Waiters and Waitresses Deserve Good Holiday Tips

[Howardlittleton64]

I really appreciate waiters and waitresses and how hard they work. If you take your family out to eat this holiday season remember to tip well and let them know you do appreciate their often thankless service for a tough job.

I always tip but I won't tip well if the service is crappy. You deserve what you earn.

 

[respectdatstar]

So, only tip well during the holiday season? They only deserve it during this time of year?

 

[pjtoadie]

So, only tip well during the holiday season? They only deserve it during this time of year?

This ^

I almost always tip 20% because I used to be a server and I understand. I even tip 20% in June and not just in December

 

[Shunpike]

I always tip 20% minimum. If the server goes above and beyond I go up accordingly. If I get a bad service, i still tip 20%. Maybe I am too considerate I don't know. I also stack the plates when I am done. I always order on a timely manner and I always look at the waiter while ordering. So looks like I am a good customer

 

[YosemiteSam]

I always tip 20% minimum. If the server goes above and beyond I go up accordingly. If I get a bad service, i still tip 20%. Maybe I am too considerate I don't know. I also stack the plates when I am done. I always order on a timely manner and I always look at the waiter while ordering. So looks like I am a good customer

20% isn't my minimum, it's my standard tip level. I will definitely tip less if I get terrible service and more if I get great service.

 

[rkell87]

I think that anyone that considers themselves a server on a more professional level (as in they have worked for years in the profession, not just for a few months in college to get by, etc) would say that there is a certain level of service that you provide to all customers simply because this is how you do your job as a server.

We have that standard for ourselves not only because we know that when we give our very best we are likely to make more money, but out of capability to do the job well.

I've always felt that being a good server is not something everyone can do and some people simply have the knack for it.

(I'm no longer a server, but I was a server and bartender for many years.)

my response to him was more about the fact that no server would complain about getting a bad tip if they give poor service. Yes some ave a knack for it and some have no clue but they don't last long usually.

I always tip 20% minimum. If the server goes above and beyond I go up accordingly. If I get a bad service, i still tip 20%. Maybe I am too considerate I don't know. I also stack the plates when I am done. I always order on a timely manner and I always look at the waiter while ordering. So looks like I am a good customer

you are the ideal customer lol and honestly if I gave sub par service and you still gave 20% I would remember you and if you sat in my section again I would hook you up big time and even if you didn't sit in my section I would tell your server to take care of you cause you're cool as ****. But you are rare and it is not what we expect, for the most part we expect to get tipped based on the service we provide. If it is really busy and the kitchen screws your order up twice I know i'm most likely not getting a nice tip, at that point i'm doing damage control so you cover tip out.

20% isn't my minimum, it's my standard tip level. I will definitely tip less if I get terrible service and more if I get great service.

and this is what we expect except standard is 15% for most so that's what we expect for perfect service. And by perfect I mean greeting you in a reasonable amount of time, getting your drink order/bring them in a reasonable amount of time, answering any questions promptly and accurately, your food coming out right and in a reasonable amount of time, and if it isn't right rectifying the situation quickly, filling your drinks in a reasonable amount of time, clearing plates as your meal progresses, and bringing/picking up the check in a reasonable amount of time all while being at least somewhat personable/enthusiastic/friendly.

wait times suck and a lot of hostesses suck and are pissed off that they aren't serving and making good money but your server can't help that and it affects how much you/a lot of people tip as well as a slow kitchen. The kitchen we expect to affect our tip but we at least have a little bit of say in that. If you have a server that is a **** to the kitchen and it is busy that kitchen person will drag their food on purpose. Sucks for you, you may like your server but they are being fake to you and this is the kitchens way of making their tip reflect what they deserve. Really good servers usually have really good relationships with kitchen people because they know that nothing affects their money more than quality of food served and time from ring in to time it is in front of you.

 

[Dodger]

They deserve good tips IF they do a good job.

Problem is...at least where I live...the good job part is becoming less and less common. I go out for lunch about once a week with a buddy of mine from work, and my god...the level of service I see in this city is unbelievable...as in unbelievably pathetic. And I'm not a demanding guy. I don't expect the server's constant attention and no mistakes, but for ****'s sake. Every week, and I do mean every stinkin week, there's always something that pisses me off.

I didn't order that. Wrong size of soup....even though I made it a POINT to SPECIFY. No silver...have to wait on that for 8 minutes. No napkins. Incorrect total on tab. Or, and this is the killer...waiting 20 minutes to pay. YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE TO WAIT TO PAY.

Every week. I used to complain to management, and sure, they knock off some of the tab, but nothing changes. Next week it's the same story.

