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T.I.P.S.
Posted under Glamorous Waitressing by Recovering Straight GirlFollowing up with my previous post, the part where I was ranting about the 10% tip I got from the very lovely Tasmanian lesbian couple, I am addressing a very nice question from Traci.
Traci asks,
Well I live right here in the Pacific Northwest and I didn’t realize you had to ‘tip out’ to other people in your lovely establishment! I am typically a very good tipper however I’d like to know what is a realistic tip. Some places charge an 18% gratuity on top of the bill if it’s a large group. Most info I’ve read says 15% is realistic. I’ve never been a waitress…I’d probably lose my job in a hurry…but I do love to eat out! So what, oh Glamorous Waitress (!), is an appropriate amount? I have no desire to offend anyone who has the power to spit in my food! Plus, I work hard for my money and so do all those glamorous waitpersons. We all deserve our pay and we deserve it to be correct!
Well Traci, it is indeed subjective to the person, but I do have an opinion about the subject, which I am all too happy to share with you and the rest of the internet.
First I wish to address something very important.
If you have a problem with your service or the establishment in general, either ask to speak to the manager, write a letter to either the establishment if it’s privately owned, or to the corporate office if it’s corporately owned and air your grief with them. They will usually compensate you or at least acknowledge your concern. Tread very carefully here though. Karma’s a bitch and if you’re just being mean, well, you know what will happen. Do not take it out on your server, even if it seems that he or she is at fault.
HG and I go out to restaurants a LOT and I can honestly say that we very, very, very rarely get bad service, (and I’m overly picky.) I think that poor service is the exception and most service personnel care about doing a good job and DO a good job. Usually if you receive poor service it’s because YOU’RE being rude (or difficult, or abusive ) to your server (not YOU Traci, just YOU in general,) or there are extenuating circumstances, or your server is just crazy busy and doing the best that he or she can. And people, I’m not talking about crappy establishments where you should expect to get poor service. You get what you pay for, and that’s just the way it is with everything.
With that said; back to tipping.
Some people theorize that the word TIPS is actually an acronym for To Insure Prompt Service. (This etymology contradicts certain dictionaries and is up for debate.) The idea is that long ago, people would leave a TIP to their waitress in a tea or coffee house in to insure that they would receive their drinks faster (and their tea hot.) I’m not so sure what would happen if they didn’t, but that’s the idea.
We still use this today in our society, but typically in more high end establishments with maitre d’s, cabin attendants on cruise ships, and sometimes with valet’s and porter’s. I know that when I’m traveling, I always tip the curbside luggage people, and cruise luggage porters FAT to hopefully insure that my stuff actually makes it, (and it always does.)
Another theory is that patrons would leave “drink money” for their servers so that the server could have drink on them later in the night. It was to make the server not feel jealous or bad that they couldn’t sit and have a good time getting sloshed on beer themselves. In Germany this type of tip is called a Trinkgeld, in France, a pourboire.
Many countries do not customarily tip service personnel, but this differs from country to country and region to region. Best to read up on this before traveling abroad.
In the United States, tipping is not only customary, but expected. Hey, I don’t make the rules, that’s just the way that it is.
Servers in a restaurant earn minimum wage and in most states, less than minimum wage due to a lovely thing called a “tip credit.” This means that the servers tips are taken into consideration as wages and therefore they are allowed to be paid less than minimum wage, (at this time that amount is $2.13/hour.) Yes people, $2.13/hour. I believe that all states except for Oregon, Washington, and California allow employers to use “tip credits” but there may be others.
Servers are also required to claim all of their tips as income and are taxed accordingly. In general, the IRS assumes that a server receives a minimum of a 10% of their sales, and applies tax accordingly; claiming a minimum of 10% of sales, regardless of the actual tips received is typical, (remember, I’m not a CPA, I’m a glamorous waitress, but this is what we do to try to avoid any red flags that would require auditing.)
The “tip out” to other employees in the restaurant is taken into consideration and is usually based on sales, not the actual tips that you received. This means that I have to tip out a percentage based on my sales, regardless if I actually made that amount of money off of the sales, which sometimes means, losing money. That percentage varies from restaurant to restaurant.
At my Glamorous Waitressing Job, I am required to tip out 7.5% of my total bar sales to the bar, 1% of my total sales to the host persons, and 1% of my total food sales to the food expediter. Sometimes I will slip money to the host person who is helping me bus my tables because the faster I have my tables cleared, the sooner I can be sat more. Other restaurants require more support staff, which means the server will tip out even more. Take into consideration that the nicer the restaurant, the more people need to be compensated out of that servers tip; including sometimes the kitchen staff, the sommelier, the chef, the maitre d, the server assistants, and a lot of other people.
Another thing many people don’t know.
If you are in the bar and having a drink while waiting for your table and you ask to have your bar tab transferred to your dinner bill. Guess what happens? Your cocktail server or bartender gets screwed. Usually the server receiving the check will tip out the cocktailer or bartender 10%, which is of course less than they would probably get if the patron just paid the bill in the bar. In addition, if that table then gives a bad tip to the receiving server on her end, she may end up tipping out the cocktailer or bartender more than she actually received.
So how much to tip?
I’m sure there are plenty of experts who have given their opinion on this subject, but I’m going to give you mine as well as tell you what I do personally.
Tip a minimum 18-20% of the total bill. More if you received exceptional service. If you have a large party, if you’re extremely high maintenance, if your kids make a huge mess all over the place, if your father-in-law is being rude to the server for no apparent reason, if you require separate checks or if you tie up your servers table for more than a typical amount of time, TIP MORE.
HG and I tip 30% when we received exceptional service. Is that excessive? No. My bill is for the food that I received. The tip is for the service I received. If I can’t afford to do that, guess what? I should go to a cheaper restaurant or stay home. And I always, always, always tip breakfast servers and happy hour servers more due to the small amount of the bill. It’s just what I do, because I think it’s nice and I know that they greatly appreciate it.
Never tip your server less than 15% of the total bill. If your service is not up to par, follow the instructions at the beginning of this post, don’t go back to that establishment, or at the very least, if you do go, ask for a different server, (believe me, that sends a MUCH clearer message than even any of my other suggestions.)
A few additional thoughts:
- If you have a coupon, a discount card or a gift certificate; you are should tip on the amount before the discount, not after. This is a concept that is often lost on people, with good reason, and it’s an easy mistake to make.
- When you are totaling your credit card slip, (adding the tip,) please check your addition. Addition errors always benefit the customer, which often means shorting your server even if you didn’t intend to.
- Please use care to not take both copies of the credit card slip. Doing so means your server receives nothing.
- Large checks do not mean you can tip less. Percentage is percentage and even though it may seem like a large amount of money that you are giving your server, ($60.00 on a $300.00 bill,) it’s still all about percentages.
- Don’t be a stereotype. Women are often bad tippers. As well as the “older generation,” and certain ethnic groups, like Romanians, Asians, and Europeans, (and obviously, Tasmanians. . .) This is of course NOT to say that ALL of these people are bad tippers, but certainly twenty years in the service industry has proven this to me and I’m sure a lot of other people. Yes, certainly there are sometimes good reasons for this, (like the cultural differences,) but it doesn’t make it okay.
- The best tippers are: Other service personnel, (especially exotic dancers,) gay men, and business men. I always get good tips from lesbians if I’m wearing some kind of something that identifies me as one, otherwise not.
Did you know that if your server touches you in some way, (not THAT way,) but their hand on your shoulder, back or elbow, you are more likely to tip them more? Or if they kneel down to talk to you face to face? It makes people feel as though they are getting more personal service in a more intimate way, (not THAT way.) Watch for it next time you’re dining out and see how it makes you feel.
An that, dear Traci, is my answer to your question. I hope it was helpful to you and the rest of you readers.
Let me know if you think of me the next time you’re double checking your 20% tip addition on the credit card slip that you carefully leave for your server!
I am often embarrassed by the way my boss tips when we go out to lunch. She is of the “older generation” and grew up in a foreign country. She just does.not.get.it.
I tip at least 20% when I go out to eat (and that is nearly every day.) I do believe in karma and I have the same wait help over and over again. I treat them with respect for their job and they treat me well in return. It’s all good…
Great post! I didn’t realize that in Oregon you tip out based on your sales, not the tips you receive. Good to know!
Here is a tip. Tips are good karma. They spread the wealth. 20% is nothing to give to someone who does a good job for you.
thank you Traci for asking. Thank You RSG for explaining.
