I’ve avoided this topic ever since I started this blog, mainly because every server blog I’ve read has one just like it, however, I think it’s high time that I made the post anyway. People have a problem with these rules, and they make everyone’s life easier.
Here we go =).
Rule #1: When you sit down at your table, don’t wave at us, don’t holler and yell at us, and don’t sit with your arms crossed. We see you sitting down, and if we’re busy, it might take a minute. Rest assured, we know you’re there. If we don’t happen to be in the area when you sit down, someone WILL let us know about it. You pay our bills, we don’t like making you mad.
Rule #2: When we walk up to the table, and say “How are you guys doing today?” or “How are you today?”, we really do want to know how you are doing. That helps us to judge how the course of the meal is going to go, and what we need to do to stay on your good side. Grunting or immediately starting your order is not acceptable, and sets a tone that most of us just don’t want to deal with. Getting on our bad side is a bad way to start your meal, because at that point, we know you aren’t going to tip, and no longer care.
Rule #3: When we start our spiel of drinks, specials, appetizers, etc., please please Please do not interrupt us with your order. We’re doing our job, and we can be disciplined for not doing our job. Also, for those of you with the constantus interruptus issue, if we didn’t do said spiel, you’d say something to the management about our not doing our spiel with you, and we’d still be disciplined.
Rule #4: When we are waiting for your alcoholic beverage, and you see us standing by the bar with our arms crossed, unless you see us giggling and laughing with our friends, we are usually upset at the amount of time we have to wait for your drink. As I said before, pissing you off hurts our money, unless you’ve upset us first, that’s not what we want.
Rule #5: If you say that you’re ready to order, and we begin taking your order, that is NOT the time to ask us why we don’t have spaghetti and meatballs in the pasta portion of our menu. If it’s not there, then we obviously don’t serve spaghetti and meatballs. When you tell us that you’re ready to order, we take that to mean that you’re ready to order. Little questions are okay, e.g., “Does this have any nuts in it?”. If side items are not listed, then yes, by all means, ask us about the side items. Don’t get mad at us when we say that you can’t substitute something without an upcharge, we don’t make the rules, we just play by them.
Rule #6: If the kitchen is running long because of the restaurant being slammed, we have no control over how long your food takes to be prepared. Please please PLEASE do not take your anger at the kitchen out on us. We don’t want your food running long either because, after working in the industry for a while, we know that our tip suffers when food runs long. Most people don’t care if it’s our fault or not, we still have to deal with the consequences.
Rule #7: When your food is delivered, if something is given to you that you didn’t order, please don’t say to us “Well, last time I was here, I got….”. Usually, that’s nothing but a lie, the menu doesn’t change every week at most places, especially at corporate places. If you ordered a Blackened Chicken Pasta, that’s what you’re going to get. You won’t get a normal Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Blackened Chicken is just that, blackened chicken. If you receive something you didn’t order, sometimes mistakes happen. If it’s our fault the mistake happened, we will happily admit our fuck-up, and we will do our best to fix it. If the food runner has given you something wrong, please don’t take it out on us, sometimes they just don’t read the ticket right. Don’t take it out on them either. Mistakes happen.
Rule #8: When we ask you how your meal is, we really want to know. Don’t just poke that lone mushroom around with your fork, if something is wrong with the dish, let us try to fix it. If you don’t, or don’t tell us anything is wrong, we can’t help you. Once again, don’t take your problems out on us, allow us to help with your problems if we can.
Rule #9: When we come by with a dessert menu, and offer you a few things, actually look at the menu before asking if we have hot fudge cake. Sometimes, menu’s varies between restaurants, and one place won’t have something another place has. Also, that “Last time I was here, I got…” statement doesn’t work in this situation either. We know our menu, we are trained well on our menu, and we train others on our menu. Asking us for something off the menu won’t change the fact that we don’t offer it, or have the things to make it.
Rule #10: When we drop off the check, actually take the time to look at and consider paying it. Don’t try to walk out, most of us will tackle you as your on the way out the door, and if we’re in a mall, you’ll be detained by security until we get our money. If there’s a problem on your check, let us know so that we can fix it. Usually, it’ll only take a minute…60 seconds…just let us know. Don’t use the ticket book as an armrest. Don’t camp for three hours. We need our table so that we can make our rent.
Rule #11: After paying your check, please consider tipping on our service, not on how long the food took or how the food tasted. Please tip on our attitude, along with the check amount. Tip on the total bill. Doubling the tax does not a good tip make. Two dollars on a hundred dollar bill does not a good tip make. That kind of tip is insulting, especially if we’ve catered to your every whim and done it quickly and friendly. We work hard to make your day, night, lunch, or dinner a good one, and we have bills to pay. Most servers make 2.13 an hour. Some make more now that the minimum wage laws have changed, but we still generally make below the poverty line before our tips. When you leave us less than 10% that’s just wrong.
Rule #12: If you have comments to make before you leave, please don’t bad-mouth us if we’ve done a good job. If you want to compliment our service, we can get you a manager, or you can feel free to call the restaurant at a later time. You can call our corporate office. Don’t just complain just to complain, or to get a free meal, especially if there was nothing wrong with it. We work hard, and you shouldn’t make light of our job.
So many people seem to think that servers are worthless, and are there to just deliver food. We run more than a lot of people who work in offices, and make less. We stay on our feet at all times, and have to take attitude from 60% of our guests. We try to stay polite and nice, because we’ll lose our jobs or not make our bills if we don’t. Please treat us with the respect we deserve. We don’t spit in your food if you are evil, this is real life. We don’t put hair in food just to be mean, because we wouldn’t want that to be done to our food. WE WORK HARD!
BTW: IF OUR WAGES WERE NOT LOWER THAN MINIMUM WAGE IN MOST STATES, THEN WE WOULDN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT TIPS LIKE WE DO. WE SURVIVE ON OUR TIPS. PUSH FOR LAWS TO UP OUR WAGES TO 9-10 DOLLARS AN HOUR, AND MAKE IT HAPPEN, THEN YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TIPPING. UNTIL THEN, THINK ABOUT THE KIDS OF SERVERS WHO WON’T EAT BECAUSE YOU FUCKED THEM OVER. THINK OF THE SERVERS WHO ARE GOING TO LOSE THEIR HOMES, OR LIGHTS OR WATER, BECAUSE YOU FUCKED THEM OVER.
I’ll have posts up soon on some simple tipping etiquette and rules for dining out with children, but I figured this would be a good start to the series. Sometimes, these things need to be said.
Thanks for reading,
Ribeye
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September 15th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
“Rule #1: When you sit down at your table, don’t wave at us, don’t holler and yell at us, and don’t sit with your arms crossed.’
Agree 100%! There is no need to be rude.
