Mandatory 25% tip

[Teren_Kanan]

People actually do that? That's crazy!

Yeah. it's really not too uncommon either. But hey, they are always really nice so I never mind too much. I'm well beyond the point of getting mad over poor tips anymore, it's just not worth it.

 

[rkell87]

People actually do that? That's crazy!

that and business cards for things like mary kay or am way

 

[jimmy40]

Indeed.

Most good servers can generally ascertain two things by the time the drink order is done. What type of guest they are dealing with (as far as what type of service they expect), and what type of tip they are going to leave.

I am VERY RARELY surprised by a tip I am given. It hardly ever happens and I would wager that I could guess the tip I am going to receive within a dollar or two with 80% accuracy the moment I know how much their bill is.

I generally don't even have to speak to a table to know whether or not it's going to be a good or bad tip. I can generally get a good idea by simply observing them enter the restaurant, and being sat.

The most common "Surprise Tip" I receive is from super nice people who think Bible pamphlets = tips. Everything will go awesome with these tables, they are nice, no complaints, they thank me and tell me I did a good job, only to leave 2 dollars and a "***** loves you" booklet on the table for their 50$ bill.

so if your sure your going to get a small tip does that affect your service?

 

[Vtwin]

so if your sure your going to get a small tip does that affect your service?

My first thought too.

Second thought was if has such a talent he is wasting it.


Never been a server but have spent quite a bit of time on the other side of the swinging door. My experience tells me that good servers make good money and bad servers make bad money. Simple as that.

 

[Springs1]

Just out of random curiosity. What steps do you take to come to the conclusion that your incorrect order was the servers fault, and not the cooks? or do you mean something like ordering a steak and getting catfish?

I'd stay better than 90% of the time, if your steak comes out cooked incorrectly, if you have wrong side items, or if some sort of toppings or sauces are done incorrectly, it's the kitchens fault. At least in the places that I've worked.

Steaks, I agree, if you server put in the order correctly, you'd have to cut into it to know if it's cooked properly, but wrong side items, sauces, are ALWAYS either your server's fault or another server's fault and they can NEVER be kitchen staff's fault unless it was covered up by something when delivering the food assuming the order was put in correctly of course by your original server that took your order.

You must not go out much, do you? You actually worked as a server and you don't have common sense to realize YES, you have a SET OF EYES that can *READ* your written order or the ticket and compare it to the food for OBVIOUS mistakes such as if this lady on the picture ordered fries, well DUHH, you would really take that plate to them? Seriously, you have NO COMMON SENSE to speak of.


It can NEVER be the kitchen staff's fault for a wrong side item unless it is covered up by something and they put in the order correctly. Think about it, if it's your server, unless it is covered up by something, they have a SET OF EYES TOO, DUHHH! This should be common sense.



Can you CLEARLY SEE if *YOU* were the server they have rice and beans, not a baked potato or fries for example?

WHY you people have NO COMMON SENSE? You leave one room(the kitchen), go into another (the dining room of the restaurant), you KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR HANDS TO DECIDE TO SERVE THAT ITEM TO THE TABLE OR NOT!!

Even if another server or food runner runs the food, your server can put in the order wrong OR the person that ran the food to your table actually didn't or overlooked what the ticket had if the order was put in correctly they didn't notice or compare the ticket to the food to make sure "Rice Check, Beans Check, etc." That's why we tip our server is because they take *EFFORT* into "SERVING" as correctly as they possible can notice without touching the food.

In other words, it's IMPOSSIBLE for a wrong side dish to be the kitchen staff's fault UNLESS the order was put in by your server correctly and it was 100% COMPLETELY COVERED UP by something else to where the person bringing it out would have to TOUCH the food.

Sauces are ALWAYS your server's fault, because they are the person taking your order and can always bring that stuff ahead of time no matter WHO brings out your food and even if another server brings out your food, if the order was put in correctly, it's on your server for not bringing it out ahead of time as well as the other server that brought out the food that could have easily noticed this since sauces are on the side.

Toppings, as I said above, unless it's covered up, your server or another server(only if the order was put in correctly by the original server) can notice it BEFORE it's brought to your table.



If I ordered bacon extra crispy, if the sandwich appeared just like that when you left the kitchen when you were my server that took my order, do you see that the bacon is NOT crispy? I sure can tell.

If you as a customer can notice a mistake without touching anything, so could have your server or another server if it's another server delivering your food as long as the order was put in correctly of course. If it's another server, as long as the order was put in correctly by your server, that other server sure could have noticed problems by comparing the tickets to the food for the DUH mistakes like beans aren't fries DUHH or the bacon is NOT crispy, DUHH!!

WHY when you did the job(assuming you were a server), you don't see how *YOU* could have PREVENTED the issue from getting to the customer that it was completely YOUR FAULT you brought them the wrong item or YOU forgot the ranch they asked for, NOBODY ELSE, HUH?

You go into the kitchen to get a bottle of salad dressing, you forget the croutons, how is this ANY DIFFERENT than forgetting someone's ranch when you took their order, huh? It's not. An obvious item that you don't have to touch to notice it's wrong or missing is the fault of the person bringing it out UNLESS the order was put in wrong by the original server when the food is brought out by another server.

