Off Topic Post

darth fear, i understand most everything that you said.  please realize though, that from a server's perspective even 15% is a bad tip.  20% is the industry standard and 10% would be for shitty service.  When you leave nothing (i know you said you've only done that a few times) we actually have to PAY to serve you. 

Most of the time if you get bad service the fault doesn't lie on the server anyway.  Either the cooks made a mistake, the manager cut the floor too early and the servers have too many tables, or some other issue caused your poor service.  It's not because the server is in the back blowing you off. 

I make $4.50 an hour.  I have to claim my tips at the end of the night and they are taxed.  So, in the end I make about $2/hr without tips.  I have to tip out 3% of all sales for hosts/hostesses/bartenders.  So, if you rack up a $100 food bill and walk out without leaving a tip I actually paid $1 to take care of you for the evening.  I've seen many many girls come to the kitchen crying their eyes out because of these situations.  Please, please, even if you get shitty service, leave something.

Ironically, one of the reasons I posted the original post was because me and my dad ate at some place and it took 10 minutes for someone to come by at all.  After we ordered, the server walked by the table twice and my glass was dryer than a popcorn fart.  We waited 10 mintues to get our tab at the end.  On top of that, the server told another table they were short staffed tonight that was why things were so slow.  Is that the customers fault?  Maybe the manager should be fired then?   We never complained, but I don't know if I'll ever go there again. 

i hear ya drummy.  you bring up a good point.  its definitely not the customers fault.  not necessarily the manager's fault either.  i work for a corporate restaurant and of course the district manager is always on our store manager's ass about cutting as many hours as possible.  so if business is slow the manager may send half the servers home. 

if 10 parties happen to show up 30 minutes after he made cuts there isn't much that can be done.  its just kind of a shitty situation for everyone at that point.  service is slow.  customers get angry.  this makes the manager angry.  customers dont tip because of slow service.  servers run their asses off trying to keep up and don't get paid.

/thread

thefuture021:

I hate people who won't write down my order. Hate it.

Just write down the fucking order and the carnage is avoided, though.

.

you were cruisin right along kid....... till the very end when you spelled waist wrong.

XXX

you fail

"if the bill is $34.78 and the customer leaves 2 twenties ($40) with the bill, it’s ok to ask “do you want any change back with that.” However, it the bill is $28.78 and the customer leaves 2 twenties, it is not ok to ask that. The customer will leave what he feels is appropriate when the change comes back."

Asking for change is NEVER OK.  The customer will specifically TELL THEIR SERVER IF THEY WANT THEM TO KEEP IT and if the customers do leave all the change, they have worked harder, therefore more tip has been earned.  So it's NOT FOR NOTHING to go get the change.  You shouldn't ask if the customer wants change.  The customer expects every penny of their change back and they get to decide to leave whatever amount.  It sounds really LAZY to ask such a question not to want to make some extra trips.  It's the server's job to get the change unless the customer tells their server to keep it.

"Why can't they just bring the bill 10 minutes after they serve you, and put a pitcher of water at the table?"

Because LOTS of people want DESSERT or AFTERDINNER DRINKS.  Your server shouldn't just give you the check without your consent by not asking you or you asking them.

I find it to be pushing me out if I get the check before I am even offered a dessert even and even when I have a dessert, that doesn't mean I don't want another drink from the bar either, which some servers don't bother to ask and try to play mindreader as if they know if I am finished or not.

 

"Low class pieces of shit who think their high class and think there better than everyone else in the restaurant, demanding 10 different mods, the menu is there for a fuckin reason, not for you to add some shit that needs to be tracked down for 10 mintues in the kitchen."

VERY LAZY of you.  It's NOT "LOW CLASS" to not like something or like more of something such as ranch or mayo.  If you don't want to WORK for your money, GET ANOTHER JOB!!! A job is just that, A JOB, that means WORKING YOUR BUTT OFF!! I do pay extra for the extra work as long as they get it right and things in a timely fashion.  You sound so SELFISH by not wanting to make your customers happy.  What a MEAN person you are.

It has NOTHING to do we think we are better. It has EVERYTHING to do with how we like our food to taste.

My personal restaurant pet peeves are servers not bringing out food correctly that is OBVIOUS to the EYES.  An example, I ordered a baked potato as a side dish, OUR WAITER(not another server) brings out mac n' cheese.  Now come on now, that's just not even TRYING to VERIFY the plate.  It's like DUH, a baked potato is NOT mac n' cheese.

