Definitely More Than 15% Enraged

To Mr/Ms ‘Server not servant’…I didn’t have daddy pay for my university, I fuckin’ earned my way through serving fulltime as I went to school fulltime. So I know how it goes…if you do well, you get tipped…pretty fuckin’ basic. When I’m sitting in a bar, waiting 45 minutes just to order a fuckin’ beer, I’m not exactly going to be generous with the tip, especially when I watch the apparent server sitting on some other client…oh…’patrons’ lap and I could of had three beer by then. And I’m not tipping when I wait over an hour just to get my food order taken from a server with snub on for anyone under 30 and didn’t leave her bitchy attitude at the door. You work for that tip, it is something you earn when you do your job right. And if you can’t handle it, grow bigger boobs, dye your hair blonde, or try something else, because that attitude you have certainly can’t be helping in the tip department.

Did it ever occur to you that maybe some people can’t really afford to frivolously throw their money around for tips? Having previously worked in the food service industry myself for over 5 years, tips are always appreciated, but are also a reward for doing a good job. But not everyone has the extra 5 or 6 bucks totip, as it may determine whether a person may eat the next day or can pay a bill. Otherwise, I’d tip 20% or more if I could. Maybe you should be a little more grateful about the tips you DO receive, and that you work in a society that such a thing as tipping exists.

I don’t know….when I was a waiter I always made 15%+ of my sales in tips. I was courteous, knowledgeable, friendly and fast. Maybe you’re just a bad server? Maybe your attitude of entitlement and arrogance makes people not want to tip you? I think you need a new profession (yes, it is a profession!). Try some other job where you don’t work with the public.

i agree with greg on this one. youre not the only one making minimum wage for a shitty job that you bust your ass at. i work hard and make next to nothing. oh and heres the kicker, i dont get any tips, ever! so you can kiss my ass for complaining about being shorted one or two tips. you could be like most of us minimum wagers and get none after all.

What I learned in the Service Industry that I would like non-tippers to understand;1. If you don’t have the extra 2-3 dollars cash to tip, you don’t have the cash to go out for dinner at a restaurant in the first place.2. Tipping 15% isn’t mandatory. You should tip for what service you have received. The problem here is what defines good service. If you walk into a busy restaurant you should expect a long wait for food. This has nothing to do with your server, it is the kitchen. Never tip based on your wait time, unless you see that the wait-staff is ignoring you. Tip based on attitude, and your experience with the waiter/ress, never on the food itself. 3. There is a percentage of money that gets “tipped out” to various other people from TIPS. Generally 5-8% of the tips received by a waiter/ress they do not even get to keep and goes to the kitchen/management/bussers. This also leads to another issue, if the wait-staff is not tipped THEY end up losing money on a bill and it comes straight from their pocket. Grant it, if they’ve done a poor job it serves them right, but it is a killer when someone has worked their ass off and end up paying for it.4. The restaurant/bar industry is a sketchy one to begin with. Put together dealing with drunks, poor management, cut-throat competition, no job security, low wages, long hours with no overtime, and a dangerous work environment, you would be hard pressed to find a similar workplace with such little pay.5. TIP stands for it is “To Insure Precedence”. It’s pretty much a two way street. If you want to have a good dining experience the next time you go back to a restaurant I would tip to show your appreciation for the service and to insure that the next time you go back, you will be treated well. Not leaving a tip results in frustration for both parties in the end.My final thought is for wait staff. Many of the people going out to eat and who aren’t tipping are young. They haven’t been around long enough to understand the industry. Try and have a little patience with them, they will learn over time and eventually figure it out. I found the best way for dealing with people who stiff you on a bill is simply to address the issue. Go up to the customer and ask “Was there anything wrong with my service today?” They will be able to give you the input you are looking for as to why there was little or no tip. If they answer with “No”, you can explain how you judge your service by tipping and you’ll at least politely get your point across.

I worked in restaurants on and off all my life. Unlike most places we actually have high school courses on being hospitable and servers.I think it may be your service and how you are handling your customers. I’ve worked in 5 star resorts where you turn over a thousand patrons and your walk home money is $700 average (only bad part was you worked two nights a week if you are lucky) and unless you know how to deal with different situations then you don’t get a tip, straight out.I’ve dealt with Michael Jordan and that sucka doesn’t give one red cent, who cares?I’ve had people who hunted me down in the kitchen to thank me for being such a wonderful server to them and they handed me money in my hand. I must admit that it flattered the hell out of me and they ALWAYS had my table after for that week. Tips arn’t manditory, tips shouldn’t be manditory because that’s what seperates the good servers from the bad.Based on your attitude about tips you should be in the kitchen staff where your pay is more steady and you just receive a percentage on the meals so you could turn out more food and have to worry less about ungrateful patrons.

if u dont like your “small” wage find another job that pays more and stop complaining

On the issue of tipping – one respondent observed that “if you can’t afford the $2 – $3 tip, you can’t afford to go out for dinner anyhow,” or words to that effect. Excuse me? When I SAVE my money to take my daughter out for a special meal, and when our order (which is NOT the high end of the menu, believe me!) takes pretty much all the money we have, then no, we DON’T have enough to tip. I don’t take my daughter out to dinner in order to leave a tip, but rather, in order to treat HER. And incidentally, when we ARE in the money, when we DO have extra cash, I am most generous with my tips – always 20%. I feel dreadful when I am not able to leave a tip and am highly pissed that anybody should suggest that because I CANNOT do so, then I don’t have the right to eat out!