My self-serving fifteen minutes of fame are finally here! I hope, anyway…
I’m a waiter at Ruby Tuesday (www.rubytuesday.com) in Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA.
Got questions? Fire away!
Apologies if this has been done before, searching returned nothing.
What is the nastiest thing you’ve personally done to the food in revenge of some asshole customer’s fucked up request, complaint, or behavior?
I don’t necessarily mean in a “Fight Club” kind of way, unless… err, well, unless you have done that in a “Fight Club” kind of way? Or worse? :eek:
What is the best kind of customer? The worst?
And the mother of all “ask the waiter” questions:
Why the flippin’ fuck would you want to be a waiter anyway? 
Is there actually a career structure of sorts for waiters? Do waiters at swanky restaurants get paid more than those at somewhere like Greasy Joe’s? How do you get to become Maitre d’Hote at a swanky restaurant or in a high-grade hotel?
Not so much a waiter question, in particular, but how’s Ruby Tuesday to work for? I’m relocating w/out a job lined up and I have tables experience. Is RT a decent chain to work for. (BTW, I’ve only eaten there once, at the one in Albuquerque–I wasn’t floored, but wasn’t dissapointed, either).
Can you make a good living being a waiter? I’ve always one could make a lot of money if you were good.
How big is a 12-inch pizza?
Can I have a dessert spoon? No, that’s a soup spoon, I wanted a dessert spoon. No, not an ice tea spoon. Are you the most incompetent waiter on the face of the earth!?
Approximately how many people or tables are you taking care of at any one time? How do you keep track of who gets what order?
Do you or the kitchen staff get pissed off when someone sends something back?
Would you rather have tips, or a higher salary that would exactly match the amount of tips you make?
See Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. 
What are today’s specials?
Not the OP, but I can answer this, at least in my opinion.
The best is the single male sitting by himself. He usually eats fast, causes no troubles, and leaves a pretty good tip.
The worst is the huge family who complains about the price of everything (this is about twice as bad as I work in a ‘family’ restaraunt who’s prices are fairly cheap). They’ll usually ask for all sorts of extras, and when the food comes out, find something wrong with it to complain about. Please note that the complaint is usually not genuine, it is instead an attempt at getting free food. Then when they leave, you get to go clean up the huge mess they’ve left, and pick up the $.50 they left for you, if you’re lucky.
Well, since the OP appears to have left the building, perhaps I can sub for a while. I’ve waited tables and managed at a couple of local restaurants, and now I wait tables for a corporate chain, so I know a bit about how this stuff works. If Dan Turk decides to return, I shall gladly give him back his thread with nary another word.
Nothing too exciting here, I’m afraid. I wouldn’t spit in or pee on anybody’s food (though Og only knows I’ve wanted to), and I’d make sure anybody who did got fired. However, one of my personal policies is that anybody who orders “medium rare”, but means “medium well” or above, gets their steak lovingly nuked for 5-10 minutes. Oddly enough, I haven’t had one complaint yet. I guess some people just enjoy shoe leather.
-
There is a sort of career structure for servers (gotta love a gender-neutral term) if one chooses to take that path, but I should preface this by saying that I know a few waiters who have been in that profession all their lives, and wouldn’t dream of doing anything else. A lot of young servers started out as hosts or busboys, and moved into their current jobs when they turned 18. From there, the standard corporate ladder has you become a Trainer, followed by an Assistant Manager (these are the managers who would come to your table if you had a complaint). All of the Assistant Mangers at the place I now work were once servers, so this path is pretty common. It then goes General Manager, Regional Manager, District Manager, and on up into the corporate bigwigs. As far as privately owned restaurants, they all have their own system of promotion, but most closely parallel the one I’ve described, with the obvious difference that General Manager is as high as you can go, since that places you directly below the owners.
-
It depends on what you mean by “paid more”. Standard server wage around here is $2.13/hr, whether you work at Texas Tavern (the downtown 24-hr greaseburger joint) or La Maison Rouge. Some higher-end restaurants will pay servers more, some won’t. The difference, as always, is in the tips, both the quality and quantity thereof. Higher prices = higher checks = bigger tips if a percentage rule is used, so servers at fancy restaurants will tend to make more money. Also, such restaurants generally have a steady base of clientele, meaning that at least some business is guaranteed on any given night (not always the case in this business, believe me). So yes, in general, servers in high-priced restaurants make more money.
-
Know somebody. I can’t speak for places like NYC or LA, but in middle-sized cities like this one, it’s all about connections. Of course, around here, everybody in restaurants knows everyone else, so it’s not as hard as it seems. Once you get started on the path I described earlier, if you’re paying attention and you have the motivation, you’ll make the proper connections. I’d assume these places also promote from the inside, but that’s just a different version of the same thing. Perhaps somebody who’s had experience in big-city restaurants can answer your question better than I.
