Served: Recession Waitressing
I blog by day and wait tables in a New York City restaurant by night. I'm excited to bring you Served, dispatches from the front of the house. Enjoy!
“We’re like Babbo!” P. says, referring to our seemingly miraculous popularity. It’s Friday night, and our restaurant is swinging.
“Only at Babbo, people actually spend money,” B. chimes in.
He’s sort of right. There are two women on table eight sharing one glass of madeira and one piece of chocolate cake. Our place is tiny, so we save our tables for those who are eating—drinkers get a seat at our bar or at the smaller bar wedged in the front window. The lanky ladies promised they were dining, so I shepherded them to table eight. Now they have been there for nearly two hours, and there are at least a dozen people eagerly waiting to slip into their space.
We’re the Place to Be
I weave my way through the crowd to say hi to a befuddled couple. They have barely managed to open the door, which is blocked by mass of wannabe—if all goes well, soon to be—diners. The place is so packed that the two newcomers must suck in and squeeze themselves against the wall. I say hi and get their names.
I write down, “Annie for two” on our list, which is a few post-it notes taped to our cheese case. “How long for Annie for two?” I ask B., who is orchestrating the proceedings of the door tonight. “They want a table.”
“They’re after these seven deuces,” he counts. “Forty minutes? At the least.” I return with this news and a wine list. They look sad.
I need to run back to the bar, which I’m tending. There are a group of gentlemen who are very concerned with my career. There are winemakers from Portugal trying nearly everything on our menu, one dish at a time. A mother and daughter finish up their second bottle of wine. They’re busy planning the daughter’s wedding and arguing passionately about flowers. My inquiry into what they are drinking next is an unwanted distraction. If the answer is nothing, well, their seats are premium real estate. A couple is already standing behind them, ready to pounce.
Through Thick and Thin
My restaurant seems to be recession friendly. It’s not cheap, and I’m too familiar with the “how could a few glasses of wine and a few snacks add up to this?” sticker shock. This often translates into a grimace and an unacceptable tip.
Nine dollars on a hundred dollar check? My first thought is always to wonder if I messed something up. Usually, nothing comes to mind. Did the table hate me? They seemed to love everything! Especially the chocolate cake. Was it a mistake, I wonder? No, it wasn’t a mistake. People are worried about money. I know, I’m one of them. And they’re taking it out on their servers.
Of course, not everyone is. I ended up making a respectable amount of money that night. Most people still understand that a tip is not an optional expense and that waiters make their living off of tips. You might be saving a few bucks, but remember: bad tipping is bad karma.
We’re no bargain spot. But we’re no Babbo, either. You can rack up an impressive bill, but you can also order a good, filling dinner and a glass of wine and spend way less than fifty bucks a person. People are opting for us over big commitment meals. We’re like the fun girlfriend you don’t have to worry too much about getting serious with. You can still have a good time and not sweat the ring.
Times might be tough, but people still want to eat and drink well. People want to go out and have fun. Especially New Yorkers! Restaurants are shuttering like crazy and talk is all doom and gloom, but life goes on. A table for four? That’ll be an hour, at least.
But all is not roses. There are the one glass of wine sharers. There are the opulent orderers who are taking it down a notch to an unprecedented level of temperance. There are the tip slashers. But for now, from the admittedly microscopic model that is my restaurant, at least people are not staying home.
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20 Comments:
IMHO, if you can't afford a proper tip, you can't afford said restaurant. Who shares a glass of wine? I've never seen that before.
KBestOliver at 11:20AM on 02/17/09
Wow - $9? Really? You deserve better. I had dinner last night at a similar place in Park Slope with a friend-- not $$$$, but nice-- and we left a 20% tip. I might be dining out less, but when I do, I do it right.
healthygirl78 at 11:37AM on 02/17/09
I do understand where you're coming from - bad tippers are jerks. But the two ladies with the shared wine and cake. I can understand where they're coming from. You want to get out, enjoy a night/dessert out, but can't afford the full meal, but you also want to go somewhere where where they have good wine and fabulous cake. So you opt for the very cheap side, telling yourself that you have every right to be there with the full-meal people. And really, I think you do. And it's true, the servers of the world struggle as pain trickles down, but that's also reality. And they clearly should have allowed themselves to be seated at the bar. But poking fun at the wine sharers of the world doesn't seem like the right approach. It's a weird world out there right now, but also tables are not just reserved for the big spenders, but for someone who shows up and puts their name on the list and waits and then orders something, perhaps what they can then afford to tip on. Hopefully the wine sharers at least left a good tip...?
ematson at 11:51AM on 02/17/09
@ematson, you're right. i don't mean to poke fun, just to point out that the situation is frustrating. i've been on both sides of the table, so i have sympathy for these ladies. (although no, they did not leave a decent tip, which makes me have a bit less sympathy.)
