Something happened this weekend that I’ve never experienced before.
We went out to dinner with another couple at a restaurant with valet parking. After we ate, I gave the ticket to the woman at the podium, who went to retrieve my car, which was not far from where we were standing. When she drove it up, I thanked her and, as she opened the door for me, I gave her a one dollar tip.
But when I slid into the driver’s seat, I noticed she had left the buck in the door handle. I pulled it out and told my friend, who was in the passenger seat, that she’d left it behind. He rolled down his window and held the bill out for her, but she just waved us away, refusing the cash, as if to say, “I don’t need your dollar.”
I asked everyone in the car if I’d done something wrong, and my wife commented that maybe she expected more. I replied that I’m happy to give a larger tip to someone who provides an extra service, but I don’t know what the going tip rate is for a valet who moved my vehicle about eight feet.
Maybe a whole dollar was too much and she thought I was being overly generous?