If you dine out, you should read this...

[Alysser]

When me and my friends go out to applebees, we usually tip the reccommended amount, but last time our waitress took forever to return the change. We waited over 15 minutes! So, we gave her a $3.00 tip. Since the service was not terrible(she was nice), we gave her something. Trust me, if someone was rude to me and took forever they will not get a tip. They don't deserve it if they act that way!

[jennielynn1970]

I waitressed when I was in high school and after high school. One of the places was a nudist resort where we didn't get tipped (hello... they wore no clothes, they had no pockets!), but they did have to pay minimum wage. At least around here, if you're working a job like waitressing, if you don't make at least minimum when you add in your tips, payroll has to make up the balance.

Most of the waitress and waiters I know these days make some damn good money. My one boyfriend worked 3-4 nights a week, and pulled in about $600 minimum just in tips for those nights.

When I tip, I normally do 15% as a base. If they are excellent I'll do 20%. My delivery guys get at least 25% cause they have to drive to get to me as well. My chinese delivery guys are the best, and I always tip them well. I may not be rich, and I may be tight on money, but I know how I would feel if I were them, and they need to make a decent living as well. I've never not left a tip... even if they sucked. I figure some days I suck at work, and I wouldn't want to not get paid.

[critter crazy]

To be honest, i think all the points could have been said in a much nicer way. Calling epole names, and talking of Castration sure does put one in a foul mood.

[jennielynn1970]

To be honest, i think all the points could have been said in a much nicer way. Calling epole names, and talking of Castration sure does put one in a foul mood.

I agree with that totally... Plus who has room for a list that long in their wallet, lol! It's basically "Remember not to be cheap, and tip the way you'd like to be tipped yourself."

[Catlady711]

I've never worked as a waitress, however in H.S. I washed dishes in a busy restaurant. I don't know if any other places have the same procedure with tips as this place did but I thought it was grossly unfair to everyone. This place worked like this...

Waitress or bartender at the bar takes care of customer

Busboy/girl cleanes up tables and collects tip money, not the waitresses, bartender collects their own

ALL tip money collected went into a can during the shift

At the end of the night the tips were divided up evenly between the bartender, cooks including prepcooks, and waitresses but NOT the busboys/girls or the dishwashers which were the lowest paid in the place.

So the customer who left a tip intended for the waitress, it got split up between various people but not the ones responsible for the cleanliness of the place.

I only worked there for a couple months and got the heck out of there.

[columbine]

I waitressed when I was in high school and after high school. One of the places was a nudist resort where we didn't get tipped (hello... they wore no clothes, they had no pockets!)

So did they bother with lobster bibs?

It stinks that restaurants are still allowed to pay an insultingly low wage to their servers when even the newest potscrubber on the line is at least technically supposed to get the local minimum (although as likely as not they're working under the table for much less). Restaurant work is back-breaking and brings one into daily contact with folks who can't hold down another job, for reasons ranging from noncitizen status to a criminal record. I hardly ever eat out because I just won't go unless I can afford to tip heavily. And yes, if the server's rude or slow or makes a million mistakes with no discernible reason, I don't tip heavily. But if the place is gonzo, my dining companions are rude or unreasonable, or the server is clearly injured or too pregnant to be on her feet all day, I don't worry about slowness or a few mistakes.

Love, Columbine (dang, now I'm jonesing for fish-n-chips at my favorite local place again)

[jennielynn1970]

So did they bother with lobster bibs?

Love, Columbine

Do you really want to know what they did or didn't wear, lol!! Some things were very odd (napkin rings where I never want to see them stacked again, and clear plastic shorts... why??? ).

The funniest sight was the handy man who was also a member... steel toed boots, athletic socks, a tool belt with all the tools, and a baseball hat. And that was it! Oh, and a guy who had legally changed his name to Santa Claus... I thought that was just sick cause he looked like Santa, but rode around on a golf cart naked. Who wants to sit on THAT Santa's lap?! EEK!

[lbaker]

my goodness Jen... you really can give a visual image!!!! um, maybe too visual ~ That's hysterical

[anna_66]

Ewww I don't think I'd like to work at a nudist resort

I totally understand why a lot of you don't agree with my post but
have you ever waitressed? Try it for a few days, it's not quite as
easy as it looks.

At Red Lobster I do almost everything except cook the food.

I make my own drinks (except alcoholic drinks)
I make my own salads
I dress my own food (with the exception of the weekend)
I make my own desserts
I bus my own tables and clean them (again with the exception of the
weekend)
I do lots of side work during and after my shift ends

And for all of this I get paid $3.43 (we just recently got a raise
from $2.13-$3.43)
I NEVER get any type of pay raise.
I also have to pay the bartender 5% of my bar sales-I TOTALLY DON'T
AGREE with this because our bartenders make much more above minimum wage and get tips from the bar tables, guests who are at the bar and take outs.

I would be happy if the restaurants would pay us a normal wage.

This was posted in Ginger's Mom's thread "Question on Tipping"
(I'll post in that thread when I have more time)

If you are working for a tip you work harder!

