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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:23:58 PM EDT
A post by taxman regarding using coupons got me curious.
I personally have done this. You know those coupon booklets you buy from various fundraisers. Well I make use of them dammit. A few times they have had coupons for some decent restaurants not fast food. There was a restaurant chain that was pretty good in SoCal called Il Fornaio. Went there with a date once before heading for a comedy club and dancing afterwards. IIRC it was our 4th or 5th date. NOw mind you this is SoCal. Going to dance club will be $15 cover each and around $7.00 drinks. Comedy club would be another $10 each cover and 2 drinks minimum. So I need to save somewhere. I clipped the coupon. folded in half stuck it in my wallet behind the CC I was going use. When the check came an neatly tucked it underneath my CC so that it would not be obvious as I return the little coverlet they give your check. Worked like a charm. She was none the wiser and I got like $10 bucks off dinner.  Did that here in TX too. Not on a date, but out to dinner with some co-workers. We went to TX de Brazil. Our work, works with businesses in the area and will sometime get coupons you can print from our intranet. I saw a coupon for half price off for the 4th dinner. So I offered to use my CC/debit card and everyone just gives me cash for their meals. To prevent the confusion of seperate checks. I got my meal for half price. Not bad considering it was a $40+ per person tab.
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:26:35 PM EDT
[#1]
Maybe not on a first date, but after that, it's all good. I've used the Entertainment Value Book coupons before.
I've also been to the Texas de Brazil restaurant (the one in Fort Worth), very nice place. But I paid full price. Great service there, that's for sure. And the food was great. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:28:42 PM EDT
[#2]
....mmmmmmm.... Texas de Brazil......
I'm sorry, What was your question again? 
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:29:11 PM EDT
[#3]
Not the first date but once our relationship was entrenched it was all bets off. I would clip like a mad man. When I told her it would allow us to go out more, she was all for it.
Nothing wrong with saving a few bucks. If she looks down at you for doing it, then you need to move on. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:30:06 PM EDT
[#4]
Boy I tell ya, if you are a meat lover, you can't go wrong with Texas de Brazil. I'm hungry now.
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:32:39 PM EDT
[#5]
[leykis]you are paying - she should not bitch, otherwise she is a gold digger (usually true)
don't ever spend more than $40 on a date [/leykis] |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:32:51 PM EDT
[#6]
You wanna see lust in a woman's eyes on a 1st date, just ask the waiter, "Excuse me Captain, do you accept Food Stamps?"
At least I think it was lust... |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:33:53 PM EDT
[#7]
 Not with my kind of women!!! |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:33:59 PM EDT
[#8]
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:34:55 PM EDT
[#9]
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:36:42 PM EDT
[#10]
I used a $30 gift card at Outback once (plus about $15 cash) on a date, but I've never used the type of coupons you cut out of the Sunday paper.
Excuse me, snip..snip..snip... 
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:37:09 PM EDT
[#11]
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:38:31 PM EDT
[#12]
If I found coupons... yes. But naturally, no coupons for Ruth's Chris.
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:39:13 PM EDT
[#13]
You could always barter her out to the waiter for a discount.
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:39:24 PM EDT
[#14]
i haven't seen any hookers that take coupons
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:40:17 PM EDT
[#15]
Not on a first date.
Wait... scratch that. I used a "buy one get one free" coupon for the movies once. As a general rule, if she's worth paying full price for the meal/activity, she'll be glad to see you use a coupon and save your $$$ to buy shiney shit for her! 
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:40:42 PM EDT
[#16]
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:40:56 PM EDT
[#17]
That's because you aren't a member of OOIDA, are you?  |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:44:30 PM EDT
[#18]
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:49:15 PM EDT
[#19]
lol - I used a coupon for a free dinner I won that I was supposed to use to take one girl out with, to instead take out the girl who is now my wife. And she was happy to go and see me ditch the other girl. (that was about 12 years ago and she is still with me, so I guess it wasn't that bad of a thing to do)
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:49:59 PM EDT
[#20]
as a chick, I've cut those entertainment coupons and given them to the guy to use. Is that tacky for a girl to do?
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:50:26 PM EDT
[#21]
Hell yeah I use 'em. We used to plan nights out around what coupons we had. First date is iffy, but good idea on how to get around it.
