Hey Halifax! I know, another restaurant bitch, however…
Some helpful tips:
1. Please reserve for large groups. Time and again 15-20 people just walk in on a busy lunch or dinner and expect to be seated, then bitch they don’t like where they’re sitting. C’mon. Most places you can book hours in advance if you are unsure of your plans. And be on time.
2. Bring cash! Electronic transactions on separate bills of a table of 10 will take 7-10 minutes if everything goes ok. Lines go down, cards don’t work sometimes, etc as well. Cash is fast and your server can expedite you and surrounding guests way more efficiently. 5’s & 10’s are appreciated.
3. Allow yourself time. It is impossible to expect a quick lunch when 80 people were just sat within 15 minutes. 12- 2 is the busiest. Before or after is usually less hectic. Holiday Fridays allow more time. Two Guinness and a medium-well steak sandwich in a group of 15 is not a quick lunch on a crazy lunch service. If you’re in that much of a hurry get some take-out from somewhere else.
4. Behave. A restaurant is a place of business that happens to be in a public setting, but it is not your backyard! We all like to have a good time but excessive swearing, racial and sexual slurs, and general immature behaviour is irritating and old.
5. Don’t hassle staff for drinks if you’ve been cut off. Liquor inspectors are out there and the liability is tremendous. Show some respect to the staff and yourself if you’re in this situation, it’s a real pain in the ass.
6. If you can’t afford to tip half decently don’t run the bag off your server. It’s not a game and they are not your ‘servant’. Build a relationship with your server, more often than not you’ll get more attentive service, justifying a decent tip. I hope this gives some people something to chew on.
Also, don’t drink and drive. Word. Thanks.—Restaurant etiquette for those who need to know
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2010.
you get your hourly wage. Fuck tipping. I dont ask you (nor am I allowed to) for a percentage of an expensive coat you buy in my store. And I deal with just as shitty customers as resturants do. I hate that bullshit about tipping.
get the fuck over yourself and stop asking peopls for even MORE money.
Hey Server!
Some helpful tips:
You seem to be confused. The customers provide your wage. Without them there is no job to go to. You are there to serve them, not vice versa.
While at the restaurant they can choose to discuss what they wish and pay how they wish. It is their money and their conversation, not yours.
Cultivating ‘relationships’ with the server are not required. You are there to provide friendly, efficient service regardless of whether the customer tips well, or at all. Customers do not care about their relationship with the server. They only care about the quality of service.
Tipping is OPTIONAL not mandatory, regardless of quality of service.
Good service is MANDATORY not optional, regardless of quantity of tip.
~Server etiquette for those who need to know.
Me thinks our man-servant needs another line of work.
All useful tips, but a lot of times dining out for lunch is a spur of the moment thing so it doesn’t get the planning that an evening meal would. Suck it up, buttercup.
i’m not even gonna comment on this other than this bit here.
actually I’m in the business and agree w/ you accept creit cards/interac; nobody has cash anymore; and good luck with getting people to make res. ‘s at lunch NOT gonna happen
I was with you OP, until that bullshit about the tip. Actually, the sever is my servant (both terms are suspiciously close to the word “serve” dUH) whether or not I can afford to tip them. You OP, are paid to SERVE me while I eat and if I deem your SERVICE worthy I’ll leave you a tip. You seriously think that customers who cannot afford to tip shouldn’t bother their servers as much or expect good service? They shouldn’t expect you to DO YOUR JOB??!!
Holy shit, this is about the stupidest thing anyone has ever said on here, ever. “Servers aren’t your servants, so don’t expect them to do their job if you can’t dish out some extra cash” bullSHIT!
Nobody like to run their ass off for a shitty tip. Just say what you mean. *yawn*
I agree with just about everything with this, with the exception of the tipping issue; although many of my experiences with large groups is that tips are put on the bill automatically. That’s not something I agree with fully, either.
Kay, everyone else runs their ass off for customers every day and they don’t even have the option of getting a tip. Servers should count themselves lucky if they get even an extra dime from their customers. And if they really can’t live off of the hourly wage they get without good tips that’s not my problem… putting yourself in a situation where you depend on tips is a stupid thing to do, no sympathy. I work hard for my money and you can bet someone else is going to have to work hard for me to give it to them, shitty tip or not.
No one works the hospitality/service industry for their hourly wage, it all about tips.
Which is why if you want the tip you have to earn it. Expecting the customer to just supplement your income, whether you give shitty service or not, is stupid. And for all the bitching you hear about it, I’m sure a server can afford to get stiffed on the tip once in a while.
