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

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

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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.

If you don't like your job then quit.

Stop whining.

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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

no tip for you, missy!

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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!

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

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."

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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.

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

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.

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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.

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