I should have added to my post, that I wasnt proud of what I did, it was when I first started working, the basic gist of what happened was that , a guy pinched my ass and said a few rude names, at the time management still believed that the customer was always right and didnt really care, a couple of my friends got me even more worked up over the whole ordeal , and I sank to a lower level that that Jackass.
I’m sorry I brought it up.
Lets get a few things straight. I have the utmost respect for anyone that punches a clock (figuratively), and does their job to the best of the ability, food servers being no exception. I’ll be the first to agree that the general public (or sheeple as I call them, and which you and I are a part of), sucks complete ass. What I don’t respect is this attitude that if someone doesn’t tip well, they are a piece of shit tightwad. There are many factors that should be taken into consideration when one doesn’t receive a tip, and they are beyond tightassdom. The system as it currently stands appears to be fucked up for all involved, so while I can find another place to eat, you can find another place to work. I’ll wholeheartedly agree that people abuse food servers, and that most people in general are selfish assholes.
Tough situation, tell him to fuck off and lose your job, or clam up and deal with it. All I can say is I’m sorry it happened.
You can be my bartender anytime. I like your style. 
Yes, Let’s get a few things straight, why don’t we? The attitude of servers in this thread has been “If you get adequate service and you don’t tip well, you are a piece of shit tightwad”, and you know what? They’re right. If service is lacking or some other factor comes into it, the situation changes, but if they give good service, they deserve a good tip. Period. Arguing otherwise shows one to be an uncultured lout who deserves shitty service.
Finding another job that pays equally or with the same hours isn’t always that easy for everyone as it might be for others. When I waitressed my ex -husband and I only had one car.
There are things to complain about at most jobs. Telling people to just quit and get another one doesn’t solve the issues.
I agree that if your service is truly shitty then you shouldn’t tip (if the server is talking on the phone instead of helping you for example). But in my experience there are some rat bastards out there that don’t tip even when they get decent service. They are either pieces of shit tightwads, ignorant pieces of shit or just pieces of shit.
Nope, not all of us. All of the waiters/waitresses I know work their asses off. I have never waitressed but, I can’t imagine how completely exhausted they must be at the end of their shift. They have my complete respect.
The bottom line is, if you want to go out to eat and you have received excellent service, you should be happy to leave a nice tip. Your server has turned what would normally be a routine night out into a wonderful night out. Going out to a new, untested restaurant and being lucky enough to have a great waitress or waiter, is like finding gold.
To me, the service received, is equal in importance to the quality of the food.
Here’s what I don’t understand:
What is so difficult about the concept of you get what you pay for?
With mixed drinks, you get more if you pay more. And with non-mixed drinks, you get propter service if they know you’re going to pay for it. Very simple. Audrey controls how much hooch goes into your drink, and how fast you’ll get it. Therefore, keep her happy.
Audrey isn’t expecting the world - I haven’t seen any suggestion that she wants more than a buck. Usually, I’ll open with two. To show that I am a decent tipper and worth attention. And if somebody’s opened with a 20, sure, if he’s willing to pay for it serve him first. He’s paid for it.
Histrionics over a buck or two? Please. If you’re that tight, don’t go out for drinks. I didn’t very often when I was in grad school - and I don’t very often now that I work in publishing instead of securities law.
I’m holding a seat for you, Dave. 
It’s the one I’m kicking WorldEater out of…:wally
I think we’re beating a dead horse here, folks. It’s obvious that certain people on this thread–and in the world, as we all know–will fight to the end for their right to be assholes. But they still want “their fair share” of good, quick service, and tasty drinks, etc., etc…they think that the job of waiters and bartenders everywhere is to work for free.
shrug
They can want that all day long. None of 'em live in Shangri La, and I guarantee you none of 'em would be willing to work for free “because it’s their job.”
Karma’s a bitch. It all comes around.
I don’t expect anybody to work for free.
I expect that if I pay $7 for something, it will be worth $7. At the first sign that it is not worth $7, that will be the last one I ever buy.
And if that $7 item happens to be a drink at a bar, then my business goes to someone else, and someone else gets a nice tip.
Okay, my $0.02 (or more, since I’ve posted before) and I’m done.
