Yes, I've done something like this before. Yes, I'm aware that there's virtually no chance that this is read by the people that need to read it. Every now and then, though, I just need to get some shit off my chest. I've been in this business for 13 years, and even though I'm working hard to get out, I will always have a soft spot for the restaurant business. I'm not getting out because it's not good money, and I don't want out because I hate the business itself. I'm getting out because I'm sick of dealing with the largely ignorant public as a whole. Now, I know I had a choice here. I chose to work at a well-known chain restaurant, as opposed to a 4-star local place, because I know that in southeastern Virginia, your best bet to make money is quantity over quality, because such quality is just too few and far between here.
First, this isn't going to focus on tipping, or the lack thereof. I know some people are just plain cheap. I know I'm going to get shitty tips that I do not deserve. This is no longer a big deal to me, because I'm very good at what I do, and I'll make my money in the end. It's all of the other dumb shit you do that really gets to me.
Let's start at the front door. You walk into a busy restaurant: let's say, just as an example, The Cheesecake Factory. You get to the front desk and they tell you it will be a 45-60 minute wait. At this point, you have a choice: (a)you can choose to wait up to an hour just to get a table, or (b)you can carry your ass somewhere else. Most of you, for one inexplicable reason or another, will choose to wait. That's fine by me, because the more people we pack into the restaurant, the more money I'm going to make. Since I can count on about 25% of you tipping me 10% or less, and to round up all the cattle I can. Now, remember, they told you that you might wait 60 minutes for a table. When your pager goes off 55 minutes later, don't come to my table with a fucking attitude about how long you waited. Sure, most restaurants don't know how to quote a wait. We do. Get over it. You made that bed when you took the pager.
Now that you have a table and you're settled in, it's time for the dining experience to begin. I will be at your table in one minute or less, so please make sure you're ready. I don't mean that you should know what you want to eat, but you should be ready to give me your attention and the respect I deserve as the person who is now in charge of orchestrating your dining experience for the remainder of the evening. Start by hanging up your damn phone. If the conversation is that important, chances are you shouldn't be out eating. Being on the phone is a sure-fire way to piss me off right from the get go, and I'm going to be less inclined to go out of way to provide you with an over-the-top fantastic dining experience. You're already one strike on the hole.
Next, when I speak to you, look me in the eye. Don't stare at the table when you talk. Don't mumble. If you can't look at me and speak clearly, don't get mad at me when your order comes out wrong. This is another strike against you. This doesn't mean I'm going to intentionally ruin your experience. Again, I'm just not going out of way to make it special for you. If you do this because you have some sort of social anxiety disorder, then Pizza Hut let's you order online.
I am a server, but I am not not your servant. Do not talk down to me. I wait tables to pay my bills while I'm in school. I'm majoring in aerospace engineering and mathematics, with a minor in physics, and that's because I don't want to be a doctor or a lawyer or any number of other jobs I'm more than capable of doing. My IQ is high enough for me to join Mensa. There's a 90-95% chance that I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you, so don't talk down to me just because you're paying. The point is, you have no idea why your server has chosen to wait tables, and you are no better than they are. Treat them with the same respect that you think you deserve.
On that note, I introduce myself for a reason. My name is David. Use it. Don't call me "excuse me: and for Christ's sake don't call me "sir".
Some other things you should never, ever do upon sitting down and being greeted by your server:
1. DO NOT pull out your money clip and place it on the table or start counting it in front of me. At this point, I know you have no intention of leaving a good tip, and the odds are good you won't tip me at all. I've been in this business a long time, and that is a sure sign that you are an intentionally shitty tipper. You know the saying 'You get what you pay for?' You might not want to let me know what you intend to pay for right off hand, because that's exactly what I'll give you. You just slipped to the very bottom of my priority list, and all of my other guests will get what they need first.
