do in their country. I know that NYC and the surrounding areas are extremely diverse and abundant in immigrants, so this is why I ask.

Also, am I the only one, when tipping, I have to round to the nearest whole dollar? Say the total, with tip, comes to $13.38 - it has to be 14. I just like seeing whole numbers on my credit card statement, I'm sorry.

 

[Official OWECheer]

My dad has always told us that if you go out to eat, you leave a 20% tip, unless they were horrible. And extra if it's a special day like Christmas Eve. Tipping is part of eating out. If you can't afford to tip then you can't afford to eat out. Plain and simple.

Do you often find that there is a certain demographic of people who don't tip? I ask because I have friends from other countries who don't understand the concept of tipping, so they don't. One of my friends is from Panama and it took him two years to understand that you are supposed to tip at restaurants. (whenever we went out to eat with him, we'd always have to cover his portion of the tip since he would not pay it. I'm glad he finally understands it now.) Apparently it's not something they do in their country. I know that NYC and the surrounding areas are extremely diverse and abundant in immigrants, so this is why I ask.

Also, am I the only one, when tipping, I have to round to the nearest whole dollar? Say the total, with tip, comes to $13.38 - it has to be 14. I just like seeing whole numbers on my credit card statement, I'm sorry.

I think people's attitude toward tipping is due to their ignorance of how poorly waiters and waitresses are paid.

 

[Daniellerae]

I worked in a hotel restaurant my senior year so we had a lot of foreign people coming in. Mostly French, Indian, and Japanese. Anyway the servers would try and bribe me to not give them foreign tables because they just did not understand american dining. There was a group of about 8 that stayed in the hotel for a week and came in for every meal. They never left a tip and when their server brought them their check they would follow them to the computer and wait in line for the server to put in their receipt. It was super bizarre.

I know that in France being a server is an actual career, like you go to school to be a waiter. They get paid an actual salary and not a third of minimum wage.

 

[Pip22]

I think people's attitude toward tipping is due to their ignorance of how poorly waiters and waitresses are paid.

I think it's a cultural thing. Waiters and waitresses here get paid fairly well so while it's polite to tip, it's not frowned upon as much if you don't and these days most places add on a service charge.