I always tip. Have never not left a tip. I’ve been a server myself. Worked for quite a few other service industries as well. I always busted my ass, no matter what the job, and that whole chicken-with-its-head-cut-off thing is definitely an understatement.
That said, I still don’t see why all this guesswork and hassle and math and precognition and what-have-you should fall upon the customers. I see servers and such saying, ‘well the 15% is to cover this and this and still make a profit’ and ‘anything less and I’m losing money’. Why should the customer have to keep this in mind when choosing a restaurant? I don’t know about the rest of you, but while I am usually almost painfully polite IRL, I can admit to going into a place of business and not really giving a crap one way or another about why/how the employees feel and what their internal systems are. I just want what you serve, and I want it the way it’s advertised. Fair deal?
I’d definitely be in favor of paying higher prices to cover at least a min. wage payment to the servers. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about paying too much/too little/not accounting for busboys, greeters, etc. To hell with all of it! I just want my damn food!
I don’t even ask a lot. I’m not picky. I always get the same thing at the select few places I go. I actually don’t even really like it when I’m checked up on. If I need something, I’ll try and catch you next time you zoom by. Am I the only one who honestly doesn’t give a rat’s ass if you haven’t been by in 10 mintues to check on my drink? Maybe it’s just me. I’m just a little too self-sufficient to expect a whole lot. Basically what I’m saying is that I don’t even stop to reflect on the whole ‘experience’. I don’t give a crap who my server is, or how freakin attentive they are. Just give me someone who isn’t rude or incompetant. It’s not that hard of a job.
I’ve worked retail, fast food, short order cook, waitress, video arcades and laser tag arenas, and I’ve even been store manager of a few such establishments. One thing that I don’t think enough service industry employees get is that you are there to perform a service. There’s a job description. Certain things that are required of you. You don’t get to decide which aspects you want to perform and which you don’t. You don’t get to decide when you feel like working and when you don’t, and you sure as hell don’t get to decide which customers to be nice to and work your hardest for and which ones you don’t.
It’s definitely not an industry for everyone. If you don’t have your shit together, you might get lucky and be able to coast by, but not in any of my stores you wouldn’t. You learn to deal with the fact that people, in general, are narcissistic fucks who don’t give a shit. You learn to deal with the fact that there will always be unreasonable expectations placed on you. You learn to deal with the fact that you’re going to have to take the blame for shit that wasn’t your fault. You learn to deal with the fact that you’re underpaid and overworked. You learn to deal, you steele your resolve, you meet those unreasonable expectations, blow everyone out of the water, and you move on. And then you look back and laugh at all the people you used to work for who are still busting their ass, bitching about life, and still not getting it.
I’m holding a seat for you, too, Oxymoron.
Your worthy common sense sounds so profound right now that I’m going to pick up your whole tab. 
Yeah remember that next time you’re pulling your bullshit shenanigans behind the bar.
A lot of factors come into play. 15% at restaurants is standard, but this is a delivery, so that should be the minimum. On Monday Night Football night and on Sundays, remember the delivery folks are extra busy. If you live far away from their base, tip extra. If the traffic or weather are really bad, tip extra. I only do delivery about 6 times a year, but I get mine quick, hot and with a big smile: they have a computer, and they always offer me coupons for a discount, even if they have to pull them out of their pockets at the door. They usually get more than half of any immediate discount they are able to give.
The employee who clears and cleans a table after customer use.
Another tipping bitch:
My day job is picking-up and delivering dry cleaning. I didn’t expect tips during the Christmas season, but a few came in. I got 2 cash tips for $30 (good), a $10 Starbucks gift card (also good), and 6 red and green peanut M&M’s (WTF!).
Either the customer’s child did this (which is kinda cute), the customer has a warped sense of humor, or the customer is extremely cheap.
Geez, at least give me a whole bag of M&M’s. :rolleyes:
I just tipped $10 on a $13 tab at the restaurant my son and I went for breakfast. I was thinking of you bad tippers the whole time.
So last night (Christmas Eve) I’m working. My first table is a party of three. They seemed like pretty nice folks. they had LOTS of requests, and I provided them with exemplary service - prompt drink refills, food perfect to order (thanks to a fine back-of-the-house staff) - basically I satisfied their every whim and ran like a madman in order to keep up with them. When it was over, their bill was about a hundred bucks between the 3 of them. They thanked me for the outstanding service and wished me a merry christmas.
