Here’s a tip for ya…Get another job! I am so sick and tired of feeling compelled to give servers money for doing their jobs. Yeah, I get it, the pay is shitty, but you don’t have to be a waiter, waitress or bartender. Why is it that the job of server, once a vestige of the truly underskilled, is now a competitive employment opportunity. It’s because WE pay them so fucking well. Most of the people who are serving you in restaurants and bars are university graduates unwilling to accept the jobs in their fields because the starting pay is so much lower than their hundreds of dollars a night in tips. ( Obviously not all servers do that well, but some of them do)
You go out to eat at a restaurant and on top of the 15% sales tax you are charged on every item, you are also expected to drop another 15% on top of that for the staff that are doing the job they were hired to do. I have been responsible for bringing in millions of dollars to my employers over my lifetime. Where the hell is my 15%? People used to tip when they had exceptional service, and I am all for that. I just don’t think the price of my meal should dictate the amount of tip I leave. If I go in to a pub and order a 7 dollar meal, the waiter/waitress does the same amount of work but gets a two dollar tip. Same delivery, same amount of trips to the kitchen. I go to a nice restaurant and I have to drop 15 bucks for a tip.
“Servings hard!” I hear. So what? So is telemarketing, but you know what?…..No fucking tips! But, hey, you have to watch what you say about this topic because Halifax is FULL of servers. Half the staff at the Coast probably work as servers to supplement their income. I am just saying 15% sucks and at a nice restaurant it can be expensive. I already know the replies that this bitch is going to cause. “If you have a problem with 15% why are you eating at expensive restaurants?” That is not the point, it’s my money. I worked for it without the benefit of tips. I don’t cook, and I eat out a lot, I spend a lot of coin of tips. Money I could be spending elsewhere. From now on, 15% be damned. Everyone gets a few bucks. I refuse to pay more than your employer does for your service. If you are offended by my tip. Give it back to me and go fuck yourself.
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
Then don’t tip period.And learn how to cook – maybe you won’t feel so cranky.Hmm what else? Oh yes – I was a waitress in PEI – and I didn’t care about getting tips that much – they were a bonus – I was in for the work experience (working in a very small town)…tips ARE great and no you don’t get them everywheres you go – but life goes on.Waiters/waitress(s) and bartenders do more than you think my friend.They usually have to deal with a shit load of harassment from cranky customers, have to clear off their tables, do cash, clean the restaurant and the chair your sweaty ass is sitting on right about now – and much more.It’s not just about being a server these days … (unless the restaurant can afford bus boys/girls)…PS – Why don’t you try being a waiter? In my opinion – telemarketing is hard to reach your goals – because yes people hang up and don’t answer their phones…but when you’re in the public’s eye and serving them face to face – you’re more hands on with the customer than on the phone…
You know, I have never seen a bitch or a comment on a bitch from someone who said, “I used to be a server, and it’s easy money for an easy job that anyone could do.” Because EVERYONE who has ever done that job knows damn well how hard it is, and that the majority of people couldn’t handle it. All these people who bitch about servers need to STFU and go work in a busy restaurant for a few weeks. Then, and only then, will their opinions carry any weight.
You are ignorant. Very Ignorant. Your comparison to the Staff of the Coast is a laugh at best, and its like comparing apples to wax oranges.I serve on a regular basis, and take pride in my work. You speak of my occupation without even working in the business. Funniest thing id, but I bet your fat asses worth you couldn’t hang one hour, serving in my establishment. Also, most established restaurants have a system of “tip pooling” or “tip out”, which requires, in most cases, the server to pay out a certain percentage of their tips or total dollars they bring in in sales. This in turn gets distributed amongst the restaurant (ie cooks, bussers, door people), not only to incentive good, skilled workers to compensate their time and hard work to try to please you, the guest. And guess what, if you don’t tip me on a 50$ bill, I have to pay 2$ for the honor of serving your lousy, stingy, cheap ass.Here’s a tip for you, you goddamn cheap prick. Don’t eat out if you can’t afford to tip or stick to eating Mc Burgers in your McCubicle.
I am so very sorry to all you servers, but who the fuck says that the guy mixing my martini or the lady serving my seafood pasta is working any harder, taking any more shit, or feeling any more stress than the poor salesclerk runnning their ASS off to serve customers at the Gap?!! I worked as a waitress for 3 years, and tip or no tip, it was much less degrading, and much more fun than any bloody retail job I have ever had!!! My legs ached just as much after finishing a shift at the Gap as they did finishing a shift at Jack Astor’s!!! I put up with just as much shit, and I worked just as hard!!
PS: If you want to be tipped, fine enough…but do not be so arrogant and presumptuous as to declare that you folks work harder than others!! Tipping within the food industry is a long-standing tradition, nothing more. This is why I tip; not because I pity you or think you work harder than most. As for ‘D’, who advises customers not to bother with tipping at all if they cant leave 15%, perhaps you should look up the meaning of ‘tip’. It means the same thing as ‘gratuity,’ which is defined as: ‘A favor or gift, usually in the form of money, given in return for service.’ Do you know what favors and gifts are??
Actually I have worked a busboy, server and bartender and dishwasher and cook…I have done it all except manage and i will tell you, yes it is a hard job, but nothing is ever hard enough to give you the right to treat customers badly…and expect to get tipped after it. And he is right you know…it’s not like they are getting 5 buck an hour anymore.
Its self-important woe is me servers like the Bitch here who sometimes make me reconsider my 15-20% gratuity. Folks of your ilk better STFU or you’ll be getting the 5% that you deserve.You know whats awesome? Having your meal ruined because some bitch didn’t get the tip she thinks she deserves and puts on a sulky performance. Here’s a tip, the odds are that you sometimes aren’t going to get the tip you deserve. Suck it up and move on to the next table.
NMH:I didn’t say anything about 15%. Read it again. I advised the person that wrote the bitch that if they have such a problem with tipping a person – that they could not tip the person period (which would be rude if they received a good meal and great service) – or to stay at home and learn how to cook.Sometimes I tip more to a server and sometimes I tip less than the “standard tax rate” – as I base it on the service, the atmosphere of the restaurant and the food and timing.Yes I know what favors and gifts are – they don’t always have to be materialistic either.And good for you – you know how to use the dictionary. 🙂
D: Here is what I read:BIG TIPPER NO MORE: ‘From now on, 15% be damned. Everyone gets a few bucks. I refuse to pay more than your employer does for your service. If you are offended by my tip give it back to me and go fuck yourself..’YOU: ‘Then don’t tip period.’Maybe you didn’t say anything specifically about 15%, D, but considering your opening reply to Tipper’s closing, it certainly seemed to be implied! Call me crazy I guess…
Dude, I think the 100% that you spend on eating out for every meal is wasting a lot more of your hard earned cash than the 15% that you (don’t) tip. Join the adult world: learn to boil water and make a few meals for yourself.
I don’t think the issue of tipping is so much related to knowing or not knowing how to cook for oneself, but thanks for the tip, Dude.