Also, why blame the customer for your shitty employment arrangement. If you don’t make enough from your hourly wage to live off of, take it up with the boss. Otherwise you’re little more than a busker performing for my handouts.
fizz… I didn’t write the bitch, I just accurately read between the lines. Sue me why don’t you? I didn’t create the standard of practise where tipping is concerned either. That’s just the way it is when one works in a job associated with gratuity and that’s the way it’s been since the BEGINNING. Don’t like it? Spell it out for me like it makes one iota of difference to our culture. That makes a world of sense. And what do you do, fizz, when you hire a caterer and see gratuity is included in the massive charge? Cheap out and run your own food (in your wedding dress)? Get your feeble grandmother to do all the running? Pay minimum wage to a street person and get the service you seek? Fail to pay and see what happens to the quality of your “service” fizz and maybe you’ll have grown up a little observing the REAL consequences of your own ignorance. You get what you pay for, now say thank you… actually, a big fat tip speaks volumes so just STFU and eat.
Dear OP, you are right on the money about liquor inspectors & over served customers.
Unfortunately the rest of it is just a part of your job. Asshole customers who think your their slave instead of your server, it sucks but that is part of the job. People who drop in with friends etc often happens right out of the blue (at least it has to me on more than 1 occassion)
Bad tipping is because ,it isn’t a requirement…its a perk !
Thanks, kay. Continue to prove how and why you’re a complete moron.
And you wonder why people rag on your posts… Just like an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand.
Oh Fat, do tell, what is it that I’m missing? EduFat me, baby. Give it your best shot.
Okay:
Snooty reply, redundant opinion, see my screen-name, done.
Agreed, your predictible drivel is getting quite boring.
My ‘what’ drivel?
I’m happy to report that after 3 weeks in Calgary I have yet to meet an Albertan with Kay’s shitty attitude. You guys can keep her 🙂
are you saying I’m a bad tipper? I’m not.
hahaha Woah kay, defensive much? I could have said the exact same thing to anyone else and they wouldn’t assume I was attacking them, Jesus Christ.
Anyway, just because mandatory tipping has been around for a long time doesn’t mean it makes sense or is good in anyway, and yeah I don’t like it so I’m not going to participate in this custom if I don’t want to. Tips have evolved from something optional that you have to earn into something (servers see as) mandatory whether servers do a good job or not.
Quality service in restaurants declines not because of bad tippers, but because there is no longer any incentive for servers to work for a good tip since they are ‘entitled’ to one. That’s fucked up, and I don’t care how long the compulsory tip has been around… if people want my money they have to earn it.
And we’re talking about restaurant servers kay, not wedding caterers for Christ’s sake. If you can’t make a valid point without sticking to the topic don’t say anything at all.
attacking me? I didn’t think that. And referencing a relevant application of a tipping situation isn’t inappropriate for this thread nor is it off topic. You just keep going back to that same server with your shitty tip and see your service.. uh… improve. sure. whatever.
I thought the OP was bitching about restaurant service/tips NOT catering. Two completely different scenarios aren’t they?
When you read between the lines or just jump to the end the OP is about a shitty tip from a big table. Obviously the OP doesn’t work in fast food where tipping is not traditional unlike the related industry, catering service, which does normally see to gratuity. Quality service what you get when you… uh… PAY for it. The difference is only when the gratutity is collected. Funny how that works, eh?
Quality of service comes before the payment is made so how exactly does the server know beforehand of a non-existant or feeble tip to be able to provide what you…uh…pay for? How exactly DOES that work?
Ah… Oceanlady rips through to the heart of this bitch. The OP feels RIPPED OFF for running her ass off to provide the quality service to find efforts met with a big hassle and a shitty tip instead. Well done, victim! I’m proud of you! Now go hire a caterer and see how you get to pay for that quality service BEFORE you receive it. Crazy shit, eh? Makes the OP completely valid. Finally.
Paying for quality service in advance does not guarantee it. There are no guarantees. Get it? Having worked in five star restaurants and for catered events I assure you of this.
The OP was bitching about restaurant customers. If the OP wants guaranteed tips divied equally among servers, even though some work harder than others, they are welcome to work in catering instead of restaurants. Tips are better in the restaurant where each server earns their own tips.
The heart of this bitch is NOT about good service resulting in shitty tips as you stated. Tipping was #6 on a list of varied complaints, hardly the heart of the matter. The OP fails to realize that good service is mandatory. Building a relationship with one’s server is not. Tipping is not. I don’t make the rules. Just making an insider’s observation. As a manager, ALL of my employees were required to provide polite, efficient service because that is part of their job, not because of tipping.