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Posted: 2/19/2006 2:54:31 PM EDT
[#22]
Let me think...........NO, not yet
 There is a thin line between a dipshit and a cheap bastage. Danny
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:03:25 PM EDT
[#23]
Not at all! It shows you appreciate the money he is spending on you enough to help. Of course I'm old and out of touch, but that's the way I feel.z |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:05:26 PM EDT
[#24]
i used to wait tables and i HATED those entertainment/enjoyment coupon books.
assholes would come in, get a half price meal and tip on the reduced total. not to mention they are a PAIN IN THE ASS to process. as a result, i NEVER use coupons at a sit down resturant |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:10:36 PM EDT
[#25]
i guess coupons could also make the nights more interesting - no trying to figure out where to go and what to eat...
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:11:02 PM EDT
[#26]
I use Buy One, Get One Free for hookers and blow.
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:11:20 PM EDT
[#27]
tips are not entitlements so be thankful for any amount of tip you get... |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:17:39 PM EDT
[#28]
When you make $2.13/hr, you live and die by tips. If you're so cheap that you have to use coupons and stiff the service just to go out to dinner, maybe you should re-evaluate your choice of restaurant. (i mean the generic "you" not a personal attack) I absolutely HATE HATE HATE HATE when people think that they are doing someone a FAVOR by giving them a tip. A tip is a payment for service, regardless of the meal. Wait staff do not make SQUAT by the hour, so if they give you good service you should pay them for it. I always tip 20-25% of the TOTAL bill, and if I can't afford to do so BEFORE going out, I don't go! |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:23:02 PM EDT
[#29]
[hijack] you are guaranteed federal minimum wage, the $2.13/hr+tips shall meet FMW requirements or else the employer must make up the difference....quit bitching, demand better pay, or get another job because YOUR PAY should be between the employer and employee (you).... [/hijack] |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:25:03 PM EDT
[#30]
You are supposed to tip on the full amount of the check before coupon, that is just common sense. Waiters and waitresses are NOT entitled to a tip, that is why it is not figured into the bill already. I was a waitress once, the job sucks, and he's right , you only get paid like $2 an hour. Giving waitstaff a 25% tip is ridiculous unless you are really drunk, have just won some money, the waitress gave you her number, or you are dying in 6 months and hate your heirs. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:25:14 PM EDT
[#31]
i stand by my orignal post. this thread has brought one image to my mind
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:30:27 PM EDT
[#32]
for your reading pleasure: US DOL Minimum Wage |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:35:57 PM EDT
[#33]
I'm with you, I'm not saying you don't get min wage after tips. You can make pretty good money as waitstaff. That is why those young fine struggling actors can afford NYC/LA rent, they usually work as waiters until their 'big break". |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:40:47 PM EDT
[#34]
This guy (mikejohnson) just struck a major nerve. He reminded me of the 90 year old assholes that would come in, treat the waitsaff like slaves, and leave a quarter for a tip. when asked about it they make it sound like they were doing that person a favor. they then wonder why they get SHITTY service when they come back. O, and it's no myth that you don't want to piss off your waitstaff for fear of what they enlist the kitchen to do to your food. Just because waitstaff is guaranteed minimum wage is no excuse TO SHIT ON THEM! If you really do have that attitude i hope that every meal you ever eat in a resturaunt is overcooked, spit in, delivered late and dropped on your lap. You deserve it. You should be glad anyone brings you food at all. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:49:52 PM EDT
[#35]
I eat lunch out every day, and I figure I can afford $2.00 tip no matter what the ticket if it is a sit down place. Sometimes it is 30% and sometimes it is 15% or so (yes I live in a relatively cheap area). One of the restaurants makes it clear that no tips are to be paid, as they pay to cover it and they do very well as a business. Their lunch tickets are $7-10. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:53:10 PM EDT
[#36]
Yea Im a cheapass, I buy those books.
I havent used them on a date, but I dont go on enough dates to count |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:54:19 PM EDT
[#37]
again, tips are not entitlements, and if I were your employer you would be fired for bad service and charges filed for tampering with food (and that can ruin the business btw) - you are supposed to give service for the wage you are paid, anything extra is not required, but is a gift...if you need more then negotiate with your employer...