Hannah Howard at 11:56AM on 02/17/09
I too, blog by day and serve by night, and hate.this.job. I've been serving for five years (with some detours), working my way through college, and will graduate next month, when I can finally ::SIGH:: get a job that doesn't need to work around my school schedule. This economy has only made people more miserly and somehow, ruder.
On the other hand, even though I can well afford more my own glass of wine when I go out, sometimes I do share with a companion because I want a taste of an alcoholic drink, not an entire drink, ya know? And of course, I tip extremely well, which judging by other servers reactions, is becoming rarer, and not just in my restaurant.
What I hate is when someone is too cheap to get the drink their sister ordered (50 cents more than their own soda), so they mooch off her free refills and rudely ask me to get them a To-Go cup with a drink that's not theirs. and guess how well they tip?
Of course, this economy also means that my managers would rather smooch butt of some rude idiot than lose the pennies they might spend, which includes comping these idiots' food and inviting more morons who also want to sit down and be served for free.
dualicious at 12:02PM on 02/17/09
Not everyone tips based on % of their check, as one of the Talk topics had brought up. Some people tip based on how they feel their service was worth - not insinuating your service was poor. Sometimes that means a $5 for a $3 check, or $5 for a $100 check. Some people may just follow the % tip their grandparents taught them.
I still think it's dumb that we are obligated to tip. The definition of a tip isn't a service fee. The US govt really needs to revert their wage policy so servers get at least minimum wage and do away with obligatory tipping so these people can eat and pay the rent (at least that's the impression I got when someone said they could barely afford to eat some days).
Glad that ppl are walking through your door...and I'm glad Cleveland isn't suffering as badly as those who are seeing mass #s of restaurants closing in their neighborhood.
Cassaendra at 12:31PM on 02/17/09
Honestly?? I work 50hrs a week and make so much less than you. You make more money than you realize, and if you broke it down hourly you'd see that many of us with office jobs are actually bringing in 2/3rds of what you make. I used to work at a restaurant but now work a corporate food gig, whereas my roommate is a waitress: she makes 150% of what I make and works 60% of the hours. And complains. And bitches, and moans. Which is ridiculous because my boss is rude to me all the time, and I suffer through it EVERY DAY, not just for the two hours you have to deal with a difficult guest before watching them walk out the door and proclaiming to yourself "good riddance."
Of course, I only ever tip 15% for reeeeeeally bad service and 20-30% for good service. I tip $3 on two beers at a bar. So yeah, I get that $9 on $100 is unacceptable and that dude's getting karmic food poisoning the next time he eats out for sure, but really, quit yer whining and accept that, in NYC at least, the money you make is an inflated salary for what may be trying but is ultimately unskilled and relatively accommodating work.
willwork4foodie at 2:11PM on 02/17/09
Regarding the two ladies sharing a glass of wine and a desert, maybe I'm reading it wrong but I don't see anything wrong with calling them out. Economy notwithstanding it is horribly rude to show up to a super crowded spot, lie to the host(ess) about your intentions, camp out at a valuable table for two hours, order basically nothing, and then tip poorly on top of it. You want to share a glass and a desert and linger for a bit AFTER eating a full meal? Fine (to an extent). I am sympathetic to the desire to get out and about even if you can't afford it, but recognize the economic impact on the establishment and, at the very least, take it to the bar.
Grubjunkie at 2:29PM on 02/17/09
Ugh. When I worked at a wine bar as bartender/tapas cook, people would often tip based on the NYC $1-per-drink standard, never mind that each glass of wine was about $12, took them half an hour to drink, and was often accompanied by tapas that I had cooked for them myself! I would get parties of 6 or 8 who'd order a glass of wine per person (before dinner at the restaurant across the street), and then leave a dollar for each glass, meaning a $6-8 tip on a $80-100 tab. Unbelievable.
Michele Humes at 2:43PM on 02/17/09
@ematson--two people sharing ONE glass of wine and ONE piece of cake for TWO hours in a tiny restaurant with several people waiting for seats is just wrong. It's like going to the French Laundry and only ordering tea. It's like going to the ER for stitches and then asking the busy ER doc for a diet plan. I understand what you're saying about the women being just as entitled as anyone to a table but: Two hours to share a snack? Please.
@Cassandra--I agree that servers should get at least min. wage but that would never happen. The increase in labor cost would mean doom for many places, especially now. But I can also see what...
willworkforfoodie is saying about servers making plenty of money. I'm a pro cook and I make a little over $100 a shift while the servers at my place might walk with $150 cash in their pocket on top of their wage. That being said, I fully believe servers earn that money. Unskilled? Are you f'ing kidding me? Have you ever been a server? It's not a skill like welding is a skill or accounting is a skill; it's entirely different and much more nuanced. Graciously dealing with the hunrgy, rude and impatient masses with a smile on your face is very difficult. And to do it well is goddamn saintly.
sailordave at 3:16PM on 02/17/09
@sailordave: word.
