Waitress left 2 pennies and note by customer

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/two-cent-tip-left-for-waitress-just-my-2-cents-note_n_1468238.html

[monmouth]

1. From a 1%er I'm sure..Disgusting...n/t

[fuddyduddy]

2. Two Canadian pennies

It looks like!

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. yup!

[-..__...]

36. Probably left by American tourists.

[Monk06]

77. We Canadians can be pricks to working women too. There are boors in every country.

[raccoon]

121. Then it has to be a hoax. Canadians don't do things like that. :Silly: nt

[undeterred]

3. I think the customer is rude to do that.

You can look around and see if the restaurant is short staffed - as a former waitress I can say that not everything is within your control. The waitress is not even getting paid the minimum wage so she is making less than minimum wage thanks to this bozo.

[Scuba]

7. +1

[elleng]

5. Well done, imo,

not rude, and provided an explanation. I did a 'rude' one last week, that is, I simply left nothing.

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. why did you leave nothing, may I ask?

[elleng]

9. Service was virtually non-existent,

and I was at 1 of 2 or 3 occupied tables. She gave me menu after I'd been sitting for almost 5 minutes, and she asked for my order 5+ minutes later. And this was at an airport restaurant/bar!!! I may have left 13cents, actually, as the bill was $4.87 or so, so I left a $5.

[abelenkpe]

64. Wow a ten minute wait?

How horrible. You must be a miserable person to deal with on a daily basis if a ten minute wait is your justification for acting like an ass.

[elleng]

67. Would 'alert' for you calling me that,

but I'll pass.

There was NO REASON for the wait but that she was NOT doing her job. She had NOTHING ELSE to do, NO ONE ELSE to provide service to. She's LUCKY that I didn't complain to 'management,' wherever they might have been.

[Th1onein]

96. Elleng, perhaps she forgot you?

Or something else was going on? I used to be a waitress, and things like this happen sometimes. Knowing that these workers don't even get paid minimum wage, you really should never leave them a tip like that. It's not just rude. It's wrong.

You pay less for your food because the owners of the restaurant pay less than the minimum wage to their employees.

[elleng]

99. She was no where to be seen for at least 10 minutes before I was able to place my order,

and after I did, she took another 5 or so minutes to serve my very small meal.

It is a small, and was at the time a very quiet spot, and she barely did her job. I could see no reason for her behavior. I was neither rude nor wrong, her lack of service was wrong and verged on being rude. Maybe she paid no attention to me because I wasn't drinking, but it was morning, and I wanted only water.

[meaculpa2011]

117. A tip is payment for service.

Normal service: Normal tip.

Exceptional service: Exceptional tip.

Indifferent service: Indifferent tip.

A ten minute wait for a menu, even in a crowded restaurant, shows indifference.

[Th1onein]

124. Actually, it's not.

That's what you are taught to believe. But, it's simply not true. The owner pays less to his employees and passes that savings on to you, so that you pay less for your meal. Or, he simply pockets the profit. The fact is that the owner should pay the server a decent wage. But, when he doesn't, then the ball is in your court.

Whatever you do might seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. I can't, personally, make up for what the owners of restaurants cheat their servers out of, but I can tip exorbitantly every time I go out to eat, to make up for at least what MY server should get paid.

[RedRocco]

136. even worse,

usually the employee pays taxes as if they made minimum wage

[elleng]

175. Thanks.

[ieoeja]

128. "no where to be seen"

So you have no idea if she was busy or not? I've worked at two restaurants. Never saw a janitor or any maintenance guy. The staff had to do all that in addition to their food service jobs.

And you don't do that after hours either. You do it during slow periods. In fact, you would do it under the exact conditions you describe.

Not to mention that she may have just been coming on duty or getting ready to go off. There are always several things that have to be done right then. And, again, you aren't allowed to do it before or after work, but during your actual shift.

[Ter]

71. Where was this that the bill was $4.87 or so?

What did you order, a muffin?

[elleng]

80. BWI airport,

fruit and yogurt, something Claw. Funny, just checked, Du Claw Brewery!

[Ter]

155. Now it makes sense

Airport service is the worst.

[elleng]

173. Thanks, Ter!

SO NICE to see a reasonable response to my little anecdote!!!

[Odin2005]

108. 10 minutes is BAD SERVICE? WTF?

How do you know they weren't very busy???

[tammywammy]

120. "I was at 1 of 2 or 3 occupied tables"

That's in the post.

[ieoeja]

130. "nowhere to be seen" is also in a post. Which means she could have been extremely busy.

Just busy working out of the poster's sight.

Reminder: wait staff do not just serve. Restaurants typically make them multi-task as well. The waitress could have been crafting a dozen buckets of mix for drinks - part of my job for a few months - for all the poster knows.

[juice feast]

180. Five minutes to get a menu is nothing.

You don't know if she was inserting a tampon or on the toilet with constipation. That is the problem: ASSUMING. I think five min. to take your order was not out of line, either. You sound like a party and a half!

[elleng]

181. And YOU sound like a fool.

Welcome (NOT.)

[bettyellen]

8. Well at least you have the self knowledge to admit you were a jerk !

Maybe you'll try and be a decent empathetic person next time.

[elleng]

10. You got it wrong.

Read my earlier reply, #9, please.

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. Tells me all I need to know about you

[elleng]

15. OK.

Service was virtually non-existent, and I was at 1 of 2 or 3 occupied tables. She gave me menu after I'd been sitting for almost 5 minutes, and she asked for my order 5+ minutes later. And this was at an airport restaurant/bar, at breakfast time. I may have left 13cents, actually, as the bill was $4.87 or so, so I left a $5.

[coalition_unwilling]

105. I debated simply putting you on Ignore or first telling you

why your sanctimonious holier-than-thou attitude was earning you a spot there.

I hope everyone on DU has now noted that you are an enemy of the working class and calibrates their responses to you accordingly.

You won't be hearing from me again.

But shame, just shame, on you. You remind me mightily of Bush and Palin.

[treestar]

141. This is ridiculous

Is there no such things as bad service? That's the whole point of the system.

[elleng]

176. Right. Thanks.

[Mc Mike]

154. Over the top, c_w.

It would be better to explain the concept of 'leave the regular tip, + 1 cent' to the person you addressed.

You're right on the idea that not tipping is wrong, but nevertheless. Just my two cents, though.

[elleng]

174. I HAPPILY will not be hearing from you, who voluntarily keeps her/himself uninformed.

[Thegonagle]

24. I disagree. That was very rude, and in a very condescending way.

Poor management is ultimately responsible for poor service. The server is just working her shift as well as she possibly can given the current conditions, and this one at least KNEW she was giving crappy service, so she apologized.