In YOUR opinion that’s how the bitch reads. If you scroll up I had a single sentance in reply to this bitch which I continue to stand by but you bitches like to argue no matter how valid my point is *yawns again*
I’ll offer you this. If you think your service from a minimum wage worker is sufficient you just keep eating sans service at the fast food joints and avoid restaurants that provide “service”. That way everybody gets what they expect, deserve and pay for.
I rarely eat at restaurants because I am a talented chef in my own right and can produce anything a restaurant offers in my own kitchen without the over-inflated pricing. Freshness and quality guaranteed. No tipping required either:)
When I do dine out I am not shy about tipping if the service is adequate. Relationship with server not required. Fast food? What’s that?
First catering now fast food?
Kay, stick to the freaking topic, you are making a fool out of yourself!
What a piece of work you are. No longer even worth my effort to type because you offer nothing but vitrial, insults and your own narrow vision. Even Andy, called you on your inability to contibute anything but nastiness. The abuser always blames their victim for the abuse. Try being original for once in your pathetic little life. Ciao chickie…
fizz, you wanna tip for fast food have at’r. The “servers” make the same wage so it fits into your no-tip for service formula perfectly. If you can’t see how restaurant service and catering service are related where tipping is concerned there’s just no help for you. Why not talk about the gourmet’s @home eating relevance which is not relevant at all?
I think the lotta ya should fuck off. My first very simple point still stands. It’s a valid bitch but the OP should just cut to the chase and say what they mean. Why do you all have to resist my every word no matter its validity? Sheep. Shoulda just left me and my post alone.
Oh, but it’s much more fun to wind you up and watch you self destruct!
Hey, fizz, when was the last time you went into a restaurant only wondering, “Oh boy, how much should I tip my server?”
…um, never. I tip based on the service I receive during the meal. If they did a good job I tip them. If they did an amazing job I tip them well. If the service was bad they get no tip. And I reserve the right to not tip at all regardless of the service for whatever reason, even if I don’t exercise that right. I like to tip people who work hard, but I don’t believe they are entitled to my money just because they are serving me.
why?
Go fuck yourself, OP.
And get a new job while you’re at it.
#6 in my books is to NEVER leave tips to asshole servers like you.
OP
1. Outting are sometimes not planned but decided on the last minute so suprise you have a table of 15 deal with it!
2. It is a plastic world get use to it. Cash may be easier for you but that is a choice the individual makes not you.
3. Public is the public and come from all walks of life. Get use to dealing with all types.
4. TIP???? OPTIONAL I hate people like you. Not my job to supplement your income.
i enjoy clean washrooms in any dining establishment
I have a serious question for you Kay:
My gf and I went to a restauarant that has a “view of the Arm” on Saturday. We arrived at 12:10pm. Surprisingly it wasn’t that busy. Steady, but by no means busy. Our server came to our table at 12:15pm to take our drink order. We both only asked for coffee. 12:20pm our coffee arrived. No order for food was taken. Our server then proceeded to take the orders of 3 tables that came in after us. They recieved their food before our order was even taken. 12:35pm he finally took our order, breakfast for both of us. 12:55pm our food arrives and my order is wrong. By this time I’m almost running late so I said screw it and just give it to me. 1:15pm arrives, we’re done our food and he hasn’t come back to check on us once. He makes no apology for fucking up my order and taking absolutely forever to place it in the first place.
So, my question is, how much of a tip should I have left?
lListen to victim Kay go !! Wow .
you didn’t ask me never wrong but i would give them sfa and tell them why
fizz: just wanted to make a point to kay-tard. She talks about servers not taking serving jobs ‘for shitty tips’ but fails to realize that hungry customers don’t go to restaurants wondering how much they’ll tip a server before any service. I’m sure others will see it but not her.
Instead, kay-tard will turn a conversation about oranges into a ramble about billy goats.
Grown-ups who plan for an evening out include 15% or so tip in the budget. Don’t they?
Never Wrong, next time order a bottle of wine and get a bit in ya before she gets back to your table to take your order. Enjoy the atmosphere. If FAST food is what you’re interested in there are other restaurants that will serve you just up the hill a little… and you get to keep the tip 😉
“Grown-ups”? Are you a toddler or something?
kay: I am not the least bit surprised by your answer. Or lack thereof I should say. You didn’t answer my question at all. I asked you a simple question, so please provide a simple answer. I’m not going to “order a bottle of wine and get a bit” in me at noon on a Saturday while I’m having brunch before I go demo a basement. I wasn’t looking for fast food either. Had I wanted fast food, I would have gone to Rotten Ronnie’s up the hill. But I wanted a decent breakfast.