“Rule #2: When we walk up to the table, and say “How are you guys doing today?” or “How are you today?”, we really do want to know how you are doing.”
I understand that it’s not nice not to make small talk, but honestly, MOST people want to order their food and drinks as FAST as possible, because they are hungry and thirsty. So, when you ask that, you are being inconsiderate to OUR HUNGER, honestly. I do say “I’m fine” or “Hi” back just to be nice, but honestly, I would rather just give my order. You have to remember, customers aren’t your friends. You are just taking their order as if we were at McDonald’s. A LOT of customers do not like chatty servers.
“Rule #3: When we start our spiel of drinks, specials, appetizers, etc., please please Please do not interrupt us with your order. We’re doing our job, and we can be disciplined for not doing our job.”
I understand that, but honestly, you have to understand, some people already know what they want to order and don’t care at all what you tell them about the specials. You are truly, in a sense, wasting time a lot of times that could be better spent on getting what the customer wants. Since servers have to do this, I sit through it not to interrupt the server to be nice, but it’s irritating to listen to.
“Rule #4: When we are waiting for your alcoholic beverage, and you see us standing by the bar with our arms crossed, unless you see us giggling and laughing with our friends, we are usually upset at the amount of time we have to wait for your drink.”
I agree. I have had 2 servers, one at Chili’s and 1 at Applebee’s FORGET to GET my margaritas. I waited at Chili’s LITERALLY a half an hour and the one at Applebee’s literally 25 minutes. The Chili’s situation had to do with them being out of the Presidente’ margarita shakers, so the bartender put mine in a different glass, not telling the server anything. The server doesn’t go check on it even at the 10 minute mark, she waits until 15 minutes to ask if I had received it yet, which is WAYYY TOO LONG to ask about that. I ended up getting it from the manager 15 minutes later. The Applebee’s waiter ADMITTED HE FORGOT. I had to remind him. It was taking longer than usual, so when he came by, I had asked where my margarita was.
So, these servers weren’t laughing or giggling just to make my point that sometimes servers do mess up and it’s not the bartender’s fault. I still blame my server completely for the Chilil’s situation because she COULD HAVE came to find out about the situation within 10 minutes instead of 15. My server should be on the ball about making sure I received my stuff in a timely fashion by checking up on if I received the item or not. I understand the bartender didn’t communicate with the server from the get go, but still, my server was truly responsible for making me wait 30 minutes to get my margarita.
“Rule #5: If you say that you’re ready to order, and we begin taking your order, that is NOT the time to ask us why we don’t have spaghetti and meatballs in the pasta portion of our menu. If it’s not there, then we obviously don’t serve spaghetti and meatballs. When you tell us that you’re ready to order, we take that to mean that you’re ready to order. Little questions are okay, e.g., “Does this have any nuts in it?”. If side items are not listed, then yes, by all means, ask us about the side items. Don’t get mad at us when we say that you can’t substitute something without an upcharge, we don’t make the rules, we just play by them.”
I disagree about not asking. One time, for REAL, I asked for an appetizer I usually got as my entrée which was called “BBQ Chicken Nachos” at a restaurant. The waitress said she’d ask if they could still make it even if it was not on the menu anymore. You know what? I got my bbq chicken nachos one last time. Her tip was big for going all out for me to at least TRY. I know if they would have said no, then I would have had to pick something else, but to see she TRIED, shows how CARING she was that I had what I really wanted.
I do agree about not being mad about upcharges, because the server has NOTHING to do with what they have to charge a customer. I accept at times that I get charged for extra ranch at some restaurants. NOT EVERY RESTAURANT GIVES CONDIMENTS FOR FREE OR EVEN REFILLS on soda or tea.
Rule #6: If the kitchen is running long because of the restaurant being slammed, we have no control over how long your food takes to be prepared. Please please PLEASE do not take your anger at the kitchen out on us. We don’t want your food running long either because, after working in the industry for a while, we know that our tip suffers when food runs long. Most people don’t care if it’s our fault or not, we still have to deal with the consequences.”
Sometimes it’s NOT the cook’s fault I wait a long time for my food. My husband and I waited a half an hour LITERALLY for an appetizer all because our waiter FORGOT TO PUT THE ORDER INTO THE COMPUTER. See, we ordered our drinks and appetizer first. Then he came back some time later to get our entree order. HE was the CAUSE of us waiting that long. HOW THE HELL CAN YOU BLAME THE COOKS FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
Also, when servers decide to buss a table or go voluntarily to other tables to ask if they need anything, THOSE ACTIONS ARE DELAYS IN GETTING THE ORDER INTO THE COMPUTER, THEREFORE, IT’S THE SERVER’S FAULT I AM WAITING AN EXTRA 3 minutes or 5 minutes. As long as there’s nobody’s food or bar drink that is ready that ordered BEFORE the current customer that the server just got the order from, the thing the server should be doing at that point is going to put the order into the computer. They should NEVER pick up dishes or buss a table BEFORE doing that. By doing this, delays the customer’s food or drinks. Even though it may be 2 minutes, it may add up to be 8 minutes due to the bartender putting in an order, which may be for the same exact thing. Think about it. If the bartender puts in an order for cheese sticks BEFORE my server does all because my server decided to buss a table instead of putting my order in for my cheese sticks, GUESS WHOSE FOOD COMES OUT FIRST? The person at the bar, even though I would have placed my order BEFORE the person at the bar did. The difference, the bartender would have put the order in IMMEDIATELY, whereas my server would have basically held my order on his or her pad of paper until she or he was ready to put the order in.
Also, food taking a long time could be the server’s fault due to they just forget to get something. I have waited 25 minutes for a margarita, NOT due to the bartender, due to my waiter at Applebee’s that FORGOT TO GO GET IT. My husband had ordered bisque one time at a restaurant and the waitress totally forgot about it. That was supposed to be out BEFORE the entree, NOT AFTER! THAT WAS HER FAULT, NOT THE COOK’S.
So unless the server goes put the order in IMMEDIATELY INTO THE COMPUTER(OBVIOUSLY unless someone’s food or drink that ordered BEFORE the current customer did)and the server or another server gets the food as soon as it is ready, those are the ONLY WAYS that it’s NOT the “SERVER’S” fault.
“Rule #7: When your food is delivered, if something is given to you that you didn’t order, please don’t say to us “Well, last time I was here, I got….”. Usually, that’s nothing but a lie, the menu doesn’t change every week at most places, especially at corporate places. If you ordered a Blackened Chicken Pasta, that’s what you’re going to get. You won’t get a normal Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Blackened Chicken is just that, blackened chicken. If you receive something you didn’t order, sometimes mistakes happen. If it’s our fault the mistake happened, we will happily admit our fuck-up, and we will do our best to fix it. If the food runner has given you something wrong, please don’t take it out on us, sometimes they just don’t read the ticket right. Don’t take it out on them either. Mistakes happen.”