Wow! Thanks for the great information! I’ve learned alot and I will be thinking of you next time I’m figuring out the tip! A funny (now anyway) aside to your stat about servers touching you…for my daughter’s 17th birthday last month we went to a fun restaurant we like and our server was very nice…helpful, personable, fun…I will admit that her tip was smaller than it would have otherwise been because she kept ‘touching’ my husband! The first time, we all watched as she slid her arm across his shoulders…my daughters even had strange looks on their faces…so did Tim. The second and third times I’m pretty sure she got the message when she noticed the scowl on my face. I wish I’d known about the asking for another server though! Now I do and will keep it in mind.
Yes, I guess I should clarify, APPROPRIATE touching, like in an endearing or respectful way, NOT hitting on someone’s husband, that’s just gross and not okay.
Okay, so… what exactly do you wear to identify yourself as a lesbian? I’m assuming you have some sort of uniform or dress code, so… jewelry? I’m curious.
And I’m a good tipper. I was a decent tipper before I stumbled across you, but ever since I got to know you I always think of you (yes, always) when dining out… and I’m always good for a fight for the bill, too!
Even though I owe you two. Dammit. I hate losing.
TJ: I have a very subtle necklace that has small pride beads on it. The straight people would probably never notice, but the gay ones always do!
i am so glad i linked to you. this is great information. i guess i am a sucky tipper, but then again, we don’t really go out to flashy and nice places much anyway. what do pride beads look like?
i worked as a hotel/motel room cleaner for a few years a long time ago. that sucked big time, both the work, the place, the co workers and the tips. i was fortunate to see a tip. in fact, the most i ever go tout of one room was an american five dollar bill back when they were worth way more than our little loonie. anyway, i still have it. never gonna part with it, call me weird.
anyway, off topic…thanks for the info, i will think before i tip from now on, when ever we go someplace that requires such thought. take care. poet
i moved from http://hideawaypoet.blogspot.com to http://thepoetm@wordpress.com
Wow, that was very informative and I have waitressed before! You are a walking encyclopedia!
As a former glamourous waitress myself, let me also shed some light. I worked in a high end restaurant and tipped out a hefty 30% a night. And yes, that is based on sales, people. And there was no skimming where I worked since 90% of my guests paid by credit card and therefore everything that I made was documented. So yeah, I made good money but I tipped out a shitten ton and there is nothing glamourous about waitressing. I’m one who should know. Some people do it for a few years, some for a lifetime. Some are fabulous at it and truly do it well. I was not one of those people. People annoy the fuck out of me. However, being a waitress has taught me a patience I did not know I had. I am the easiest person to wait on now ever. Short of being downright mean and dumping my food in my lap, you will get 20-25%.
Hi,
Well I learnt alot too thank you,I’m an Aussie girl and I’ve been to the states several times thank god my girlfriend clued me up on the tipping thing cause here we don’t do it at all its just not expected I guess the $15 to $20 bucks an hour pretty much covers it.
I like tipping though it was fun and the service over there is a hundred times better than here and not to mention the food the food is to die for I have to say I loved everythink about the states.I wanna move there like today.
I liked your post. I hope I end up with you and HG in my section someday– you sound like perfect customers! That’s unlikely though, since I live in Boise.
I waitress at a nice establishment that is, I suppose, casual fine dining. It never ceases to amaze me how people will treat others when they feel they’ve got the upper hand in a social setting, like a resturaunt. I’ve come to look at the experience of dining out as something of a microchasm of society at large, which is often very depressing. The worst table I’ve ever had, (tip-wise) was a table of four that ordered two bottle of 150 dollar wine, and racked up another 150 dollars in food, and left a 30 dollar tip. Hurts to lose money on a table you should have made 80-90 dollars on! I’ve been toying with the idea of writing an op-ed for our local weekly paper about appropriate dining-out practices (especially tipping)– your post makes me want to do it even more!
Be Well,
E
Loved this post! Ever since our daughter did waitressing we’ve always tried to tip well. I just remember her coming home with some horror stories of crappy tips and losing money after tip sharing.
I was shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that waitstaff make $2.13/hour. Way too much.
King shocka Khan
I sooo remember that $2.13 an hour.
Yep. It sucked.
Tip well my bitches, tip very well.
Nice post!
I remember my serving days all too well. Especially the people who would come in and actually speak down to you. Mind you, I had to go back to work at the anicient age of 48 so I was pulling double shifts on old feets. It’s amazing how rude some people can be. There are lots and lots of nice ones but one mean comment can mess up your whole day. Nobody likes to be degraded.
Serving is hard work and I would love to see those folks who bitch and moan over not getting their refills quick enough on a busy Saturday night try to handle 7 tables who all need something at the same time.
When I go out I rarely tip less than 25%. Occasionally it will be between 20 and 25. And NEVER, not even when service bites, have I ever been mean or rude to the server. I just can’t do it. I’d rather chalk it up to, “ok this could have worked out better” and move on without spoiling his/her day.
I know it’s not the servers’ fault, but it seems somehow that the proprietors of the restaurant come out smelling like a rose…they get to pay their help a meager wage, charge us a lot for their food, and then have us pay their staff. I think they should pay a good wage…not only would they retain good help, but they would also have friendlier staff.
Just my thoughts.
Thank you! I just did a huge rant on the same subject a couple of nights ago. Yours is much more well thought out. I came home and was so fired up, I just sat at the keyboard.
funny what you say about stereotypes. for years, i couldn’t understand why the gay male bartenders ignored me at the bar until finally someone clued me in: “dykes are terrible tippers, they’re afraid you won’t tip them.” i don’t know if i was a good or bad tipper back then, but ever since i learned about that stereotype, i have been extra-conscientious about tipping well and i’m happy to see my behavior fits within your criteria. thanks.
WOW. I had no idea about a lot of this stuff. Thanks for sharing your great words of wisdom with us. I respect the waitress job because I know that I could never do it…I’d drop everything, mess up the orders, forget who had what and with what, etc…so I respect a job well-done. Definitely. I didn’t know that women are often bad tippers. Had no idea. Interesting!
hi rsg,
thanks for your blog, you are a great writer. i’ve been lurking for awhile but this post has prompted me to leave a comment/question. sometimes when i’m leaving a tip on a credit card i write the amount of the tip but i don’t write the grand total (i suck at math). is this bad? does this add extra work for the servers and/or does this cheat them of any money?
my sister is a waitress and i appreciate you educating the public on the importance of tipping well. even if the service stinks i always say that we should tip very well, it is what progressive people should do.
hi, i put a comment on earlier, and it appears that it isn’t here. i wanted to say that this is great information. thanks.
happy valentine’s day to you both.
this is a question not about tipping…. would HG be opposed to me and all of my kids living in the bounce room?
Hey Hooker.
Hope you had a Happy VDAY!
Excellent post! Next time please illuminate us on the subject of TITS!
Sue and I are tend to over-tip. I just can’t seem to reduce the tip even when the service is bad. I’m a softie! I just figure sometimes it’s the kitchen’s fault… or someone called out… or a hundred other things could have gone wrong. So unless the person is outright rude, they’re getting a good tip from us.
One more thing… we ALWAYS tip in cash. I’ve heard that’s better for servers because they don’t necessarily have to claim it then. Is this true?
I swear you need to write for a newspaper and make millions (WITHOUT THE TIPS!)
Kristine, I do write for a newspaper and believe me, I don’t make millions!
I consider myself a good tipper (always at least 20%, unless service was bad, then 15%) because I did know about the $2.13 (and the math is just easier at 20% lol). But I often receive bad service — more so than the average person, I think. Kim and I will go to dinner and watch our server go to the table next to ours two or three times before coming to us. We joke about how we must give out bad tipper vibes and that if the server only knew the truth they’d be more attentive. Perhaps it is the stereotype about women that is prompting it.
I always leave a large tip- and say please and thank you- seriously. I see so many people order wait staff around and not be polite. So frustrating. My kids are taught to do the same.
Believe it or not we try to go out once a week or so and with eight children under ten we leave quite a mess. I try to carry some extra cash when we go out with my MIL because she tends to be cheap. It is always the challenge to try and sneak it on to the table without her noticing.
I’m a notorious good tipper!
Used to wait tables…so I get it.