The correct thing to do is speak to a member of management, and explain it to them. If you don't want to do that, at least spare the Condescension 101, and keep the two Canadian pennies. The server doesn't want them either.

[patrice]

31. Why do you assume Mr/Ms 2 cents was right? nt

[seabeyond]

43. i get a pizza delivered and tip $5. talk about doing little. even poor service i tip around 15%

really bad, round it off shy of 15%. but good service 20% or better.

[alcibiades_mystery]

56. Yup

[seabeyond]

61. a couple buck isnt worth it. but then, i seldom go out to eat. nt

[Thegonagle]

81. The pizza guy doesn't "do little." The job is a lot like serving,

you just don't see all the work that goes on.

The other extremely important aspect is the requirement to bring to work an insured, reliable piece of equipment that's worth many thousands of dollars. The driver must have the maturity and patience to drive in every kind of weather and traffic condition, and the skills to drive day in and day out to any address without accidents or traffic tickets (the restaurant's secondary liability policy does not allow for bad drivers, even if their personal insurance does).

A server brings to work shoes, a corkscrew, and if the boss is really cheap, a couple of pens.

Neither one is a job "just anyone" can do and be good at it.

Keep tipping your drivers $5 or 15%, and don't reduce the tip if the pizzeria adds a delivery charge.

That delivery charge generally does NOT go to the driver; that's especially true at the large pizza chains. For them, it is merely additional profit. (Reimbursement is generally about the same today as it was back in the days of "free delivery," when delivery expenses were simply covered by the price of your food, and that doesn't even include inflation!)

[SammyWinstonJack]

168. I tip 20% no matter the service. Everyone can have a bad day.

[seabeyond]

169. that is nice. i like that.

most often the service is good, or person is nice. most, you can see a willingness to make it a pleasant experience.

[Hippo_Tron]

85. I left nothing once

The server raised her voice at me for asking when our food would be ready, after we'd been waiting for an hour.

Even for mediocre service, I still tip.

[Selatius]

112. You're a pretty miserly tipper. Even bad service I'll tip at 15%. Good = 20% - 35%. Never 0. nt

[Lizzie Poppet]

171. I'll tip even bad service...but not RUDE service.

Bad service happens, even from servers who are usually competent. But if I'm being treated rudely by wait staff, I will stiff them...and not feel a moment of regret. There is no excuse for that, at least if I haven't brought it on myself by treating the waitperson badly (which I don't).

[WI_DEM]

165. While I don't agree with you that it's 'well done' I also don't particularly

care for the pile-on mentality that happens at DU at times. One person after another telling you what a horrible person you must be just because you didn't leave a tip. I don't know you to make any kind of judgement on that. I think we've all experienced horrible service at times and I believe in a sliding scale in tipping. But I also understand there are somethings beyond the waitress/waiters control such as how long it takes to get food. Often that is the fault of another division. But certainly they should see to it that you are seated, given a menu--best to give a menu when seated rather than wait five minutes--and see if you want any drinks up front and then check back in a timely manner. Sorry you didn't experience those things, but sometimes especially if you didn't see the waiter/waitress for ten minutes they might have been doing something else that you were unaware of.

[southernyankeebelle]

11. If your unhappy ask for another waitress. If you don't do that just leave 2 pennies that

says it all. I find it funny when my son waits on tables he always make good tips. The other waitress love it when he works out there waiting because they make good tips too. He knows how to make a customer feel wanted. He helps the ladies at the table and holds their chairs out for them. He even will walk the old ladies to their car if they need help. Everyone makes out.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. "Waitressing"

Yeah, no gender issues there.

One of the first things I learned when I waited tables was to never note how busy you are. This is common sense: from the customer's perspective, it doesn't matter whether the restaurant is packed or empty: they pay for service, period. It is a mistake of perspective to note that you are busy.

Fair enough.

Still, you don't have to be a cheap dick about it. This is a problem on the customer's side, too. The customer is such an asshole that he (or she) thinks that the teaching is up to him (or her), and that it is monetary in nature. There's little doubt that whoever wrote this note thinks that he is doing something useful: training a service employee in her job. Probably feels all righteous about it, too, some nonsense about incentive structures and learning, and the like. This person is, put plainly, an asshole. Mature people who care for others don't carry on in this way.

I can't tell you how many times I've left a waitstaff person who struggled with service 18%. That's my dropdown: from 20% to 18%. And I don't give a good goddamn if I'm "incentivizing poor service," or anything else so stupid, because - by and large and with failures and successes - I try generally not to be an asshole.

[klook]

84. + .02

You and I are two peas in a pod on this issue. Thanks for the excellent post.

[Hippo_Tron]

94. Out of curiosity, have you ever had a server who was downright rude?

I leave 18% for people who struggle with service, as well, because I understand that sometimes it's not their fault, and even if it is, sometimes people have a shitty day (I have plenty myself).

But I have had a couple instances where our server was downright rude. One time I didn't leave a tip. The other time I tipped about my usual, but that's because we were out of town and my friend told me that we were simply in a place where people don't expect strangers to be kind and friendly. It still bugged me, though.

[alcibiades_mystery]

137. I find "the waitstaff was rude" to be more a matter of the customer's issues

I have never found waitstaff to be "rude," but then again, I don't feel insecure about my own status in restaurants, and I don't expect service people to kowtow to me simply because I can pay a restaurant tab. In my experience, the vast majority of "rudeness" charges leveled at service workers come from people who have both those conditions: they're anxious about their own status and feel like they can pay for status.

People who are not insecure about their status and realize that they're only paying for a service rarely perceive rudeness in service workers, precisely because it wouldn't matter.

Ultimately, I have much more power in the relationship with any waitstaff person or other service employee I encounter. As a structural matter, nothing they say should affect me at all, and I certainly shouldn't get in a huff about it. These are all little insecurities of people who feel like perhaps they don't quite belong in the establishment, but at the same time feel like they can pay for status, so they blow up any seeming crack in that facade into rudeness and the like.

It also tends to be a self-fulfilling operation, since the insecure perceive everything as a potential insult, and can therefore come off as nasty, and that provokes the service person, and it escalates from there. Vicious cycle.

[etherealtruth]

14. I tend to tip generously ... and very generously for extremely good service ...

... or decent service when it is clear that the restaurant is crazily busy and understaffed.

With that said, is a customer obligated to tip for poor service or rude behavior? I am not sure about the tone of the note ... it is completely possible that the server was not pleasant to these customers.

I waited tables wayyyyy back ... I found being pleasant and positive helped overcome the chaos some diners were experienced to.