2. DO NOT bring those stupid powder packets that you can add to your water to make lemonade or fruit punch. If you don't want plain water, and you don't want to pay for a drink, please don't come to a restaurant like the Cheesecake Factory. While we're certainly not 5-star, we aren't Denny's either. Have some class. Just like Money Clip Guy, you've now told me I cannot expect to make much money here, and you've slipped on the priority list.
3. DO NOT interrupt me. EVER. When I come over to introduce myself and I ask how you are or some other such greeting, don't stop me in the middle to order a sweet tea. This goes back to the respect issue, and treating people the way you like to be treated. I probably have some things I need to tell you because the restaurant makes me, and there are some other things I'm going to add in because my job is to give you the best possible experience I can. Don't interrupt or I won't care if you have a good time or not, and you just became the last asshole in my section to get a drink refill.
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, it's time to get down to business. Hopefully you've avoided all of the above no-nos, but you are not in the clear yet. I've brought your drinks and you've had a few minutes to look at the menu. I've given a couple of quick suggestions. If you still need a few minutes to decide, great. I'll be happy to make some more suggestions, tell you about certain dishes, and help you narrow down a few choices. That's part of what I do to make sure you get exactly what you want. If you still need to look, that's fine too, but I'm going to walk away and tend to the other 3 (at least) parties of guests that I'm taking care of. DO NOT tell me that you're ready to order and then spend 5 more minutes looking while I stand table-side waiting. This will piss me off, and it will ensure that you now get more than enough time to decide, because I will walk away without notice for at least 5 more minutes, and I will blatantly ignore your first attempt to get my attention.
You aren't quite sure what to order, so you have a few questions. Great! I spent a lot of time learning everything I could about the 200 items on our menu so that I could adequately answer your questions. Here's the thing. You don't know shit about the food except what the menu says. I do know basically everything. If I tell you about a dish, and it doesn't sound exactly like something you want. DON'T FUCKING ORDER IT!!!! You are not at Golden Corral. You cannot just try something and send it back if you don't like it. If you want to modify a dish and I tell you it won't be good that way, take my word for it. We've already established that I'm smarter than you. If I tell you about a dish and you hesitate for even a second, I'm going to drive home just how much you WILL NOT like that dish, and if you choose to order it anyway, and it turns out that I was right about you hating it, oh well. You had more than enough information at hand to make a good choice, and you chose poorly. No immortality for you. If the kitchen screws something up, we'll pay for it. If you don't like something that I specifically told you that you wouldn't like? Well, you know what they say in Russia*. I'll box it up for you since you paid for it, and maybe the dog will eat it.
Back to the subject of getting my attention. We're a busy restaurant. I personally take care of as many as 20-30 people at one time. There will be occasions when I have many things to do at once, and you may need to get my attention. I have no problem with this, except there are right and wrong ways to go about it. When I'm on the floor, I make eye contact with each one of my guests before I go to the kitchen or the bar or wherever I have to go. If you need something, and I'm headed in the other direction, a small gesture to let me know is acceptable. I'm happy to get you what you need. Most people by now are aware that snapping your fingers might get a drink "accidentally" spilled on you, but some people don't seem to be aware that it is rude to yell at me when I'm talking to another guest at another table. Are you fucking kidding me? I didn't interrupt you when you were on your cell phone, and I didn't intentionally give you unsweet tea when you ordered sweet tea in the middle of my greeting to you, so who the hell are you to yell at me when I'm clearly speaking to someone else?
There are several other things you should and should not do during the meal:
1. If you ordered an appetizer for the table, please lend a hand when we bring it out and clear a space in the middle of the fucking table. Don't look at us like we have three heads when we stand there with the plate and nowhere to put it on the table.
2. DO NOT let your kid make a mess all over the table and floor. It's ridiculous people. Bring a toy or a bottle or whatever, but don't let the little shit throw Cheerios all over the floor. On top of being tacky, you aren't going to tip me any extra to clean up the extra mess. There is a reason The Cheesecake Factory doesn't have a kid's menu.
3. If you're thirsty, fine, but if you think I'm refilling your Diet Coke 11 times before your dinner gets to the table, you're nuts.