They pay with a credit card and leave me TWO DOLLARS.
All I can say to them is FUCK YOU! HOW DARE YOU COME IN ON CHRISTMAS EVE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND LEAVE SUCH A SHITTY TIP AFTER A MEAL OF SHEER EXTRAVAGANCE! EAT MY SHIT! I LOST money on you assholes after I paid out a percentage of the sale to my host/bar/bus staff. Fuck, its CHRISTMAS EVE! TAKE YOUR “CHRISTMAS SPIRIT” AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!
All right, I feel somewhat better now.
Christms, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, Easter, and Father’s Day all bring out those horrendous people who never eat out except for “really special occasions.” They don’t know how to tip and they have a tendency to think the whole thing’s a scam.
I feel your pain, lukaspriest. I used to work at a well-known chain that’s always open on Christmas Day, and whenever I worked that day, people would always say, “God, it must SUCK to work on Christmas! Did you even get to see your family? No? God, that’s so awful!”
And then they’d leave me a 5% tip and say, “Merry Christmas!”
Good thing Christmas only comes once a year.
Well, people with that kind of attitude may have no business in working in the industry, but they DO work in the industry.
If you go eat out regularly, and act like a jerk regularly, eventually, you WILL wind up with dreck in yer food. I am basing this on evidence, that while antidotal, is still substantial enough to have statistical significance. I have worked in more than one restaraunt. I have seen lots of nasty shit.
What it comes down to is if you don’t want someone else’s snot in your food, when you go to a restaraunt, be nice. Period.
I don’t understand the confusion, really…
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by TwistofFate *
**For a start, I’ve no prolem with tips. I agree that the service industry is extremely underpaid and they deserve better treatment.
What annoys me is that people like Audrey DEMAND that they are well tipped or they provide terrible service
Then you’re not understanding what Audrey, and others here are saying at all!
They are saying that good tippers get the PREMIUM service, just like if you pay 6000 bucks you’re gonna get the HD 60" Flatscreen TV.
But if you only pay 400 bucks you’re gonna get the old fashioned whatchamacallit tube and a 25" TV. Still color, still gets all the channels, but doesn’t have all the bells or whistles.
It’s simple. You get what you pay for.
If you go to a restaurant as a regular and consistantly leave insultingly low tips, you’re paying for the 25" TV and that’s what you’re gonna get.
Look at it this way. Service from wait staff starts at level A and goes up from there depending upon tips, the better tippers are REMEMBERED and REWARDED. Bad Tippers stay at level A.
But this doesn’t inversely mean that bad tippers get dropped below the basic service, they just don’t DESERVE the 60" HD TV,they haven’t PAID for it.
Note I didn’t bring the “food spitter” references in. I think we all, (I hope) agree that THAT is just plain wrong.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Stoid *
**I used to deliver food. I was mortified by how cheap people were. It is amazing to me how people can conclude that a person who walks ten feet from the kitchen deserves 20% tip, but the person who drives 6 miles round trip miles deserves 5%. Scuse me, I was blowing gas, wear and tear, dealing with weather, and I get a buck?
Cheap people make me ill. ******************************************
People who are wait staff “walk 10 feet from the kitchen” carrying heavy trays SEVERAL THOUSAND TIMES per SHIFT!
Delivery people (And I’ve done BOTH!!) have it VERY cushy by comparison.
I have to agree with Lezler (hope I didn’t butcher your name), I STILL have nightmares and I haven’t waitressed for over 10 years.
But, my feet are still screwed up. When I get up in the morning? It’s AGONY the first few minutes I’m on my feet. It takes several minutes of walking around the house to ease all the pain out enough to put on my shoes and go.
That being said. YES I tip delivery people. I tip ALL service people,having BEEN a waitress, I am VERY attuned to tipping.
I do NOT however think that a person who spends their night kickin’ back in a comfy warm CIGARETTE Free POV listening to THEIR choice of music, deserves as big a percentage as the wait persons who are on their feet 8 hours+ per day hauling heavy trays around and waiting on every table’s every little whim.