But what pissed me off……a waitress recently SCREWED me at the CHILI’s at the ATLANTA AIRPORT & ran my debit card for a few dollars more than the tip amount.
It’s only a few dollars. That’s not a big deal. It’s the principal!
So now: I tip in cash!
At least 20% every time.
“Tip a minimum 18-20% of the total bill. More if you received exceptional service.â€
I agree 100%.
“if your kids make a huge mess all over the place,â€
There is usually a BUSSER who cleans up, which this person gets tipped out from the sales. If there isn’t a busser, just because there is a large mess doesn’t mean there should be more tip. The reason is because the cleaning up the mess is *AFTER* the service. TIPS, as you basically stated, are *TO INSURE PROPER SERVICE*, so if the customer has left before you cleaned the mess, the act of “cleaning†was *NOT* at ALL part of the customer’s *SERVICE*, therefore, when tipping, people should NEVER consider “cleaning up†as part of someone’s service UNLESS the server is cleaning up *DURING* the customer’s service like if a customer drops a drink and the server cleans it up for the customer. THAT would be part of someone’s service, but NOT if the mess is cleaned AFTER the customer has left.
“if you tie up your servers table for more than a typical amount of time, TIP MORE.â€
I agree 100%!
“And I always, always, always tip breakfast servers and happy hour servers more due to the small amount of the bill.â€
I feel the “COST†of something truly shouldn’t be the SOLE reason for tipping an amount. Think about it. It takes just as much trouble to bring me a steak entrée that is $30 as it does to get a steak entrée at Applebee’s for around $15.
“Never tip your server less than 15% of the total bill.†“Tip a minimum 18-20% of the total bill.â€
Sorry, but I TOTALLY DISAGREE! Just read some of my experiences. I bet MOST people would have done the SAME THING I did.
I had a waitress at Chili’s. She wrote down my order, but SHE brought out my food with the most OBVIOUS things WRONG. I ordered “Grilled Baby Back Ribs with honey bbq sauce on them with substituting the bowl of cinnamon apples that normally comes with it for extra fries, 2 sides of honey bbq sauce, 1 side of ranch, and 1 side of mayo. She comes out with the BIG BOWL of cinnamon apples on the plate with only my side of ranch as well as NO extra fries and has the audacity to ask me when she brought out our food “So what did you order†when she WROTE IT DOWN. That was just showing how VERY LAZY she was NOT to REREAD the order. She probably STUPIDLY threw the paper away. The manager told me she printed the ticket correctly. WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO TO PRINT A TICKET CORRECTLY IF THE FOOD IS WRONG?
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The ticket being correctly doesn’t matter if my food is wrong, I STILL have my food wrong. It’s like whose fault is it for making my food wrong is NOT the issue; it’s that the food is WRONG that’s the issue. Bringing it to me like that makes the server look like a complete IDIOT when that BIG BOWL is on the plate and she took my order. If a food runner takes my food to me, that’s an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT situation, but when it’s the SAME SERVER that takes the order there should be some *EFFORT* to make sure my food is taken to the customer correctly as far as OBVIOUS mistakes go. It’s like NO EFFORT on her part to make sure I had EXACTLY what I ordered. It makes me mad that they can’t REREAD the order BEFORE they take it to me. I NEVER got ONE apology from her, NOT ONE. I had reported this situation to the manager due to the fact that I had a margarita I had waited for a half an hour, so that’s why I reported her to begin with. Turns out they were out of shakers that the Presidente’ margarita came in, so there was a mix up. The bartender made my margarita in the wrong glass The bartender never told the server about the situation nor did she find out about it within a reasonable amount of time, therefore, I ended up getting my margarita from the manager after waiting literally a half an hour for it. Someone else apparently ended up getting the margarita that was mine. The waitress NEVER ONCE apologized for all those mistakes. At about 20 minutes into waiting for my margarita which I am back tracking here, she asks if I had been brought it, which I told her no, but I couldn’t help myself, I told her about all my complaints, because I was really getting SICK of her horrible service without even a sorry. I had to ask for utensils TWICE. I told her about that I had to ask for utensils twice and she replied “That’s the hostess’s job” right to my face. I ended up reporting her to corporate and she got fired. Yes, I STIFFED the bitch, DESERVABLY SO. She could have gone to check on my margarita after the 10 minute mark, NOT almost 20 minutes which is what she did. My husband and I were WELL finished our meals even with the mistakes she made by the time my margarita arrived. That was one of the RUDEST waitresses I’ve EVER encountered. If she would have said she was sorry at least once even, I probably wouldn’t have been so pissed off. Some servers are really UNCARING and MEAN.
Cooks make mistakes and the server is supposed to KNOW WHAT they are taking to the customer that it is correct as far as what they can see without touching someone’s food. If I order a burger and you bring me a steak, the excuse would be “The cook cooked it wrongâ€, well WHY BRING it to me WRONG? My point is, it frustrates me to see a server brings out the wrong food when THEY took the order if it’s in plain sight that it’s wrong that they don’t have to touch someone’s food to see the mistake. WHY write it down just so you can put it into the computer? There are *2 * steps to the process unless a food runner is involved. The cook may forget something or not cook the correct food, but the server took the order, so they should not bring something that is incorrect that they can actually SEE, that is. The big bowl of cinnamon apples, she could SEE OBVIOUSLY as well as my missing condiments. I sat WAITING to eat my food, because I like to eat my fries with my ribs like MOST people do when they eat a hamburger, NOT to eat the fries by themselves and I also like to eat my ribs with MUCH MORE bbq sauce than the tiny bit that put on the ribs. It FRUSTRATES me that servers DON’T *TRY* to get the orders correct.
http://www.mtsusidelines.com/media/paper202/news/2003/10/01/Opinions/Tips-Are.Earned.Rewards.Not.An.Ordained.Right-508957.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.mtsusidelines.com
“Never, ever take food out that is incorrectly done (I had a waitress rip me a new one for something I goofed up on as a cook and she demanded I fix it then and there – and she was right and I learned).”
This waitress was SMART. She chose NOT to put 100% trust into her cook for things that she could *SEE* was wrong with the food *BEFORE* taking it to the customer wrong which is WASTING TIME and makes customers get pissed off when you bring people wrong food that is OBVIOUSLY not correct to the eye.
I had a waiter that wrote down my order and brought me the completely wrong entree. I ordered an appetizer as my entree. I ordered bbq chicken nachos and he brought me quesadillas to our table. We both told him we didn’t order that. He just walks off with the quesadillas, NO EXPLANATION, NO APOLOGY, NOTHING. I wanted to know what the heck was going on why I didn’t have my food, but my husband had his, so I ended up going up to him to ask. He told me he pressed the wrong button, only said he was sorry, NOT “SO SORRY” as he should have for ruining our outing. Anyway, I didn’t call a manager because all I cared about was getting my food and he didn’t either, so nothing was comped. Since he acted like he didn’t give a care, I didn’t care at all about his tip. ZERO tip is what he received. See, if he would have given us the quesadillas that they probably threw away, told a manager, asked the manager if he or she could comp the entree, and profusely apologized, he would have at least received 10%, but he didn’t care, so I didn’t care when it came down to tip time. See, he made *2* mistakes. He printed the ticket incorrectly. Secondly, he didn’t bother to REREAD the order he WROTE DOWN and compared it to the plate of food. So, in this situation, even if the cook cooked the wrong food, the SERVER SHOULD REREAD THE ORDER. He looked like an IDIOT. I’m sorry, but there was NO EFFORT and NO CARING(THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT TO ME) in our service, therefore, he received nothing deservably so. I treat people the way they treat me. My point is, if servers would just act like they CARE, they’d get paid for a huge mistake like a completely wrong entree. Honestly, I don’t feel he meant the sorry because his actions didn’t match the sorry. If he would have truly been sorry, he would have told a manager and said he was “SO SORRY” right as he realized what had happened. He wouldn’t have left me with no explanation about where my food was.
If a person has a wrong burrito filling or a pickle under a bun, OF COURSE a server CAN’T POSSIBLY KNOW if the customer has something wrong, but I am *ONLY* talking about OBVIOUS things. Wrong entrees, wrong side dishes, and condiments are in plain sight. I feel if the customer can see the mistake without touching their food, so can the server.