I know customers ca n be a$$-holes, but it is just as possible that the server was an idiot. ... I don't know in this case.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

20. So, someone who is rude and doesn't do a thing still gets a tip?

I guess a fool and his money are easily parted as someone wisely once said. I know they work hard, but when they're doing nothing but chatting with their friends and screwing around and your drink cup is empty or you need your check to leave, that is not working and people don't get paid when they don't work. I waited tables way back, and I know what they go through. But there are idiot, rude, lazy servers. You had to have worked with a few that made you look bad and know that giving them a tip regardless is just ridiculous.

[etherealtruth]

27. That was the point of my post

... No, I don't believe one is obligated to tip for bad service ... the tone of the note told me that they wanted the server to know that they were not simply cheap ... they thought HER service sucked

[YellowRubberDuckie]

34. OK

I retract my statement and apologize. I just misread.

[etherealtruth]

177. No need to apologize ...

... it's a discussion board. We discussed

[flvegan]

16. Punishing an already underpaid person for

what may well have been a short-staffed/poorly managed place. Brilliant.

But then, I wasn't there...so I don't know the full story.

[Kaleva]

17. Not enough info to make a judgement on this. Don't even know if it's a joke or true.

[pintobean]

38. That's my take.

The last time we saw something like this, it was faked.

[jcboon]

18. As a former waitron

I always tip fairly well.

If there is a service issue I usually complain to Management that there is a MANAGEMENT problem. Bad service is due to bad training, bad use of resources or no supervision.

Once in a while I will tell the server how I would have preferred to be served but they don't like that.

[Th1onein]

98. I tell the waitperson, at the very beginning, if they are slow.....

that I used to wait tables, and I know how to tip well. And, that I expect better service. This usually stops the bad service at the outset. Then, I tip at least 30%, and most of the time 50%, sometimes 100%. And, I KNOW that this is generous, but I have the funds to do it, so I do it. It makes me feel absolutely wonderful to think that I might have just made someone's day.

[Gman]

19. Sounds like she gave pretty crappy service

If the service was that bad, I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing. She obviously made them feel they were contributing to her bad day. A little attentiveness goes a very long way.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

22. And a little personality when you're busy...

...and are trying to get to everyone really helps. I always try to be as helpful as possible when we go to a restaurant. If I see them look up and we need something, I lift my glass and point to it, or lift the empty tortilla case to save them a trip to the table. Then I make sure to explain what I was doing when they bring it so to make sure I didn't offend or make them think I was being rude because I was just trying to save them some time. The servers I have done that with always get it and thank me. But then again, we go to the same places all the time, so people know us by now.

[Gman]

62. When I was a customer service reprentative and we had a customer on hold

we had to go back to the line every no more than 2 minutes to tell them we hadn't forgot about them and were working on the problem. I never thought that was too much to ask me to do and I know it means a lot to the customer Now, every 2 minutes is unreasonable for a waitress. But is maybe every 5 minutes or so too much to go by and smile and say you're sorry, it's coming right out or maybe if necessary they hadn't lost your order or something?

I sat in restaurant in the Renaissance Tower in Detroit one evening and never even got acknowledged that I even sat down. When I finally rudely yelled at someone it was like what the hell's my problem. If I hadn't been so hungry, I would have left. It was night and I damn sure wasn't going to go wander around downtown Detroit looking like a convention goer so I was pretty much trapped. I left no tip and I don't think anyone cared.

It's all about making me at least feel like I'm the customer and I matter. Without me, she doesn't have a job. Restaurants with poor service do not last long. And it's a rap that's hard to get over.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

178. You would have gotten jacked for sure!

I would have grabbed a manager and got my meal for free.

[patrice]

21. Right or wrong, I doubt this response did much more than contribute to the problem.

It appears to be more about an opportunity to be vindictive than anything else.

If there's a problem with why/how the waitress or waiter was "too busy" to be appropriately attentive, that would be better taken up with the management of the establishment, rather than just assuming that whatever was going on, it was entirely the wait-staff's CHOICE to be in-attentive. If it doesn't matter how an establishment is managed, nothing is going to be fixed by automatically blaming the least empowered individuals in the situation, even if they ARE part of the problem. If excellence in "serving skills" is the authentic objective, and not just a socially acceptable opportunity to hurt someone, then honest questions about why excellence in serving skills is not happening MUST be asked. This is because it IS TRUE that a person can give the max to make a situation work, but if those efforts are not maximized by the business management environment in which they occur, those efforts CAN be lost and the problems continue despite those attempts.

It's MANAGEMENT'S responsibility to figure out what's going on and FIX it. Pretending that isn't true makes everything worse.

[Jack_Dawson]

23. As a former bartender...

This lends more credence to the argument that everyone needs to do a minimum one-year stint in the service business. If you've never waited tables, as i'm sure this "tipper" hasn't, you're never going to get it. Now...I wasn't there. Maybe the server was horrible and gave off huge attitude. Who knows, but it's better to leave nothing vs. $.02

[Taverner]

25. FUCK THAT CUSTOMER

I want to beat his ass with a 2 x 4

[stevenleser]

48. Someone alerted on you. Here are the results

At Sun May 6, 2012, 07:29 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

FUCK THAT CUSTOMER

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

ALERTER'S COMMENTS:

Over the top. Advocating extreme physical violence on someone who supposedly left a 2 cent tip.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun May 6, 2012, 07:40 PM, and the Jury voted 0-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Why was this alerted upon? The poster has no chance of actually meeting this person. It's an idle comment that is not directed against any member of the DU community.
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Perfectly acceptable strong emotional reaction. No realistic advocacy of real violence was implied.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Taverner]

50. Some folks are just not nice

I would say "assholes" but then I'd be alerted on

Wait - I just did, didn't I?

[KurtNYC]

146. the writer of the note was female

and left-handed (based on the handwriting).

[annabanana]

26. They get taxed as if they DID get tipped.

Whether you leave them money or not. And they get paid below minimum wage. It is a tough tough job, and hardly anyone's first choice.

[patrice]

28. Interesting how people either assume they know exactly what happened or that Mr/Ms 2 cents

knew exactly and precisely what was going on and his/her characterization of events is 100% accurate, no possibility of bias, just accept his/her motive at face value, no need to seek additional information.

[Phentex]

118. I find this true of many posts here...

people will readily jump on one side or the other while filling in little details that don't exist in the original article. Human nature?

[patrice]

163. Yep. Apparently, IF people actually understand what knowledge is, MOTIVE is more important. nt

[spanone]

29. obviously from a person who knows shit about being a waiter

fuck you chump

[former9thward]

30. An obvious hoax.

Posted by a "friend", no waitress name, no restaurant name. This is just like the other no-tip hoaxes which have be posted on the internet.

