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Served: Front of the House vs. Back of the House
Hi Hannah, I just started reading your blog today from the very beginning to this entry so far, and am really enjoying it! (I'm a foodie and writer.)
I don't know if you address(ed) this at some point, but can you let us know which restaurant you work at? The food sounds so delicious, I find myself salivating even though I just had dinner! Also, the atmosphere seems very nice. I've never thought to befriend people in the service industry because I always figure they are busy, and I'm shy about getting to know new people.
Anyway, keep up the good work!
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
Your article reminded me of the time I went to a restaurant a few years ago when I left $0.00 tip on a $200+ bill. I am usually a good tipper (at least 15%, more if service was extraordinarily good). But the combination of my alcohol-induced haze, my general deer-in-headlights feeling when it comes to money, and my friend trying to explain something to me about the tip...made me think that gratuity was already included, or that my friends had already taken care of it.
I didn't realize my mistake until weeks later. I didn't take care of it then and then, when I read your column last week, it hit me like a smack in the face. I am guilt-ridden about the fact that our poor waitress got squat when she didn't do anything wrong. I am attempting to track her down now, and though I don't know how feasible it would be, in retrospect, I would have LOVED if she confronted me about the tip.
Served: Front of the House vs. Back of the House
Hi Hannah, I just started reading your blog today from the very beginning to this entry so far, and am really enjoying it! (I'm a foodie and writer.)
I don't know if you address(ed) this at some point, but can you let us know which restaurant you work at? The food sounds so delicious, I find myself salivating even though I just had dinner! Also, the atmosphere seems very nice. I've never thought to befriend people in the service industry because I always figure they are busy, and I'm shy about getting to know new people.
Anyway, keep up the good work!
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
So I didn't see the last post, and I haven't read all the comments, but it's a topic that depends on the situation, imo. If it was a large group of people, I would ask again, because that does eat up a lot of one waitress's time. I dined at a nice little place with a friend a few months back, and it was my second time there (pretty sure the waiters recognized me). I had tipped well the first time, as it was a great experience, and the second time, my friend and I completely miscalculated the tip. My waiter came back around and asked us if everything was ok. It was a bit awkward, but I'm glad he did ask, because he deserved more than the $3 we had somehow managed to leave.
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
I think the whole idea of tipping is ridiculous: do you tip the toll collector for taking your money? Do you tip the gas man for reading your meter? Do you tip your IT guy for fixing your computer? Of course not. Now, obviously, they don't live on tips. GUESS WHAT: NEITHER SHOULD WAITERS! How insane is it that a customer has to pay basically twice: for the food and for the service? Can you imagine if we had to tip UPS person for delivering the package to your house? Here's another tidbit: are the dishes heavier at T.G.I. Fridays than they are in a fancy steakhouse with $100+ dishes? Where do you come off with a sense of entitlement to a $20 tip just because the food was $100, whereas at Fridays a $20 plate would only get a $4 tip? If restaurant you work at charges that much for food, let them pay you! Enough is enough!
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
Tip is left for service which means full-service, as opposed to self-service, right? Even if the server is not what you want or expect, if he/she walked back and forth so you can just sit at your table, shouldn't the server get the minimum 15% unless there are mistakes on the server's part (not the kitchen's)? We expect so much from servers at restaurants, yet accept lousy service everywhere else.
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
I just wanted to offer some appreciation for this post. I have had a similar experience, where, after paying, my tip would have been $1 on a $60+ order. I returned the dollar "change" to the table even though they said "no change," and they were shocked and shelled out more money. It happens, and I see no reason why someone shouldn't approach their table if they believe that a mistake has happened.
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
WOW, I feel seriously misinformed. Although, I always tip good, even when I shouldn't, this is what I thought happened in most restaurants. I thought everyone got minimum wage. I thought all the tips were collected and split between all the staff ie; dishwasher, cook etc. I never thought this was good because, a good server deserves more than a bad server, and this spliting up the tips, to me, didn't seem condusive to make a better server out of some of them. Where did I get this idea? Also, do you as a server have to claim tips, and pay taxes on them? This doesn't seem fair to me either, if it's true. I would love some real answers to these myths.
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
I'm glad there's no rules about gratuity, I've had some great service, then i've had some nightmare services. I love it when the server knows his food, wine, and even gives us some of his personal recommendations from the menu.
Then there's the flip side, clueless servers, and you can tell they are dying to go home. I have been waited on with the server talking on his CELL PHONE! Yeah, I'm going to tip you for talking to your friend during service. NO WAY! We have witnessed arguing about who's tables are getting people between staff (yes in front of customers), whine about how tired they are, has a short-term memory, and look miserable to be at work in general. No, uh uh, no reward for that. If I behaved like that at my job, I'd be fired! It's not a pleasant experience so why should I even bother tipping.
Honey attracts more bees, even if you gotta fake it. For an awesome service all around, I don't mind overtipping, I have given 25-30%. But for a mediocre service, why bother.
The best service is the waitstaff that take their job seriously, and know their stuff! Because how you feel about your job always reflects your performance.
Served: Why Tipping Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
I find this whole debate rather interesting. I do not think that the tip should be added in to the bill. Traditionally a tip is something extra that is given for good service. Unfortunately too often, it is expected, there is a sense of entitlement to the tip. As a former server, I was initially trained on how to serve properly. It always amazes me when a server never returns to see who the meal was? There are some servers who will only return larger bills instead of breaking down the change. Give and you shall receive. If your performance is outstanding you will be rewarded as such. However I firmly believe that tipping for bad service is akin to rewarding for bad behavior.
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Your article reminded me of the time I went to a restaurant a few years ago when I left $0.00 tip on a $200+ bill. I am usually a good tipper (at least 15%, more if service was extraordinarily good). But the combination of my alcohol-induced haze, my general deer-in-headlights feeling when it comes to money, and my friend trying to explain something to me about the tip...made me think that gratuity was already included, or that my friends had already taken care of it.
I didn't realize my mistake until weeks later. I didn't take care of it then and then, when I read your column last week, it hit me like a smack in the face. I am guilt-ridden about the fact that our poor waitress got squat when she didn't do anything wrong. I am attempting to track her down now, and though I don't know how feasible it would be, in retrospect, I would have LOVED if she confronted me about the tip.