Oh yes, there’s money to be made, but generally speaking, you have to be willing to wait before you can get it. Getting a spot at a fancy restaurant, where the big bucks are, is tough until you’ve been around long enough to have a halfway-decent resume. And even once you’re in, most places will give you crappy shifts and crappy sections for the first few months (or, in some cases, years). In these places, it’s all about seniority. In other words, if you’re relatively new and you’re waiting tables to pay for college, you can expect to make around $30-60 per weeknight, and $50-100 on the weekends. The best spots in the best places, though, can net you $300-500 nightly (and keep in mind I’m not even in a major city). There’s a reason why some relatively bright people make a career out of this.
(It occurs to me that I personally am a contradiction to a lot of the stuff I’ve said here, given that I’m 20 years old, have held a management position before, and am making pretty decent money now. But I’d say my case is the exception rather than the rule.)
It has a radius of approximately six inches.
Ideally, we’re only supposed to have 3-5 tables at any given time, with a maximum of about 20 people. Ideally, however, we are not supposed to have the restaurant filled to maximum capacity with five servers on the floor, and you’d be amazed how quickly ideals are disregarded when that sort of thing happens. The most I feel comfortable handling is in the 20-30 range, depending largely on how much of a pain in the ass each individual table cares to be. I have successfully taken care of a party of 40 twice by myself, but I was forced to do it both times (they came at about 3:00 PM, when there’s only one server on the floor), and it’s generally not a good idea. There are servers that will tell you they can handle 40-50 people at a time without stressing out. These servers are either lying, or stretching the definition of “handle” to its limit. You can ‘handle’ as many people as you want provided you don’t mind giving bad service. This type of server will do little more than take orders, bring the food, and drop the check. Personally, I don’t call that “service”.
As far as keeping track of orders, each table has assigned seat numbers that start at the corner and continue (usually clockwise) around the table. When the person at seat X gives their order, the server rings that order in under seat X, and that’s where the person who brings the food (who is not always the server) is going to place it. That’s why it’s indescribably annoying to have large parties who insist upon moving around…not only does it make it impossible to know who gets what food (unless the server has a photographic memory, which most of us don’t), it also makes it hell when the people inevitably want seperate checks and then don’t understand why drinks/desserts are charged to the wrong person.
-
It varies depending on a number of factors, not the least of which are the particular server and cook involved. Speaking for myself, I don’t mind if somebody sends something back because we (the employees) actually made a mistake. If your steak is genuinely undercooked, I’ll apologize and have it thrown back on the grill for you. Unfortunately, that’s only the case about 40-50% of the time. The majority of the rest of 'em fall under three specific categories: people who ordered without knowing what they were ordering (e.g. sending back the BBQ Burger because it’s a burger and not a barbecue sandwich – that’s happened enough that I now warn people beforehand, even though it’s on the menu); B) people who order a steak temperature that has nothing to do with the way they want their steak cooked (e.g. ordering “medium” and getting annoyed that there’s pink in the middle); and C) people who are just plain batshit crazy (e.g. sending back the chicken tenders you ordered and insisting you asked for a rack of ribs). When that happens, yes, I tend to get annoyed, and so does the cook that I have to explain it to, which doesn’t make me any happier about the situation. I won’t showcase that anger to the customer, but it’s there nonetheless.
-
I’m not sure I understand the question. If you intend it as I’m reading it, you’re basically asking if I’d prefer to be paid weekly or on a day-to-day basis. I’d go with the tips, for two reasons. First, it’s always nice to have cash on hand. Second, almost nobody actually claims the full amount of tips they make, effectively resulting in a decent amount of tax-free income (though of course I claim every cent, IRS, really I do
)
Here’s a timely question. A number of times it has been mentioned that some of the worst tippers are the Sunday “after church” crowd. I know that’s a mighty broad brush, but in your experience, do they indeed tend to be more stingy with the gratuities?
I tip generously and I expect good service. What I could NEVER understand…you order a steak, and it comes to you on a cold plate! WTF??
ALL restaurants have plate warmers, and at the ones I’ve worked at (yes, I WAS a waiter once) had the plates scalding hot, so by the time the meal was delivered to the table, the ffod was nice and hot.
I absolutely hate this,food should never be cold (unless you order fruits de mer)! 
