Waiters annoy me...

[CF74]

Hot food and fresh drinks. A hot waitress usually fails at this though

 

[Faerluna]

I was a server at TGI Fridays for a few years, then Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for a few years.

One thing we were taught at RC was to never take plates off the table until everyone is done eating. This annoys me to no end, and it happens 90% of the time when we go out.

The reasoning behind this is that the last person with a plate now feels rushed to finish, which should never be the case.

Another thing that irritates me is servers that bring the check after you're finished without asking if you want anything else. Never assume that I don't want dessert, because I look at the desserts before I order, and will purposely save room if there's something I want.

Other things that were already mentioned as well are waiting on the check and slow refills.

 

[cowboyfan4life_mark]

One thing I don't think I've seen mentioned yet is when someone who gets a table after us and gets their order taken before us. That happened just last Saturday and I thought my wife was going to rip this poor waiter's eyebrows off. Lucky for him we got our food first.

You must have eaten where we did Saturday.

Long story short. We sit...we give order...we wait...people are seated next to us after...they give order...they get food...we wait...they are halfway done with their meal...I ask our waiter how much longer...his reply is "Well it was just taken just a few minutes ago"...I explain in a not so quiet tone about table next to us(see above)...we finally get food...people at next table finish, pay, and are gone. All that equals? You guessed it, no tip.

Sad thing is our normal waiter was off on this day. Now that guy gets a tip. Probably the best server that I have ever seen.

 

[FloridaRob]

My wife and I eat out a lot. I have a lot of patience for just about anything but my wife has little patience.

My son was a server at Carabbas a few years ago and he said women are most definetely more critical of service. I can believe that.

My pet peaves are waitresses that say Honey, Darling, Sweetie to me and waiters that say the same to my wife. I don't say anything but the wife just says, "My name is Mary, SWEET-TIE!!!

I think I over-tip. I usually tip 20% and sometimes 25%. Wife thinks 15% is enough and has been known to let me leave the table first while she picks up some of the tip. For the servers out there, what is typical?

And am I supposed to tip the same to a carryout server?

.

 

[Kevinicus]

My wife and I eat out a lot. I have a lot of patience for just about anything but my wife has little patience.

My son was a server at Carabbas a few years ago and he said women are most definetely more critical of service. I can believe that.

My pet peaves are waitresses that say Honey, Darling, Sweetie to me and waiters that say the same to my wife. I don't say anything but the wife just says, "My name is Mary, SWEET-TIE!!!

I think I over-tip. I usually tip 20% and sometimes 25%. Wife thinks 15% is enough and has been known to let me leave the table first while she picks up some of the tip. For the servers out there, what is typical?

And am I supposed to tip the same to a carryout server?

.

I refuse figure my tip by percentage. It's stupid to think the server deserves more money based on the cost of my food. Like s/he's doing any extra work bringing me prime rib instead of a cheeseburger. What I order should have no bearing on tips.

 

[TheKey]

My wife and I eat out a lot. I have a lot of patience for just about anything but my wife has little patience.

My son was a server at Carabbas a few years ago and he said women are most definetely more critical of service. I can believe that.

My pet peaves are waitresses that say Honey, Darling, Sweetie to me and waiters that say the same to my wife. I don't say anything but the wife just says, "My name is Mary, SWEET-TIE!!!

I think I over-tip. I usually tip 20% and sometimes 25%. Wife thinks 15% is enough and has been known to let me leave the table first while she picks up some of the tip. For the servers out there, what is typical?

And am I supposed to tip the same to a carryout server?

.

Sadly 10% is typical, 15-20 is good, and occasionally you will get 20+. Alot of people dont feel the need to tip, which is ludicrous.

 

[DallasFanSince86]

I don't know if this is a Memphis thing but it drives me crazy when the only times they ask you a question is right after taking a bite of food.

I just give them a thumbs up.

No, that happens here too. Everytime I take the first bite of my steak no matter where I eat, the waiter/waitress walks up and asks if everything is alright/good. All I do is just nod my head, and they walk away.

 

[AbeBeta]

I refuse figure my tip by percentage. It's stupid to think the server deserves more money based on the cost of my food. Like s/he's doing any extra work bringing me prime rib instead of a cheeseburger. What I order should have no bearing on tips.