I disagree, because if you have had it the last time, OF COURSE YOU’D EXPECT IT TO AT LEAST ASK. If you say “no”, then fine, no big deal.
“If it’s our fault the mistake happened, we will happily admit our fuck-up, and we will do our best to fix it.”
For one thing, it’s OBVIOUS when it’s the server’s fault. I just went to a restaurant recently that I ordered a loaded baked potato and fries as my sides with baby back ribs. OUR waiter(NOT a food runner) brings out my food. He shows up with macaroni and cheese instead of my baked potato. Sorry, but I do NOT CARE if the cook messed up first, it’s up to MY SERVER to make sure they are *******BRINGING ME***** my food as CORRECT as POSSIBLE to my table by simply taking the written order and COMPARING it with the food to make sure the correct entrée is there, the correct side dish is there, and there isn’t anything missing that isn’t covered up by anything that is obvious such as a side of ranch. I shouldn’t have had to tell my waiter that my side dish was wrong. To me, this was a “DUH” situation. He didn’t bother to make sure the food was correct IN THE KITCHEN by simply REREADING the written order, because he was too lazy to do that.
“ If the food runner has given you something wrong, please don’t take it out on us, sometimes they just don’t read the ticket right. Don’t take it out on them either. Mistakes happen.”
HOW could I NOT BLAME ONE OF YOU IF IT’S SOMETHING OBVIOUS? Also, I will take off on the tip for things that are wrong, because the food runner was part of my SERVICE still. WHY should I have to tip well for bad service? That’s not fair either, is it? Condiments are ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS the SERVER’S FAULT, because since condiments don’t need cooking, there’s NO EXCUSE NOT to bring them BEFORE the meal. I have had servers VOLUNTARILY bring out my condiments without me asking them to BEFORE my food arrived. I order a side of ranch for my fries, I should have it there and you DO NOT have to put 100% trust into the food runner that isn’t going to get punished for forgetting it. If the mistake is a pasta dish without chicken that was supposed to have chicken and you did put the order in correctly, well, I still will take off, because my service was not good. I have to wait probably a good 10 minutes to get my meat cooked. HOW could I not take off?
My husband and I have had a waitress press a wrong button at Applebee’s before. She put in to the computer baby back ribs and my husband truly did order a burger. The food runner brought out baby back ribs. So you CAN’T ALWAYS blame the food runner for not reading the ticket. Sometimes the person that put in the order(the server) messed up.
Also, I haven’t had NOT ONE, NOT ONE, FOOD RUNNER apologize when they brought us a mistake whether it was missing condiments(85% of the time this happens) or wrong side dishes or wrong entrees. I hardly ever get apologizes for missing condiments. They are just as important as the food, because it goes with the food such as mayo and mustard or ranch for fries or extra ranch for salads. Without the condiments, the food isn’t as good. WHO wants to eat a dry sandwich or a salad without basically hardly any salad dressing? I know I don’t.
“ Rule #8: When we ask you how your meal is, we really want to know. Don’t just poke that lone mushroom around with your fork, if something is wrong with the dish, let us try to fix it. If you don’t, or don’t tell us anything is wrong, we can’t help you. Once again, don’t take your problems out on us, allow us to help with your problems if we can.”
I agree 100%. There’s no sense in not being HONEST. If the food is cold, I tell my server. Food being cold is normally not the server’s fault. Unless I see my server playing around, I don’t take off tip points for cold food.
Also, my server doesn’t know if I have a pickle under a bun if I ordered no pickles nor do they know what burrito filling I have, nor do they know if my steak isn’t cooked well done and it’s medium well. So, when things happen, if it’s something I can solve myself such as taking off a tomato off my sandwich, I usually just do that instead of tell them. It would be obvious when they see my plate that it’s there.
“Rule #9: When we come by with a dessert menu, and offer you a few things, actually look at the menu before asking if we have hot fudge cake. Sometimes, menu’s varies between restaurants, and one place won’t have something another place has. Also, that “Last time I was here, I got…” statement doesn’t work in this situation either. We know our menu, we are trained well on our menu, and we train others on our menu. Asking us for something off the menu won’t change the fact that we don’t offer it, or have the things to make it.”
I agree that people should READ THE DAMN MENU. I disagree that all servers know the menu, because we wouldn’t have had 7 overcharges dealing with menu issues, nor would have I got things forgotten that was LISTED ON THE MENU THAT SUCH-N-SUCH was SUPPOSED TO “COME WITH” THE ITEM I ORDERED. At Denny’s, my husband ordered cheese fries that was supposed to come with ranch. Our idiot waitress brings the fries out without the ranch that is stated ON THE MENU. It’s NOT like we told her not to bring it or something. There was a table menu that had the appetizers with PICTURES EVEN.
“Rule #10: When we drop off the check, actually take the time to look at and consider paying it. Don’t try to walk out, most of us will tackle you as your on the way out the door, and if we’re in a mall, you’ll be detained by security until we get our money. If there’s a problem on your check, let us know so that we can fix it. Usually, it’ll only take a minute…60 seconds…just let us know. Don’t use the ticket book as an armrest. Don’t camp for three hours. We need our table so that we can make our rent.”
Agree 100%!
“Rule #11: After paying your check, please consider tipping on our service, not on how long the food took or how the food tasted. Please tip on our attitude, along with the check amount. Tip on the total bill. Doubling the tax does not a good tip make. Two dollars on a hundred dollar bill does not a good tip make. That kind of tip is insulting, especially if we’ve catered to your every whim and done it quickly and friendly. We work hard to make your day, night, lunch, or dinner a good one, and we have bills to pay. Most servers make 2.13 an hour. Some make more now that the minimum wage laws have changed, but we still generally make below the poverty line before our tips. When you leave us less than 10% that’s just wrong.”
Sorry, but if my server busses a table before putting in my order, YES, I WILL CONSIDER THAT WHEN TIP TIME COMES. Cleaning up can ALWAYS BE DONE AFTER my server puts the order into the computer. If you are so concerned with people waiting for a table and not the people already seated, then WHY should I care as much about your tip? If we waited for a table too, then we should have OUR TURN to get our food as quickly as we can without concerning OUR WAIT with people that arrived AFTER US.
If my server forgets to put in the order, well OF COURSE I will consider that in the tip.
“When you leave us less than 10% that’s just wrong.”
When you give customers crappy service, that’s “JUST WRONG” TO EXPECT ANYTHING MORE than 10%! It’s just like studying for a test. You put 1 hour of studying instead of 2, so your grade was a “C” instead of an “A” or a “B”, well that shows lack of EFFORT and LAZINESS. This is the Same thing with restaurant service. If you put in a little effort, you’ll get a little tip. You put in a big effort, you should get a big tip.