Okay, so I lied. It's time to talk about money. Contrary to popular belief, I know that the vast majority of the guests I take care of know that the restaurant pays me $2.13 an hour, and that I will never get a raise in my hourly pay. That means I make every dime from the guests I take care of. When you go out to eat at an upscale casual restaurant like The Cheesecake Factory, you are paying for more than food. Your check covers the food, but the tip is for the service you received. Do you get new tires for your car without paying for labor? No. By the same token, you can't get food without paying for the service, either, unless you go to McDonald's. When you don't tip, or leave me 10% of your bill or less, you've in essence stolen from me. There is never, ever any excuse to leave a tip that is less than 10% of your bill. If your service was that bad, a manager should have known about long before you got your check. I have never worked with anyone who gave service that deserved a $5 tip on a $150 check, and yet I see it all the time.
1. If your food came out cooked wrong, it's not your server's fault. Don't take it out on them.
2. If you don't like the dish, it's not your server's fault, ESPECIALLY if they told you before you ordered it that you wouldn't like it.
3. If you had a bad day and you're in a shitty mood, it's not your server's fault. They have just as many bad days as you, if not more, and they don't take it out on you.
4. If you don't have a lot money, it's not your server's fault. If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to eat out. Order take out or cook at home.
I don't think I'm going to spend much more time talking about your awful tipping habits, but I hope those of you who have never worked in the food service industry understand just how far a little respect goes, because karma will get you in the end.
*Toughkie Shitskie........I don't know what it means either, but my father loved saying it to me when I was a kid.
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3 comments:
Those damn Russians and there saying really ruined a lot of things in my childhood.
"2. DO NOT bring those stupid powder packets that you can add to your water to make lemonade or fruit punch. If you don't want plain water, and you don't want to pay for a drink, please don't come to a restaurant like the Cheesecake Factory. While we're certainly not 5-star, we aren't Denny's either. Have some class."
I have NEVER personally done this, but if people would rather save that money to give you a better tip, WHY NOT? There's more money for YOU instead of the restaurant. WHY can't you look at it like that? I have brought my own coke before at Applebee's due to them having only pepsi products, because I cannot stand pepsi. I am not a big fan of slice or mountain dew either. I didn't feel like a tea, so I chose to bring my own. It had NOTHING to do with being cheap. It had to do with that's what drink I like to drink. Having class at a non-fancy restaurant is OK. If I go to Outback, sorry, but I don't have to act classy, this isn't a fancy restaurant.
I think it's RUDE and HORRIBLE of you to act like customers can't drink what they please. It's NOT going into your body, so if they want to save $2, WHY NOT? I think it would be better to have more money when it comes tip time than to give $2 more to the restaurant. I mean seriously, you aren't thinking about that, are you?
Whether it's water or if a customer brings crystal light, that's up to the CUSTOMER, NOT their server. WHERE do YOU get off telling customers WHAT they want to drink? You aren't drinking it, so SHUT THE HELL UP!!!
"3. DO NOT interrupt me. EVER. When I come over to introduce myself and I ask how you are or some other such greeting, don't stop me in the middle to order a sweet tea. This goes back to the respect issue, and treating people the way you like to be treated."
I get this, BUT, I would actually rather just you ask what I want to drink. I could care less what your name is or whatever specials there are. So personally, if managers wouldn't make the servers do this, if I were a server, I would think of the CUSTOMER'S TIME by just getting their drink order as QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Do you understand that MOST customers don't care about the stupid greeting crap? ALL WE WANT IS TO PLACE OUR ORDER SO WE CAN GET OUR DRINKS AND FOOD FASTER. All the greet does is WASTE TIME as far as I am concerned. It sucks that managers make their servers do that. You have to look at it as when YOU are a customer. Do YOU want to wait for your drink extra time or do you want it as QUICKLY as possible? If you want your drink very quickly, then how can you blame customers for interrupting you?