So again I ask: How much of a tip should I have left?
It’s not often that I run to kay’s defense but I will venture to the dark side for a moment here, if only to play devils advocate.
NW: did you mention to your server that you were dissatisfied with the service. In my experience, if you actually bring the issues to someone’s attention, they will take measures to rectify the situation… but if you sit there glowering and silently berating them, they’ll go on as they were, clueless to your problems.
My rule is that every server gets one chance to right their previous wrongs (once they are aware of them). After that, they get a shitty tip but at least they know why.
And NGF, I think Kay’s use of the term “grown-ups” was to actually imply that anyone not expecting to dish out at least 15% when they go to a restaurant would be the toddler.
Kay – Sounds like your saying that anyone who can’t afford 15% above their food order or more should not even think about eating at a resturant unless it is a fast food resturant. Well screw you. Some people can’t afford to tip and some people don’t deserve a tip.
~People also should not have to drink a bottle of wine so they don’t notice shitty service.
~Not a customers job to supplement a servers income they get a wage now work for it. TIPS Optional.
jennier: If you read my post carefully, you’ll notice that I had no opportunity to make any sort of complaint about the service. I spoke to the host afterwards and told him it was the worst service I had ever had in that particular establishment. His response: “Well, it is busy and it happens”. Besides, when it’s over a half hour before my order is taken and then my order is wrong on top of that, I shouldn’t have to tell them that I am unhappy with the service. That’s a given at that point.
I assumed you spoke to your server when you placed your order? Perhaps you might have mentioned then that it seemed like someone had forgot about you.
As for the order coming up wrong, that could be the kitchen’s fault, not your servers.
The host’s response certainly isn’t satisfactory but you might have had better results if you had been more specific about your complaints.
jennier: I was a cook/chef for almost 10 years and I can say this with absolute certainty. 90% of the time when an order comes to your table wrong, it is the fault of the server. Granted cooks do make mistakes, but part of the job of the server is to make sure that the order is right before it gets to the table. As for the host, the guy was a douchebag who doesn’t give a shit about the customer. I told him why it was the worst service I’ve ever had there and all he did was continue to ring in my bill.
Never Wrong, it can’t get simple enough for ya I see. Let’s spell it out and see if you can do the math… “fifteen percent”. Get it? It’s simple if you’re actually looking for answers. (Thank you, jen)
If you can’t afford to eat out then you can’t, simple. If you’re looking to take your sweety for a $100 dinner be prepared to dole out about $115. It should be Enough Said but I’ll go you one more and assume your sweety cares about your capacity for gratuity and that what your sweety thinks actually matters.
I’ll bet you’ve been there before, left a shitty tip thinking it appropriate to do such a thing to host, server AND kitchen while last Saturday afternoon you got exactly what they knew you were willing to pay for. ZING! Funny how that works.
Wow! I didn’t think I would spark this much of a debate, how exciting! To make things clear, I’m not bitching for bitching’s sake. Most people I serve are friendly, decent people and appreciate great service, which is what my goal is and what I’m good at. Granted, there are many servers who ruin it for us that have been in the biz for awhile and work hard to be good at what we do. I don’t expect every table to tip fabulously, and the odd stiff is no big deal. I was just trying to offer some friendly points that can make a dining experience a little less forgettable, maybe make you come back again, and again. By building a relationship with your server, I meant treat your server more like a human as opposed to a slave. I really don’t deserve some snarky comment or attitude from someone who is in a bad mood if I handn’t instigated any reason for someone to be that rude. Also, I can’t drop everything for someone at the drop of a hat, I have other guests and try to prioritize as best as I can to accomodate everyone. Don’t look down on me because I’m ‘just a server’ and your some hotshot whatever. Everyone has a reason for why they choose to make their money the way they do, I don’t have to justify that to anyone. Not everyone is cut-out to be a ‘professional’ or wants to be. I’m just trying to temper this high and mighty attitude some people have when they go out to eat and drink. I can put up with that with no problem, part of the job. But no one, no matter what they do for a living, likes to put up with condescending bs from less than friendly people. It’s just a buzz buster sometimes, especially if someone makes a scene and disrupts those having a good time. Anyways, it’s all subjective, and I hope this debate inspires some thought in regards to how we, as a society treat our front-line, retail staff, those that help you to make decisions, those that can make your day, and how we view these establishments and industry as a whole. Most people would rather not prepare, cook and serve every meal, so be halfways nice to those that do it for you. Money is power so support places that meet your needs, not places that will treat you like whatever. To Never Wrong, that is just a shitty experience and that is when stiffing is ok. The servers responsibility is to make sure the guest is happy, and your complaint was completley ignored, which is so uncool. They should have comped your meal and made it up to you somehow to get you back. Just bad business practices for sure. And to More, you are also correct. Thanks everyone for your comments.