I also had a waitress overcharge me by pressing a wrong button. My husband and I both had entrees, which I added a salad to my entree, my husband didn’t. The salad was $1.99 if you add it to an entree and it was $3.50 without an entree. The waitress charged me $3.50. This restaurant was not a chain, it was a local small restaurant, which only had literally 1 party of 2 besides my husband and I as well as one person at the bar, that’s it. Now I go up to her to ask her and she goes “It’s whatever is in the computer”, so I have to show her the menu. This was my FIRST AND ONLY TIME THERE, BUT I KNEW THE PRICES BETTER THAN SHE DID, WHICH IS TRULY SAD, IT REALLY IS. Anyway, she had ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO VERIFY THAT CHECK, BUT DECIDED TO BE LAZY. She didn’t even ask for them to comp something which I feel she should have since it was HER mistake, not even just a wrong price in the computer, but it was COMPLETELY HER mistake for pressing the wrong button. My finalized check was “add house salad to entree” instead of just “house salad” as the first check had. Only thing she said was as she was handing me the corrected check “Sorry about the mistake.” No “So sorry” as I feel she SHOULD have. This was over a dollar mistake, actually $1.51 to be technical. Sorry, but I stiffed her because she handled it as if she couldn’t POSSIBLY be at fault when I went up to her. Telling me “It’s whatever is in the computer” is EXTREMELY RUDE and it’s also putting the blame on a computer, which even if the price was wrong such as (let’s say the menu states $4.99 and the computer charges $4.49), it would still be on *HER* to notice that, NOT for the customer to have to notice it. I DON’T CARE what’s in the computer; it’s what’s on the MENU that the customer sees, so that is what counts, NOT what’s in the computer.
Continued:
See, if that would have been me as the server in that situation, I would have automatically looked in the menu and apologized RIGHT AWAY by saying I was “so sorry “ as well as asked the manager to comp the salad for the longer wait. I couldn’t fathom saying “It’s whatever is in the computer” to someone, because people are SMARTER than computers. We can catch errors better than a computer. Think about spell check. If I write “Their” and “There”, the computer will not catch which “There” or “Their” I meant. We as human beings have the POWER to make sure the computer spits out the correct price by double checking the check. I feel her *attitude* about the situation is what made me not tip. If she would have been NICER about it, then I DEFINATELY would have tipped her at least 10%. Sorry, but we actually go out to eat every weekend, so we have been overcharged over 12 times LITERALLY since 2001 so I am really TIRED of showing the server PROOF that they overcharged me when honestly *THAT SERVER* COULD HAVE made sure they were charging me correctly. They make MORE money if the bill is higher too which is a higher overcharge than the exact amount. Like the $1.51 was like having approx. $1.75 taken from us due to not just taxes that are more but also percentage of tip more. I am just TRULY TIRED of DOUBLE CHECKING SERVERS for what *THEY* are supposed to be doing, NOT THE CUSTOMER!
A waiter at Applebee’s in 2003 overcharged my credit card around $11 because he rung up the WRONG table. He could have been making us pay the HIGHER bill, so his friends at another table could pay a LOWER bill. He NEVER apologized ONCE and when I went up to him, which I interrupted him getting drink orders(because this was MAJOR overcharge), he IGNORED me, so I IGNORED his tip. It’s PATHETIC when the CUSTOMER has to go get the manager instead of the SERVER getting the manager as he SHOULD HAVE. Then the waiter went around the computer where my husband and I were as the manager was returning my money to my credit card getting ready to rering OUR REAL bill, the manager asks “So what they ordered†to the waiter. The waiter blurted it out from memory basically, which to me PROVES he did it on PURPOSE, which I did tell the manager, but he didn’t believe me that he did it intentionally. I didn’t get a sorry from the waiter then either. It’s pathetic that he didn’t even apologize when he was watching our correct bill being rung up by the manager. I was SO PISSED. There are people that WILL do it on purpose. Some will put things on your bill you never got. Yes, it COULD have been a REAL mistake, but at LEAST have the COMMON DECENCY to be NICE ENOUGH to APOLOGIZE for my INCONVENIENCE. The manager at Applebee’s I don’t believe he apologized and DEFINATELY didn’t give us ANYTHING for free for our overcharge or INCONVENIENCE.
If it would have been me as the server in that situation, I would have told the customers that I was serving that: “I am sorry, but I just overcharge this customer by accident and I will be right back.†I would have IMMEDIATELY SAID I WAS “SO SORRY†to the person I overcharged and gotten a manager IMMEDIATELY. It’s not the “MISTAKE†that got him the stiff. It’s the UNCARING, UNFEELING WAY HE HANDLED THE SITUATION. I TRULY think he was trying to get us to pay the higher check while a friend’s table would have received the lower check. He also would have had at least more $2 tip for the higher check amount, so in reality, he would have stolen almost $13 from me. I don’t EVER interrupt someone else’s turn unless I have a mistake. I also feel he did it on purpose, because he only handed back the credit card receipts, NOT the check to make damn sure we didn’t remember the amount of our check. WHO in their right mind would not notice a difference between around $36 check and on my credit card slip was charged $47? I’m NOT STUPID, neither is my husband. He had ran off so quickly that we couldn’t have told him when he delivered the credit card receipt and my credit card back, which is why I had to go interrupt him. I wasn’t about to wait LONGER to leave because of *HIS* mistake, if it was a mistake.
Honestly out of ALL those situations, do you HONESTLY IN YOUR HEART think that 15% was EARNED? I understand that they worked for nothing basically and lost money on my husband and I, but look at what we had to go through. It RUINED our meals. I NORMALLY DO TIP 20%-25% for great service, sometimes even 26%-28% if the service was fantastic, but when servers don’t try or even CARE to apologize, they will be hurt by the non-existant or low tip just as they HURT MY FEELINGS. I am a HUMAN BEING. I don’t feel I should be DISRESPECTED, just as I don’t “DISRESPECT servers. In all the situations I mentioned here that I didn’t receive even a “sorry†is 100% TOTAL DISREPECT! I couldn’t imagine not apologizing if I was the server in these situations. I say “thank you†when servers bring me things. Basically, what I am saying is, I don’t feel my husband and I deserved to be treated that way. We are people with FEELINGS just as the server is.
“don’t go back to that establishment,†“And people, I’m not talking about crappy establishments where you should expect to get poor service. You get what you pay for, and that’s just the way it is with everything.â€
Bad service can happen NO MATTER *WHERE* you go. Just read this blog someone wrote:
http://www.red-shift.net/index.php?p=266
“Strangely, it’s the upscale places that really seem to fuck this up. At the Chop House, a $40/pp steakhouse 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.â€
You expect this type of bad service at a typical chain restaurant like Applebee’s or Chili’s, NOT an UPSCALE restaurant, but it DOES happen.
It’s easy to say “don’t go backâ€, because if you like the food, you are punishing yourself from being able to eat that great food again you like for maybe ONE or only a FEW bad times. Is it worth NEVER going back if you truly liked the food? I don’t always feel it is.
“if you do go, ask for a different server,â€
I actually DO ask “NOT to get such-n-such server†at places I frequent such as Outback, Chili’s, etc.
“If you have a coupon, a discount card or a gift certificate; you are should tip on the amount before the discount, not after.â€
A gift certificate is *NOT* a “DISCOUNTâ€. A “DISCOUNT†is a lowered price of an item. A gift certificate is just like paying with a credit card. It is just pre-paid money to the restaurant as if someone would pay with cash or a credit card.
COUPONS are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Here is why:
A coupon for x amount of dollars off is just a LOWERED price set by the OWNER. So, I don’t agree if let’s say I have a $4.00 off coupon for 2 dinner entrees that I should tip on the amount before the discount because it didn’t take *ANY* MORE work to bring me that food, it just happens to COST LESS. What truly does the “COST†have to do with “HOW MUCH WORK WAS DONE?†The cost has absolutely NOTHING to do with that. So, let’s say my husband and I order the same entree which is worth $16.99 each on the menu, but with the coupon, each entree is $14.99. So the server will STILL GET a tip for bringing us the food, taking our order, and ringing it up. I tip AFTER a discount such as that. If the food is free like a free appetizer coupon, then I would tip as if I wouldn’t have it for free because the server DOES do MORE WORK to take my order, bring me the appetizer, and ring up the appetizer. There is NO MORE WORK involved as far as what the customer requests. It’s NOT the customer’s fault that a coupon has to be shown to the manager before ringing it up. That has NOTHING to do with the customer’s service. That is a policy that the MANAGER or OWNER set up. So I feel that with a coupon such as x amount of dollars off an entree as long as it’s NOT FREE, tip on the DISCOUNTED amount. The server didn’t do ANYMORE or ANY LESS work for that entree as far as the customer’s requests goes. As far as the server having to get the manager to see the coupon, this has NOTHING to do with the customer’s service, NOTHING! If managers were smart, they’d let the servers take off the discount WITHOUT having to go get the manager. This wastes time for EVERYONE in the restaurant. I tip on “MY” service, NOT for things I can’t control. Those customers that have discounts may not be there to begin with WITHOUT the discounts. So why don’t you think about that? The more customers, the MORE TIPS you can make.