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Posted: 2/19/2006 3:59:11 PM EDT
[#38]
A) I havnt waited tables since high school B) the employer pays for what the staff does OTHER than waiting the tables. That means cleaning, prepping some food items (condiments, desserts, ect) and various other tasks. YOU get the service that YOU pay for. The majority of our customers were repeat customers. I had customers that would ask for me BY NAME because of the service I gave them. They were courteous, and tipped well. I returned the favor. If I had a customer I had never served before, I treated them well and with the respect and courtesy they deserved, but if they started to display an attitude like they were doing me a favor by warming the seat, than they got what they deserved. Sir, if you take this attitude into a dining establishment, whether it be a 5 star gourmet, or a middle school cafeteria, you will get what you deserve: POOR SERVICE, POOR FOOD, and NO RESPECT. ETA: you may not realize it, but 95% of the time customers complain, the owners/managment side with the waitstaff. You forget that the managers and owners were once waitstaff themselves, and know how customers like YOU ruin the dining experience for not only the staff, but the other people around you. Think what you may want, but just because you got a free beer or slice of pie because you pissed and moaned, you did NOT just win a war with the waitstaff, because you missed the special sauce that the OWNER provided you. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:22:47 PM EDT
[#39]
Well I for one am in your corner. I use to wait table when I was in college and then again when I was in the military. If I get good service you will get a good tip. If the service is great you will get a great tip. If I have to watch my pennies, I stay home or hit a fast food joint. I go out to eat to enjoy it, not to penny pinch.
Before getting in the finance field I use to think like mikejohnson there. I should get a raise for all the money I am making the restaurant I am working for. But that is not the case. Restaurants go bankrupt every day due the small margins that they work for. Even fancy smancy restaurants. Once you take into account staffing, food(including the ones that spoil), leasing equipment and storefront, insurance, CC merchant processing, incidentals, plates/tables/etc., advertising and the biggest of all did I say, insurance. You are lucky to break even within the first year. Bad reputation, location and you won't last a year. So one would say why wouldn't you build that into the cost?? I ask you, would you pay for a $20 hamburger day in and day out. Majority of restaurants work off a volume business, that is what make chain restaurant so successfull. This is how they have to do it. If they don't margin will eat them alive. Rotting food will also screw your margins. So why would you want to get into the restaurant business?? It all about living a dream. So mikejohnson, wait tables for a month or two. Then take a business course to see why your logic does not work. Maybe you will change your tune. Just maybe, but I doubt it. And if I were your waiter, and you stiffed me with a tip a couple of times after giving good service. You either will not get good service next time. Or refuse you service cause I have every right to do that. Or just give you one hot wings less 
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:27:22 PM EDT
[#40]
Right on! If she's not fine with that then she'll get more and more expensive. My current GF is as about as frugal as I am and would have no problem doing it. As others have said, first and probably second date and absolute preclusions to coupon use. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:35:15 PM EDT
[#41]
McDonalds Gift Certificate...
Hey! She was a Cheap Date! |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:39:35 PM EDT
[#42]
Some places I only go if I got coupons, its not $12 a meal good but at $6 or so its worth it
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:41:20 PM EDT
[#43]
Well said. 15% tip for normal service. 18-20% for GOOD service. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:48:56 PM EDT
[#44]
No damned tipping in Korea..they pay the waiters a fair wage and the service is the same! Actually, the service is better than in the States.. As far as coupons on a date...I see no problem with it... In fact, I would have a problem with the woman who had a problem with it....might be indicative of a gold digging complex. Ahhh...who the hell cares...I am maried now, don't matter anymore... |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:53:56 PM EDT
[#45]
tipping is a american custom that is kind of a "built in control system"
Why do items cost 3.99? or 49.99? The original reason was not to make prices look smaller, but so customers would ask for change... forcing clerks to enter the sale into the cash machine and not pocket the money. Tipping is a part of our customs to ensure that customers always get top notch service from waiters. Given I grew up overseas, I generally prefer to over tip. Also, coupons on dates? Places I go to on dates generally don't take coupons... If there is money to be saved, it can probably come out of the "shiny toys and video games" fun instead of the quality of life fund, haha. |
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Posted: 2/19/2006 4:54:22 PM EDT
[#46]
+1, I tip about the same as you. People who shortchange the food servers are the same who pay $2 an hour to have a retard watch their kids then wonder why their kids are all beat the fuck up when they get home. |
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