[Ruby the Liberal]

39. Wouldn't be the first one from HuffAOL.

Remember the Newport Beach "1%er" note hoax from a few months ago?

[Fumesucker]

44. I've seen restaurant patrons leave religious tracts as a "tip"..

This particular incident may or may not be a hoax but I can assure you that people can and do stiff waitstaff on tips every day.

[former9thward]

45. I have had many friends who have been servers.

So I know what you are saying is true. But when something starts flying around the internet with no ability to question then a red flag goes up for me.

[Fumesucker]

46. Any person that would leave identifying clues on such a post is just asking for trouble..

Waiting tables may suck as a job but it's better than no job in today's economic environment, posting something like that with your name linked to it would be a remarkably silly thing to do.

I've had the experience of being with someone that was blaming the waitress for problems that were almost certainly not under her control, it was really uncomfortable and I ended up in an argument with that person over their attitude. I'm sure if I hadn't been there the waitress would have gotten stiffed on the tip.

[foo_bar]

57. it's hard to know

Circumstantial evidence that it's a hoax:
- The reddit source is named "tapdathoe".
- Hoaxes are real.

Circumstantial evidence that it isn't:
- This note doesn't have the "is it a meme yet?" quality of the Newport Beach hoax, or at least the customer seems to have realistic motivations without the gratuitous mustache twirling and maniacal guffaws.
- Mean people are real, even in Canada.

[RebelOne]

182. I checked it out on Snopes.com and there was nothing on it.

I thought it was a hoax as I had seen something like it posted.

[Egalitarian Thug]

32. The replies to this thread clearly show just what a shitty idea forcing customers to pay their

employees wages is. Here we have two parties that got screwed because the owners are too greedy to hire and pay their employees. The guest obviously didn't have a good experience, and the waitron got to work for free. The closest thing we have to a winner here is the restaurant owner who did get paid.

It goes right along with the myth of unskilled labor, and easy jobs.

[dana_b]

159. yes and no

the restaurant owner made out however that patron might not come back because of the service. The owners and/or managers are really shooting themselves (and everyone else) in the foot.

[Egalitarian Thug]

172. Oh yes. It is as bad in the long term for the restaurant as well. n/t

[Jennicut]

33. When you get paid $2.50 an hour, two cents is so nice.

Honestly, they should do away with tipping and just pay the waitresses and waiters more. It is an outdated system. No one really goes above and beyond on tipping anyway so no one would lose anything in tips. I used to get 4 bucks per table sometimes. $6.50 an hour. It is a terrible job and thankfully I am not doing it anymore.

[Ruby the Liberal]

35. Grammar 101

Don't tell every customer you are very busy. too busy to excuse as an excuse for your lack of serving skills

Fixed.

Maybe should have taken that $0.02 (Canadian) and invested in adult education courses in basic English.

[TBF]

52. ...

[Igel]

78. Easier fix.

"Don't tell every customer you are very busy in order to excuse your lack of serving skills."

Having "to excuse" mean "to serve as justification for" sounds a bit forced, but only a bit.

Colloquially, and with the right intonation, ellipting "in order" is perfectly normal.

However, then we're back to "Don't tell every customer you are very busy to excuse your lack of serving skills"--a sentence that struck me as slightly forced (but only slightly) but grammatical.

[Ruby the Liberal]

79. That would work, but I left it in tact to meaning while eliminating the random period.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

37. Alright then, what would you tip in this situation...

Me and three women from work were at a popular Italian themed restaurant, it was after two in the afternoon and the place was empty. We were killing time before dropping two of them at the airport.

In the restaurant there were only two parties, ourselves, average age forty and a table with a bunch of obnoxious abercrombie frat shits. The three visible waitresses rarely left the douchebags side while we waited more than fifteen minutes just to have our drink orders taken and another twenty before our meal orders were taken. Watching the clock it was getting too close to comfort for making their flight. Eventually the food makes it way to us and is approaching room temperature, it had probably been sitting around for twenty minutes or more. The women poked at their warm pasta, but I asked that my pizza be reheated - I never see the pizza again.

Finally, we are out of time and have to go and I still have not eaten. The waitresses are still flirting with the fratbags. We are finally presented with a bill that includes the ethereal pizza. I ask if it can be packed up only to be informed it was thrown away and they forgot to get the kitchen to make another one. But offered a complimentary box of breadsticks for the road.

The women return from the washroom and report having seen our waitresses in there texting.

Pray tell, what was an appropriate tip for this level of service...

Of course had we not left completely enraged we probably would have left a much better tip than the douchebags they all but climbed under the table for.

[stevenleser]

51. Tip 18% and tell the manager.

See my post below.

[Logical]

54. I 100% disagree! It is her job to tell the manager. Not mine!!!

[stevenleser]

60. What you are really doing is forcing an extremely low wage on this person.

In most places, minimum wage for servers is $3.35 an hour or less. They are allowed to pay so little because there is an expectation of a tip.

If any other worker has a bad moment or bad day, they get a talking to, they do not get reduced wages. Its not right.

[Logical]

65. I tip %20 99% of the time. But for slow or bad service I tip 5%. If she is overloaded....

it is her job to tell the manager. If I tip her %20 there is no incentive for her to tell anyone.

[Hippo_Tron]

89. Sometimes the manager knows they are overloaded and cant' do anything about it

Sometimes people call in sick or just plain don't show up and they have nobody to replace them.

IMO, a good server will politely note to the customers that they understands that they are really sorry for the delay, but it's just incredibly busy. Usually if you apologize and show people that you understand their frustration, they will understand.

But even if they don't, and it's clearly very busy, I will tip the same amount I do for prompt service.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

93. Sorry, but it sounds like the waitresses in the story practically refused to do their job

And telling the manager would also likely lead to a firing, which I think would be worse than getting a shitty tip. Maybe it should be a hint....

[lumberjack_jeff]

97. Wages implies work.

The waitresses in question weren't working.

If I get no food, I tip zero, I pay zero, AND I call the manager.

[stevenleser]

126. As it does in any other situation you arent happy with service.

But you dont get to dock that persons pay.

[lumberjack_jeff]

139. In this case, I do. n/t

[stevenleser]

157. And if you are a thinking person, you should recognize the disconnect. nt

[joeglow3]

101. Get the hell out of here

I pay to have edible food served to me. If I get no food (based on the story), but do get a show of my server eye fucking some frat boys, I am not leaving a fucking penny.

[stevenleser]

125. No.

[RZM]

68. Not in that situation

I am also a veteran of the service industry. I worked many jobs for tips. Sometimes my customers didn't receive great service. Usually it was my fault, occasionally it wasn't. But I know how it goes.

