I don’t think she was equating kitchen mistakes with bad service; I think she was pointing out that customers may (and do) equate kitchen mistakes with bad service. And if the customer doesn’t tell the server that there was a kitchen mistake, there’s no opportunity for the server to handle it, good or bad. And if that customer leaves a bad tip, and the service was otherwise decent to excellent, the customer will be written off as a “bad tipper”.
O.K…
My minimum tip for adequate service is 15%.
On several occasions the wait staff has greatly enhanced my experience - suggesting dishes, local points of interest, etc. - and my tip goes up accordingly.
I’ve never waited tables, but it CAN’T be an easy job. Anyone that can greet me with a smile after being on their feet for 8 hours deserves every cent they get.
First, let me say that I always tip well. Even the worst waitress I ever encountered (mixed up the drink orders 3 times-kept asking who wanted iced tea when nobody ordered it and brought it anyway, said she had no idea whether a side was included with one order but took an order for a baked potato in case it was then brought rice pilaf instead, and never brought one of the party’s soup because “the kitchen put it on the counter but I assumed somebody else would bring it to you since I was busy”) got a 15% tip.
That said, I hope that I never encounter a bartender who deliberately strengthens my drinks without permission. If I am carefully nursing a drink an hour because I know I need to drive later and some asshole bartender serves me extra-strong drinks then he/she better be prepared to be sued for any consequences of an accident caused by my being intoxicated while driving or at work!
Come on! You would know from the first sip if your drink was stronger than normal. You would also know if you were getting a buzz.
If you go out and drive drunk, that is your decision and it is most certainly NOT the fault of the bartender. To say you would sue the bartender is ludicrous. Take some personal responsibility.
That shrill little bitch Hastur screeched -
Roar.
So now whatcha gonna do, cast an evil spell on me? :::shiver::: :rolleyes:
BTW, not to hijack the thread much, but didn’t someone offer to come to your town so you could prove your magical skills? Or was that “majical” or “magikal” or “ma-ja-fuckin-idiot”? Oh do tell. What ever happened with that?
Jebus, now we’re basically going in circles. Let’s try this again.
My point is that the accepted practice is what’s fucked. I think that a tip should be used as incentive to get a better level of service. I don’t really understand the differences between the regular and platinum service. You fill my glass more with the latter? I get clean silverware? My orders are brought to me in less time? The crux is that I’m having difficulty seeing the differences between your job responsibilities and going beyond and above them.
I will say, that I much prefer the European system, none of this bullshit. You can also spare me the “this is how the world works” stuff, I know it, and that’s why tip.
I wonder if your owner would be happy with the “don’t bother to come if you won’t tip” statement. I bet they would be happier with 100 customers that tipped 5% then 50 customers that tipped 15%
What is this country coming to? Suing bar tenders? Give me a fucking break!
I understand that assholes appear as customers as well as service people. FYI and in spite of Hastur’s attack from left field (he’s a hysterical little hissy so it is no surprise), I am always courteous to service people (I’ll get my revenge with my lack of tip) so I assume I am in no danger of boogers or spit in my food.
Still, any asshole who places a foreign object not meant for consumption into another asshole’s food should be fired and brought up on criminal charges as well as a lawsuit. That should also include co-workers who were aware of the abuse and did nothing to prevent it or didn’t report it.
Actually, in many states a bartender is responsible if a patron leaves the bar intoxicated and then drives. Although IMHO this law is a little harsh I certainly think that any bartenderwho deliberately tampers with the alcoholic contents of a patron’s drink without letting the patron know should be held responsible for the consequences.
How about if he just pays you what you are worth, instead or relying on the customers? Raise the price a bit, skip the tips, and pay a decent wage. Sounds like the "cheap bastards’ are the food service owners & mangers, not the customers.
Now, I do tip- and a fair amount. But I would rather pay a bit more, and have the server paid a fair wage instead.
What a stupid fucking law!
I also doubt that 99% of drinkers would consider pouring a drink a little stronger as “tampering”.