“Rule #12: If you have comments to make before you leave, please don’t bad-mouth us if we’ve done a good job. If you want to compliment our service, we can get you a manager, or you can feel free to call the restaurant at a later time. You can call our corporate office. Don’t just complain just to complain, or to get a free meal, especially if there was nothing wrong with it. We work hard, and you shouldn’t make light of our job.”
I have NEVER done that, because I have SOOOOOO MANY problems with REAL ISSUES, I couldn’t possibly come up with faking anything. I couldn’t fathom trying to get something for free just not to have to pay for something. My husband and I have gone through so many issues with restaurant service, it’s unbelievable. I would RATHER ANY DAY to get NOTHING for free and be HAPPY, than to be miserable to get something for free.
“WE WORK HARD!”
I disagree at times that servers ALWAYS work hard. When you get like 6 mistakes in ONE dining experience of only a party of 2, that’s getting to the RIDICULOUS POINT. Working hard means TRYING YOUR BEST. If you decide NOT to read a ticket or NOT to COMPARE the written order with the food if you are the customer’s server or if you decide not to be attentive because you want to chit-chat with someone or if you decide not to even LOOK at what you hand me or If you decide not to write the order down, so you end up forgetting, well WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR YOUR TIP? If you want a good tip, that takes EFFORT and BEING CARING about your customers. You should get what you give. You give 10% effort, you deserve 10% service. You give 25% effort(beyond the average customer), you should get 25% or even more. You should get what you put into ANYTHING in life.
“THINK ABOUT THE KIDS OF SERVERS WHO WON’T EAT BECAUSE YOU FUCKED THEM OVER. THINK OF THE SERVERS WHO ARE GOING TO LOSE THEIR HOMES, OR LIGHTS OR WATER, BECAUSE YOU FUCKED THEM OVER. “
If they “FUCKED MY SERVICE OVER” then WHO CARES about their money if they didn’t care about MY DINING EXPERIENCE. What goes around, comes around. If they truly CARED about my dining experience, then they should receive a great tip.
Reply
September 21st, 2007 at 3:57 am
Springs1:
Have you yourself ever been a server before? Do you have any idea how hard it can be? How many things do you think you can remember at one time? It seems like you go out to eat, just waiting for a server to make a mistake so you can enact your weird brand of fanatic restaurant justice. What do you do for a living? Are you perfect at it? Do you get pay cuts for making mistakes? Consider this:
I work from 12am to 9pm without a break, save getting to eat for 15 minutes. I am on my feet the entire time. When is the last time you stood up for nine hours straight? Not only am I on my feet, I’m running around like a retard the whole time. It gets a little hectic in my brain sometimes. It’s like I have a mental list of everything i need to do and in what order. It’s usually a list of six to ten things. When my mental list gets interrupted by someone who grabs me and says they need more dressing, sometimes things get forgotten. It happens. You shouldn’t be condemning people for forgetting things. You act like you’re the only customer in the restaurant. I have to please twenty people at once. I’m human. You’re just a wicked bitch. I dare you to get a job as a server for one week and see what it’s like.
Reply
September 22nd, 2007 at 12:57 am
nicole
“Have you yourself ever been a server before?”
NO, but I have served people in a donut shop/diner for OVER 2 years off and on between 1998-2002. I served people just like a waitress at times at the booths, counter, and at the 2-seater tables. I sometimes took their order just like a waitress would, got refills, sometimes brought their check & rung it up, sometimes they came to the register like Denny’s or Waffle House, got them condiments, brought them plates. I wrote down their order and put it into the computer as well as a lot of times brought their food out as well. We had drive-thru and to-go. 2 people during the week in the morning shift 6a.m.-11a.m., then usually one of the 2 people would work all the way til 2p.m. from 6a.m. If the next person didn’t show up, GUESS WHAT? I would have to work a DOUBLE SHIFT. One time I worked 19hrs straight. Someone asked me to come in at 11a.m., instead of coming in for the 2p.m.-10p.m. shift. Turns out, the person quit with NO ONE to replace me, so I ended up working from 11a.m. till after 6a.m. the next morning, because we always had to z-out the register which usually took around 15 minutes or more after the shift depending on when the people would show up for the next shift.
I have done 6a.m.-10p.m. a few times. I have done 2p.m.-6a.m. a few times also. I also sometimes got a break with one cook that did the counter before, so she’d do the counter from 2a.m. on from me being there from 2p.m. I have had a LOT of co-workers be irresponsible not to show up. It sucked. One of my checks was literally over 70 hours one time. I sometimes had even worked 60-65hrs a week, which was straight pay, because they did not pay time and a half for overtime. We made m-f around $20-$30 a shift in tips and around $10-$15 on Sat and Sun. Of course, sometimes I have made more than that, sometimes less, it depends. On Christmas 2000, I made $45 in tips from 12p.m.-10p.m.
“How many things do you think you can remember at one time?”
From just pure memory, maybe one order I can remember at one time, maybe if that. From a WRITTEN LIST, I wouldn’t have to “REMEMBER”, because I could ***REREAD*** all of them. It’s called WRITING EVERY ORDER DOWN YOU GET. Have you EVER, SERIOUSLY THOUGHT OF WRITING THINGS DOWN? I mean seriously. I sucked when I didn’t write the order down. I honestly couldn’t remember ONE order if they said they wanted cheese on their burgers or not or if they wanted cajun or regular fries if I didn’t WRITE THE ORDER DOWN. If I WROTE IT DOWN, THEN I WOULD BE ABLE TO GET IT CORRECT.
This waiter one time at Chili’s DESERVED his 10% he got. I ordered a COMPLICATED burger order. Burger with cheese-medium well-ONLY lettuce and onions. 2 sides of mayo and 1 side mustard, which he also took my husband’s order as well which they had 2 sides that came with his food, which I believe he ordered ribs. Our waiter came to me before he put the order in and said: “Did you say lettuce and tomato?” I told him “No, lettuce and onions.” That was points off the tip right there. A server should NEVER, EVER, EVER, go back to ask what you just ordered, NEVER, unless they cannot make the food or they are out of something. The food ends up coming out from another server. NONE of the condiments were there, which my SERVER could have brought out BEFORE the food came out NOT to even TRUST the other server that won’t get punished or get rewarded for the bad or good service received since condiments don’t need cooking. I have had 8 servers since 2004 VOLUNTARLIY bring the condiments I ordered ***BEFORE*** THE FOOD CAME OUT WITHOUT ME ASKING THEM, because they CARED. They said “SO I DON’T FORGET.” Secondly, my husband got vegetables instead of fries. There was NO SORRY FROM EITHER SERVER. HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT’S “GOOD” SERVICE? NO SORRY and more than likely, the server put the order in wrong since he couldn’t remember what I even said, ALL BECAUSE HE WAS TOO LAZY AND UNCARING TO WRITE OUR ORDERS DOWN. When YOU DON’T CARE IF WE ARE HAPPY, WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT YOUR TIP?