Because of my experience I would never completely stiff anybody. But in the situation described I would leave a lower-than-normal tip (5-7 percent) if the service was exceptionally bad. If I left a note it would read:

'I once worked in this same job. Because of that, I'm a generous tipper. You'll notice I left you a small tip. Let that be a gentle reminder that if you step your game up, you'll make better money.'

I'll bet the farm that most bad servers are fully aware that they are bad and they just don't care. They all work with other servers who do a good job and know what they are doing wrong.

[newspeak]

148. I agree, you do have some bad servers and they just don't care

years back, my girlfriends and I traveled to a town in oregon from california. We were having a good time and stopped to have dinner at this nice restaurant. The waitress got our drink order and my friend who is a bartender wanted a particular drink and explained to the waitress how to make it. She seemed insulted, said "our bartender knows how to make all kinds of drinks." When she brought the drinks, my friend's drink was wrong. Well, it got worse from there. When we were ready to order (and there were few customers), she was going back and forth but never came to our table-we waited and waited. Finally, I overheard another waitress ask her if she was going to take our order and she replied "when I feel like it." So, the other waitress said "well, I'm going to take their order." The other waitress apologized and seemed very nice. When we left, we gave her over twenty per cent tip and then asked to speak to the manager. Unfortunately, they said he wasn't on premises.

There are some who really shouldn't be in the service industry.

[Ter]

72. That's even worse

As a former waiter, I'd rather get no tip, then a tip and a tattle. That would just get the server in trouble, much, much, of a horrible thing to do.

[TedBronson]

115. Is it "tattling"...

... if I talk to the boss after I hire a maid to clean my home and she shows up an hour late and does a terrible job when she does arrive?

Exact same situation as above.

[Ter]

156. It's not the same

That's much more involved and expensive. I'm with you 100% if the server is rude or says something expensive. But if he/she just sucks or is lazy (or talking to friends or something), I'll just tip lot less and call it a day. I know what it's like to work with abusive bosses. Restaurant owners are also notorious yellers.

[Hippo_Tron]

95. I think the waitstaff was only a part of the problem there

Obviously somebody fucked up on the kitchen end if they threw away the pizza and didn't make another one. And the management is supposed to be overseeing these things, obviously they weren't. If I were the manager I'd comp your entire meal, make you another pizza, and give everyone free dessert.

At which point if I were you, I might leave 10% of the original bill.

[TedBronson]

113. Tip of 0%

... and chat with the manager.

I don't pay for services not received.

[blueamy66]

143. I would have just left

terrrrribbleee service

We get great service at our neighborhood restaurants/bars, because we tip well.

[Vattel]

40. My guess, cheap asshole. But I don't know the whole story.

[treestar]

41. We don't know for certain that she did not do a poor job

OTOH, I waited tables once upon a time and am very very tolerant. Also it helps to be pleasant yourself. I remember customers who were real cranks and determined to be unhappy.

[mysuzuki2]

42. I would not stiff a waitperson like that unless they were actively rude.

[PSPS]

47. These stories are often hoaxes

I can think of two like this in the past few months that both turned out to be hoaxes.

[stevenleser]

49. I waited tables not too long ago. Tipping is not an extra, its the wage.

It's sad to see so many people happily using it as a punitive measure. Minimum wage for servers is artificially low because there is an expectation of a tip as compensation. Servers are also taxed as if they received a tip for each meal.

It's no longer OK to withhold tip as a punitive measure for bad service. Do what you do with any other industry where you received bad service and talk to the manager.

[NYC_SKP]

53. Whomever would go to THIS LENGTH is a very SAD SAD SAD SAD person....

...incapable, probably, of putting the same degree of effort into ever praising someone for a good job.

A TRUE LOSER who really would be more spiritually pure if they'd just STFU.



Just my two cents.

Asshole.

[tjwash]

55. Bad service is bad service.

When I run into bad service, I just stiff them and never visit the place again. And I'm one of those softies that always leaves a minimum 20 percent tip for even mediocre service.

Leaving a snarky note doesn't help. There are a million restaurants you can choose from. If the management doesn't know or care enough to hire competent help, then they will be out of business soon anyway. When you run into really bad service, it sort of makes you wonder what the kitchen looks like.

Just my 2 cents.

[stlsaxman]

58. I have thought everything expressed in this note, but-

as much as i would like to tell the server how to do his/her job - and i would be speaking from years of experience- i wouldn't/couldn't ever bring myself to do it either verbally or by stiffing them. i would tip 15% of the bill to the penny and leave quietly. if i got a thank you as i left i might return. if the food was excellent i might return. if i did return i might ask for a different server... or give them a second chance.

but- i would NEVER make a persons life miserable like the OP did just to make a point. there are way to many variables in the service industry to do that and not feel less of myself.

this person should feel like shit- because that is what they are.

[Brickbat]

59. Why is this shit news?

[chrisa]

63. These are usually fake.

[TlalocW]

66. I'm an excellent tipper!

Even when service isn't good, and I'll tell you why.

1. I work a lot for tips myself as a balloon twister. Even on paid jobs, someone giving you a tip is a nice ego booster.
2. I twist a lot in restaurants and know that the whole staff works hard to get people their food. There are times, I'm sure, when service isn't as good as it could be, but I'm not going to take it as an insult. Maybe the person is a lazy jerk. Maybe the person could be having a shitty day, and I've been affected by shitty days and have had my work suffer for it. However, I've been fortunate enough that I'm not financially penalized for it, and even if I were, I would be able to handle it better than a wait person who relies on tips.
3. I have read enough websites dedicated to the wackiness that wait persons and cooks go through, and the "revenge" sections scare me. I don't want someone remembering I left a bad tip and taking their revenge on me next time I'm in.

TlalocW

[Proles]

69. I honestly don't think it was that rude.

If you get bad service, it's perfectly within the customer's right to make that known.

It's not like that "get a real job" hoax receipt story I saw a while back.

[lynne]

70. Hopefully the waitress will learn a lesson from this -

- that service equates to tips and that people aren't willing to tip for lousy service. At least a note was left explaining the problem and she didn't have to wonder if they just forgot to tip or didn't have the money.

[DemoTex]

73. Greatest server EVER is at Tommy's Ham House (Greenville, SC), and you'd better tip her!

She shall remain nameless, because she is now such a good friend of mine. She has a photographic memory. She knows your name from day one, and your breakfast preferences from about the second visit. But she watches her tips like a hawk.

Two stories:

1. The guys in the booth behind me pay at the register (cash only), leave 25-cents or so on the table, and head for the door. She spots the tip and yells to these bozos, "HEY! You forgot something! You left your quarter on the table!" It was a beautiful thing.