Here’s the letter of the law, at least in Texas, where we have pretty strict liquor laws:
I am certified by the TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission) in the legal amounts of alcohol allowed per drink, the blood alcohol level that’s legal, how many drinks it takes to get there, how to “recognize” signs of intoxication, etc., etc., etc…
This certification means that the state of Texas will hold me responsible for anyone who leaves my bar. And that if they do get into an accident, they can sue me. (If I weren’t certified by TABC, they could only sue the bar/restaurant because the law assumes “I didn’t know better.”)
This applies even to someone who’s had the majority of their drinks elsewhere; if someone shows up at my bar drunk, and I “let them leave,” even without serving them, I am still responsible for them. Because “I should know better.”
So, since I have all the liability, I also have all the power. No one in the building–boss/owner/manager–has the power to make me serve anyone I “don’t feel comfortable serving.” If I say that someone shouldn’t drink–even if they just sat down–and a manager over-rides me on that, I can report it to TABC and my hands are clean. (I can also get him/her into a lot of trouble if he/she does it consistently.)
SO THIS MEANS THAT:
I am well aware of the legal ramifications of “tampering with the alcoholic contents of a person’s drink,” thank you, psychobunny. The question of whether or not you should be drinking at all, if you can’t tell the difference between an underpour, a normal pour, and an overpour is…well, let’s just say you wouldn’t have to worry about it. Anybody who pitched a fit when I poured them a good drink, and accused me of “TAMPERING” with it, would get cut off in short order. I would be forced to say that I don’t feel comfortable serving you, and you would have to leave.
So all this about suing me is hypothetical, because I wouldn’t serve you beyond that first, SHOCKINGLY STRONG AND POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS DRINK!
Get over it. I’m too damn good at my job to worry about the bitch in the corner who’s pissed because I gave her a good drink.
And if I say you don’t get another drink, you don’t. At least at my bar.
That’s the letter of the law.
Breaching our “Responsible Service of Alcohol” laws will get the bartender a fine of up to $5,000 and the establishment a fine of up to $50,000.
And if the ABC got a call of complaint on you for overpouring drinks, what would happen?
And a juicy lawsuit. Why the hell would you want to work a job with that powderkeg looming?
World Eater: Tough work? Boo hoo cry me a river, all work is tough work.
Not true. I worked my way through school waitressing and doing a number of other menial labor jobs. I now work 32 hours a week at my “real job” as a project manager, and have two part time jobs teaching dance.
I destroyed my feet and back doing waitress work. But my current jobs are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY easier on the feet and back,and I love them.
There are times when I’m writing up an investigation, and I’m stuck for a description of part of my work,and I sit there thinking,“okay,what would go best in this section”?
And then it hits me, I’m getting paid to just THINK. Then I say THANK YOU GOD, I don’t have to bust my ass on “the floor” anymore"!!!
Nope,digging ditches, waitressing, etc,THOSE are the true back breaking “tough jobs”.
Wouldn’t trade my career for 150-200 buck a nite tips, AT ALL!
If the owners don’t like it, they can start paying servers a decent wage. I base my ‘don’t eat out if you can’t afford to tip’ on the fact that in my five+ years of waiting tables, I make an effort to serve every table well. There have been very few times (I can count on one hand) that I didn’t deserve a tip. When I return to waiting tables in February, I’ll try to provide the same level of service that I always have. That service is basically tending to my tables needs before they even realize they need something. When you receive your food has more to do with the kitchen than with me. Good service is going above and beyond the typical ‘drink, food, refills, dessert, coffee, bill’ experience. To me, that’s above-average service, but will more than likely command an average tip.
What I’m saying is that if you are purposely walking into a restaurant with the attitude that you’re only going to leave 5% or nothing no matter how good or bad the waitress is, you shouldn’t bother going to a restaurant at all.
I’d prefer the European way as well. Unfortunately, until legislators and restaurant owners alike get their collective heads out of their asses, servers are going to depend on those tips for their livelihood.
Ava
psychobunny might, but I doubt I would. I do not have the kind of experience necessary to judge whether or not my drink was stronger than normal just by taking a sip, or even by drinking the whole thing.