“just waiting for a server to make a mistake so you can enact your weird brand of fanatic restaurant justice.”
You DON’T know what the hell you are talking about. I want *****PERFECT SERVICE*******. WHO THE HELL DOESN’T? DO YOU WANT YOUR FOOD TO BE WRONG? DO YOU WANT TO WAIT 10 minutes to get a refill? DO YOU WANT TO BE SERVED FOOD WITHOUT UTENSILS? DO YOU WANT YOU TO GET OVERCHARGED? DO YOU WANT YOUR SERVER TO FORGET ANYTHING YOU ASKED FOR? If your answer is “NO” to all of these, then what’s your beef with me then? Do you want ANYTHING to go wrong? Wouldn’t ANYONE want things to go as well as they could if they had a choice? I would rather ANYDAY pay 25%-30% to be HAPPY, than to have mistake after mistake happen to be miserable just so I can save some money. It’s all about wanting things to go well. I want my server to ****CARE**** if my food is the correct food they are taking to me if they take the food to me. I want them to CARE if they are overcharging me or not, which we have been overcharged literally over 20 times since 2001, so I am sick of finding overcharges on our bill as well as some servers didn’t even say they were sorry. One was almost $11 on my credit card at Applebee’s by the waiter ringing up the wrong table on my credit card and he, NOT ONCE, said he was sorry. I wasn’t mean to him or anything. I just told him there was something wrong with the amount that was charged. He got stiffed for just not apologizing. You want payment, BE NICE!
“Are you perfect at it? Do you get pay cuts for making mistakes?”
NO ONE is “PERFECT.” You get pay cuts in a sense by not getting a raise or as high of a raise. I know someone at my company recently that was DEMOTED; because rumor has it she did too many mistakes. Now instead of an insurance licensed agent, she is going BACKWARDS in the company to customer service calls. So, truthfully, in ANY JOB, you get SOME form of lower payment for doing poorly by not getting that raise or not getting promoted or maybe getting demoted, getting less hours, etc.
“I work from 12am to 9pm without a break, save getting to eat for 15 minutes.”
I worked on CHRISTMAS DAY in the year 2000 from 12p.m.-10p.m., obviously it’s always a little after the time I got off to do the register. I didn’t get ANY BREAKS, NOT EVEN A LUNCH OR DINNER. You think we got breaks? NO BREAKS, except for the smokers, which I NEVER SMOKED IN MY LIFETIME. Now, if I worked the afternoon shift, sure sometimes I got a chance to eat if it was slow, but NOT EVERY afternoon shift was slow. Sometimes I just couldn’t eat dinner, because there was NO TIME. I always waited until after 2p.m. to eat my lunch if I worked 6a.m.-2p.m. shift.
“I am on my feet the entire time. When is the last time you stood up for nine hours straight? Not only am I on my feet, I’m running around like a retard the whole time.”
I did that LOTS OF TIMES, especially the MORNING SHIFT. I can think of Sunday mornings, which it sucked, sometimes we’d have 5-6 people working it was SO BUSY racking in sometimes $1,700-$2,000 in sales just between 6a.m.-12p.m. just for a donut shop/diner. Weekends sucked because we had to split between everyone equally, so we didn’t make much when it has to be split that many ways. Saturdays usually there were 4 people behind the counter. Winter brought more business in than summer obviously, because more people want donuts in the winter than in the summer. More people are into ice cream and snowballs in the summer months.
It’s not like I just served customers, because we had lots of side work like sweeping, moping, cleaning the bathrooms, and RESTOCKING ice, sugars, milks, napkins, made boxes, etc. So I WAS on my feet for HOURS WITHOUT A BREAK WITH SITTING DOWN. Sometimes the 6a.m.-2p.m. shift you didn’t have time to mop even, because they made us even actually powder and fill the donuts with jelly or cream in the back. They wanted us to “Fill the showcase” per say, once they sold out. So we did the cook’s job to an extent also.
“When my mental list gets interrupted by someone who grabs me and says they need more dressing, sometimes things get forgotten. It happens. You shouldn’t be condemning people for forgetting things. You act like you’re the only customer in the restaurant. I have to please twenty people at once. I’m human.”
Are you SOOOO LAZY NOT TO *********WRITE EVERY FREAKIN ORDER DOWN?********
I mean seriously, ARE YOU THAT STUPID? You may be “HUMAN”, but you can ****REREAD**** YOUR PAD OF PAPER!
This person’s blog SAYS IT ALL! READ IT, BECAUSE IT’S TRUE!
http://www.red-shift.net/index.php?p=266
“Get the damn order rightForgetful? Carry a frigging notepad and pencil! Strangely, it’s the upscale places that really seem to fuck this up. At the Chop House, a 40/ppsteakhouse here in Denver, I’ve gotten sirloin tips when I ordered a steak, beef when I ordered buffalo, and mashed potatoes when I ordered rice. That’s why they’ve permanently lost a customer. $40 for pot-luck is bullshit.”
You CAN’T “REMEMBER” the order, because you were TOO DAMN LAZY TO WRITE EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY ORDER DOWN. I don’t care if table 5 just ask for 4 refills and table 8 asked for a side of ranch, table 9 asked for their check and table 2 asked for a side of honey mustard. YOU WRITE EVERY SINGLE ORDER DOWN RIGHT BY THEIR TABLE NUMBER YOU IDIOT!
ARE YOU TOO STUPID TO ****WRITE AN ORDER DOWN AND REREAD IT?********
WHY CAN’T YOU POSSIBLY DO THAT, HUH?
WHY YOU DEPEND ON YOUR MEMORY? THAT’S IS VERY STUPID!
Can you remember 3 phone numbers from memory ALONE saying it for the first time? If you can’t, then HOW CAN YOU EXPECT TO REMEMBER 3 orders WITHOUT WRITING THEM DOWN? I condemn people who don’t *********TRY********* TO REMEMBER BY WRITING THE ORDERS DOWN.
“You act like you’re the only customer in the restaurant.”
NO, I don’t. I act like I am a customer that orders and EXPECTS the person is actually CARING ENOUGH TO *********TRY********* TO REMEMBER WHAT I SAID BY WRITING THE ORDER DOWN, THEN REREADING THAT ORDER BEFORE COMING BACK TO THE TABLE. It’s called *TRYING*, NOT lack of EFFORT to even TRY to REMEMBER. I cannot expect you to just REMEMBER something I said from memory alone. Heck, as I said, I COULDN’T remember 1 order from “JUST MEMORY ALONE.” I HAD to WRITE IT DOWN. You do know however, writing it down is the FIRST STEP. You do have to REREAD IT to make sure you are getting the person the correct thing, which is the SECOND STEP.