2. I'm a 20%+ tipper, usually better with her. One morning I paid Tommy at the register and went back to the table to put down a tip. I ran into some friends, and - talking and not thinking - walked out without tipping (bad move). A few days later I was back in Tommy's for breakfast and K____ walked up to my table and said, "What was wrong with my service on Monday, Mac? You didn't leave a tip." Holy shit, best waitress in town and I forgot to tip her! It has never happened again.

BTW: Tommy's Ham House is on the path to the White House, the Senate, and the US House of Representatives. It is THE place in upstate SC through which most politicos pass, at least once, during campaign season. Bu$h was there, as were Gingrich and Kerry. The parking lot is often full of NBC, CBS, CNN, and FOX trucks. In fact, more repubs - it seems - show up at Tommy's. Tommy - however - is a Democrat (and a big Hillary supporter).

[Taitertots]

74. Shitty service should never get tipped

People who want to be paid should perform the services that they are expecting to be paid for. Shitty service means the server failed to perform the services that they are asking to be paid for.

[Iggo]

75. I'm not gonna take the word of an asshole who'd leave a two cent tip.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

76. The only time I stiffed a wiatress

was when I was traveling, and I was the only customer in the restaurant except for a round table with about ten men.

The waitress perfunctorily took my order, slammed down my food, and went over to flirt with the table full of men. I wanted more coffee--couldn't get her eye. I wanted to order dessert, couldn't get her eye. This was a pay-the-cashier type of family restaurant, so that's what I did.

Meanwhile, the waitress was making the rounds of the table of men, putting her hands on their shoulders, whispering in their ears, and laughing loudly at their remarks.

I left no tip and said, "I always tip, but I'm making an exception in your case. All your customers are important, even the women."

[klook]

82. Every American should be REQUIRED to wait tables

for six months, and not in some fancy joint where the customers are well-heeled and unfailingly polite, either. It's a very educational job from which you learn a lot about this society and how it works.

I was a waiter once upon a time, and I tip generously because I know how hard those people work, and I've experienced something of the indignities many of them endure on a regular basis. I also know that for a lot of them, this job is how they're feeding themselves and a family.

Work as a waiter or waitress for six months and tell me under what circumstances you'd leave a two-cent tip.

[4th law of robotics]

83. Or canadians even

judging by the pennies.

[klook]

87. Oh, this person could have been an American

who saved those pennies, just waiting for a chance to grind somebody "beneath" them into the dirt a little more by leaving them next to nothing and in the form of coins that might be hard to spend. Or so it seems to me, based on my experiences with assholes...

[4th law of robotics]

90. Only Americans are assholes?

[klook]

92. You're reaching

No thanks, not playing along.

[Hippo_Tron]

91. I don't think the customers are more polite at fancy joints

I think the servers are more experienced and thus better adept at keeping customers happy.

[Arkana]

132. Trust me--you wouldn't want me as your waiter.

I'm not a very nice person and I don't smile.

[99Forever]

86. The "haves" can ALWAYS find a reason to be a cheapskate.

May this horses ass get an equal amount of understanding in their time of need.

[tawadi]

88. Customer 101:

I hope they spit in your food next time.

Just my 2 cents.

[timlot]

100. Some folks just like confrontation.

I know a few folks like that. They think the waitress is beneath them.

[emilyg]

102. No service. No tip.

[Raine]

103. Not all food servers are saints just because they're 99%ers

I have encountered some that were surly and really rude. One time the server would turn their head everytime they passed our table so we couldn't catch their eye. I guess they didn't think we belonged in their high toney restaurant. I tend to over-tip but not when someone degrades me. Sometimes they get 2¢ because that's all they deserve.

[SwampG8r]

104. what is the issue?i have been in kitchens since

1974 and this is a great tip
considering its from canadians

[Blue_Tires]

106. If someone was ballsy enough to write that (assuming it's real)

i seriously hope to god the writer has spent a considerable chunk of his/her life waiting tables and this is their idea of a "tough-love life lesson..."

[Odin2005]

107. That asshole customer better not go to that restaurant ever again.

Because pissed off servers will mess up your food if you are an asshole. These people work their asses off all damn day and assholes like this person have NO DAMN RIGHT to accuse them of being lazy!

[slackmaster]

144. That is why the thing looks like a hoax to me

I know how dumb the average person is, but intentionally stiffing and dissing a server would be felony stupid if you have any intention of returning to the restaurant in the future.

[LooseWilly]

109. Why take it out on the "underling" when you can take out your spleen on the boss?

You get shitty service... just pull a "dine & ditch". Then the boss loses money, the wait-person doesn't get taxed on the assumed tip percentage of a non-paid check... and if the problem really is one of short-staffing, then suddenly the boss will give a shit, rather than merely the wait staff.

Lose Lose means at least the wait staff can tell the boss that he's an asshat for failing to fully staff, or that a failing waiter/waitress will actually cost the boss some money.

Unless, of course, you only have the nerve to stiff powerless workers and not asshat owners.

[coalition_unwilling]

110. Oh, isn't that special. Just one more fuckwad stiffing

the working class and getting all sanctimonious and holier-than-thou about it.

Who needs a 1% when you have aholes like this?

[BlueIris]

111. Lame.

I hate bad serving staff, too, but a tip is a recognition that they make crap and you know it and appreciate getting to eat out anyway, not a 'reward' for good or great service.

I happen to know that the social conditioning in favor of tipping is pretty strong. Anyone who chooses to go against it is...special.

[TedBronson]

114. That isn't universal...

In your mind it may be a recognition of their servitude etc.. but I would guess that for most, tipping is a reflection of service received.

[DutchLiberal]

116. Guy must've seen this movie scene and got convinced:

[Mr Dixon]

119. WOW

I Always tip generously, image that a Black guy tipping well, SMH IMO times are hard and we all need to help as much as we can, if you can afford to eat out then you can afford to tip well. Last week at the red hot & blue my check was 16.76 I paid 27.00 not too bad I think.

[latebloomer]

122. I worked as a waitress and bartender for many years

and I tip very well, because I know what it's like to work for tips.

However, I am also somewhat critical of waitstaff who do a lousy job.

If you're understaffed or if the kitchen is not producing, let the customers know that, and keep showing them, even if it's only for a second, that you haven't forgotten about them. It doesn't take much to redeem yourself- even if you're a lousy waiter, a pleasant demeanor and a smile go a long way.

It happens rarely, but I have stiffed people who were either rude or oblivious to my presence.

Usually if the service is fairly crappy, I will just give 10 or 15%.