 

[Springs1]

I've always been a great tipper (30% or so), but I agree. What exactly is great service?

I would feel what would be unanimous is that their order is correct as much as the server can possibly can control.

I also feel what is unanimous would be to have ZERO problems, even though we all know no one is perfect, WHO would want things to go wrong in all honesty? While some people may not expect perfection, who wants things to go wrong? I don't go out looking at the glass half empty, why go out then?

Great service is as far as my opinion goes is to have things go well with no problems or very little problems, to have your server be observant that if they see you need a refill to ask you rather than you have to ask them, to have a CARING person that CARES about your dining experience as a person in order for them to think you should CARE about their money at the end.

All I really want is someone that CARES and TRIES THEIR VERY BEST. If you got caring and you aren't lazy, you are definitely a good server even if some mess ups happen, because you showed you CARED. There's a HUGE difference between a "REAL" mistake and one that the server just didn't TRY at ALL. For example, they bring out your food and just bring it out not verifying I was supposed to like the picture have fries as one of my sides, but I got beans, so if the server didn't COMPARE the written order to the food, HOW can you call that a "MISTAKE?" It's not, it's being lazy and uncaring about your customers and then expecting them to care about you only make $2.13/hr at the end. I don't get some servers that expect good payment, but then show little if any caring towards you? How can you expect a good tip if you didn't provide caring, non-lazy service? Seriously!

 

[Springs1]

What is good/great service anyway? The most I've ever really received is adequate service. It's all I really expect though. Take order, bring food, refill drinks, bill (and some of this is handled by others). I don't want them hovering, don't want a conversation, don't need an explanation of half the menu. Just the basics, and to be honest, I'd rather not have them at all and be able to do most of it myself.

I only feel that I don't want personal conversation is if I don't know them. For example, would the server want to be best buds with someone that tips 10% or stiffs them for GOOD service? Well, for me, I feel if I see they were an uncaring server, why would I want to be chit chatting with them? I would hate them just as they hate the customers that give them lousy tips for good service.

So, for strangers I don't know, I don't want ANY personal conversation until I see if they are a CARING, NON-LAZY server. If I see they are caring and would want to request to have them again, that's when I would want to chit chat with them, because they are showing they care.

It's kind of like would a server want to be requested to a stiffer or 10% tipper when they always gave really good service, even the customer said they were great? I doubt that, well for me it's the same way as a customer that I wouldn't want to get served again from a uncaring, lazy server.

 

[Teren_Kanan]

Steaks, I agree, if you server put in the order correctly, you'd have to cut into it to know if it's cooked properly, but wrong side items, sauces, are ALWAYS either your server's fault or another server's fault and they can NEVER be kitchen staff's fault unless it was covered up by something when delivering the food assuming the order was put in correctly of course by your original server that took your order.

You must not go out much, do you? You actually worked as a server and you don't have common sense to realize YES, you have a SET OF EYES that can *READ* your written order or the ticket and compare it to the food for OBVIOUS mistakes such as if this lady on the picture ordered fries, well DUHH, you would really take that plate to them? Seriously, you have NO COMMON SENSE to speak of.


It can NEVER be the kitchen staff's fault for a wrong side item unless it is covered up by something and they put in the order correctly. Think about it, if it's your server, unless it is covered up by something, they have a SET OF EYES TOO, DUHHH! This should be common sense.

http://www.akronohiomoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/cindy.jpg

Can you CLEARLY SEE if *YOU* were the server they have rice and beans, not a baked potato or fries for example?

WHY you people have NO COMMON SENSE? You leave one room(the kitchen), go into another (the dining room of the restaurant), you KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR HANDS TO DECIDE TO SERVE THAT ITEM TO THE TABLE OR NOT!!

Even if another server or food runner runs the food, your server can put in the order wrong OR the person that ran the food to your table actually didn't or overlooked what the ticket had if the order was put in correctly they didn't notice or compare the ticket to the food to make sure "Rice Check, Beans Check, etc." That's why we tip our server is because they take *EFFORT* into "SERVING" as correctly as they possible can notice without touching the food.

In other words, it's IMPOSSIBLE for a wrong side dish to be the kitchen staff's fault UNLESS the order was put in by your server correctly and it was 100% COMPLETELY COVERED UP by something else to where the person bringing it out would have to TOUCH the food.

Sauces are ALWAYS your server's fault, because they are the person taking your order and can always bring that stuff ahead of time no matter WHO brings out your food and even if another server brings out your food, if the order was put in correctly, it's on your server for not bringing it out ahead of time as well as the other server that brought out the food that could have easily noticed this since sauces are on the side.

Toppings, as I said above, unless it's covered up, your server or another server(only if the order was put in correctly by the original server) can notice it BEFORE it's brought to your table.

http://www.orthogonalthought.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/dsc_6087_550.jpg

If I ordered bacon extra crispy, if the sandwich appeared just like that when you left the kitchen when you were my server that took my order, do you see that the bacon is NOT crispy? I sure can tell.

