Patent Application
20090322555
1. Field
The present invention relates to a tip meter. In particular, the invention relates to a tip meter with a display that customers use to show the real time tip percentage to the service staff during the course of service. The tip percentage may be adjusted up or down depending on the customer's current satisfaction with the service. The tip meter also calculates the total bill, with inclusion of a particular tip percentage, and a light to notify staff when service is needed.
2. Background
Often the wait staff at a restaurant is unaware of a customer's satisfaction with their service until the bill has been paid and the tip is different than expected or the standard. Most commonly, the tip is lower than a “standard” percentage or the tip is non-existent because the customer perceives the service as poorer than expected. The after-the-fact nature of a tip makes it difficult for a server to improve service during the course of a meal.
While customers may complain about service, the complaint may not be voiced until after the meal has been completed, giving the server no opportunity to improve the service and thus improve the tip that the customer elects to pay to the server. Thus, the need exists for a device that conveys a customer's real time, current satisfaction with the service to the server, giving the server the opportunity to improve his or her service.
One object of the present invention is to indicate a customer's level of satisfaction with the service by providing a real time meter displaying a particular tip percentage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a calculator that calculates the amount of a tip and the final bill based on the specific percentage identified by the customer.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a light to request wait staff service.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following specification, drawings, and claims.
The present invention intends to overcome the difficulties encountered heretofore. To that end, a tip is provided that displays a tip percentage to service staff during the course of a service experience. The tip percentage displayed is real time; the customer adjusts the displayed percentage up or down depending on the satisfaction with the service staff's performance.
The tip meter 10 is shown generally in
The tip meter includes input buttons 15, used to enter the final bill. When the bill is inputted, the tip meter 10 calculates and displays the complete bill, tip and bill together, in the display window 12. The tip meter 10 also includes a light 18 to notify staff when service is needed.
In this example, as shown generally in
Illustrated in
In one embodiment, shown in
As shown in
The foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments of the present inventions. The foregoing embodiments and the methods described herein may vary based on the ability, experience, and preference of those skilled in the art. Merely listing the steps of the method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of the method. The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the claims are so limited. Those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the tip meter 10 is contemplated for use in any environment where tips are typically given, including restaurants, salons, bars, etc. The tip meter 10 can be a calculator-type device with raised buttons, or the tip meter 10 can be a flat screen, flat button device. Further, the tip meter 10 can include the capability of splitting the bill among individuals or groups of individuals by calculating the final bill, including the set tip level for individuals or smaller groups within a larger group.
