Waiting Tables and why I don't do it anymore- Page 2

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:07pm

20% is my base, too. My family is in the restaurant business, so I've always appreciated the hard work they do. However, if you have truly terrible service, leaving a 10% tip sends the message that you were an inadequate server. Stiffing is never acceptable; it makes YOU look bad, not the waiter.

I'll be starting my first waiting job this summer.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:10pm

Eating well done red meet is an insult to the cow.

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:14pm

Oh Jeebus...

Just one thing: A 15%- 20% tip is not required. I work in the restaurant industry, and I have to say that I have absolutely no problem with people who tip me 10%. Most people that eat at the restaurant I work at tip around 20-25%, a dinner for two with wine on average comes out to be around $160,...so even if I get a table or two that tips well below 20% I still come home with tons of money. Honestly, it's more than I deserve for the amount of work I actually do. I'm not saying that all food service people work as little as I do, and when I go out I always tip 20%, unless the service is really horrendous, but as for me I know exactly how much work I do and when I break it down, it actually comes out that I'm making around $25-$35 an hour (and I don't pay taxes). I'm sure the low tippers are people who were not happy with my service or the food or whatever else it was that kept them from enjoying their night, so that's their right and I'm not going to bitch about it.

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:37pm

Unfortunately not everyone has Mom and Dad paying their bills. And if you feel you don't work hard, I'd love to talk to your co-workers who probably love picking up the slack.

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:42pm

i learned so much waiting tables, about people, how their minds work, power games & manipulation....

i must say that in the restaurants ive worked in (6 different restaurants, all in asheville nc), almost all the employees were heavy readers & deep thinkers, most were also artists, musicians or something creative (tho most people in asheville are, so thats not so much a suprise...). i have to say in my current "creative" job, i miss the meaningful kitchen conversations.

on the other hand, ive had terrible serivce in many nyc restaurants, with the east village being the worst. the epitome was when our drinks never came, the food never came, & everytime we looked for the waiter, he was sitting at the bar, eating peanuts & watching THE SIMPSONS.


i still tipped 15% (i usually do AT LEAST 20%) & never went back.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 7:29pm

If you don't like your job then quit.

Stop whining.

[HumATune]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:00pm

I’ve found that sometimes I get bad service because there is a stereotype that certain groups of people don’t tip well. Don’t think I can’t tell that the people at the next table are getting better service than me, even though I’ve been just as or even more polite.

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:03pm

Excuse me, but Mom and Dad have nothing to do with it. I'm 22 years old and I've been 100% self sufficient since I was 18. I pay my own rent, my own tuition, my dsl, my waterbill, my socks, my everything (what I have written on my profile is a JOKE). I can afford to be self sufficient, since I make around $3500 a month waiting tables. I was saying that for me personally, it would be ridiculous to complain about low tippers since I get paid more than most people who work twice as hard doing tougher jobs than mine.

If you were to talk to my coworkers they'd all say that I'm fabulous and awesome because I am. And I've been with the restaurant longer than most of them too. My coworkers are not 'picking up the slack' for me either... We all do the same amount of work. I work in a high end restaurant that is simply overstaffed and the owners like it that way. On average I get about 4 tables every 2 hours, and I can honestly say (and I think most here will agree with me) that 4 tables every two hours is NOT a lot of work. No one is covering for me while I'm out the back smoking cigarettes...it's just that there is so much 'waiting' that I can do, I mean, I think it would be a little odd if I was down at the tables cutting food and hand feeding the patrons, so all of us end up spending a lot of time standing around time doing nothing. And if I get a table of 6 whose bill at the end of the night comes out to be $500 and they give me a $50 tip, I'm fine with it and I would be a major **** if I were to come here and complain.


Updated On: 4/18/07 at 10:03 PM

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:16pm

Some people need to stop and wonder if perhaps they're getting poor service because they're behaving like pricks.

It always boggles my mind when someone gives me attitude and then they are flabbergasted when I am less than enthusiastic to serve them.

I may work in the service industry, but I am not a second class citizen. If you act like an ass, you will be treated like an ass. I am not paid nearly enough to put up with that B.S.

Updated On: 4/19/07 at 10:16 PM

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 8:08am

no tip for you, missy!