If you as a customer can notice a mistake without touching anything, so could have your server or another server if it's another server delivering your food as long as the order was put in correctly of course. If it's another server, as long as the order was put in correctly by your server, that other server sure could have noticed problems by comparing the tickets to the food for the DUH mistakes like beans aren't fries DUHH or the bacon is NOT crispy, DUHH!!

WHY when you did the job(assuming you were a server), you don't see how *YOU* could have PREVENTED the issue from getting to the customer that it was completely YOUR FAULT you brought them the wrong item or YOU forgot the ranch they asked for, NOBODY ELSE, HUH?

You go into the kitchen to get a bottle of salad dressing, you forget the croutons, how is this ANY DIFFERENT than forgetting someone's ranch when you took their order, huh? It's not. An obvious item that you don't have to touch to notice it's wrong or missing is the fault of the person bringing it out UNLESS the order was put in wrong by the original server when the food is brought out by another server.

Herp? You kind of make a lot of assumptions in your post.

Obviously if I bring the food out, I will check it and ensure it's correct before it goes to the table. If I bring you your food, and it's obviously incorrect, treat/tip me accordingly. DuuuuH?

However you are showing pictures from a Chili's. I worked at 2 of them for about 4 years. Both of the Chili's I've worked at had Food Runners. I do not take the food to the tables, nor do I bring sauces that are included with the meal. Every single sauce at the Chili's I've worked at was in the kitchen, on the cooks side. I do not get them EVER nor am I allowed on that side of the line. Sauces go out with the meal, not before.
Yeah, we don't make Salads either. Cooks do that as well.

When things go out incorrectly, it's obviously someones fault, nothing in my post indicated otherwise. But if Food Runner or another Server brings out an order incorrectly, it should not effect MY tip. It often does.

Once the food is at the table, it's my cue to go there and check if the food is correct. I can not count the amount of times I've had people treat me like I'm some screw up who can't get an order right, when everything was put into the computer with 100% accuracy.

Sorry to make you angry Mr. Cook man. When food went out incorrectly at my Chili's it was almost ALWAYS the cooks fault. But let me spread the blame since you're a bitter cook, and us darn servers always try to blame you. It's the cooks fault for making the check incorrectly, and the expediters fault for traying the food without checking for accuracy. I'd blame the food runners, but they don't check the food, they simply bring it to the table. They get a pass. Btw. The Expediter? Yeah, That's a cook who happens to not be cooking that night.

Your argument is essentially this.

"When it's YOUR Fault it's YOUR fault".

Well yes, Obviously. But it's not most of the time, it's generally the kitchens fault. You can list a hundred more examples of where it'd be the servers fault. I could too. But it doesn't really add anything to what I posted, does it? It's still the kitchens fault 90% of the time, in every restaurant I've worked.

When your drink glass is sitting there empty for 5 minutes, blame me. I won't try to blame the kitchen for that I promise.. those Bartenders though.... 8D

Maybe in Joe Smoes Diner where they do 100$ per sales in an hour and have 2 servers working who expedite and run the food themselves, everything you said would be accurate most of the times, but not at a restaurant like Chili's. At least not the 2 busiest ones in Florida.

Do servers mess up orders? DUUUUUHHH. Of course they do. I can't speak for the accuracy of every server, only myself. And speaking for myself, when food goes out wrong, it's the kitchens fault about 90% of the time. Again, this is only at the places I've worked. I've never worked at a restaurant that did not have food runners. Except Denny's. Guess how often my food goes out incorrectly there? Pretty much never as I take the food out myself.

I've been a Trainer, Shift leader, and multiple EOTM at every restaurant I have ever worked at. I've never been given anything but an amazing recommendation when leaving one place for another.

IT doesn't change the fact that my tip is often effected by things outside of my control.

So in summary, YOU *DON'T* have much experience with what YOUR saying.

Thought I'd add some random all caps and bullets for emphasis. I don't have time for underlined stuff though =(

 

[Teren_Kanan]

My first thought too.

Second thought was if has such a talent he is wasting it.


Never been a server but have spent quite a bit of time on the other side of the swinging door. My experience tells me that good servers make good money and bad servers make bad money. Simple as that.

Pretty much this.

I'm wasting said talents because I make very good money as a server. I live very comfortably, though I do plan to go back to school next year. Serving is one of those jobs that will wear you down if you stay in it for too long.

 

[Teren_Kanan]

so if your sure your going to get a small tip does that affect your service?

It doesn't because you never know when you're going to get a surprise tip. Just the other day I served a table of Ghetto trash. They were rude, did almost all of the things that annoy me to no end. The type of people I hope to see stranded on the side of the road asking me for help, so I can flip them the bird and keep driving.

However, on their 30$ check, they left me 12$ and thanked me for my service.

Tables like these are why I treat every table as best as I can.

Also, treating tables poorly = guest complaints. Guest complaints will make you lose your job. So there's always that.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

My favorite scene from a movie is from Reservoir Dogs, where they talk about tipping or not tipping.