I am not "an enemy of the working class", as someone said upthread. But I do hold wait staff to certain minimum standards.

[Honeycombe8]

123. Meanness is ALWAYS a bad thing. How mean that was. Karma....he'll get his. nt

[LanternWaste]

127. And in doing so, the customer did little more than advertise his own character...

And in doing so, the customer did little more than merely advertise his own character...

[Whisp]

129. my initial reaction is fuck you, jerk.

I have no idea if this jerk is rich and is used to being a hierarchal asshole or if its someone who is just pretending to be one but it makes me sick that some people think they have the right to push others around just because they have an opportunity to.

A waiter does not have to kiss your ass and bow and scrape to you just because you think yourself King Joffrey at the moment. And if he or she is not the friendliest maybe it's just a bad day, maybe their dog just died, or their kid.

[Arkana]

131. Hope that dude likes having his food with a warm helping of spit

from now on.

[KansDem]

150. I worked as a bartender at a comedy club for a couple of years

This club was "family oriented" so we had a kitchen that served pizzas and sandwiches. Also candy and soft drinks.

We had 3 to 4 servers on any given night. While I worked behind the bar, they worked "on the floor" going back and forth between the audience tables and the kitchen.

During the slow times (while the acts were going on) the servers would sit at the bar and I'd give them (soft) drinks and I'd hear their stories. One seasoned server had a particularly obnoxious customer and ended her story with this word of wisdom to such customers:

Don't **** with the last person who handles your food!

[slackmaster]

133. Looks like another "ugly customer" hoax to me

[GoneOffShore]

134. If we paid servers a decent wage we could eliminate tipping.

Which would be a good idea. The "tipping culture" engenders bad behaviour on the part of customers, because they punish servers for perceived bad service.

Of course, working as a server is not considered a "real job" by many people.

[Kaleva]

135. Has anyone been able to confirm this as being real or is it just a hoax?

[csziggy]

138. Just once I left a two cent tip

I joined a group of friends at their table late one evening. As I sat down, the waitress was delivering an order to one of the people. He tried to tell her that she had another customer, she turned her back to him as he said, "Miss, --" and she walked off.

Thirty minutes later she delivered another order that had been placed at the same time as the previous one. Again the person receiving the order tried to bring to her attention that she had an additional customer, again she simply ignored him and walked off.

An hour after I had arrived, the waitress started giving tickets to the various people who had gotten orders. Two people who had been there longer than I had but who had been able to give their orders had never gotten their orders delivered, though it turned out that they had been sitting under the heat lamps for most of an hour. They opted not to accept the dried out food that had been sitting for that long and asked the waitress to give them tickets for the drinks that had been delivered. I tried to place an order, but the waitress walked off without acknowledging that I was there.

The restaurant was mostly empty, there were enough service people that they were standing around talking, but for whatever reason this waitress chose not to pay attention to any of her tables. During the time I was there she never checked the table other than the times listed above. People at our table and others nearby tried to flag her down to have their drinks refreshed, to place dessert orders, to let her know that I had joined the group. She never paid any attention to her customers at all.

When she brought back the amended tickets for the people whose orders had not been delivered - fifteen minutes after they had refused the ruined meals - she did pay attention to me - she brought me a ticket for a full meal with a soft drink. I'd never even gotten a glass of water or a place setting brought to me while I was in the place much less had the opportunity to place any order.

Rather than go through the extended time it would have taken to get that waitress's attention again, the entire group went to the cash register. I left two cents on the table where I was sitting, as a statement about her non-existent service. The people who had gotten anything served left tips, though they were understandably not generous about them.

As we were explaining to the manager at the checkout that the ticket I received was in error and that I had gotten nothing during the ninety minutes I was in the restaurant, the waitress came up and threw the two cents in my face. The manager had heard enough from our large group - he fired her on the spot. We were pretty sure he was looking for an excuse - after all for a table of 8 she had cost the restaurant two full meals - plus another potential sale since she never took my order.

I did not rip off that waitress. I got no service, nothing from her for an hour and a half while I tried to place an order. She was in the wrong line of work for her personality.

When I got out I tip very generously unless the service is really terrible. My roommate in college was a waitress - ironically at the same place where I had that bad waitress though before that incident - and I know how important tips are to wait staff. My usual tipping rate is 20-25%. If I go to Waffle House or other small cheap places, I tip 30% or better since the food is so cheap.

[erpowers]

140. Make Tipping Mandatory

Every restaurant that has a wait staff should be required to include the tip in the cost of a person's meal.

[Nye Bevan]

142. It probably wasn't the waitress's fault that she was busy.

I tip 20% most of the time but I do lower that to reflect poor service, but only if it is the fault of the waitperson. It's not the waitperson's fault if the restaurant is crowded and there are insufficient waitstaff, so I would not lower the tip in this case.

[Renew Deal]

145. That may very well be fair

There are some bad waiters out there.

[Quantess]

147. It is entirely possible that the service was really lousy!

The note and pennies don't give us adequate information. Maybe the server wasn't doing his/her job.

[KamaAina]

149. I've often wanted to leave the Ultimate Nickel Tip

1) Drop nickel in glass of water.

2) Place piece of cardboard over mouth of glass.

3) Invert glass.

4) Place inverted glass on table.

5) Yank out cardboard.

6) Leave. Quickly.

[KurtNYC]

151. The writer of this note is female, left-handed and on the young side

The letters, especially the 'D' and the 'f' s, lean backward slightly, characteristic of a left-handed writer. The writer likes a little extra personal space as shown by the extra wide space between words.

Printed letters are very round and only occasionally lapse into script (see the end of "personal&quot . Writing shows a concern for legibility and is careful to use the correct form of "you're." Note was re-read and the semi-colon inserted erroneously.

The writing shows no signs of anger -- large letters, underlining, cross-outs, heavy pressure on the pen -- which is odd given the text of the note. Writer is college educated -- "101" and free of physical impairments. This is a carefully written note in which one young female coldly judges and punishes another.

I find it interesting that many here assumed the writer was male.

[Kaleva]

153. What do you do for a living if I may be so bold to ask?

[KurtNYC]

179. Handwriting analysis is a hobby I picked up

while working temp at a law firm but these days I am in small business. It is fascinating. Much of it makes simple sense -- eg. pressure on the pen for anger -- but much is more abstract like how the 'T's get crossed. I keep the book by Mary Ruiz handy.

[NCTraveler]

158. I immediately thought it was written by a female.

Didn't get the rest, but definitely female.

[Kali]

160. heh

I had young female and careful, but not any of the rest.