ONLY if the item ends up being FREE would the server be doing MORE WORK. That is the TRUTH. If an item is for FREE completely, then I feel the tip should be based on the amount BEFORE the discount, because the server DID SERVE me the free item, which would be serving me for free if I didn’t tip my server for that item, but to just have a couple of dollars off an entrée doesn’t mean they are bringing me the item for free, because they are going to get SOME tip from it such as $14.99 instead of $16.99, so they are going to get approx. $2.25 at 15% instead of approx. $3. Most of the time if the service is good, I’ll tip 20%-25%, but it all depends on the service.
Continued:
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? 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.
Also, you expect people to tip HIGHER when the prices go higher, 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. So WHY should the server get tipped on the $2 more amount? WHY THE HECK USE THE DAMN COUPON THEN IF YOU CAN’T GET YOUR FULL $2 off. As I stated before, I’d only get about 1.25 if I only tipped 15% due to the $0.75 more on the menu price, so WHY use the coupon then to not get a decent amount of value of it? It’s one thing if it’s a coupon for a free appetizer, because I would already be getting a very good value and the server still served me that appetizer, so she or he SHOULD get tipped BEFORE the coupon, but just a couple of dollars off an entree is just a LOWERED PRICE set by the OWNER, so DON’T expect people to tip before all discounts, because there’s just NO TRUE DIFFERENCE in what the server is taking me. It takes just as much time and trouble to bring me a pasta dish that is $9.99 as it is to bring it to me for $11.99, so if there’s NO TRUE difference, WHY make that coupon not even worth $2? The entire point of the coupon, was to get you in the restaurant to begin with, which this coupon was set up by the OWNER, so if that owner wants to lower a price, so be it. It’s just like happy hour prices. When I get a white russian for $6 during non-happy hour, I tip on the $6 price, but during happy hour, let’s say the white russian is $3. People tip according to the lowered price set up by the owner when it comes to happy hour or when you are at a restaurant that has the same dish lower during lunch time than dinner time, so WHY coupons that are just a couple of dollars off the price are **ANY** different? If the item is for free, as I said before, then would be the time to tip the server according to the menu price, but just a couple of dollars off the price doesn’t make ANY sense. The PRICE SHOULDN’T BE THE SOLE DECIDER OF THE TIP!
“Did you know that if your server touches you in some way, (not THAT way,) but their hand on your shoulder, back or elbow, you are more likely to tip them more?â€
Honestly, if some server that’s a “STRANGER†of all people touches me, they will get their tip LOWERED. I don’t want people touching me I don’t know. That’s getting too close for comfort. Customers are NOT server’s friends in general.
Continued:
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? 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.
Continued:
Also, you expect people to tip HIGHER when the prices go higher, 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. So WHY should the server get tipped on the $2 more amount? WHY THE HECK USE THE DAMN COUPON THEN IF YOU CAN’T GET YOUR FULL $2 off. As I stated before, I’d only get about 1.25 if I only tipped 15% due to the $0.75 more on the menu price, so WHY use the coupon then to not get a decent amount of value of it? It’s one thing if it’s a coupon for a free appetizer, because I would already be getting a very good value and the server still served me that appetizer, so she or he SHOULD get tipped BEFORE the coupon, but just a couple of dollars off an entree is just a LOWERED PRICE set by the OWNER, so DON’T expect people to tip before all discounts, because there’s just NO TRUE DIFFERENCE in what the server is taking me. It takes just as much time and trouble to bring me a pasta dish that is $9.99 as it is to bring it to me for $11.99, so if there’s NO TRUE difference, WHY make that coupon not even worth $2? The entire point of the coupon, was to get you in the restaurant to begin with, which this coupon was set up by the OWNER, so if that owner wants to lower a price, so be it. It’s just like happy hour prices. When I get a white russian for $6 during non-happy hour, I tip on the $6 price, but during happy hour, let’s say the white russian is $3. People tip according to the lowered price set up by the owner when it comes to happy hour or when you are at a restaurant that has the same dish lower during lunch time than dinner time, so WHY coupons that are just a couple of dollars off the price are **ANY** different? If the item is for free, as I said before, then would be the time to tip the server according to the menu price, but just a couple of dollars off the price doesn’t make ANY sense. The PRICE SHOULDN’T BE THE SOLE DECIDER OF THE TIP!
“Did you know that if your server touches you in some way, (not THAT way,) but their hand on your shoulder, back or elbow, you are more likely to tip them more?â€
Honestly, if some server that’s a “STRANGER†of all people touches me, they will get their tip LOWERED. I don’t want people touching me I don’t know. That’s getting too close for comfort. Customers are NOT server’s friends in general.
Also, you expect people to tip HIGHER when the prices go higher, 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. So WHY should the server get tipped on the $2 more amount? WHY THE HECK USE THE DAMN COUPON THEN IF YOU CAN’T GET YOUR FULL $2 off. As I stated before, I’d only get about 1.25 if I only tipped 15% due to the $0.75 more on the menu price, so WHY use the coupon then to not get a decent amount of value of it? It’s one thing if it’s a coupon for a free appetizer, because I would already be getting a very good value and the server still served me that appetizer, so she or he SHOULD get tipped BEFORE the coupon, but just a couple of dollars off an entree is just a LOWERED PRICE set by the OWNER, so DON’T expect people to tip before all discounts, because there’s just NO TRUE DIFFERENCE in what the server is taking me. It takes just as much time and trouble to bring me a pasta dish that is $9.99 as it is to bring it to me for $11.99, so if there’s NO TRUE difference, WHY make that coupon not even worth $2? The entire point of the coupon, was to get you in the restaurant to begin with, which this coupon was set up by the OWNER, so if that owner wants to lower a price, so be it. It’s just like happy hour prices. When I get a white russian for $6 during non-happy hour, I tip on the $6 price, but during happy hour, let’s say the white russian is $3. People tip according to the lowered price set up by the owner when it comes to happy hour or when you are at a restaurant that has the same dish lower during lunch time than dinner time, so WHY coupons that are just a couple of dollars off the price are **ANY** different? If the item is for free, as I said before, then would be the time to tip the server according to the menu price, but just a couple of dollars off the price doesn’t make ANY sense. The PRICE SHOULDN’T BE THE SOLE DECIDER OF THE TIP!
Continued
Also, you expect people to tip HIGHER when the prices go higher, 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. So WHY should the server get tipped on the $2 more amount? WHY THE HECK USE THE DAMN COUPON THEN IF YOU CAN’T GET YOUR FULL $2 off. As I stated before, I’d only get about 1.25 if I only tipped 15% due to the $0.75 more on the menu price, so WHY use the coupon then to not get a decent amount of value of it? It’s one thing if it’s a coupon for a free appetizer, because I would already be getting a very good value and the server still served me that appetizer, so she or he SHOULD get tipped BEFORE the coupon, but just a couple of dollars off an entree is just a LOWERED PRICE set by the OWNER, so DON’T expect people to tip before all discounts, because there’s just NO TRUE DIFFERENCE in what the server is taking me.
Continued:
It takes just as much time and trouble to bring me a pasta dish that is $9.99 as it is to bring it to me for $11.99, so if there’s NO TRUE difference, WHY make that coupon not even worth $2? The entire point of the coupon, was to get you in the restaurant to begin with, which this coupon was set up by the OWNER, so if that owner wants to lower a price, so be it. It’s just like happy hour prices. When I get a white russian for $6 during non-happy hour, I tip on the $6 price, but during happy hour, let’s say the white russian is $3. People tip according to the lowered price set up by the owner when it comes to happy hour or when you are at a restaurant that has the same dish lower during lunch time than dinner time, so WHY coupons that are just a couple of dollars off the price are **ANY** different? If the item is for free, as I said before, then would be the time to tip the server according to the menu price, but just a couple of dollars off the price doesn’t make ANY sense. The PRICE SHOULDN’T BE THE SOLE DECIDER OF THE TIP!