 

[UVAwahoos]

Waitstaff makes $2.13 an hour, federal minimum is $7.25. Triple your labor cost on that end of things including bus staff, hostesses, and bartenders since they're compensated out of what the waitstaff brings in as well.

Now you've reached bare minimum wage. The staff I manage average $45 an hour without the $2.13 factored in. Even "turn and burns" like Chilis, Applebees, TGI Fridays, etc make $25 to $40 an hour on a weekend night.

What's the level of service look like now when I'm paying them even $14 an hour? I've cut their income by at more than 1/3 while increasing labor cost on my end at least by 300% at minimum wage. At a Chilis you might have 20 servers on a weekend night. Their cumulative labor hit is $43. Playing the realist and going to $14 an hour I'm at $280 that has to be made up somewhere. Oh yeah, we've still got to factor in the bartenders, bus staff, and hostesses in there as well. What's that going to do to labor costs?

You, as the customer, are going to eat every cent of the cost of them standing around doing nothing because of a late rush AND you'll get crap service when I've cut down to 3 servers running 7 or 8 tables apiece to minimize labor costs as much as possible. You're paying for Saturday morning dead time, Sunday afternoon dead time, 2:30 to 5:30 everyday when there's hardly a soul out eating, but enough to justify staying open since you're doing prep work anyway.

Corporate restaurants already subsidize their labor by using the waitstaff to do closing work to get minimum wage people off of the clock as soon as possible.

Now your $40 meal at a casual dining restaurant is realistically in the $100-$120 range since you've exponentially increased a huge percentage of labor that used to be negligible. What's that going to do to a business? Increase the sales of a restaurant or price out most of the customers?

Let's not forget the service sucks because the level of employee servicing your table went from $25-$45 labor quality to minimum wage or maybe double minimum wage quality. They've got no incentive to do anything more than an adequate job.

People complain about the lack of service in the service industry, well taking the tipping out of a meal will bring a whole new level of dissatisfaction to the public that they've never seen before.

Bon Appetit.

Why was this post ignored by the people advocating to do away with tipping?

#interesting

 

[Springs1]

However you are showing pictures from a Chili's. I worked at 2 of them for about 4 years. Both of the Chili's I've worked at had Food Runners. I do not take the food to the tables, nor do I bring sauces that are included with the meal. Every single sauce at the Chili's I've worked at was in the kitchen, on the cooks side. I do not get them EVER nor am I allowed on that side of the line. Sauces go out with the meal, not before.

Then WHY do I regularly go to Chili's and have servers AUTOMATICALLY have brought out the condiments ahead of time ALL ON THEIR OWN?

When things go out incorrectly, it's obviously someones fault, nothing in my post indicated otherwise.

But it can NEVER, EVER be the kitchen staff's fault UNLESS the food is covered up to where the person bringing it out cannot tell whether it's the correct item or not or if it's made incorrectly due to it being covered up.

But if Food Runner or another Server brings out an order incorrectly, it should not effect MY tip. It often does.

It should, here's why:

People tip based on their SERVICE not WHO in the service messed up. It's not the customer's fault you don't share your tip with your co-worker that SHOULD get paid for their service they provided by you taking part of your tip to pay them. The person is still having the problem in their service, how is that fair they pay well for ****ty service, huh? Just because another service caused it? Is that our fault as customers that you don't share your tips with the other servers? I think you should. Then, maybe, they'd compare the tickets to the food and not bring a duh mistake nearly as often as it happens. Once, I had several condiments forgotten at Applebee's from another server, do you think my server didn't put in any of them into the computer? I doubt that he put it in wrong completely, it was that this other server that wasn't getting tipped brought out my food without comparing the ticket to the food. Can't blame the expediter since they didn't bring me my food for those condiments.

At most restaurants, it's not food runners, it's other server's running each other's food not getting paid AT ALL for their service. Some restaurants do have food runners, but are paid by SALES a tip out, NOT based on performance. If you wanted to you could share your tip with the person that brings out the food, it's your choice, this way, they would have A REAL REASON to COMPARE THE TICKET TO THE FOOD to work as a team. For you to not pay them, they aren't going to put any effort into making sure the customer has what they ordered since they aren't getting ANYTHING from it.

​

I can not count the amount of times I've had people treat me like I'm some screw up who can't get an order right, when everything was put into the computer with 100% accuracy.

Condiments that are served on the side though can be easily brought out by YOU, the server that is the person EARNING their tip. So for that, that's YOUR FAULT 100% REGARDLESS of WHO runs the food to the table. YOU ARE 100% responsible for things like sides of ranch, mayo, mustard, bbq sauce, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, even extra pickles or onions that are asked on the side can be brought out ahead of time.

Sorry to make you angry Mr. Cook man.

I am a WOMAN, NOT a cook.

When food went out incorrectly at my Chili's it was almost ALWAYS the cooks fault.