I am reasonably certain that I could, if I wanted to, have two normal drinks and suffer no ill effects. But judging from my family history I strongly suspect that if I had three normal drinks I would end up quite drunk indeed.
I am not in the habit of drinking, but I think I have the right to go into a bar and order two drinks if I so desire. I believe I also have the right to expect that if I order two drinks they will contain a standard amount of alcohol. If the bartender slips in more without my knowledge then I would not consider that a favor. It is my responsibility to know how much I can handle and to stay within that limit, but the bartender makes it impossible for me to do this if she does not follow standard guidelines. If patrons cannot know ahead of time how what sort of alcohol content their drink will have then they cannot drink safely or responsibly. Even underpouring could lead to bad results, if it led patrons to believe that they could handle more drinks than they really could. If it is common for bartenders to play these sort of dangerous and illegal games with patrons then I am certainly glad I don’t frequent bars.
I’ve often seen threads on the SDMN where non-drinkers were encouraged to “loosen up” and “have a drink or two” because it is harmless fun, and perhaps it is. But I wouldn’t consider passing out on the way to the bathroom harmless fun, and that is probably what would happen to me if I had “a drink or two” at a bar where “a drink or two” might unexpectedly turn out to mean three or four standard drinks’ worth of alcohol. Next time I need to think of a reason not to drink, I’ll remember this thread.
**
I wouldn’t pitch a fit because I would have no way of knowing you’d tampered with my drink until it was too late. You may think this means I have no business drinking in your bar – and if you don’t, I do. I wholeheartedly believe that I should avoid establishments that don’t allow me to control my own alcohol consumption. And this is your loss, because I like to leave generous tips.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Milossarian *
**Ah, but what of the conundrum of THE BUFFET?
You have a waitress. She comes to assure you are getting the buffet. She brings you drinks. She makes sure all is OK. And she brings you your bill.
But you get your own food.
What then?
Do you dial down the tip percentage from 15-20 to 10?
Good question, I rarely “do” buffets, but it depends on how “self service” the buffet IS. IF you get up to get your own drinks, extra napkins, etc, and all the buffet servers do is remove plate,then they get tipped based on how much actual service my table is getting.
If it’s a more high scale buffet, such as the one at the ski lodge we spent our company xmas party this weekend, well, she was right there with coffee, ski reports,the whole nine yards,so even though she didn’t have to bring the plate,she was an exemplary waitstaff person,and provided a lot of time and service to our table,and was tipped (more likely OVERTIPPED, since I am an xserver, I tend to do that), accordingly.
Someone lightly touched on the following subject as well,
Attitude of the customer. If they are truly jerks, no amount of tip is going to get me to give them above average service.
And I HAVE had customers like that, I was polite, and provided them with basic service, but otherwise stayed away as much as possible.
I have had one table that was SOOOOOOOOO bad,rude, mean and obnoxious to me, that I turned them over to the manager. They were so loud, that all the other tables around them tipped me probably twice as much as they needed to, even the LOL’s (little old ladies).
Which brings me to another subject (sorry,don’t mean to steal the limelight from anyone).
LOLs they got EXEMPLARY service from me ,MERELY because of their attitude. I KNEW most of them were on fixed incomes and couldn’t afford what would be considered an “adequate” tip by today’s standards, but their sweetness, MORE than made up for it.
Of course that’s a whole other side to this, customer’s attitudes that is.
Most bar staff find their jobs have become more pleasant since Responsible Service of Alcohol laws were introduced as they are no longer having to deal with patrons who are blind drunk.
I agree completely. And I would turn it around, as well: If you are purposely going to work as a waitperson every day with the attitude that everyone should give you a 15 percent tip no matter how well or how poorly you do your job, you shouldn’t bother working as a waitperson.
Fair enough?
Audrey Levins:
I’m trying to reconcile this with your earlier statement that you will “load up” a drink for a good tipper. It sounds like you’re knowingly violating the guidelines imposed by the TABC.