This is SO NOT TRUE!
I work just as hard for guests that I know for a fact leave me nothing as I do for the ones that leave me a fat tip! Any GOOD server will.

I know a lot of the wait staff suck, I work with quite a few of
them.
But that's not me. Well at least not most of the time
I try to treat my guests the way I like to be treated when I go out.
But as jenn_librarian said:

I've never not left a tip... even if they sucked. I figure
some days I suck at work, and I wouldn't want to not get paid

Now if you know the server is purposely just being nasty I agree
with not leaving a tip.

Does this bother anyone else? I hate when I pay for
a meal and the server asks if I would like change back.

I can understand why you feel this way but this is my experience...

I always say "I'll be right back with your change" and the guest
will say alright. I'll come back and the people will be gone

Anna, I often get take-out, and don't tip them, and no one has ever suggested that I do. That is not the same as serving a table - they
A. take the order,
B. type it into the cash register, and then
C. put the food in a bag for me when it's done and hand it to me.

I don't know how it is in other places Karen, but at my work during the day shift the bartender is the take out person. Not only do they do what you said they also have to dress the food (get it ready). I've seen them spend up to 1/2+ getting food ready for a big take out.
I can understand why people don't tip on carry out and I still don't know how I feel about tipping for it, guess that's all up to you

Sunday brunch buffet (or any buffet). I've heard it said that it's okay to tip less at a buffet than a sit-down meal. Is that correct? The last 2 brunches I have been to, we had a gratuity added on to the check because of a party of six or more.

At a place like the Old Country Buffet, where there is not a server per se except someone who clears your plate, should a tip be left?

What do you do with your tips at the end of your shift? Do you give them to the restaurant manager in exchange for bigger bills? How do you prefer to receive a tip? Do you hate receiving change in a tip for that reason? Is it even correct to use coins for a gratuity anymore? What happens when I write the gratuity onto my credit card receipt - do you get it?

If I need to split a $20 bill, do I tip the bartender who takes care of that for me? If I'm waiting with a friend for a table in a restaurant (say, T.G.I. Friday or Applebee's), and we get soft drinks from the bar while we wait, do I tip on those?

What about Starbucks or Caribou Coffee? That jar on the end of the counter - I am never quite sure what to do.

OK, this is MY take on your questions...
I've eaten at a buffet and if they come and take my plates and keep my table clean I'll leave a few bucks because I appreciate it. But that's up to you. I've never been to one that adds gratuity to the bill.

If you have drinks at the bar, tip them what you want but do tip. They also have to claim their tips.

I'm not sure about the Starbucks thing. We don't have one around here. I guess if you were treated especially nice and feel like giving...do

Our computers automatically tell us how much we "should have" made (at least 10%)
All credit card and gift card tips are automatically added but we have to put what cash we made.
I get my credit card tips at the end of ever shift (I also am the cashier for my tables)
I can't exchange large amounts of change for bills and I can't change lots of $1 bills for larger bills. I don't care how you leave me a tip (as long as you leave me one)

To be honest, i think all the points could
have been said in a much nicer way. Calling epole names, and
talking of Castration sure does put one in a foul mood.

It wasn't my words, it was something I got from one of my friends
so please don't take it personally.
I just posted it because I wanted to know how others felt.

[RICHARD]

OMG....

This is so stupid, but laugh away and post your comments.


I actually wipe down the table when I finish a meal at a restaurant.

I also make sure my plates are stacked so the server doesn't have to do it.

--------------

When I was working, I'd go grab a coffee at the machine and fix it at the sugar/creamer area....If some messy AH spilled stuff on the counter, I'd take the damp cloth that was next to the coffee machine and wipe up the mess.

Some of the cafeteria workers weren't happy with me but they learned they could not be everywhere at once....

[NicoleLJ]

Personally, and yes I was a waitress for 5 months(I know not long but long enough to know what it is like), I do not agree with it being mandatory or even that it should be a set amount. And I find it completely offensive for anyone to think that if someone does not have enough to leave a tip or an 18% tip that they should not go out. Just because you bring back change, no matter how much it is, how do you know that change is not already budgeted for bills or other more important expenses?

Not all people can afford to leave a tip of that sum. Not all people can afford to even leave a tip. Many times people in low incomes save for a while to just be able to go out once in a blue moon to enjoy a special night out. Wait staff are not the only ones that are in a low wage bracket. Many people are. And to say they can't go out to a nice place if they don't have enough to tip is just plain insulting.

Tips have never been mandatory. They are ment to reward the hard work and pleasant service recieved if the person can and feels like leaving it. I try to leave at least 10% when I leave a restraunt if the Service was good. But I never leave more then that unless the Service was excepcional and also if my kids left a mess(rarely happens but can). I have never heard of recieveing 18%.

I am sorry but I do not see it as my DUTY or JOB to pay someones wages. I am there to enjoy a night out(which I rarely do) and if I have enough and thought the Service was good then I will leave something in appreciation. But I do not believe it is a must. If a job is not paying enough then look for another, go to school to get a better job, or look at other prospects.