“Did you know that if your server touches you in some way, (not THAT way,) but their hand on your shoulder, back or elbow, you are more likely to tip them more?â€
Honestly, if some server that’s a “STRANGER†of all people touches me, they will get their tip LOWERED. I don’t want people touching me I don’t know. That’s getting too close for comfort. Customers are NOT server’s friends in general.
Springs1 wins the award for the most comments EVER on one post in the history of blogging.
Springs1:
Crap, where do I begin?? First and foremost I think you need a life and lots of medication. That may sound harsh, but really do you need four posts to tell us about coupons? I believe the first one was more than sufficient. And I do believe that people can be smarter than computers, but your not one of them. Even with spell check you managed to spell definitely (definately) and disrespect (disrepect) wrong. I guess it proves that everyone makes mistakes. So, Springs1, I expect a “So Sorry” and nothing less will do.
Also, just based on your 13 (yes 13) posts I can only imagine what type of customer you are. I think I understand why servers treat you poorly. You seem to be very hard to please. On one of your posts you complained that your server made several mistakes and never once apologized. Later, another server made a mistake and he did apologize. However, he didn’t say he was “So Sorry” so his original apology wasn’t good enough. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly understand a sincere apology vs. one that is not. However, unless a server immediately falls down on their knees, begs for forgiveness, gives you free food and kisses your ass for forgetting the side of mayo, I don’t think you’ll ever be happy.
Well, lookie here, I guess I made a mistake. It’s 16 posts, not 13. I am “So Sorry.”
Hooooly Hell.
Wow. Just wow. I cannot for the life of me think of anything to say right now.
Actually, I have one thing…I am a good tipper. So is my Mom (I get it from her). My Dad, not so much. My Mom will actually MAIL a check for the difference to the restaurant if she feels that my Dad scrimped on the bill.
But um, yah…..wow.
Wow. I think there’s medication for that Springs. Wow.
Springs- you’re an a-hole. Not only that, but you’re an a-hole who apparently keeps a running log of every restaurant you’ve ever been in where a server forgot the exact number of specific condiments you SPECIAL requested, and in which year it occurred. Obviously the world of waitstaff has no idea how extremely fucking important you are. For all the thought you’ve put into this (16 posts worth) you must then realize that, were you to sit down in my section this evening (Saturday), you would be one of TWENTY EIGHT people I am serving on a busy night. What kind of multi-tasking do you do at your job in one shift that even comes close to comparing? Further more, if you happen to drop one of those 28 balls you’re keeping in the air in a given six hour period, do you get immediately financially penalized? No? Must be nice.
Lastly, you’re cheap. I don’t care if you would tip above 20% for satisfactory service– it’s nice in theory but you’re a tightwad in reality if it turns out that not even Ghandi himself (turned super-server) could actually satisfy you.
I do believe, however, that you’re probably, in the long run, entirely justified in screwing the servers. Hell, I wouldn’t tip a dime for the amount of rogue spit I bet you’ve consumed in your years of dining out. Here’s a tip for YOU, think about getting tested– the hep-bug on the rise again.
Somebody springs needs springs to springs get springs a springs life.
I’m just saying.
Okay, so I admit it. I didn’t even come close to reading all of springs’ posts. Not even close.
But I just have to wonder when they started letting the
wackoscraziespatients have such unlimited access to the Internet?Now, if I can just get that song out of my head…
They’re coming to take me away, ho ho ha ha he he, to the funny farm…”
Holy shit dude! You do know, Spring that there are various hobbies you could participate in besides being a total douche!!
wow.
just. plain. wow.
my only real observation about Springs1 is this:
of all those restaurant experiences, what is the *constant* in the scenerios?
uh. yeah…
YOU.
not that THAT would have anything at all to do with sevrers never meeting your ungodly high unrealistic expections. naaah. it couldnt have one solitary thing to do with YOU.
wow. this makes me wanna tip servers even BETTER now that this Springs-freak is out there making ya’ll insane.
Are you fucking kidding me? Springs…FUCK OFF.
51%
“Even with spell check you managed to spell definitely (definately) and disrespect (disrepect) wrong. I guess it proves that everyone makes mistakes.”
The difference here is my tip isn’t on the line. If I misspell something, I am not disappointing a customer, nor am I risking getting a lowered tip.
“However, unless a server immediately falls down on their knees, begs for forgiveness, gives you free food and kisses your ass for forgetting the side of mayo, I don’t think you’ll ever be happy. ”
If the serverity of the mistake is a MAJOR one, WHY is it not OK to want the server to care? I know if got someone’s entree wrong, I would say I was very sorry or I was so sorry. I would have CARED about the customer as if it was ME. I would have told the manager about the situation and would have asked the manager to comp something for the customer’s longer wait. I would have also given the wrong entree to them instead of either throwing it in the trash, sell it again, or let the employees eat it. I would have as you would call it “KISSED THE CUSTOMER’S ASS” because I have FEELINGS just as they do. If that happened to me, would I be happy? Of course I wouldn’t. To know it would have been MY fault I ruined someone’s outing makes me try to make up for my mistake. I don’t expect a “so sorry” for missing condiments, but I do expect at least a “sorry” or “sorry about that”, for minor mistakes. Major mistakes like wrong entrees or overcharges or forgot to put in an order, SHOULD get “SO SORRY.” One human being to another you know. It would NOT be all about the TIP as far as kissing their asses goes, it would be because I actually would give a shit about their experience.
The server DOESN’T have to fall to their knees, but they SHOULD CARE they messed up someone’s outing. If they don’t, they should NOT be a server. What kind of tip should a person deserve that is not polite? I tell my server “thank you” when they bring me things. All I want is a little RESPECT. I don’t see ANYTHING wrong with that.
Echo
“Springs- you’re an a-hole.”
NO, I am a NICE HUMAN BEING. That’s what YOU ARE! Just look how IMMATURE you are calling a person that is almost 30 a name that wasn’t even mean to you.
“Lastly, you’re cheap.”
NO, my husband and I just went to Chili’s. Used a $5 off card on a $67 and something cents check. Tipped $17. WHY? My request was major. I asked for lots of condiments as well as a very complicated order. He got the order 100% correct. He was VERY attentive. HE DID HIS JOB BASICALLY IS WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY. I AM NOT CHEAP! I PAY PEOPLE WHO GIVE ME *RESPECT* AS ONE HUMAN BEING TO ANOTHER!
I feel you don’t care about my dining experience, WHY THE HELL should I care much about your tip. I tip according to how mistakes are handled if their are any. One time, a waiter forgot to put in an appetizer order, which we ended up waiting a half an hour for. He said “He was so sorry” at least twice and offered us chips and salsa(which was not free). This was NOT a mexican restaurant. Anyway, I told him, which was true, we had ordered plenty of food, so I’d rather have something off the bill instead. Chips and salsa would have just sat there and would NOT have benefitted us at all, because I couldn’t finish all of my entree even. He got the manager to take $5 off the check. We tipped 16% of the check *BEFORE* the discount. He made up his MAJOR mistake for the most part. I didn’t feel 20% was right to give, because I feel he could have put the order in *RIGHT* after he got it as well as I NEVER want this to happen again. I think he got a good tip for a major mistake. My point is, he basically kissed our asses and got paid for it. I am willing to bet he truly did feel bad and it wasn’t all about the tip that he went through all that for us. He treated us like one human being to another and I treated him back the SAME EXACT WAY as it SHOULD BE! You get good service, you should give a good tip. You get bad service, you should give a bad tip. If the waiter would not have apologized, he would have gotten stiffed. It’s all about “HOW WAS A MAJOR MISTAKE HANDLED.” Treat me like shit, I’ll treat you back the SAME EXACT WAY which is DESERVED!
gypsygrrl
“ungodly high unrealistic expections.”
It’s NOT UNREALISTIC AT ALL! My husband and I just had *PERFECT* service last night even. We’ve had PERFECT service LOTS OF TIMES, because SOME servers out there actually DO CARE about their customers and their tips. It’s NOT UNREALISTIC to think your order is going to come out exactly the way you ordered as far as obvious mistakes go. WHY do you think it is?
Pissy
“Springs…FUCK OFF.”
HOW MATURE IS THAT? YOU DO THE SAME!