"DO NOT tell me that you're ready to order and then spend 5 more minutes looking while I stand table-side waiting. This will piss me off,"
I AGREE 100% with you on this one. I think it's the RUDEST THING to LIE to your server. If you aren't ready to order, DON'T SAY YOU ARE!! When I say my husband and I are ready to order, we are READY to order. I wouldn't dare waste someone else's time and my server's time. If we need more time, we tell our server.
"1. If you ordered an appetizer for the table, please lend a hand when we bring it out and clear a space in the middle of the fucking table. Don't look at us like we have three heads when we stand there with the plate and nowhere to put it on the table."
I 100% AGREE with this one. Make room for a hot plate or plates in general, because it does save TIME.
"2. DO NOT let your kid make a mess all over the table and floor. It's ridiculous people. Bring a toy or a bottle or whatever, but don't let the little shit throw Cheerios all over the floor. On top of being tacky, you aren't going to tip me any extra to clean up the extra mess. There is a reason The Cheesecake Factory doesn't have a kid's menu."
I AGREE 100% that parents should be PARENTS. If a parent wouldn't want their kid to make a mess at home, WHY is it ok in public?
"There is never, ever any excuse to leave a tip that is less than 10% of your bill. If your service was that bad, a manager should have known about long before you got your check."
Sorry, this one I VERY MUCH 100% DISAGREE WITH! First off, complaining before you get your food can cause spit in your food or your food to be thrown on the floor, so I rather do it AFTER my service is over with. Second of all, sometimes the service issue isn't until the check comes. My husband and I have had over 20 overcharges since 2001 in restaurants. There is ALWAYS an excuse to leave 10% or a total stiff. LOOK at these examples and just as you said "This goes back to the respect issue, and treating people the way you like to be treated", well that were YOU in those experiences, would have you truly tipped well or at all? I bet you would have not tipped over 10%, possibly nothing for the ones that stole on purpose or made soooo many mistakes that they just weren't trying and I truly bet for the ones that were rude; you would not have tipped them at all?
A waiter at Applebee's in 2003 overcharged my credit card around $11 because he rung up the WRONG table. He could have been making us pay the HIGHER bill, so his friends at another table could pay a LOWER bill possibly. He NEVER apologized ONCE and when I went up to him, which I interrupted him getting drink orders(because this was MAJOR overcharge), he IGNORED me, so I IGNORED his tip. It's PATHETIC when the CUSTOMER has to go get the manager instead of the SERVER getting the manager as he SHOULD HAVE. Then the waiter went around the computer where my husband and I were as the manager was returning my money to my credit card getting ready to rering OUR REAL bill, the manager asks "So what they ordered” to the waiter. The waiter blurted it out from MEMORY basically, which to me PROVES he did it on PURPOSE. I did tell the manager I felt he did it on purpose, but the manager didn’t believe me that he did it intentionally. I didn't get a sorry from the waiter then either. It's pathetic that he didn't even apologize when he was watching our correct bill being rung up by the manager. I was SO PISSED. There are servers that WILL do overcharge you on purpose. Some will put things on your bill you never got. Yes, it COULD have been a REAL mistake, but at LEAST have the COMMON DECENCY to be NICE ENOUGH to APOLOGIZE for my INCONVENIENCE. The manager at Applebee's I don't believe he apologized and DEFINATELY didn't give us ANYTHING for free for our overcharge or INCONVENIENCE. Our bill was $36 and something cents and the credit card receipt conveniently was brought without the check with $47 and something cents rung up. I was about to write $6, then I realized RIGHT AWAY, the amount was WAYYYY OFF. The ONLY reason why I interrupted someone else's dining experience was because this was a MAJOR overcharge and there's NEVER a reason to make a customer wait over an overcharge such as that. I wasn't about to wait a long time to get this fixed and I shouldn't be punished because of this waiter's careless or I feel, theft. See, if I would have been the server in that situation, I would have told the party that I was serving that I overcharged a customer and