New Web sites are leaving restaurant patrons wondering what exactly is in their fettuccini.
Servers have started to turn to the Internet for a way to vent after a hard day's work and to keep track of notoriously bad tippers at Web sites such as www.waiterrant.blogspot.com and www.bitterwaitress.com.
Bad tippers, which Bitterwaitress.com classifies as those leaving less than 17 percent "for service which one's peers would judge as adequate or better," have their names posted on the site's database and are left in Internet limbo for their restaurant etiquette faux pas.
One particularly bad patron ended up with a reservation two hours later than he'd hoped and a table near the restroom because the server taking the reservation neither forgot nor forgave the 6.8 percent tip the man had left on a $175 bill, according to one post on Waiterrant.blogspot.com.
Sports medicine sophomore and a server at The Cheesecake Factory Sam Krzyzewski said he has been on the sites and knows a few people who have posted tales of their own serving woes.
"They're nothing serious, I think they are just fun," he said.
Krzyzewski said he even contributed a post to a similar Web site after he served actress and singer Brandi. But he said he only had good things to say, as she tipped the requisite 17 percent and more.
For frequent restaurateurs who want to stay off the database and other such sites, Krzyzewski has a few tips on how to be a good customer -- and a good tipper.
"Eighteen percent [is the norm]," he said. "Fifteen is like giving a server a slap in the face, 15 you might as well leave nothing."
In exchange for that tip, he said guests should expect speed from their server and a glass that is never empty, though they should be aware when food is slow to arrive, it's not always the server's fault.
"It seems like people that don't know restaurants hold servers responsible for everything," he said.
Steve Lynch, a manager at the Four Peaks Brewing Company, located at 1340 E. Eighth St., said patrons should get an experience they won't forget.
"When you go out, you're spending money at the place, and it should be the best experience," he said.
Guests should be willing to fork out a bit more for this service and should treat the waiter just as they would hope to be treated, he said.
Business sophomore Dustin Iverson said 20 percent is standard for him when he eats out, though he has stiffed a couple servers he said were "really bad."
Psychology junior Kristen Pah said she holds true to the 15 percent rule but that a little more never hurt.
In terms of the Web site, she said she is not scared of finding any questionable ingredients in her alfredo sauce the next time she dines.
"I think it's a way for the servers to cope with what they have to do every day," she said. "I wouldn't take [being listed on the database] personally, it's a good way for them to vent."
Reach the reporter at rkost@asu.edu.