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

[RICHARD]

It's pretty funny to see what people expect when they go out to eat.

I HAVE YET TO MEET A SERVER THAT READS MINDS!

1) I have a few funny faces for a kid draped over the chairback.
after that let me eat in peace

2) You can't box your own food? I have seen people box only what they want and leave other things.

3) I don't want to wait 20 minutes while you make up a menu for your child.
"Can I have the kid's plate? Chicken Fingers is nice, what kind of sauce do you have for them....Ah, can I substitute the cherry tomatoes for carrots.
What do you want to drink, honey? No, no pepsi........" "WAAAAAAAAA, I want pepsi!" Order for the kid and get on with life.

My parents didn't put up with that kind of shiat. We are going out, order - do not be picky and start making stupid requests.

The same goes with effing adults. I used to do the burger run for my office.
I want grilled onions, no onions, no sauce, extra pickle.....No, Eff you-you stand at the counter and give a Super Sized order -tailored to 10 people individual needs.

Push the offending matter aside or don't ask me to waste my time accomodating your wimpy arsed foibles.


3. Don't put the kid into a booth and expect him to stay clean. And when YOUR KID sits in the high chair and makes a mess have a little bit of sense and clean up after them. Laugh at me again but when dining with children I make it a habit to police the area after them.

Watching a kid flip a plate onto the floor and sitting there smiling doesn't quite cut it with me.

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And one of the stupidest, most crass phenomenoms I have seen is the applause AFTER some server drops and breaks a platter, dish or glass.

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Hey anna,


Where would you wear the hairnet anyway?

[anna_66]

Anyone that thinks they "deserve" a tip is probably not in the right industry.

I'm sorry, but please don't tell me I'm in the wrong industry. Maybe I don't think you need to be a lawyer, but I'd never be so rude as to say that.

while you might be making an hourly wage, that can't be my concern.

Can't be your concern???
What this all sounds like to me is that your really don't give a sh*t about the person who is going out of their way to make sure you have a good meal. Sorry but I wouldn't want to wait on you.

For those of your who don't feel you should tip...don't. I've waited on and still wait on people who come in often and don't tip.
If you want to leave 10% do that, tip whatever you want. I'm not here to tell you how much to tip.

And as I said in my last post I treat all my guests the same whether they tip or not. Needless to say not all servers feel the same though.

[caseysmom]

Here in california servers are taxed on tips whether they get them or not...keep that in mind.

My husband put himself through college waiting on tables, he even served liberache...talk about a tipper.

[anna_66]

It's pretty funny to see what people expect when they go out to eat.

I HAVE YET TO MEET A SERVER THAT READS MINDS!

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Hey anna,


Where would you wear the hairnet anyway?

Bravo Richard!

Hmmm I won't say where I'd wear it

[RICHARD]

Bravo Richard!

Hmmm I won't say where I'd wear it

One guess is enough.

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My strong reactions to people who "do" the public are based on my mom working as a cashier for 30 years and my doing surgery scheduling.

If the customer is always right, the world is screwed.

[Cataholic]

How funny. You, as a server, have the 'right' to post your opinions, but, others do not? I thought your post was incredibly insulting. It made me think that I would not want to be waited on you, as you would 'expect' something that wasn't required.

I work in the service industry. All day long. I wouldn't dictate to others how they 'must' treat me. They are paying me for a service, and, I deliver. I would LOVE to charge double for a rush job, working after 7 pm, or on the weekend. Love to. But, that isn't how it is done. If someone likes the quality of my work, they return. If not, they go somewhere else. The customer, or client, or patient, however you want to term it, leads the way.

It is all about the service. Want a tip? Do a good job. Don't care about tips? Then, neither of us will be disappointed.

And, in the future, you might want to reconsider taking some poster's comments so personal. You already said it wasn't 'your' post, just something you were passing along. I was speaking in the general sense when I said you (as in, you, the server-unnamed) should be in a different profession. Even still, I wouldn't care a rat's butt if you thought I should be a lawyer or not. That is kind of silly, isn't it?

[Ginger's Mom]

I am very surprised as some of the comments in this post. I will stand by my objection to being told how much I should tip. However, in the US tipping is a standard and expected part of dining out. Saying I don't have enough money to tip doesn't make sense to me. That would be like buying a car, but not having enough money to pay the tax, and being offended that the State thought they deserved it. Restaurants pay their servers poorly based on the fact that they are paid by the people they serve, who are better able to determine the worth of their service. That savings is then passed on the the public in the form of lower prices. I think that the system should be changed and that restaurants should charge more and pay their employees based upon their observance of their employees performance. If a customer has a problem with their server they have the same remedy as in any other business they can complain to the manager. You don't have to hold a tip over the servers head like a carrot (that is degrading). And as I attempted to say in the other thread, it is impossible to please everyone, no matter how "nice" you are. Do away with tipping, and respect yourself, the servers and those sitting around you when you go to a restaurant.