I know this will sound harsh and I am sorry but it is how I feel about the subject.
Nicole & Sheena & Ajax

[jennielynn1970]

Ewww I don't think I'd like to work at a nudist resort

Honestly, I met some really great people there. You've got your weirdos who are just there to swing, but you also have your Nature People and others who had skin conditions that the sun helped. Most people you wanted to ask them to put the clothing back ON... But that was part of the whole place... everyone was allowed to feel comfortable in their own way.

All waitresses and cooks HAD to be clothed. It was a hygenic thing. I just worried about serving because I'm a clutz and spill everything. Coffee and gravy were my biggest worries!!

Sometimes we got tipped at the end of the season (October), but some people are just cheap and don't tip anything at all (it was mostly a few seasonal regulars who did tip, but they tipped their favorite waitress only - the one who was also a drug dealer ).

Look up Sunny Rest Lodge or Resort in Pennsylvania. It's one of the largest on the east coast, and been owned by the same family for decades. Even my mom delivered newspapers there when she was a young girl, and she's now 67.

[cassiesmom]

Our computers automatically tell us how much we "should have" made (at least 10%)
All credit card and gift card tips are automatically added but we have to put what cash we made.
I get my credit card tips at the end of ever shift (I also am the cashier for my tables)
I can't exchange large amounts of change for bills and I can't change lots of $1 bills for larger bills. I don't care how you leave me a tip (as long as you leave me one)

Thank you, Anna! I hate to leave change as part of a tip because I always feel like a cheapskate when I do that. I also hesitate to leave smudgy, crumpled bills as part of a tip. I have a friend who was a waiter in a very popular restaurant, and he told me some of his ex-waiter pet peeves -- so I try to respect them.

[shais_mom]

Do you really want to know what they did or didn't wear, lol!! Some things were very odd (napkin rings where I never want to see them stacked again, and clear plastic shorts... why??? ).

The funniest sight was the handy man who was also a member... steel toed boots, athletic socks, a tool belt with all the tools, and a baseball hat. And that was it! Oh, and a guy who had legally changed his name to Santa Claus... I thought that was just sick cause he looked like Santa, but rode around on a golf cart naked. Who wants to sit on THAT Santa's lap?! EEK!

this is off the topic - but I'll finish reading it and get back to it - but I had to say - was this in PA? One of my college professors was from PA and he worked at a hospital around a nudist resort, and he xrayed a guy that had shot himself in the knee with a nail gun. It went behind his knee cap and in front of the bone. My instructor asked the guy what happened and he had been roofing next to the nudist place and he asked Wil, have you ever seen anyone naked riding a 4 wheeler? and Wil said no he said yea well I hadn't either.....

[shais_mom]

I've read thru most of this thread and I'm really confused as what to say.
I don't even know where to begin. I'm amazed at the twists and turns that people have put on this, something that started out as a tongue-in-cheek guideline was turned personal and not eating at a chain where someone works.....
What's in the water here on Pet Talk?!?!?!
I've never been in food service, but I have worked on 100% commission. And I've had people try to get me to take $50 off a vacuum, and I told them, that was taking money out of my pocket and the guy said "no it isn't you get minimum wage" I said "No I don't - I get 100% commission and if I don't make enough to get $6 an hour THEY PAY ME $6 an hour BUT then I have to pay them back out of my next check, its called the draw system." One time I came home working 18 hours in a two week period with an $11 pay check....

I always tip well, I have the EZ tip calculator on my phone and use it as a base rate. I've never not left a tip for bad service. My sister had horrible service once and left a penny, b/c she thought that would make more of a statement than nothing at all.

I got some awesome service at Olive Garden one day and when I looked at my bill my server (male) didn't charge me for my soup ($5) I gave him like a $9 tip. So I really didn't get anything free, I just paid him for the soup instead of the restaraunt.
I've also laid down what I thought was 3 1-dollar bills and when I glanced again I saw one of them was a 10. That's too good of a tip when my meal was only $15. So needless to say I changed the 10 for a 1!!!
I eat out a lot of most of the time by myself, I take a book with me, and I think I get better service when I am by myself b/c I can talk more one on one with the person.
There was one time I was going thru Taco Bell and the girl in the window may have said something to me that didn't mean anything to her but to me, it made my day. She told me to drive safely and be careful and have a nice day. She didn't need to tell me that but she did.
A few weeks ago my parents and grandma went out for supper at a local restaurant. Our server was ehhh ok but there was a younger boy that worked there that kept checking on us, getting our drinks, talking to my dad. I felt HE deserved the tip b/c once the other waitress saw him doing that she only came to give us the bill. He even came over and said "is there something else I can do for you guys since my turd friend has seemed to forgotten about you!" My dad told the manager she better watch her job b/c that kid will take it from you someday.
I actually didn't even think anything of the OP b/c I knew it wasn't 'from' Anna that it was probably an email she'd received. If you think this is rude there's one floating around on the net from an ER nurse that is 100% worse. Maybe Anna cleaned up the language on this one but the ER nurse one has all kind of threats and foul language.
now
go find a furry animal and give them a good pat!