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 10:51am

I worked for a restaurant corporation for 7 years. I started serving and ended working at the corporate level. Making ends meet in the South waiting tables sucks. Older folks seem to think it's appropriate to leave a dollar. In some areas, people don't tip much at all. In some places, we had to pay employees $5.15 because tips were so poor. It's hard to make a restaurant float paying that, believe it or not. It's just not budgeted. I had some regulars that used to make me crazy. They once asked if we had a larger version of our side salad. They discovered that, yes, we did and it was huge and only $3.99. So, three days a week, these two came in, ordered two entree salads with extra bacon, extra cheese, extra croutons and one wanted extra thousand island, while the other wanted extra french and ranch. "EXTRA! MORE! CAN I GET???" They drank tea, so their total bill was around $15. They would each leave me $1. While $2 is 13%, these two women ran me crazy. Being the ridiculously nice person I am, I was a great server to them, so they always asked for me. My boss always gave me the problem customers because she knew I could make things good. It ended up hurting my wallet, though. Sometimes I actually miss the serving.

That being said, most of the things on the Starbucks list are silly and condescending. I mean:
9. If you order a Frappuccino, I will hate you even more.
Maybe you should work somewhere where Fraps are not heavily featured?

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 10:55am

i worked in service jobs for years and no one ever subsidized my paycheck so why should i subsidize someone else's? if you want more money and aren't getting it, get a different job. i realize that many of you work hard and should get more of a tip, but i've had so many people wait on me that were awful and people at the table would always tip (and overtip) them. what good does that do? you're now rewarding people for bad service. screw that. either be good at your job or don't expect people to give you something for nothing!

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 10:57am

I have to admit, I love the one about customers on their cell phones. I'm always working at the cash wrap, and I get a lot of people yapping away on their phones who don't even look at me when they pay. They just drop their purchase on the counter and expect me to ring it up silently and obediently. And if I have the gall to smile and say "Did you find everything okay?" they look at me like I'm the rude one.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:00am

Note to IRS: You may wish to investigate Revolutionary's non- payment of income tax.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:13am

It's funny, the actor friends of mine who wait tables make around twice what I make as a corporate drone. Their schedules are more flexible - they can work evenings/weekends and have their days free for auditioning and classes if they choose. I'd be the world's worst waitress, so I'm not going to even try, but I do know it's possible to make a very good living in that business.

[Kringas]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:14am

While I admit there are some terrible servers out there, my experience has been that they are few and far between. I'd say my dining experiences on the whole are much more positive than they are negative. Maybe it's because I understand that a lot of the issues diners face aren't the fault of the server. Maybe it's because I'm more forgiving than the average person. I don't know. I suspect, though, that it has to do with the fact that I don't think of my servers are food mules, I don't resent the fact that I'm expected to tip and I don't expect to be treated like I'm the only customer in a busy restaurant.

This thread reminds me of a quote I read in a NYT article a few years ago about waiting tables - "Some people are interested in having the experience of being disappointed."

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:17am

i'm probably the most easygoing and forgiving customer someone could ask for. i am always polite, say "please" and "thank you" and even help clear the table. so if my order is wrong, or if i'm almost done with my meal and i still don't have my drink or whatnot, i don't reward that.

i know that makes me a bad guy, but then what good does it do when i tip servers 20, 25, 30% as a reward for doing a good job. (note that i said good, not great, not fabulous, etc.)

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:21am

I'm the same, Robb. I'm always the one who is extra nice at the table, I hate when people are rude or snippy to waitstaff. So if my service isn't good, why should I tip higher than the norm?

This all comes back to the fact that the restaurant owners expect their customers to pay the salaries of the staff. That is what bothers me the most in this whole thing. We pay for food, service, atmosphere, AND have to pay what in any other business is the owner's responsibility.

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:24am

i know it's much easier in our society to blame others, rather than accept personal responsibility but i guarantee you that people are not flocking to restaurants with hidden agendas, personal vendettas and other nonsense.

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:24am

& ***EVERYONE*** should read Barbara Ehrenreich's NICKELED & DIMED

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:28am

Exactly, Robb.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:31am

I will say that I don't feel like customers should be responsible for a server's entire income, but that's the way it works here for some reason.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:33am

And it's a tough dilemma, because it's not the fault of the servers, so the customer has no choice but to tip. Lots of people can't afford that, and therefore can't go out for a meal.

[Kringas]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:33am

i know it's much easier in our society to blame others, rather than accept personal responsibility but i guarantee you that people are not flocking to restaurants with hidden agendas, personal vendettas and other nonsense.

Fair enough, but I know people (like my father) who find something to complain about each and every time they go out to eat. Any little piddling thing becomes cause for pissing and moaning. I'm not accusing anyone on this thread of that, nor do I expect that people should tip for terrible service. I'm just saying, like the I read in that NYT article, there are people who do go out with an agenda, whether it's deliberate or whether it's some consequence of an entitlement or superiority complex.

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:40am

i would hope that those people are few and far between.