You mean to say you are cheap?

 

[AbeBeta]

The only waitpeople that bug me are the ones at the places I go regularly who don't understand "the game"

Here's the game. I order say 10 pitchers of beer. You put five of those on the tab. You get $40 in your pocket + a 20% tip on everything else. We both come out ahead.

Learn to play the game or don't freaking wait on regulars.

 

[Faerluna]

The only waitpeople that bug me are the ones at the places I go regularly who don't understand "the game"

Here's the game. I order say 10 pitchers of beer. You put five of those on the tab. You get $40 in your pocket + a 20% tip on everything else. We both come out ahead.

Learn to play the game or don't freaking wait on regulars.

And by "the game," you mean stealing from the establishment at which they work in order to get a few extra bucks and potentially cost themselves their job?

I don't need anyone's $40 that badly.

 

[Vintage]

I never really have had any problems with waiters/waitresses. But I guess I am pretty patient (going by this thread, anyway).

I don't care if I have to wait for a little while to get my refill. But anything past 5 minutes is pretty extreme (unless its packed, then I can sort of understand and will let it slide).

As long as I get my food (and its hot, and correct), I am not too upset. Generally, I tip 20%. If the service is poor, I tip 15%.

My basic rule is: why do I want to **** with the people who are serving my food? I have never understood that. They have your food in their possession with you are unable to see it. Best believe I am going to suck up to them. Unless of course, I have no intentions of ever coming back to that particular restaurant.


_______

One sort of pet peeve. I know I look like I am probably in my mid 20s and can pay for a dinner.... but if I am seated next to someone older, give them the bill. Chances are, I'm with my parents....\

They can pay for my dinner

 

[AbeBeta]

And by "the game," you mean stealing from the establishment at which they work in order to get a few extra bucks and potentially cost themselves their job?

I don't need anyone's $40 that badly.

Come off it, Mr. Honesty. In the U.S. the system promotes that -- wait staff are paid crap and made to act like ****** for tips.

In every establishment that I have engaged in this exchange, it has been the case that the management or even owners are doing it to, often to keep cash out of the till (and away from the gov't). The extraordinary markup on alcohol makes this work nicely. Also, it establishes considerable customer loyalty. I know they are going to take care of me, I come back, I stay for dinner, spend a ton of cash, etc.

Tell me, do you report all of your tip income to the gov't? Most people don't. Isn't that stealing as well?

 

[Hostile]

Come off it, Mr. Honesty. In the U.S. the system promotes that -- wait staff are paid crap and made to act like ****** for tips.

In every establishment that I have engaged in this exchange, it has been the case that the management or even owners are doing it to, often to keep cash out of the till (and away from the gov't). The extraordinary markup on alcohol makes this work nicely. Also, it establishes considerable customer loyalty. I know they are going to take care of me, I come back, I stay for dinner, spend a ton of cash, etc.

Tell me, do you report all of your tip income to the gov't? Most people don't. Isn't that stealing as well?

Mrs. actually.

 

[Faerluna]

Come off it, Mr. Honesty. In the U.S. the system promotes that -- wait staff are paid crap and made to act like ****** for tips.

In every establishment that I have engaged in this exchange, it has been the case that the management or even owners are doing it to, often to keep cash out of the till (and away from the gov't). The extraordinary markup on alcohol makes this work nicely. Also, it establishes considerable customer loyalty. I know they are going to take care of me, I come back, I stay for dinner, spend a ton of cash, etc.

Tell me, do you report all of your tip income to the gov't? Most people don't. Isn't that stealing as well?

That's Mrs. Honesty to you.

When I worked at Fridays, we reported 8%, which was deemed fair to balance out the good tippers and bad tippers.

At Ruth's Chris, we had to report 99% of our tips because at fine dining establishments, most people tip on their credit cards due to the size of the bill.

I consider good service to be something I consistantly gave to earn the gratuity I received. The fact that you equate that to acting like a ***** is really revolting.

 

[AbeBeta]

That's Mrs. Honesty to you.

When I worked at Fridays, we reported 8%, which was deemed fair to balance out the good tippers and bad tippers.