HOW? Answer this question HONESTLY:

DOES THE COOK LEAVE THE KITCHEN AND SET THE FOOD ON MY TABLE AS FAR AS ANYTHING OBVIOUS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO *TOUCH* THE FOOD TO NOTICE SOMETHING IS WRONG, HUH?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2116/2139108277_9c25d40526_z.jpg

You can easily notice cheese is on the mashed potatoes, correct?

You can easily notice if bbq sauce is on the ribs, right?

You can easily notice if that's mashed potatoes or a baked potato, right?



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3433/3257155428_bef5dd96d5.jpg

You can easily notice if I asked for no jalapenos, there's some on the nachos, right without having to TOUCH the food, right?

You can easily notice there's guacamole and sour cream as well as pico de gallo without TOUCHING ANYTHING, right?

Then HOW can you blame the cook or expeditor if they aren't the person that actually LEFT the kitchen with these DUH mistakes, huh? It's IMPOSSIBLE for these type of errors to be the kitchen staff's fault as to WHY you or another server actually BRINGS us the problem.

If you brought me the nachos with it like that and I specifically told you "No jalapenos", then that would be a MILLION, TRILLION PERCENT ON *YOU* and YOU ALONE for being NON-OBSERVANT OR TOO LAZY OR YOU MADE A MISTAKE OR WHATEVER, but it's NEVER the kitchen staff's fault for something OBVIOUS TO THE EYES LIKE THIS.

But let me spread the blame since you're a bitter cook, and us darn servers always try to blame you.

I am not a cook, I have common sense, you don't obviously and want to blame the kitchen staff for *YOU* or *ANOTHER SERVER* bringing out OBVIOUS errors like these that you don't have to TOUCH the food to notice the problems.

For example, if I were your server and you said you didn't want jalapenos, my job would be to compare my written order to the plate of food and I notice the jalapenos, so I tell the kitchen staff to make it all over since I am not chancing if someone is allergic to the jalapenos for them to take them off or even for them to have some pepper taste on their food that they asked not to get. I would be CARING and RESPONSIBLE to NOT ***SERVE****** that to a customer. WHY would you serve that only for me to send you back? That's silly and a waste of time for all.

It's the cooks fault for making the check incorrectly, and the expediters fault for traying the food without checking for accuracy. I'd blame the food runners, but they don't check the food, they simply bring it to the table. They get a pass. Btw. The Expediter? Yeah, That's a cook who happens to not be cooking that night.

But it's not most of the time, it's generally the kitchens fault.

HOW? You are saying servers are BLIND AND ILLITERATE RIGHT that they can't tell the differences between fries and mashed potatoes or that the mashed potatoes have gravy vs. mashed potatoes without gravy or that bacon that is NOT covered up by anything is crispy or soggy or that fries have black pepper on them that were ordered with no seasoning or that the bbq sauce is on the ribs when the customer said NO bbq sauce on the ribs, etc.?

You can list a hundred more examples of where it'd be the servers fault. I could too. But it doesn't really add anything to what I posted, does it? It's still the kitchens fault 90% of the time, in every restaurant I've worked.

HOW? If let's say you bring me the nachos with sour cream but I told you no sour cream, HOW THE HELL can you blame someone else for *YOU* BRINGING ME SOUR CREAM TO MY TABLE? It's IMPOSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO BE AT FAULT WHEN ********YOU*********** BROUGHT IT TO MY TABLE WITH this is something that you don't have to touch to notice it's wrong. This isn't a steak that you have to CUT INTO, this is SOUR CREAM RIGHT ON TOP. So you are saying you are BLIND and that you can't reread your written order?

When your drink glass is sitting there empty for 5 minutes, blame me. I won't try to blame the kitchen for that I promise.. those Bartenders though.... 8D

As far as bartenders go, lots of times it's the server not putting the order into the computer as quickly as they possibly can in a fair manner of course such as I wouldn't expect you to put my order into the computer if you had food to bring to someone, but if you have time to buss a table, I sure as hell expect my order into the computer BEFORE worrying about clean up.

Also, my husband and I have had wrongly put in drinks into the computer and wrongly brought out OBVIOUS DUH drinks brought out such as once I ordered a white russian, the waitress brought out a frozen mudslide. Another time, I ordered a white russian at a different restaurant, the waitress brought out a BLACK russian in a CLEAR glass that I can tell DUH NO MILK, hence the name "WHITE" russian.

Maybe in Joe Smoes Diner where they do 100$ per sales in an hour and have 2 servers working who expedite and run the food themselves, everything you said would be accurate most of the times, but not at a restaurant like Chili's.

Unless the expediter runs the food to my table, if they plate the food wrong, it's on the person that ran the food unless it's another server when the order was put in wrong by the original server that took the order.

For example, let's say you put in my order completely correctly, but I get fries instead of a baked potato, that's not on the expediter since another server or food runner brought out my food, that's on the OTHER SERVER OR FOOD RUNNER that has a SET OF EYES THAT CAN *READ A TICKET AND COMPARE EACH ITEM TO THE TICKET TO NOTICE "Yeah, fries the ticket says, so I won't bring this to the customer like this since it's not correct and they would get it fixed." Now in this situation since you put in the order correctly, the wait time would be the expediter's fault, but if this food runner or other server brought out the wrong side dish anyways, that's the other server or food runner's fault for leaving the kitchen with the wrong side item. They just wasted my time bringing me fries when I ordered a baked potato. THAT time that they wasted BRINGING me the wrong item is SOLELY on that person that ran the food considering YOU put in the order correctly.