I firmly believe that EVERYONE should waitress/waiter for a week. It would help with being a customer later on.
I live in Canada, and have waitressed in different restaurants. At each place I was given an hourly wage of anywhere from $7-$10. plus I got my tips. Only at one restaurant did I have to share them and that was only 10% of what I MADE in tips (busser and dishewasher)
At the last restaurant I worked at, I had to serve, make salads, bus tables, anwser the phones, take the till for payments, get/make drinks, and put up with teenagers coming in for coffee.
That being said I have never walked into a shift EXPECTING tips. You set your self up for disappointment and frustration and anger.
Yes I agree that it is frustrating not to make $ off a table, but is it worth getting upset about it? Life is too short.
I, as a customer, will tip based on service, not how long it takes to get food. THat is not the waitreses fault. If I only see “her” twice–to take the order, and to deliver the food. she’s gets a very small tip.
tas
“I, as a customer, will tip based on service, not how long it takes to get food. THat is not the waitreses fault.”
It CAN be at times. Did you read one of my above post that the waiter FORGOT to put our order in, therefore, we DID WAIT LONGER FOR OUR APPETIZER, BECAUSE OF *HIM*, NOT BECAUSE OF THE COOK!
Also, let’s say a server takes my husband and I’s food order. That server SHOULD go to put the order into the computer RIGHT AFTER. Instead, the server busses a table, goes to bring those dirty dishes to the kitchen, or even just goes to greet a table of 6(which ends up ordering mixed drinks and appetizers). The customers will automatically have a 2-3 minute LONGER wait to get their food, because of the *SERVER*, NOT THE COOK! HOW will the cooks KNOW to cook the food if the order is NOT in the computer system? My husband and I one time waited 45 minutes for our food, because our server just kept doing other things, so our order probably didn’t get put in until approx. after 10-15 minutes of being seated. Think about that is WHY SOMETIMES the food takes a long time, because the *SERVER* PREVENTED it from either getting on the list to be cooked next as well as another server could in that amount of time (2-3 minutes) could have just put in a table of 8’s order. So HOW LONG do you think a table of 2’s order is going to take if a table 8’s order got into the computer system BEFORE the table of 2? Maybe a 5 minute delay possibly, maybe more. See, if the server puts in the order 100% correctly as SOON as they get it and brings it out as soon as it is ready or a food runner brings it out as soon as it is ready, ONLY THEN would it not be the server’s fault. Think about all this, because it’s the TRUTH!
Wow really?? I think Springs needs to cook at home once in awhile and leave the poor waiters and waitreses at her local Chili’s alone for one night.
Why is it that people feel they deserve anything comped to them? Shit, that question alone is good for a 6 post rant from Springs. Sorry RSG…
Miss
“Why is it that people feel they deserve anything comped to them?”
Because the outing was MAJORLY messed up, that’s WHY. Do you think it was fun to eat alone(meaning he was finished when mine arrived) or either my husband’s food would have gotten cold if he would have waited for my bbq chicken nachos that I was SUPPOSED to get, all because the WAITER pressed the wrong button and didn’t bother to reread his pad of paper he wrote my order down on? I feel when a manager at a restaurant hires LAZY servers that don’t make sure they are taking the correct entree to their customers SHOULD pay customers to eat. I feel ANYONE should be compensated for a very bad service. The manager didn’t get this waiter proper training, therefore, the waiter didn’t even LOOK at what he was taking was ANYWHERE NEAR the correct food I ordered. So, yes, the manager of the restaurant SHOULD give something for improperly training his or her workers for major mistakes. I am NOT saying a manager can control every situation, but he or she can at least train them correctly for COMMON SENSE issues. Sure, the waiter could have just pressed the wrong button and realized what he did before he brought the food by rereading the order he wrote down, but he didn’t. Just for that, I should have gotten a comp. That fact that the manager’s wait staff doesn’t care *WHAT* they are taking to the table. They just bring it, with no care in the world if it’s even the correct entree. Since the manager was responsible for hiring such LAZY IDIOTS, YES, I SHOULD HAVE DESERVED A COMP! I didn’t get one, because I didn’t call a manager nor did he. It’s NOT MY FAULT MY FOOD WAS DELIVERED TO ME WRONG, WAS IT? NO IT WASN’T! Why shouldn’t they pay me for my extra time they wasted? At Wal-Mart, they have a policy that if the wrong price is rung up, they’ll give it free under $3 or they’ll give $3 off the price if it is over $3. You say WHY? Because they want to give customers a reason to come back and make up for their lost time waiting to get an overcharged fixed. You can’t give me back my time, but you can try to make up for a bad situation though.
I would NEVER think I’d deserve a comp for a minor issue such as a missing condiment, but major ones DO deserve SOMETHING for the person’s time that’s wasted.
WOW! Can you block Springs from posting on your blog? They are wacky. They are taking away from your funny and interesting blog. Love your blog, you and HG are very cute! I am a huge tipper all of the time!
Springs– No, I’m not one the people that think you need medication, but I do think that the waitresses and waiters in your home town must absolutly cring, probably even curse when you visit their establishment. I know I would. You are very demanding, asking alot of a server who is depending on you to help them make a payment or something.
While I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, you are forcefully saying your point of view to all of us here in blog world. Give it up, no one wants to hear how many times you have managed to eat a messed up meal!!!! least of all me!
(and no I didn’t read all of your comments–way to boring for a sunday afternoon)
Let’s try to remember who’s blog this is, shall we?
I think that maybe because Springs feels so very strongly about all of this, she should perhaps take all of her comment posts and start her very own blog. . .
Blogging is very good for working through things.
Springs1. Ok I think I’ve figured out what your problem is, aside from that fact that you need meds….lots of them. You are relying on a waiter/waitress to make or break your outing. Why are you allowing another person to decide how your day turns out? Try putting a little positive energy into this world and see how that turns out for you. I bet you’ll be amazed.
What’s even scarier is that your under 30-years old. How on earth did you become so demanding, self-righteous and jaded at your age? And to think it’s only going to get worse!
Here’s something you should keep in mind….the definition of crazy is doing the same thing every time and expecting a different outcome. What does this mean for you? STOP going out to eat. You are a complete nightmare for any waiter or waitress you come in contact with. You are the one that ruins their day with your negative energy and since of entitlement. You are the one that is disrespectful and therefore disrespected in return.
Like I said before, think about the energy you put out in this world.
Well said 51%!!!!!!
H-O-L-Y C-R-A-P…never seen anything like Springs1 in my life. (Great post RSG)
K.
Oh my. I hate to encourage this terrible behavior any more Springs– and being that I’m speaking to someone who’s nearly thirty (but can’t seem to use a spellcheck to save her life?), I have some overwhelming intense desire to grovel at your all-knowing, worldly, uber-diner feet– I’m gonna resist that, mostly because you told me how immature I am directly before you tossed an “I know you are but what am I?” in my direction. Suave.
Still though, you’ve managed to carefully respond to many comments for which you have some “witty” *gag, cough, giggle* response, yet you entirely side-stepped my question about the level of multitasking you take on at your own job, and if you are immediately financially penalized for a mistake. Makes me wonder if you actually have a real world, interact with other humans on a daily basis kind of job, or if it is as I expect, and you simply sit holed up in front of your computer (with the oft-scheduled trips to Chili’s where you proceed to be some unsuspecting server’s royal pain in the ass) and espouse your uninformed perspectives on the duties involved in a job that it is overly obvious that you’ve never worked.
My spit comment still stands though. I’ve never let it happen on my watch before, but I surely wouldn’t discourage someone from hawking a big one into your burger.
Ummmm Wow!!!!!! I did not read any of springs comments, just paged and paged and paged through them….I would be very uncomfortable eating in a restaurant with you….My gf used to talk really fast when ordering and has now slowed down to give people a break! I told her nobody on earth could write as fast as she was giving orders…Also we always tip at least 20% unless we are having margs in our fave restaurant then I get a buzz and tip really well!!
Ummm…Springs is a total asshole. Not to mention, she must have no life if she can remember in that kind of detail what happens at every restaurant she visits when she eats out every weekend. Good god woman, get a freakin’ life. Or, how ’bout this? Why don’t you give us your real name and we can alert every restaurant in the Denver area that you are coming and to lock their freakin’ doors before you arrive? Dayummm!
I’ve been inspired to BEGIN CAPITALIZING words I want to emphasize so that I can APPEAR to be a total ASSHOLE. Thanks, Springs!