Hannah Howard at 6:38PM on 02/17/09
i think in this era of recession, that restaurants who want our business pay their servers a little more and take the price off the patrons so that we can go out and enjoy ourselves without the worry of 20 percent added onto the tab + tax...the restauranteur should shoulder some of the cost instead of the patron paying all profits. if a restaurant can cut costs like craftsteak as an example, then imagine the actual profits being made, like a store having a 50% sale....except we don't have to pay the saleshelp a tip for the sale she just made.
blondee47 at 7:24PM on 02/17/09
I work as a massage therapist and my tips pay my rent, so I understand the need to tip well. I have cut back how much I go out these days but when I do, I've been making sure to leave a really good tip for my server.
I'm also the person who chips in more when in a group because I don't want a cheapskate or two at the table to force us to leave a crappy tip.
disbelief11 at 10:26PM on 02/17/09
I completely disagree, blondee47. I've worked as a waitress maybe 2 months of my entire life, but I don't think that is the answer at all. I am a great tipper, seeing as most of my friends and my fiance have spent a LOT of time in the restaurant industry, and I don't mind, not even in these times. It is part of going out, to expect to pay a tip. If restaurants had to pay their servers more, especially in this economy, you would see a lot of you favorite independent restaurants go out of business, and be left with chain restaurants and fast food places.
lo82070 at 1:25PM on 02/18/09
Regarding the women with the wine & the cake... i completely agree that 2 hours in a crowded restaurant is a bit much, but what were these women to do?
They can't have a table because they're not spending enough. But they can't even be relegated to the bar because apparently there are ppl eyeing the seats of the mother/daughter combo that just finished their bottle of wine, and apparently these two aren't spending enough to sit there, either.
So what are a couple of gals to do? Go hang out at Mcdonald's? Or perhaps they're only allowed to go to restaurants that aren't as good and therefore not as crowded?
I completely get that restaurants need to make money and turnover is important -- don't get me wrong. But i also feel slighted if i'm not even ALLOWED to eat at a restaurant unless i'm willing to do the tasting menu!
mh330 at 1:33PM on 02/18/09
@mh330- These women were acting self-invovled and important. It doesn't take two hours to finish a piece of cake and one glass of wine. If they wanted to relax and lounge and talk for hours I'm sure there are many places in the city for them to do just that (and I don't mean McD's --how about those thousands of bars, lounges, coffee shops, etc.) HH's restaurant in not such a place. Busy restaurants make money by turning tables; that's how it works. It's kind of like the grocery express lane rule. It's there for people to get along quicky and if someone takes their full cart to that line, it fucks up the whole system and is unfair.
sailordave at 8:34PM on 02/18/09
"Most people still understand that a tip is not an optional expense and that waiters make their living off of tips" I really hate this line... I know I'm going to get crap for this but if you don't like the pay, get another job... I know easier said than done in these times but for God's sake, quit whining.
I've had a couple of massage therapist's blab away during my massage and believe me, it was not relaxing. Even if you ignore them and they continue to talk... I definitely did not tip them. I informed the owners that I should be submitting a bill to them for the "therapy session" that I just had with their massage therapist... Sure I received apologies up the yingyang and was offered a discount but what did that help? I went in because I needed to relax not to see if I could get a discount...
I tip VERY WELL but only when the person has done a great job. If the server (whether waiter, massage therapist, nail tech, etc.) did a poor job, it will reflect in the tip, no matter what the bill is.
ddvierra68 at 12:37PM on 02/23/09
I agree that a tip is to be a reflection of the quality of service and NOT a mandatory percentage of the check total. This is the only incentive that I can see for the server to give a table great attention and service. Having been a server for many years now, I totally expect my tip to be based upon the attention I give the table. Only with a very few exceptions, I have found that tables give me a tip that does reflect this. I have received $10 tips for a $7 lunch tab. I also have received a $3 tip for a $40 tab -- and rightfully so as I was less attentative that I should have been -- yes, I had the reasons why, but that does not matter to the table and is not their problem to understand. If you want to save money and that is the ONLY reason for not giving a reasonable tip, then shame on you for not rewarding your server for a job well done. If however, the service was poor, then let the tip reflect that. But, if you received wonderful service, given with a great attitude, then pay the few bucks extra and don't buy that fancy cheese at the grocery -- it will save you the corresponding couple of dollars to even out what was spent on a well deservied tip.
cori2722 at 12:37PM on 02/23/09
For what it's worth, in CA servers DO get the full minimum wage - $7.50ish an hour, here, plus tips. If I weren't so lazy I'd go look up what other states require that servers get paid min. wage.
emisara at 8:43PM on 02/23/09
@emisara, they do in wa. too & we have the highest minimum wage in the country!
saltcrystal at 12:01AM on 02/26/09