I will give you a REAL example that happened a few months ago. My husband and I were greeted. My husband ordered a diet coke. I ordered a mr. pibb and a margarita with salt. I also ordered an appetizer as well. The waiter DID NOT WRITE the orders down. He STUPIDLY COMES BACK with just the appetizer plates to ask “What did you say you wanted to drink besides the margarita, water?” I said, “No, a mr. pibb.” Sorry, but that’s STUPID of ANY, I mean, ANY SERVER TO DO! If you do NOT WRITE THE ORDER DOWN **HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT TO REMEMBER IT?***
This is COMMON SENSE! You should write EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY REQUEST DOWN, even if it’s just for napkins. Then you do however; have to REREAD it, because I have had things forgotten even if the person wrote the order down, because they were too lazy to REREAD what they wrote down.
“You’re just a wicked bitch. I dare you to get a job as a server for one week and see what it’s like.”
I KNOW what it’s like to have bunches of customers in your face all at once and even very rude customers. I don’t need to work as a server to know what I expect and how *I* would serve people.
YOU are the “WICKED BITCH” that cares ONLY ABOUT HERSELF, because you actually “CARED” about your customers, you would take some ****EFFORT**** TO REMEMBER THE ORDER BY NOT HAVING TO “REMEMBER” the order, because you would WRITE THE ORDERS DOWN! LOOK AT YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR, BEFORE YOU CALL SOMEONE A “WICKED BITCH”, because that’s YOU! Someone that DOESN’T *******CARE******** IF THEY GET THE ORDER CORRECT by SOLELY DEPENDING ON THEIR “MEMORY ALONE” IS AN UNCARING SERVER!
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September 22nd, 2007 at 1:02 am
“So I WAS on my feet for HOURS WITHOUT A BREAK WITH SITTING DOWN.”
I meant to say “WITHOUT SITTING DOWN.” See, I NEVER SAID I WAS PERFECT, because NO ONE IS. All I am saying is customers EXPECT there not to be mistakes when you serve them. Me writing this doesn’t determine my pay, so I missed that mistake. If it determined my pay, I would have reread it.
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September 26th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Re: Rule #1
I’ve had a particular problem with having one restaurant (I don’t eat their anymore because of bad service) not waiting on my party in a timely manner after being seated. On two separate occassions, after waiting more than 15 minutes without so much as a ‘hello’ (which would have been just ok, so long as I knew that my server knew I was there), I actually called into the restaurant and ask if the manager would have someone come wait on us.
It may have been tacky, but it did get results.
Usually I’m not nearly as obnoxious.
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September 30th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Regarding #6, if the kitchen is taking a while, I’d like my server to tell me. If they let me know, then I don’t feel ignored, and I can wait a while longer. We had a new guy serving us at a steakhouse, and our steaks came out undercooked. Turns out that he was hustling the cook to get our food out. I told him I’d rather wait a little longer and get our stuff cooked the way it should, than to have to send back an undercooked steak. I try to work with the server as much as I can, because I’ve been there and done that… and I just want to know what’s going on.
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November 1st, 2007 at 9:43 am
Please, please PLEASE tell people that according to proper rules of etiqutte, you ALWAYS, yes ALWAYS tip at least 15%. Even if the actual service SUCKED, you tip 15% and voice your complaints to management. For great to exceptional service, you always tip 20% or more. If you have a coupon, you tip on the full amount of your bill, not on the discounted rate. So if your bill is $100 and you have a $15 off coupon, you tip on $100. If you have a coupon for free dessert and the bill is $85 with the dessert price included, you tip on $85, still tipping on the free dessert.
Ms. Manners ran these ages ago and when I was a server in high school & college, I wished I could have handed out laminated copies to customers.
On a side note, I worked at a Jillian’s in Raleigh, NC back in 2000. We had to wear skimpy daisy dukes and tiny shirts tied up right under our breasts (barring our bellies) on the weekends and black pants with well-fitted white, short-sleeved tops the rest of the week. We had to carry & make change, to the penny, at that time (I read a post about Jillian’s menu saying servers don’t carry change, but couldn’t remmember where the post was. My apologies!).
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November 3rd, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Jenna
“Please, please PLEASE tell people that according to proper rules of etiqutte, you ALWAYS, yes ALWAYS tip at least 15%. Even if the actual service SUCKED, you tip 15% and voice your complaints to management.”
Sorry, but when a server LITERALLY IGNORES YOU or gets your order wrong 4 or more times, it’s time to say THEY AIN’T TRYING and actually STIFF. There ARE REAL TIMES A RARE SERVERS DESERVE NOTHING. A RUDE SERVER OR ONE THAT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THEY CARE OR EVENT TRYING SHOULD GET NOTHING FOR ***RUINING*** THE ENTIRE OUTING.
I have had a waiter overcharge me on my credit card almost $11 with NO apology. Do you HONESTLY THINK THAT DESERVES A TIP AT ALL FOR NO APOLOGY? Be NICE and I will be nice back. It’s called treating a another person as YOU’D like to be treated if THAT WERE TRULY YOU. My husband’s credit card got overchared $21.50 at Chili’s in Aug. 2005 with NO APOLOGY from the waiter. HOW COULD ANYONE, ANYONE be SO DAMN MEAN? FUCK PEOPLE THAT ARE THAT MEAN BY STIFFING THEM! YOU FUCK WITH MY MONEY, I FUCK WITH YOURS, IT’S THAT SIMPLE!
If you mess up, I do NOT care if I tell you mean, if it’s a LOT of money like those 2 situations, you FUCKING DESERVE to be treated like crap. If I am overcharged under a dollar it’s one thing, but $5 or over DOES make people VERY PISSED OFF. Your tip goes WAY HIGHER with that overcharge that you COULD have done purposely, WHO REALLY KNOWS BUT THAT SERVER?
As far as complaining to management, I tried that, it DOESN’T ALWAYS help. A manager at Fox and Hound got let go last year due to his LACK OF CARING. He even brought me my food once, which I ordered potato salad and got delivered fries. I HONESTLY believe the waitress put in the order correctly. One of the corporate guys from another state had to come in to fix the manager’s ignorance. My point is, talking to the manager DOESN’T ALWAYS make the server do what is RIGHT or the MANAGER even. The server should ALWAYS APOLOGIZE for something they could PREVENT from getting to the customer if posssible, which the wrong side dish HONESTLY I feel was the MANAGER’S FAULT THEY LET GO. Secondly, the server should TRY at the very least to get something comped from their manager if it’s a MAJOR error such as a wrong entree or an overcharge. Thirdly, the server should always just be nice about things, because honestly, the customer will be nicer back if the server seems to have some SYMPATHY towards the customer. I feel if my server doesn’t care, WHY should I give them a tip at all if they have completely RUINED my outing WITHOUT ONE APOLOGY? You treat me like crap, WHY is it not OK to treat you the EXACT SAME WAY YOU TREATED ME BY TIPPING YOU LESS OR NOTHING?