Ask yourself, WHY did I RECEIVE the problem? In this scenario above, it's because of the person that ran the food. The expediter didn't hand me a DUH mistake like DUHHHH FRIES AREN'T BAKED POTATOES, DUHHHHHHH!! WHY am I explaning DUH things like this to you? WHY are you trying to blame someone else when THEY NEVER ONCE, NEVER ONCE LEFT THE KITCHEN TO GIVE ME THE WRONG SIDE DISH, HUH? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE KITCHEN STAFF TO BE AT FAULT FOR A WRONG SIDE DISH UNLESS A PERSON IN THE KITCHEN STAFF ACTUALLY BRINGS ME THE FOOD AND THE ORDER HAS TO BE PUT IN CORRECTLY IN ORDER FOR THE PERSON IN THE KITCHEN STAFF TO BE AT FAULT.

At least not the 2 busiest ones in Florida.

Busy or not, this isn't fast food. You earn your money. WHY do we have servers then if they don't care, WHY are we tipping then? We might as well go and get up to get our food, then leave any servers out of the picture then. There's no point to the server if they don't care about WHAT is in their hands as far as things that are OBVIOUS TO THE EYES.

And speaking for myself, when food goes out wrong, it's the kitchens fault about 90% of the time. Again, this is only at the places I've worked. I've never worked at a restaurant that did not have food runners. Except Denny's. Guess how often my food goes out incorrectly there? Pretty much never as I take the food out myself.

90% of the time the food is wrong due to your server or another server.

1. Condiments or extra pickles or onions, etc. things of that nature can ALWAYS be brought out ahead of time. I just even recently had a waitress that VOLUNTARILY with me not knowing her decide to bring them out said "So I won't forget" ahead of time.

2. Anything that you can tell without touching the food can be caught by YOU to not actually *SERVE* it to the customer. Think, if I order beans and rice, but you bring me fries and onion rings, well DUH are you BLIND, ILLITERATE, AND/OR STUPID? I mean, think about it. YOU and YOU ALONE brought me those items. HOW can you blame the kitchen staff for that? YOU LEFT ONE ROOM, went into another with the wrong items. That's just like if you took a blue shirt from your bed room to the kitchen but wanted to leave with a red shirt. HOW is that ANY DIFFERENT? It's not. If you didn't take my order, if the order was put in correctly, that's on you and if it's condiments, it's honestly on BOTH of you, the original server that could have easily prevented that issue AND YOU could have too by comparing the ticket to the food if you didn't do so. If you did and just missed it, yes, it's a mistake, but it's still on YOU as well as the original server. It's not on the expediter, because they didn't leave the kitchen without my ranch, mayo, and mustard, YOU DID THOUGH.

I've been a Trainer, Shift leader, and multiple EOTM at every restaurant I have ever worked at. I've never been given anything but an amazing recommendation when leaving one place for another.

So WHAT? You are LYING to the public. It's just like when your mail man or lady puts the wrong mail in your mail box, it's THEIR FAULT, NOT a machine that sorted the mail or a person that sorted it at the post office, it's the person that *LAST* saw the issue, which since this isn't a steak that you have to TOUCH to notice the problem, it's a side dish that isn't covered up by anything or any type of mistake you don't have to touch to notice the problem, it's IMPOSSIBLE to blame ANY kitchen staff member since they NEVER ONCE was the last person to see my plate that could have NOTICED it was wrong.

IT doesn't change the fact that my tip is often effected by things outside of my control.

You control condiments. You control bringing me mashed potatoes with gravy when I ordered it without gravy or beans instead of fries if you are my server. You are saying things that you can control that you can't, but honestly you CAN control these issue from GETTING BROUGHT TO MY TABLE IF YOU ARE MY SERVER THAT TOOK MY ORDER OR IF YOU ARE ANOTHER SERVER OR FOOD RUNNER THAT THE ORDER WAS PUT IN CORRECTLY.

So in summary, YOU *DON'T* have much experience with what YOUR saying.

As a customer with getting DUH mistakes, I sure as hell do.

WHY can't you admit the truth, huh? In the picture with the ribs, if I ordered a burger, you can notice if you want to decide to bring that plate of food to me or not. It's totally up to you for these DUH mistakes.

WHY do you act like you cannot control most things when you CAN? WHY blame the person that plates the food for things you can notice without TOUCHING ANYTHING?

For example, at Denny's I saw on THE TRAY I had onion rings when I ordered seasoned fries. ON THE TRAY that OUR WAITRESS had it wrong, well DUHH if I can notice without touching my food, so could have our waitress. That's the waitresses fault even if she put in the order correctly she was TOO LAZY more than likely to actually compare the WRITTEN ORDER to the food and make sure I had seasoned fries not onion rings. SHE BROUGHT THE PROBLEM TO MY TABLE since this was a DUH mistake. This was HER FAULT she brought out the completely wrong side item.