[LanternWaste]

167. Grammatical habit.

I refer to any unknown as 'he'. Always have, probably always will. Not so much an assumption on my part, you see, merely grammatical habit.

I however, find it interesting that you allow for only one possible inference among many other valid ones...

[nachosgrande]

152. Hard to make a judgment either way...

we just don't know the circumstances, the customer's expectations/temperment, or the level of service that was actually provided.

I've worked as a cashier at a grocery store, as a barista, made sandwiches at a sandwich shop, and worked two years as a server during college. The one thing you must never forget is that this is a "service" profession - meaning that the whole reason your job exists is to meet the needs and/or expectations of the customer. You have to expect to work hard and you must check your ego at the door. I've seen some truly lousy service in my day, and the type of "punishment" doled out by the customers identified in the OP really isn't too far out of line if the service was anywhere near as bad as I've experienced. Having said that, there's plenty of real pricks out there that don't recognize good service, and this person could certainly be a part of that population.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

161. I Always Tip Regardless Of The Food And Service.

I have never been in the position where the server was intentionally disrespectful. I don't know what I would do then.

[Carolina]

162. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with this

and I am far from a 1%er! But I have encountered some very rude people in service jobs, in customer service departments of businesses, etc and been tempted to do likewise. Usually, I simply leave less than the expected 20%. But tips is an acronym: to insure prompt service... emphasis on SERVICE.

[davsand]

164. Dunno if this is a hoax or not. However, I almost always tip or else ask for a Mgr.

Couldn't tell you if this particular note is real or not. Frankly, IMO, most people are not gonna take the time to write anything down if they are pissed off--at least that was my experience during the years I worked service industry. In fact, most folks, if they are pissed off at bad service or bad food just pay the bill and leave. Then they don't go back to that particular restaurant again, or worse yet, they leave and then tell everyone they know how bad the place sucks.

Waiting tables is one of the most difficult jobs I have ever done. It is physically demanding and a lot of people are really PICKY about food (food and money will get you every time--I swear to gawd!) I can joke about it here at DU, but from the customer's perspective they are PAYING for this stuff--they have a right to be picky. (Tell me you have never said it yourself at some point or another!) Some folks are not just being picky to be jerks and you can never forget that, either. Try living with Diabetes, some sort of digestive issue, or food allergies for too long and you will quickly learn that people usually have a very good reason for asking for food the way they do. Yeah, there is always gonna be the one guy in a hundred who's out to bust your chops, but more often than not there is a very good reason why people act the way they do.

Wait staff is at the mercy of the kitchen and sometimes THAT is a real minefield. On any given night the chef might be in a really bad mood, the line cooks might be surly, and even the dishwasher might have an attitude on when he walks in the door. If you piss off the kitchen that can just KILL you as a server. Potentially, every order that goes out is gonna have some kind of issue, and that means that either your tables' food will take forever, or else you are gonna be catching crap all night about the food that is over/under cooked, the cold food, the wrong stuff on the plate ("I ordered this without onions!&quot or the messed up sides. It makes you look awful as a server too. It doesn't matter what order you turned in--what ends up on that plate is what the customer judges you by.

Waitstaff is at the mercy of the floor manager, and that can be a PITA as well. I don't care how good you are with keeping drinks full or how cheerful you are--if the floor manager tells you to go clean the beer cooler, you gotta do it AND juggle those three or four four-tops you just had walk in the door. If you are lucky, you have a couple of other waits there to kind of cruise by and make sure everybody is happy while you are on your knees scrubbing and keeping the floor manager off your ass. If not--you are gonna be scrambling.

Usually, the waitstaff is the first one to hear about any problems and a lot of times they hear it in less than positive ways. What is so sad is that very often the real issue is not 100% due to a poor wait, but maybe some combination of things. The manager on duty really needs to hear this kind of stuff because they can't fix it if they don't know about the issue. I know some folks view it as "tattling" but I hold a little different perspective.

Let's say two or three people walk out of Bistro X and they are pissed off. They go to a party and tell a few other folks about how bad the experience was at Bistro X. Those folks share the info with a few other folks, and pretty soon the rap on Bistro X is that it sucks and nobody should eat there. The restaurant down the street LOVES hearing Bistro X is crappy, and they are gonna tell everyone else. Pretty soon Bistro X is going down the shitter, and you have a bunch of employees who are gonna not have jobs anymore. It might be that Bistro X really did have bad food or bad service all the time. It might also be that Bistro X was a pretty good place but it had a bad server, or a bad kitchen, or a bad floor manager, or some combination of all those things but NOBODY FREAKING KNEW so it couldn't be fixed!

I'm gonna talk to somebody that can fix it.


Laura

PS, I did it for a few years and I made pretty good money at it.

[MountainMama]

166. This reminds me....

of my very favorite Dave Barry quote: "Someone who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person."

I was a waitress and I also worked at Subway, Pizza Hut and Wendy's. Food service is hard work. You must be cheerful and do all the side work expected and not mess up the orders.

Now, I make an effort to tip quite well. I tip between 20-25%. If I especially like the server, I will tip even more.

If the service is poor, I tip around 10-15%. If it's exceptionally poor, which has happened, I leave around 10% AND speak to the manger.

That's my biggest advice. ALWAYS, speak to the manager when service is very poor or very good. Let them know. Ask for the "manager on duty," so you can speak to whoever's in charge at that time. Be polite and specific. You can get coupons or something for your next visit, which is a plus. I have never ran into a manager that didn't seem to appreciate my feedback. If I did, I wouldn't return.

My own $.02.

[Rex]

170. I've read that karma loves this kind of stuff.

So does irony.

[Horse with no Name]

183. We don't eat out much anymore

But I work very hard for my money. I can't go in and order just anything off the menu...so I really want the experience to be pleasant. It is part of what I am paying for.

I know that if I get complaints about my job performance, I can lose my job. And yes, I work understaffed and underappreciated 90% of the time. I think that is just the climate of work today.

I have had very good service in a busy restaurant and very good service in a not so busy restaurant.

Conversely, I have had very bad service in a busy restaurant and very bad service in a not so busy restaurant so I know that it *is* possible for it to happen.

My metric is not necessarily the wait...or necessarily the quality of food...or whether or not the waitress left my glass empty longer than I would like but rather if they are pleasant when they finally do make it to my table....even if it was only a brief appearance. If they are unpleasant...and I feel no matter what...that is unacceptable, then they are going to be a little displeased with their tip.

The above note is a little harsh. That is a given. However...the message was loud and clear. Had that person given her the tip and then complained to management, she might have lost her job. Instead, she got a swift kick reminder that the customer expects some semblance of good and courteous service...but didn't risk losing her job over it and has another chance to do better with the next set of customers.