‘If you have a coupon, you tip on the full amount of your bill, not on the discounted rate.”
I agree when it’s a huge amount, but when it’s a few dollars off, NO I COMPLETELY DISAGREE.
I think it’s “INCONSIDERATE” to the CUSTOMER’S MONEY when a few dollars or so off is involved. You expect people to tip HIGHER when the prices go higher due to inflation, so WHY NOT BE FAIR and tip HIGHER when the prices go higher due to inflation and LOWER when the prices are lowered to be FAIR as long as the item is NOT FREE? At a Chili’s location, the baby back ribs went from $13.99 to $14.49. Now, we all tip for that entrée based on $14.49. Is that FAIR for it ALWAYS to be in the SERVER’S FAVOR? Absolutely NOT! So BE FAIR and let us tip on the entrée that is just $2 less like at Red Lobster. It took *JUST AS MUCH WORK* to bring that entrée to me at $14.99 as it did to bring that same entrée to me at the menu price that is $16.99. The PRICE SHOULDN’T BE THE SOLE DECIDER OF THE TIP! I HONESTLY think the “PRICE” of something is certaintly NOT the ENTIRE reasoning to tip someone higher or lower.
Think about the HOW MUCH WORK DID YOU DO FOR YOUR TIP? The prices are lowered by the OWNER, so just because you think we owe you more because the original price was only $2 more, doesn’t mean you did ANY MORE WORK for the money and you didn’t do less work either. Just because the food is more expensive, doesn’t mean you did the SAME AMOUNT OF WORK. For instance: I order a pasta entrée that is $10.99 “AS IS” from the menu. I order a cheeseburger($6.99) medium well with lettuce and extra onions only. 2 sides of mayo, 1 side of mustard and 1 side of ranch. Now, honestly, which one was MORE WORK to give me? THE CHEESEBURGER WAS MORE WORK AND IT WAS *LESS* expensive. Shouldn’t a server deserve MORE MONEY for doing MORE WORK INSTEAD OF LESS WORK? WHY do you think that the *PRICE* should be the COMPLETE thing that decides the tip? Wouldn’t you AGREE VERY COMPLETELY THAT IF YOU HAD TO RUN YOUR ASS OFF FOR THOSE CONDIMENTS I SHOULD TIP YOU AS IF I GOT A HIGHER PRICED ITEM? It’s STUPID to base tipping SOLEY on the “PRICE” of am item. It takes MORE TIME to put the cheeseburger order into the computer as well as more things to bring to the table. Also, 90% of the time, my condiments are forgotten about, so the server has an EXTRA TRIP to get them to me, which is MORE WORK.
My main point is if we end up tipping higher when the prices INCREASE, then WHY when a person uses a coupon to DECREASE the price, it’s somehow has to ALWAYS be in the SERVER’S FAVOR. What’s the REAL POINT OF THE COUPON IF I WON’T GET THE ENTIRE $4 off? Honestly, with this type of situation, it ends up being sometimes under a dollar difference, depending on how high the bill is. Like let’ say with a discount, my check is $36 instead of $40 due to a $4 off coupon. Let’s base this on 20%. $36 x .20 = $7.20 $40 x .20 = $8, so with this example if the orginal bill was $40, the server would be less 80 cents, which usually I would round to 25 cents to give $7.25 when it’s that close personally. That’s really not to bad. It does add up for every customer that would do that though, but my point is, the tip shouldn’t be based ENTIRELY on the prices. The cheese burger was MORE WORK and it COSTED LESS. I think the tip should be more based on HOW MUCH WORK DID YOU DO FOR ME than what price something is or isn’t. Since the OWNER made these coupons, they had the right to LOWER the prices just as when they INCREASE their prices as well. WHY should my server get just as much tip just because I have a coupon with a few or so dollars off? I feel if we tip on the higher prices when prices increase, it’s only FAIR that we tip on the prices when it decreases due to a coupon that has a few dollars off or so. The server gets their way all the time when the prices increase, so WHY can’t CUSTOMER’S HAVE THEIR TURN? THAT IS THE FAIR WAY TO DO THINGS. I understand if it was like $15 off or something like that to tip on BEFORE the discount, but a few dollars or so off is really not ****FAIR***** to the CUSTOMER. The customer should be able to get the ENTIRE AMOUNT OFF of the coupon just as WHEN THE PRICES GO HIGHER, THAT YOU ALWAYS GET AN INCREASE IN YOUR TIP. Basically, I find, the server wins more, because when you don’t have a coupon, which I would feel is most of the times, you get more money due to the increase in prices on the menu MORE TIMES than a customer gets around a dollar off of savings off the tip. I feel it SHOULD be based on AFTER coupon when it’s only a few dollars or so off. Most of the times, the item is NOT for FREE, so the server will still make SOMETHING from it. BLAME YOUR OWNERS for this. Work at a restaurant that doesn’t have coupons such as I have NEVER seen a coupon for Outback or Applebee’s before like I have for Chili’s, Bennigan’s, Lonestar Steakhouse, and Red Lobster if you don’t like it. I wouldn’t work at the places that would have coupons, personally.
“So if your bill is $100 and you have a $15 off coupon, you tip on $100. If you have a coupon for free dessert and the bill is $85 with the dessert price included, you tip on $85, still tipping on the free dessert.”