WHY can't you understand that SHE delayed my side dish that I ordered from getting to me by wasting my time bringing me the wrong item that was obvious to the eyes, huh?

I think it's bad when I saw the problem when she had the tray on the tray jack, YOU DON'T? I think that is PATHETIC.

Also, we had once too where my husband got handed fries shrimp w/fries when he ordered crawfish au gratin w/baked potato, well OUR WAITER had on the tray on the tray jack our entrees as well as another table's entrees, well I saw he didn't compare which table had WHICH food. So you see, you can't blame the expediter, because he admitted even didn't grab the correct plate from the kitchen even, so not only did he seem to not check over the food in the kitchen, but in front of us, I SAW WITH MY EYES, he didn't compare his written orders to which table had which plates of food. HOW THE HELL can you blame the expediter?

Even in the Denny's situation, even if she put in the order correctly onion rings aren't fries. If you don't know the difference in objects, you need to go back to kindergarten, seriously. This is NOT the fault of the kitchen staff since they NEVER ONCE BROUGHT ME the OBVIOUS PROBLEM that I saw BEFORE she put it in front of me even.

WHY can't you see you are LYING to the public and that you don't know WHAT you are talking about, huh?

 

[Springs1]

It's the cooks fault for making the check incorrectly, and the expediters fault for traying the food without checking for accuracy. I'd blame the food runners, but they don't check the food, they simply bring it to the table. They get a pass. Btw. The Expediter? Yeah, That's a cook who happens to not be cooking that night.

I accidentally didn't put this part in quotes in my original post, sorry.

How are they making the "CHECK" incorrectly when the server puts in the order?

Expediter's fault for traying the food incorrectly has NOTHING to do with the customer getting the item at their table incorrectly. You or another server have the power to make me have the obvious errors not get to my table.

The food runners or other servers are supposed to read the ticket. That's their job to compare the tickets to the food. They are supposed to *CARE* about WHAT is in their hands. Think about it, so if I tell this server "I ordered ranch and mayo", that person is supposed to either not go get it or not even tell my server? Seriously, what's the point of this food runner if they don't give a care about WHAT they are bringing to your table?

They shouldn't get a pass. They are why the DUH mistake gets to my table when you do put in the order correctly and if it's condiments, it's the both of you that could have done those.

When you ran another table's food that wasn't yours, you were supposed to compare the ticket to the food for any obvious errors. That's your job, but see, if you weren't getting a tip for it, that's why you probably would say "no way" that you wouldn't work for nothing. Well, that's why I am saying you should tip your food runners or other servers for helping you out.

The expediter traying the food incorrectly has nothing to do with the customer actually receiving the wrong side dish for example since the expediter isn't leaving the kitchen. WHY are you trying to blame someone that isn't the LAST PERSON that sees an obvious problem as to WHY we get the issue?

For example, if I saw the onion rings like that Denny's waitress, I would have CORRECTED the kitchen staff if I would have caught that error(most likely I would have since I would have compared my written orders to the food). Therefore, when I brought out my customer's food, the customer received seasoned fries as ordered and the problem didn't get to the customer, so you see WHO caused the problem, OUR WAITRESS. She decided to bring me onion rings. Onion rings aren't fries, DUHHH!! You cannot blame someone else for YOU leaving with such an OBVIOUS error like that when you are my server or even another server when the order was put in correctly meaning that it would be on that other server if another server brought out the wrong item.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

Springs1, you really have little clue to what you're talking about. The more I read your last post, the more it showed. You calling Teren a liar repeatedly is wholly out of line since you've don't even know enough of what happens behind the scenes to know that you don't know jack **** of what happens behind the scenes. An apology is in order from you.

A food runner may or may not actually bring the food to the table. They may be stationary 'expos' who simply tray the food off the line according to the ticket, pick up the closest server, and send them to the correct table with the incorrect food on the tray. The table's server has no way, none whatsoever, to correct a mistake that 4 other people contributed to until it's at the table because they haven't seen it until they're doing the post-delivery quality check. You scream that Teren is lying about it. You're wrong, he's right.

Grill side, saute, fry line, expo, and/or food runner all contribute to the food on that tray that the original server has no contact with until at the table. Again, you're wrong, he's right. Expo's and Food Runners are usually one rung below the BOH manager in that they can't be overridden by the waitstaff who, unless it's the orginal server, again don't know that there's an error. What they say goes and the only person that knows better can't fix the problem until the problem has been discovered at the table.

A lot of times you're given the second copy ticket that only has the general items, not the individual modifications to the entree. You don't see side items only a steak with temperature on a ticket. That's it. You auction it off with the side items to the table which can appear that you know the side items on the ticket. Not the case at all. Again, they CANNOT override the expo and say it's wrong because only the original server will know it's wrong.

I'm really lmao @ you complaining about Denny's service. I really am. You eat at a 24 hour a day joint like that, you should expect what you ran into.