[caseysmom]

Just from my experience with Anna on pettalk I would LOVE to have her as my server.

Cataholic...Lawyers don't charge for night or rush work?

[cassiesmom]

Wiping down a table with a bar towel, so that the crap falls unto the seats is gross. Not sanitary, shows a real lack of respect for the next diner, and did I mention is not sanitary?

That's something I'd prefer to speak to the manager or the maitre d' (sp?) about, rather than letting it be reflected in the tip. What scares me about that is - where has that bar towel been before it was used to wipe down my table? and some buspersons only give the table a cursory wipe with the towel when the tables need to be re-set quickly. But, again, that is not something I'm going to reflect when I'm readying the check. I'm with Richard - tip, and tip big (because I know other people don't).

[Ginger's Mom]

I work in the service industry. All day long. I wouldn't dictate to others how they 'must' treat me. They are paying me for a service, and, I deliver. I would LOVE to charge double for a rush job, working after 7 pm, or on the weekend. Love to. But, that isn't how it is done. If someone likes the quality of my work, they return. If not, they go somewhere else. The customer, or client, or patient, however you want to term it, leads the way.

I don't think this analogy works for a number of reasons. First, it is common practice for attorneys (at least in NJ) to charge 1 1/2 times their normal fee for anything that is going to take them extra effort; be that working weekends, driving to another county, etc.; it is "how it is done." Secondly, in your field the customer, client, patient isn't as likely to "lead the way," because they have come to you for a certain expertise they believe you have that they do not possess. Agreed they can always express disappointment at the outcome and/or your efforts, but there is a certain deference to you that is not given to a server. And lastly, you may have the luxury of saying if they are not happy with the service they don't have to come back, the server doesn't have that luxury because the restaurant owner is not going to keep a server that sends customers away unhappy. The comparison is like that of oranges to ummm...clementines (maybe not as different as apples but not placed in the same bin).

[JenBKR]

What I would object to is the 18% minimum tip. For two reasons, first I object to being told what the minimum tip/contribution/voluntary payment of anything is. Second, the reasoning is faulty. This says that because the cost of living has gone up since 1960 the percentage of the tip should go up. But the cost of the meal has also gone up since 1960, so the actual monetary amount being left as a tip has kept stride with the cost of living. The percentage does not have to be increased. For example, I would have paid $4.00 for a meal in 1960 and left a .60 tip. In 2007 I will have to pay $12.00 for the same meal and will leave a tip of $1.80 (probably will round it up to $2.00), an increase of 230%, and that is without raising the "minimum" tip.

I completely agree. I always tip based on the service I receive - but I do always leave a tip. I don't really like being told how much I am 'supposed' to leave. I do generally tip around 15%, and around 20% if the service is exceptional. I can't imagine not leaving a tip at all though, the service would have to be about nonexistant for me to do that.

[Lady's Human]

I normally tip extremely well, especially when it comes to breakfasts. If I tipped based on the bill, it wouldn't be much of anything normally.

All I ask is friendly service, and keep my coffee cup full. If the service is really good, I'll leave 50% of the bill for breakfast, which would amount to what a normal tip would be for a regular meal. The waitress/waiter is working just as hard, no need to give a lousy tip.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I eat out often. I travel frequently for my work. So often I am eating alone.

This week I arrived at my hotel...no restaurant....

So I go next door. A hotel restaurant. No smile. No greeting.

I have to ask to be seated. I have to ask for water.

I see clam chowder in a sour dough bowl. I order it and a diet soda.

My soup is brought to me in a china bowl. What about the sour dough? I ask. "Oh, you want it in a sour dough bowl?" as if I were making a bother.

Afraid what he would do and how long he would take to do it...I said I would take it as he presented it.

No refill on my soda. No inquiring of any kind.

I had to flag him down for the check.

So what should I have tipped?

[Lady's Human]

Sara, I wouldn't have left a cent.

No service, no tip.

[lbaker]

I would have left 10% or a bit less with a comment to the server AND the manager that I was leaving 50% of what I normally would because the service received was only 50% of what I had expected "of a hotel restaurant of this caliber" or something equally as condesending (snotty?), especially if I were dressed in professional business attire (and yes, I do own and wear some when I am traveling on business )

p.s. In many places now water is served only when requested because of the drought. At least the soup was consumable and hot I assume. When I have had to wait for the check after trying to get his/her attention I have been known to go straight to the cashier and explain the situation, demand the check and in such cases have not left a tip.