Yes. Yes, they do. I’m sorry if it offends anybody, but “The Church Crowd Does Not Tip” is an age-old axiom of serverkind for a reason. I’m used to it by now, of course, so instead of counting my money after a Sunday lunch (the usual after-shift practice), I instead count the number of “Jesus Saves” tracts I have received. The way I figure it, if somebody’s out there keeping track of this, I’ve got some serious brownie points by now. The record is seven, but that was one seriously busy Sunday; around two or three is normal. Sadly, I have yet to receive a geniune Chick tract, so I have been unable to share his infinite wisdom with my co-workers. My personal favorite thus far was the one that looked like a fifty dollar bill, but was actually a booklet containing “a message more valuable than money”. Exactly what anybody hoped they would accomplish with that, aside from pissing people off, is beyond me.
This would also be a good place to note that when it comes to Demographics That Do Not Tip, my own personal rule is hard and fast: treat them exactly the same as you would any other table, just don’t expect too much for your efforts. Once you’ve been in the business for a while, it’s really quite easy; you train your conscious mind to forget to analyze the customer before you approach the table. Then, once you’ve established your rapport, the rest comes naturally. The only concession I will make is that, in a situation where I critically busy and it becomes impossible to give five-star service to all of my tables, I am more likely to cut corners on those tables that “probably aren’t going to tip me anyway” (an example would be if I had a table of 20 adults and a table of six teenagers…which of these tables do you think gets my priority?). Immoral? Prejudiced? Evil? Probably all of the above, but if I have to make sacrifices somewhere, that’s just the way the chips are going to fall. I am never disrespectful to such a table, just…mildly inattentive from time to time. Thankfully, I don’t encounter that situation much, so it’s usually not an issue.
Not exactly a question, per se, but I’ll respond anyhow. You’re correct, food that is supposed to be hot should never, ever be served cold. I, too, am at a loss to explain exactly how this happens; as you mentioned, most restaurants have heat lamps that keep the food warm as it sits in the window waiting to be run. Furthermore, any server that would take out an obviously cold plate is just plain not doing his/her job. There are some foods that are not up to temp when they are placed in the window (certain soups come to mind), but it is the server’s job to heat those before taking them out. The proper response to receiving cold food would be to notify the manager. You should be able to get a discount (or even a free entrée) without having to raise too much of a fuss, since cold food is one of the cardinal sins of restaurantdom.
• Why do some careers (cabbies, food service) merit obligatory tipping and not others (teaching, waste removal, firefighting)?
• Are there any cases where people should withold a tip?
In the spirit of full disclosure (and reveal where I’m coming from):
I feel that the restaurant biz is screwed up in that the employer can pay so little and passes the buck to the patron to subsidize the server’s income, regardless of the quality of their service. I am a patron who begrudgingly tips when service consists of moving plate from point A to point B. Conversely, I LOVE to tip when the server is engaging, friendly and anticipates things I might want.
I’m not looking to start a Great Debate, I just want to hear the servers’ perspective.
-
Tips for servers and the like are “mandatory” (oh, how I wish that were truly so) mostly because tips are classified as taxable income, thus allowing our employers to pay us $2.13 an hour. There are a few things I could say about this, but you said you’re not trying to start a Great Debate, so I’ll refrain for the time being. As for non-tipped professions, not tipping teachers makes sense to me (you wouldn’t want your kid to gain favor based on monetary contributions, would you?), but I couldn’t tell you why you don’t tip certain others. I guess that’s just how societal precedent works.
-
There are indeed times when withholding a tip is justifiable, but it’s fairly rare. If the server was very rude or negligent, uncaring and unapologetic when informed of a problem, or otherwise provided totally horrible service, then a tip of zero just might be called for. One thing to keep in mind, however, before you stiff someone: at the end of the night, most servers must pay a “tip-out” to the hosts and the bartender that is based on a percentage of their sales. At the place I now work, I tip out 1.5% of total sales to the hosts, and 5% of alcohol sales to the bar. So, if I get stiffed on a $100 tab, and $20 of that was for alcohol, it ends up costing me $2.50 at the end of the night for the privilege of waiting on those people. That is not a fun situation. So, if you’re going to stiff someone, please only do so in the most extreme of situations. Most of the time, taking it down to 10% will get the message across just fine.
I’ve never ever tampered with food, and the one time I’ve witnessed someone doing it, the waiter was fired and trespassed, and the entire meal was comped, even though the tampered food never made it to the table. This was at Bennigan’s. It’s illegal and wayyyyy immoral.
Low-maintenance, 15-18%. High maintenance, 15%. Hell, I’ll take a chill 10% over a whiny 20% most days. Regulars are the greatest, tho, 'cause you can actually talk to them.
I’m a sociology major paying for that degree. It goes hand in hand! Study people while getting paid for it. Flexible hours, can be decent money.