Kay your a complete idiot! 15% for shitty service how do ya figure that one out? You don’t reward bad service.
Never Wrong – No tips for them and I wouldn’t have paid for my meal.
Kay: You’re serious? Really? I should give the guy an extra 15% for piss poor service and a completely wrong order? Well, I’ll take that as a sign of how you run your business. Piss poorly and expecting praise for it. I take it when one of your employess completely fucks up a job and loses a contract, you give him/her a bonus, right? You’re a complete moron and have NO idea of what a tip or gratuity really is intended to be.
WhoDat?: Having worked in the industry for such a long time, I know that my experience from last weekend is on the bottom end of the spectrum. My general policy is this: Treat your server with respect and be polite, since they control your food. But I expect the same in return. I really don’t care if you’ve had a bad day or are “a little off” as some servers like to say. If the service is really good, then I will give a good tip 20-25% (my friends and I go to the same place for wings every Thursday night and our server gets at least a 30% tip from me, because she takes excellent care of us. Hell, she doesn’t even ask half of us what we want anymore). If the service is decent, then I’ll give a 10-15% tip. If the service is shitty, but I still got what I wanted, I’ll give a 5% tip. If the service is as bad as it was last weekend (which RARELY happens), I’ll give no tip at all. I rarely ever deduct from the tip if the food was under/overcooked or not that good (that’s the cooks fault or my tastes, one or the other).
all I know for sure is that tip is not owned exclusively by the server. Where does that fit into your math, asshat?
And my business runs like a shiny gem, thank you very much.
what REALLY gets me is your willingness to punish somebody over a 15 minute faux pas and your question to me is asking how hard to spank them. Gotta mommy complex going on? Perhpas you’d prefer the culture change to include gratuity in the price of the meal and then you can just hit up OceanVictim for dinner when you want “service”.
You’re stupid, kay.
NGF: She’s beyond stupid man. I don’t think she even understands what a tip is. I’m betting she’s one of those “I deserve everything even though I haven’t earned a damn thing” people. As a side note (hijack), what did you think of the fights on the weekend?
You’re right about kay. She’s one of those self-entitled cunts who likes to argue for the sake of arguing. Like I said in another post, the can turn a conversation about oranges into a ramble about space satellites or something redundant.
Weekend fights: I love Anderson for telling the UFC and Dana, “Fuck you!” However, Penn did not lose that fight. Got nothing but love for Renzo but he’s past his prime in the UFC already.
NGF: I totally agree about Kaytard and I sorta agree about Silva. He IS the #1 P4P in the world and they keep feeding him guys who aren’t even top 10 ranked MWs. Hendo should never have been let go, they need to sign Mousasi and Shields, and they need to let Belfort and Sonnen have the next crack at him. But, he still needs to prove his position is deserved. I’m one of the biggest BJ Penn nuthuggers in the universe, but I def think he lost that fight. Edgar was just too quick for him (sinus infection totally fucked BJ up). As for Renzo, I just hope that Hughes will finally retire on a W. If not, give Hallman another crack at him. Either way, put the guy in the HoF and retire him. Soon.
I think the issue with Anderson is that the last three title defences were merely five-round regulation bouts. Nobody posed an actual threat to the belt and wasn’t a considerable test compared to his two bouts at 205. After Sonnen/Vitor (in that order; Sonnen deserves the shot more than Vitor) I’d prefer to see him compete more at LHW. Mousasi would be a great match-up for anybody in the UFC now and Shields would make for an interesting challenge at 170 compared to the massive pool of other welters.
Penn vs. Edgar: Still believe that Penn won three rounds to Edgar’s two and there was something about Penn’s incredibly conservative stance. A rematch should be in order; it was too much like Shogun vs. Machida. Or – have Maynard vs. Penn as an elimination bout. Florian’s had two cracks and lost both but the UFC seems to be gung-ho on having him as the champ it seems.
Kay still sucks.
Imagine having to pay your BOSS to work at a restaurant!
http://www.torontostar.com/news/gta/article/79472…
I’ve tipped out to cooks, busboys and bartenders willingly but never the boss. I don’t think the boss deserves a cut. Imagine having to pay your boss to keep your job! There’s just no end to greed. Some glad I don’t work in that vocation now!
moi aussi…many amongst us have large feet and are good cookers