Another pet peeve, ASSUMPTIONS.  Assuming I want the check, ASSUMING I don't want ALL of my change, ASSUMING I want my salad AFTER the appetizer instead of before, ASSUMING I want an appetizer with my meal just because 2 of them are ordered, ASSUMING just because you ask for a box that you don't even want a dessert even, ASSUMING that you want the check before you are even finished the dessert when I have wanted to order another bar drink, bringing me a refill of soft drink or water without asking me or letting me ask, refilling tea without asking me or letting me ask, Assuming because I said "2 sides of bbq sauce" that 2 servers thought I meant "ON THE SIDE" so my ribs were delivered as if I said "2 sides of bbq sauce ON THE SIDE" when I said "2 sides of bbq sauce" on the side that was just EXTRA bbq sauce, etc. 

A lot of these assumptions have caused problems that could have been prevented if they VERBALLY COMMUNICATED WITH ME INSTEAD OF ASSUMING "EVERYONE WANTS IT DONE THIS WAY", well, NO, NOT EVERYONE DOES.  Unless you ask or let the customer ask, you will never know what they really want.

Overcharges in restaurants.  Many times my husband and I have been overcharged.  I am tired of being a baby-sitter looking over everything on my bill when it's supposed to be the SERVER that's supposed to care about my money if they want my money.

Servers that don't apologize and don't admit at fault when they are.  They always blame the kitchen, but 9 times out of 10, the server could have PREVENTED THE PROBLEM.  I had a waiter tell me when he forgot my 2 sides of mayo and 1 side of mustard, "The kitchen forgot" when HE, NOT another server, HE brought out the food.  I am thinking in my head "NO YOU forgot to bring it out the kitchen, DUH."  You don't blame the kitchen staff for something YOU could have caught yourself as an error.  That's just being LAZY not to verify the written order with the plate of food IN THE KITCHEN.  It's not the customer's job to keep repeating their order when things are OBVIOUSLY MISSING like that.

Servers taking a very long time to bring your first soft drinks or tea and refills.  Soft drinks or tea are usually at a soda station for the server to get, so it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to get a refill under normal circumstances.  Just recently, my husband and I waited 16 minutes to get 1 coke and 1 stawberry lemonade. I mean, like that's just uncaring and ridiculous to take that long from getting seated to bring drinks that are in the server's control.

You MAKE some VERY GOOD points about THE service INDUSTRY. I especially AGREE with your POINTS ABOUT assumptions.

iono, she just seems kinda angry to me...

  and by angry i mean pissy... and by pissy i mean bitchy  

keep your fucking kids at the damn table and have them shut the fuck up..christ almighty it pisses me off when some little shit is running into my chair/table or they are yelling at the top of their lungs..be a damn parent and have them obey..or beat that ass and tell them to shut the fuck up..

"I hate waiting for my check."

I don't like waiting for my check when I have asked for it, but ONLY when I have asked or have been asked if I am ready for it when I am ready for my check.

I really hate more than that, is waiting to get the check rung up.  That's when my husband and I have had more times than not had waiting long periods of time like 10 minutes or longer to be able to PAY and leave since we pay with a credit card 99% of the time.  Even if we pay with cash, I'd still like my change and make my decision from then on as to how much I will leave as to how long they took to get me my change and if they even give me ALL my change back.  I feel servers should come back within 2-3 minutes at MOST to ring up the check.  5 iminutes is way too long.  When we have had to wait 5 minutes or longer, a lowered tip was in store.

"You MAKE some VERY GOOD points about THE service INDUSTRY. I especially AGREE with your POINTS ABOUT assumptions."

You must have had some assumptions in some of your dining experiences? I just wish servers would just simply ASK you instead of grouping EVERYONE as that they want the same things, the same ways.  Even if 99% of people want a refill for instance, there's people like me and my husband that have wanted another drink or not wanted a refill.  I just wish servers would just ASK.  I had a waiter one time when we paid with 2 $20 gift certificates took it upon himself to keep 31 cents of my change. It's not the 31 cents, it's the PRINCIPLE that he decided to just be lazy not to go the bar or the manager to get the change since servers normally don't have access to coins.  The fact that he took his tip EARLY costed him his tip entirely, because he stole, so did we back.  It's the fact that let the CUSTOMER do the tipping, NOT take part of the money ahead of time, no matter if it would be even just a penny.  I would just tell my server keep it if I wanted him or her to keep it.  That's another server that made an assumption.