At Ruth's Chris, we had to report 99% of our tips because at fine dining establishments, most people tip on their credit cards due to the size of the bill.

I consider good service to be something I consistantly gave to earn the gratuity I received. The fact that you equate that to acting like a ***** is really revolting.

My bad, ma'am

Are you really telling me that at a fine dining place, your bartender isn't throwing down freebies and doing exactly what I've suggested?

Of course, we are talking about corporate restaurants vs. independents here as well. I know someone who worked at a Fridays -- she was told that wait staff could give free soup if they wanted to bump up their tips much like i've explained -- doubt that was corporate policy but very much what I've described.

And if you were only getting 8% at Fridays, let me say that I apologize for all the lame tippers out there. That sucks.

 

[CoCo]

Good thread idea. I like to think I'm pretty easy to please as a customer.

1. I'm there for the meal and the folks I came with, not to be entertained or distracted by waiters who act like they want to have a relationship with me. Do the job, cut the extra chat. Can't stand the "super cool" waiters and all that comes with that. I know some other customers want the opposite. Read the signs and adjust quickly.
2. Don't kneel down. I am not a child.
3. As someone earlier said, don't take my plate before I'm done. Yes, asking is fine, once. Then if you ask again you need to be pretty sure I'm done. Don't make me feel like there is a shortage of dishes and another customer needs mine.
4. If you screw up, take responsibility and apologize sincerely. All will be forgiven.
5. I will tip 15-20% pretty much regardless of the service because much sub-standard service has a very good reason behind it and I'm not real interested in punishing someone for things out of their control. Hey , I'll work with you if you're sincerely trying.
6. Filling drinks. Stay off the extremes. Be available, but don't be pouring more into my glass everytime I take a sip.
7. Don't make me feel like your chasing a tip. Make me feel like you are sincere about doing your job responsibly.
8. Don't come ask how the food is before anyone has taken a bite. And don't hype me with the question, "is it yummy?" "everything delicious?" etc. How bout just a simple "do you have everything you need, is your meal as you wanted?" etc.

 

[bbgun]

Any opinions on "automatic" gratuities for parties of ten or more?

 

[peplaw06]

Any opinions on "automatic" gratuities for parties of ten or more?

Its a love hate relationship for me.

On one hand, I don't mind em, cause service has to be unusually bad for me to tip less than 15%-18% (which is usually the gratuity). If it's a good waitress, I'm sure she hates that.

On the other hand, if a waitress feels like she is guaranteed a certain percentage, she might be the type who would slack off, and in a big group, that's really annoying.

So if the waitress for a big group is good, I tip extra over gratuity.

 

[AbeBeta]

Any opinions on "automatic" gratuities for parties of ten or more?

I see that as reasonable -- that table is usually locking up the wait person for a long time -- and often times with big bills people get very focused on the raw amount of the tip and lose sight of the percentage. I've heard people say "$50 is a HUGE tip" -- when it was actually crap since the 12 people at the table had racked up a $500 bill.

However, what does annoy me is when the waitperson fails to remind us that the tip was included. I've gone home a few times and realized that we tipped on the whole bill and didn't recognize the gratuity was already added (this is especially easy if you've spent a bunch of drinks). Anyone who reminds me of this automatically gets a nice round up on that bill.

BTW -- I have a friend who says you don't tip for alcohol (at a restaurant). I think she's wrong. Opinions?

 

[WoodysGirl]

Any opinions on "automatic" gratuities for parties of ten or more?

I understand why it's done. Big parties, lots of demands, time consuming, et al. I only mind automatic gratuity because I don't like being told what I have to pay outside of the cost of dinner.
I feel I'm a fair and generous tipper and I hate being told I have to give X amount of dollars as a tip.

On a side note, I think I'm in the minority as to hating the non-stop refills. It's one reason why I no longer order tea. I like my tea a certain way and it seems like every time I get it just right, someone comes along with a refill and I have to fix it again. So now I order lemonade.

My other drink peeve is that they fill the drinks up with too much ice. Seems like I always finish it off too fast and the waiter/waitress takes too long to return.

Other than that, my annoyances of the day depend on my mood. If I'm in a good mood, I won't mind some of the things the rest of you have posted. If I'm in a not so good mood, then everything will irritate me.