To Insure Prompt Service is grammatically incorrect, so I doubt it’s right. “Ensure” would be the right word here: TEPS!
Oh my dear lord! RSG you poor, poor woman. I’m sure this was not what you had imagined when originally posting this blog. But so you know I have nieces in the waitstaff business and I have learned that they make very little and that they should be tipped on their performance as a waiter/waitress. If something is incorrect I typically do not send it back to the kitchen, I ask for new, if it’s that big of a deal. But I always tip at least 10% whether the service was horrible or not. A waiter/waitress that can make me smile or laugh throughout my meal will get at least 18%. For my ex-husbands bday one year the waitress publicly humiliated him by bringing every waitstaff out to sing happy birthday. She got a 40% tip. That’s what I call service!
Wow, great post. I’m another “glamourous” server (/bartender/cook/busser/dishwasher – I work at a small place) and can I just say: please, Springs – don’t come to Oregon!
I had to just laugh at her rantings about the server who had the audacity – the impertinence, the lack of common sense! – to actually bring dirty dishes back to the kitchen on her way to placing the princess’ order! As Echo wrote – it’s called multi-tasking – or in other words – being efficient. Duh.
Let’s see how fast your food gets out to you – or you get seated, or get your drinks – if that same server has to make twice (or more) as many trips to do the same amount of work. It’ll be a hell of a lot longer than 2-3 minute (!) delay you’re bitching about. What a blithering idiot.
Okay so I’m a little late in responding, but can I just say that I am glad that you made this post. I think the real issue here is that anyone in the service industry is looked down upon as something close to sub-human and when one of them becomes outspoken, no one likes it. While my current job isn’t one that is truly service orientated, most of my previous jobs have been. The things that people expect of you because you’re in a customer service-type job are appalling.
Btw… I’m the one that used to be called Sapphire. You knew me when….
I do believe that Springs1 has her own blog or something. Her particular brand of crazy is not unknown on the Internet.
Anyway, I just wanted ask RSG if you really think that a tip should be before a gift certificate? That’s a bit much. I can see a coupon, but not a gift certificate that someone already paid for.
Anyone, I believe you may have mis-understood.
If someone is paying with a gift-certificate, it’s the same as paying with cash, unfortunately what happens a LOT of the time is this scenario…
Your bill is 100.00.
You have $50.00 in Gift Certificates and the remaining amount you put on your credit card, ($50.00.)
Your server brings you your credit card receipt and you tip on the balance, which is $50.00, instead of the amount of the check, which was $100.00.
It happens all of the time, because customers see the amount left and only tip on that amount, instead of what it was before the gift certificate was applied.
This also happens occasionally when a large party splits the check and say, gives you some cash and the rest on a card. Same thing.
I’m a server at a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant in downtown Chicago and I want to know: how do you physically/psychologically survive a server job? I’ve been doing it for 2.5 years and my feet have had enough! I also don’t like the night hours or weekend (and holidays) hours. Enough sacrificing, I’m looking for other work. How long have you been a server?
Echo
“My spit comment still stands though. I’ve never let it happen on my watch before, but I surely wouldn’t discourage someone from hawking a big one into your burger.”
Well, we will report you to the police if you actual do that to someone if I see it happen, so it’s YOU who will be doing the TIME for a CRIME. You CAN’T LEGALLY do that, nor is it the “RIGHT” thing to do and YOU KNOW IT! Also, SO WHAT if they did if I didn’t get sick! I mean really, SO. If it DOESN’T affect MY HEALTH, WHO CARES! One gob of spit is just that, big deal.
Traci
“Ummm…Springs is a total asshole. ”
Considering you call someone that just because they treat people they way they are treated tells me YOU are the one this the asshole, NOT ME. I am MORE MATURE than you to not to call people names first, WHY CAN’T YOU? HOW OLD ARE YOU, maybe 12yrs old?
“For my ex-husbands bday one year the waitress publicly humiliated him by bringing every waitstaff out to sing happy birthday. She got a 40% tip. That’s what I call service!”
To YOUR OPINION that’s humiliation, but to me, that’ s THOUGHTFUL. If you thought it was “HUMILIATING” so much, you wouldn’t have left such a high tip. GET REAL, YOU KNOW! You are such a lier about that you felt it was so humilitating. I’m so sure.
Madam Hatter
“sense! – to actually bring dirty dishes back to the kitchen on her way to placing the princess’ order! As Echo wrote – it’s called multi-tasking – or in other words – being efficient. Duh.”
NO, being “EFFICIENT” is worrying about your ***TIPPING*** CUSTOMERS, NOT ABOUT DIRTY DISHES.
DIRTY DISHES DON’T HAVE FEELINGS OR TIP, REMEMBER THAT! Customers DO wait longer for things if the server decides to buss a table or grab dishes BEFORE doing a request. I find that EXTREMELY RUDE to put OBJECTS AHEAD OF PEOPLE’S TIME AND FEELIGNS. THOSE DIRTY DISHES COME LAST, CUSTOMERS ARE WAITING FOR THINGS, SO REMEMBER THAT! If customers wait longer for things than necessary, tips go down in genereal and YOU KNOW IT! There’s NEVER a reason to pick up a dirty dish if someone asks for something unless the customer asked specifically to pick up the dirty dish or dishes. The donut shop I worked at for over 2 yrs, I treated certain situations that if there were dirty dishes, unless the customer wanted to sit at that exact spot, the dishes would SIT UNTIL I not only took the person’s order, but got them what I WAS in CONTROL of, which was putting in an order and getting them a drink if they ordered one whether it was something ordered to-go or if they ate inside. Sometimes, if they wanted to sit at a specific spot that a customer JUST left at, I would just move the dishes down, NOT make them wait for ME to put them in the sink, which is TRUTHFULLY A TIME WASTER and VERY INCONSIDERATE OF THEIR TIME AND FEELINGS. I COULDN’T FATHOM DOING THAT TO SOMEONE, BECAUSE I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO DO IT TO ME! I would NOT WASTE ANY SECOND OF THE CUSTOMER’S TIME TO CLEAN UP, NOR SHOULD ANYONE PUT DIRTY DISHES AHEAD OF SOMEONE’S REQUEST! You know that’s the “RIGHT THING” to do! Cleaning up can TRUTHFULLY ALWAYS WAIT. Those dishes will sit an extra couple of minutes, but a customer shouldn’t have to wait an extra couple of minutes, should they if something like that could truly be done AFTER the request from the customer is done with? It’s the TRUTH and YOU KNOW IT!
“Let’s see how fast your food gets out to you – or you get seated, or get your drinks – if that same server has to make twice (or more) as many trips to do the same amount of work. It’ll be a hell of a lot longer than 2-3 minute (!) delay you’re bitching about. What a blithering idiot.”
I would MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, RATHER WAIT LONGER in the waiting area to get seated than to have things being delayed when I finally do get seated. That’s the TRUTH. You are the IDIOT that TRULY DOESN’T UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF “TAKING TURNS.” If you ordered let’s say a coke refill BEFORE I even got seated, WHY should that server come to get our drink and appetizer orders instead of getting your coke? THEY SHOULDN’T, they should get the refill FIRST, BEFORE, EVER, EVER, COMING TO OUR TABLE TO BE **********FAIR**********! When it’s OUR turn, then I want OUR FULL TURN, NOT a HALF WAY TURN. Don’t think it’s right to give someone a HALF-WAY turn, because it’s MORALLY NOT and YOU KNOW IT! I am NOT talking about food that needs cooking or a mixed drink from the bar, I am talking about soft drinks or a request for the check or just simply going to put in an order into the computer. Things that are 100% in the SERVER’S CONTROL ONLY is what I am talking about.
Anyone
“I can see a coupon, but not a gift certificate that someone already paid for.”
I COMPLETELY AGREE. A gift card is truly like paying with a credit card or cash. It’s NOT a “DISCOUNT.”
Recovering Straight Girl
“It happens all of the time, because customers see the amount left and only tip on that amount, instead of what it was before the gift certificate was applied.”
I think that’s ashame, because I feel a gift card is NOT a discount. The server still served me that food and drinks, so they DO DESERVE a tip for that unless the service was really bad.
[...] and often they have nothing nice to say. Some of you may recall the post I did awhile back on “T.I.P.S.” that generated over 30 comments from one obviously deranged individual, leading to over 80 comments [...]