People actually do that? That's crazy!

All the damn time. "Achafalayas" and "Desperadas" as well. I have a standing policy with my staff that if they receive them and I can do anything about it, I'll make a note to the customer leaving to give it back with a polite "Thank you, but this is offensive to some of our members on staff as we have employees from many faiths and denominations." I haven't had a problem with any of them giving any push back on it.

 

[Cythim]

It seems to me the poor service is obviously the fault of the restaurants themselves. Servers do not have time to provide quality service and often times are not present when food is being served. Eating out is not the experience it used to be so I don't do it very often anymore. I also do not expect a gourmet experience at a chain restaurant.

 

[AbeBeta]

Wow. You ate out in another country and got acceptable service. Now tell me, what part of the bill was the tip? Yes, a lot of places include the cost of the tip in the actual price on the menu. It's not necessarily a different business model in any regard, just a different approach to how the tip is generated.

Besides, Americans abroad are known as generous tippers because we have a habit of carrying over our customary tips when we travel. You'll get damn good service because the servers, if they see enough Americans, expect that their compensation is going to be beyond what they normally get.

How do I know this? My staff over the last few years has included people from Italy, Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico, Canada, Israel, Moldova (briefly), Peru, Argentina, and Iran without thinking too much into it. We also service a level of clientele that travels all over the world. Part of my job is to chat with all of our regulars and here their stories from abroad.

Let's pick Italy. Tips in some cities in say Italy are fully included in the bill. Some more touristy spots include a portion and expect another portion to be paid by the patron voluntarily. It depends, to a degree, what part of the country you're in.

Now what part of that was adorable again, in the face of your gross ignorance of what you were paying for when you paid the cost of the food bill?

How entirely off-base you are. I've eaten alone, with locals, and with travelers from countries know for less generosity. And very very rarely in a touristy spot. Pretty much the same thing each time without the saccharine *** kissing. In pretty much every location I'm talking about tipping, aside from simply rounding up and not getting a few coins back (i.e., at most a couple of bucks), is not expected.

It is a different model and the sort of one you'd be talking about for a bill that either included tip or just had that rolled in. You don't and won't get that, will you? This model involves people with decent paying jobs that are stable. Workers who are actually invested in the restaurant. People who care. The model you push is one in which people care b/c their tips rely on it.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

How entirely off-base you are. I've eaten alone, with locals, and with travelers from countries know for less generosity. And very very rarely in a touristy spot. Pretty much the same thing each time without the saccharine *** kissing. In pretty much every location I'm talking about tipping, aside from simply rounding up and not getting a few coins back (i.e., at most a couple of bucks), is not expected.

It is a different model and the sort of one you'd be talking about for a bill that either included tip or just had that rolled in. You don't and won't get that, will you? This model involves people with decent paying jobs that are stable. Workers who are actually invested in the restaurant. People who care. The model you push is one in which people care b/c their tips rely on it.

You can't seem to wrap it around your head that tips can be included in the cost of the entree and therefore you're still subsidizing the labor cost and you've got no idea that the tip was already included.

It's not uncommon, even in the United States. It's still the same model, just an involuntary tip. The decent paying job is still dependent on tips coming from the entree you purchased with an unseen surcharge. It doesn't even need to be in the food's bill, it can come in at an upsale item or for a specific special for the meal. The fact of the matter is you're trying to sell me a bill of goods of altruistic invested employees when you don't know how the economic model is constructed in the first place, nor can you know.

 

[AbeBeta]

You can't seem to wrap it around your head that tips can be included in the cost of the entree and therefore you're still subsidizing the labor cost and you've got no idea that the tip was already included.

It's not uncommon, even in the United States. It's still the same model, just an involuntary tip. The decent paying job is still dependent on tips coming from the entree you purchased with an unseen surcharge. It doesn't even need to be in the food's bill, it can come in at an upsale item or for a specific special for the meal. The fact of the matter is you're trying to sell me a bill of goods of altruistic invested employees when you don't know how the economic model is constructed in the first place, nor can you know.

And you can't seem to get it around your head that a model that allows you to pay a living wage ends up solving many of the problems you have with staffing, turnover, and inconsistency that increase your costs -- costs, which are similarly subsidized in the price of the meal. But hey, you keep pounding your chest over the great insights your middle management position provide.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

It seems to me the poor service is obviously the fault of the restaurants themselves. Servers do not have time to provide quality service and often times are not present when food is being served. Eating out is not the experience it used to be so I don't do it very often anymore. I also do not expect a gourmet experience at a chain restaurant.

Some restaurants do, by the design of their systems, seem to promote the chance for mistakes. I worked at a regional restaurant here in San Antonio where we had food runners that spoke only broken English. The expos trayed up the food, but some of them didn't speak any Spanish. Maybe half of the servers knew enough Spanish to communicate with the food runners if we had time to intercept them as they dropped off the food at the table.

It was pretty much a broken system from the get go, but they did such a high volume and enough advertising that a huge mistake that cost us a customer was CODB. No harm, no foul when you're on an hour wait Thursday through Saturday night.