So, here's my message to any server out there: treat ME with some respect, and yeah, I tip well. Disappear for forever when I have to get back to work, and I leave nothing.

 

[RastaRocket]

Hole E crap....

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/59933-I-think-I-ran-into-Springs1

http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?p=47715253#post47715253

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/165600-Springs1

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=509580&page=12

http://forum.baby-gaga.com/about1935324.html

http://www.undercoverwaitress.com/2011/11/springs1-ranch-dressing.html#axzz2EtHPcQmU

 

[RastaRocket]

If you make 20$ and hour at your job, pretty sure if your manager came up to you and said "even though you worked adequately this week, the company is a little short on cash so we are going going to pay to 10$ an hour for the week" you'd be upset.

View tips however you want, but this is exactly what is happening when people don't tip well because they "can't afford to". There are other establishments to eat at that do not require a tip. If you can't afford to tip decently (for servers who deserve said tip) then maybe you should wait another day or two, or however long it takes for you to save up 3$ more dollars to add to that spare 2$ you have in your pocket before going out.

Call it entitlement or whatever you want, but tips are 95% of a servers income. We do not make pay checks. You're no more entitled to good service than we are to good tips, it should be a mutual relationship. If tipping standards weren't the way they were, you'd be paying that extra 3$ in food costs anyhow. Food is able to be put at a much cheaper price because restaurants don't have to pay their wait staff a fair wage.

No server should be entitled to their tip, they should feel they need to earn it. Perfectly true. I'm not defending bad service here, nor am I against tipping less for poor service. That's not the discussion.

If you go to a Chili's and get a 50$ check, and you tip 2$. I make 0$ off of you. Yes, you're a bad person if you are doing this. The entirety of that 2$ you gave me is going to the restaurant as 4% of sales is a pretty standard tip out. If you give me 0$ on a 50$ check I'm LOSING 2$ out of my pocket because I still have to tip out based on my sales.

I don't like the servers who feel they are entitled to get good tips, and it's hard to make arguments about tipping as a server without coming off like one. So that's not my goal here. A server should meet all of a guests needs with a smile regardless of the situation, regardless of tip. However, a patron should tip properly when servers do so.

What if I tip like $3 on my own $12 check if I go out to eat with my friends?

Typically I pay for myself but have others at my table. My minimum tip is $3 because sometimes 15-20% when paying for yourself is about $2.

Do waiters make more money or less money off of a split bill?

 

[rkell87]

What if I tip like $3 on my own $12 check if I go out to eat with my friends?

Typically I pay for myself but have others at my table. My minimum tip is $3 because sometimes 15-20% when paying for yourself is about $2.

Do waiters make more money or less money off of a split bill?

we would be excited for 3 on 12, that is 25%. A split bill is as much of a crap shoot as any table, some tip well, some not so well. When we go out with friends we usually sneak a peek at what our friends tip, or find a reason to go back to the table when we are leaving and look and if they didn't tip adequately we make up the difference up to 15% on their bill on top of what we would normally tip but it usually isn't a problem

 

[CATCH17]

Don't eat yellow snow.

 

[Diogenes]

Don't eat yellow snow.

Frank Zappa

 

[YosemiteSam]

Frank Zappa

My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama.

 

[Diogenes]

My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama.

:laugh2:

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

My question is WHY. If I save enough money ,drink water and eat sensible and give the server 100% of what I have left why don't I deserve to take my hard working spouse out to eat what I can afford. There is no law that says I have to tip anything, but I am giving him(her) what I can. And that nice meal may be the highlight of the woman,s year. May be the last meal they have together --you don't know. The tip is given- not demanded. And the amount is dependent on the giver. And for the record my wife has waited tables, I do tip above the "accepted amount" and I do it cause I choose to, dependent on the service I get not cause it is a right of the waiter.

Just common decency. If you have 2-3 bucks, chances are you can come up with another 2-3 bucks. Being generous can make someone's night, especially someone who probably doesn't make that much in the first place. It's about not being self-centered and actually coming up with enough money to make a difference.

And saying because your wife waited tables is like saying I'm not prejudice; I have ______ friends. You know what I mean? Chances are if I have to explain why you should tip at least marginally well, you won't get it anyway.

 

[Phrozen Phil]

Folks, if you want to pad your post count, just start a thread on waiters/waitresses or tipping. These threads just will not die. As one who is sympathetic to the Restaurant professionals, I usually stick to the 20% rule. I go out with a budget in mind and I will not return if service is lousy. Empty seats in any eating establishment speaks volumes.