I COMPLETELY AGREE with it’s THAT MUCH OFF THE CHECK, because LITERALLY the server is serving you for ABSOLUTELY FREE if you don’t tip them based on that amount. I am ONLY disagreeing with small amounts off that DOESN’T make the item free. I just feel WHY the HELL use the coupon if you won’t even let’s say get $3 off 2 entrees, that you get off like $2.60 or so? The OWNER makes the coupons, so when the prices go lower whether it’s because of happy hour or through a coupon, that truly DOESN’T have NOTHING to do with the **TRUE AMOUNT OF ACTUAL ***WORK*** that was done**. Honestly I’d tip better for someone that got me several condiments than just brought me a pasta dish. The server that did MORE WORK DESERVES MORE ****REGARDLESS OF THE PRICE**** of the item. If she or he was there when I needed them, they should get paid accordingly. I don’t feel the “PRICE” should be the ENTIRE factor of HOW MUCH WORK DID MY SERVER DO. I just recently this Friday order a pasta dish worth $14.99, but honestly, that $8.99 burger with fries is WAY MORE WORK for my server. It’s like HELL to get a sandwich or burger order for servers with picky eaters such as myself. All the server on Friday had to do was press ONE BUTTON, but when I ordered a burger or sandwich, they had to press ONLY this and this, no salt on fries, and my condiments which were mayo, mustard, and ranch, which is MORE TIME CONSUMING to do things like that. So my point is, I feel the price is TRULY SHOULDN’T be the ENTIRE REASON WHY I PAY MY SERVER MORE. If they were at my beck and call per say and got me my stuff as I requested without things going wrong, WHY NOT TIP THEM at least 25%? I do NOT care if the price is less, it is truly what they did for me that truly counts. If I got less service, then they may not always get 25%, but at least 20% if they did very well. I save that higher tip percentage for harder orders. I feel if work my server to death in a sense, I should TIP them MORE if things go right. Wouldn’t you agree? WHY would you think you should deserve less for doing MORE WORK, just because the burger order “COST” less? I feel burger or sandwiche orders or any orders that are complicated, should be tipped higher if they are brought to the customer OBVIOUSLY correct. They were MORE TROUBLE than that pasta dish that was $14.99. Even if the customer NEVER altered the item, the burger entree is more trouble in that they have to put how to cook the burger or with or without cheese. A pasta dish they don’t have much to alter 99.9% of the time. I cannot say 100% of the time, because there are people that will alter ANY DISH of ANY KIND NO MATTER WHAT THE HELL IT IS. My main point is, if a coupon is a few bucks off, be glad they are at that restaurant instead of you not getting a tip at all for no customers being there. Be glad, because when there are no customers, WHO THE HELL CAN TIP YOU THEN? On one New Years eve, I made about $10 tip on an 8 hour shift, which normally I’d make around $20 at the least, but the fact is, if it’s NOT BUSY, HOW THE HELL CAN YOU MAKE ANY TIPS WITHOUT CUSTOMERS? So that coupon, makes you get a chance to have some customers at least, so be thankfull for that. Honestly, it takes the EXACT SAME AMOUNT of EFFORT to bring me a steak at Chili’s that cost $15.99 as a steak at a fancy fine dining restaurant that cost around $30. The price is truly NOT showing the “AMOUNT OF WORK AND HELL” the server had to go through. HONESTLY, a burger order for me personally, a server at Chili’s would have to work A LOT, LOT, HARDER for that $6.99 than a $30 steak entree at a fancy restaurant. Basing the price amount completely apon the tip is just stupid. It’s should honestly the tip should HOW MUCH WORK DID YOU HAVE TO DO FOR ME AS LONG AS IT’S SOMETHING “I” ACTUALLY CAUSED? Like if my server forgets something, I NEVER CAUSED THAT, so if they had more work to do for me, that’s THEIR OWN DAMN FAULT, NOT MINE. If I got my order obviously correct brought to me, then if it’s wrong, I won’t blame my server. That’s on the cook. So when they bring the correct food to me, I should actually tip them more if I know they put in my order correctly that is, because they went through more work due to a cook’s or expo’s error, NOT their own.
My point is, prices SHOULDN’T cloud our judgement on HOW MUCH TO TIP. If my server is really going through HELL for me with my complicated order and getting it to me correctly as much as they possibly can notice with their eyes, then I won’t hold something they can’t control out of their tip.
I just feel NOT EVERYTHING SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN THE “SERVER’S” FAVOR EVERYTIME! The price goes up let’s say once or twice a year, you are for sure getting an increase in your tip, so when a coupon is used for just a few bucks off, unless it makes the item for free, you are still getting a tip from it. The price TRULY HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT SERVICES YOU ARE PROVIDING ME. You cannot see that? I, as a customer, have NOTHING to do with you having to tip-out the other co-workers. Do not even go there. Just don’t act like I am supposed to tip you the exact percentage of the original menu prices if the **OWNER** decided to lower the prices. Just as when the prices go up, you get a higher tip, so BE FAIR, when the prices go down due to a coupon for a $3-$5 off, tip on the DISCOUNTED AMOUNT. You think it’s fair we should tip on the HIGHER price when prices go up, so WHAT IS THE REAL DIFFERENCE HERE IN WHAT SERVICES YOU PROVIDED ME, just because it happens to “COST” LESS TODAY? Tipping on percentage of the bill amount is a REALLY STUPID CONCEPT if you ask me. More work from a server getting orders correct to the tables should earn more pay, NOT the same amount of pay.
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June 16th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Hilarious site! Just an fyi, in some parts of Texas the sales tax is 8.25%, so doubling the tax here will yield a 16.50% tip, which is a good way to make sure you meet the 15% minimum.
As a former server, I feel your pain. We used to have “WTW” nights = White Trash Wednesdays, when the enchiladas were on sale and people would come in to order enchiladas and water so their bill for four people would be like $28 and they could leave you $30 total.
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February 23rd, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Rule #1: Unless you go to a place that’s ran by teenagers who are only working because their parents forced them too, and the manager isn’t there to work them because he’s in his office playing World of Warcraft. Hey, sounds kinda like where I worked before!
Rule #2: Sometimes, it may be the matter of personality. You can’t expect people to simply change their being to make their servers happy. There are PLENTY of people who aren’t talkative, extremely shy and unintentionally comes off as a grump, or simply in a bad mood, and still tip very well. In fact, plenty of people in NYC go to a restaurant, don’t want to small talk, but makes up for it with a generous tip. So if you decide you don’t care about certain people because of their first impression and give them lousy service, getting a lousy tip is expected.
Rule #11: Absolutely agreed with this one. Even if I have a bad meal, I’ll tip the service, especially since the server tried to make it better by bringing the honey mustard I asked for.
Also it’s true, most restaurants pay less than minimum wage to servers. Definitely should be ready to tip when eating out.
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March 10th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
[...] Source: http://www.ragingserver.com/best_waiter_server_blog/2007/09/11/rules-for-eating-out/ [...]
May 16th, 2009 at 2:01 am
AS IF you can blame a WAITRESS for a problem that a FOOD RUNNER or expediter missed!!! You’re not punishing the food runner you’re punishing the waitress because she STILL has to tip out the food runner the same amount, regardless of whether they did a good job or not. HOW DARE YOU punish US for mistakes that are NOT our fault!!! And thanks for rubbing off on me with your stupid random word capitalization.
Also…tip points?! Do you have a meter running in your head that adds and subtracts points due to various merits or inconsistencies, which then translates into a monetary value?! Holy shit lady. You talk about going out to eat and having a good time but all you’re doing is watching the waitress for every tiny mistake. I hope you don’t have kids. If I were yours I’d have run away to Siberia a long time ago. I’ll wager it’s a HELL of a lot less frigid there than it is in your house.
“I want *****PERFECT SERVICE*******.”
“NO ONE is “PERFECT.” ”
^ Looks like we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t with you.
P.S. - I think you need a life. Sitting around on this blog all day and typing novels must be a pretty ridiculous existence. At least I work for the right to sit on my ass for a few hours every night.
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