that I would be right back. I would have IMMEDIATELY apologized instead of no apology. I would have gotten a manager to fix the situation and asked the manager to comp something for the customer's inconvenience, which of course he didn't do. See, I would have (((CARED)))) about my customers, NOT been like that to expect the customer to CARE about my tip if I didn't CARE about them. What goes around, comes around. HE STOLE from me, I STOLE HIS TIP. Instead of $6, he made NOTHING. He also would have made $2 extra dollars from the extra taxes and extra tip percentage from the higher check, NOT just $11. So really, I got overcharged around $13 in a sense. The higher the check amount, the higher the taxes and tips under normal situations. Would you have tipped a server that would have IGNORED you when you told him the credit card amount was wrong he charged, especially for that HIGH of an overcharge? He completely IGNORED ME. It wasn't like I was interrupting someone else's dining experience to ask for a refill, this was for a HUGE OVERCHARGE, so I have EVERY RIGHT to EXPECT the server to INTERRUPT the party he was serving to get my credit card amount he charged me fixed. I personally WOULD have interrupted the party I was at if I would have been the server, because ANY and ALL MISTAKES SHOULD COME FIRST, NO MATTER WHAT SITUATION HAPPENS, MISTAKES SHOULD ALWAYS BE TOP PRIORITY OVER EVERY THING ELSE. I couldn't fathom treating a customer like he did to me. I am willing to bet he was wanting for us to pay for his friend's higher check, so his friends could give him the money, so he would have made literally around $13. For a server not to APOLOGIZE ONCE for such a huge overcharge, which all I said was that my credit card receipt was wrong. It wasn't like I was mean to him or rude. To not apologize for such a HUGE mistakes and to be that mean, you are for sure going to get NOTHING. It’s the UNCARING, UNFEELING WAY HE HANDLED THE SITUATION. I don’t EVER interrupt someone else’s turn unless I have a mistake. Can you blame me for wanting to leave and trying to get an almost $11 mistake fixed by interrupting him at another table? WHY should the CUSTOMER that has such a HUGE MISTAKE get PUNISHED by being held hostage sort of like until that waiter comes back to us, if he was going to at all considering our check was paid for? I wasn't about to wait one moment longer to get a major mistake like that fixed. If I would have been that server in this situation, I would have told the party I was at that I had overcharged a customer and that I would be right back instead of ignoring the customer like he did. I also feel he did it on purpose, because he only handed back the credit card receipts, NOT the check to make damn sure we didn’t remember the amount of our check. WHO in their right mind would not notice a difference between around $36 check and on my credit card slip was charged $47? I’m NOT STUPID, neither is my husband. Our waiter ran off so quickly that we didn't get to tell him when he delivered the credit card receipt and my credit card back, which is why I had to go interrupt him. Instead of around 15% he was going to get since his service wasn't exactly the best or anything, he got completely stiffed since he couldn't have even APOLOGIZE for it nor did he act like he cared he did this to us. I truly feel he did this on purpose. Would you have tipped or if you would have, HOW MUCH? If you would have tipped, WHY? Would you have believed that it was an innocent mistake even though he couldn't say he was sorry ONCE? Would you have felt sorry for him, even though he was a thief? Just curious what you would have done in that situation?
I had a waiter that wrote down my order and brought me the completely wrong entrée. I ordered an appetizer as my entrée. I ordered bbq chicken nachos and he brought me quesadillas to our table. We both told him we didn't order that. He just walks off with the quesadillas, NO EXPLANATION, NO APOLOGY, NOTHING. I wanted to know what the heck was going on why I didn't have my food, but my husband had his, so I ended up walking up to him to ask. He told me he pressed the wrong button, only said he was sorry, NOT "SO SORRY" as he should have for ruining our outing. Anyway, I didn't call a manager because all I cared about was getting my food and he didn't either, so nothing was comped. Since he acted like he didn't give a care, I didn't care at all about his tip. ZERO tip is what he received. See, if he would have given us the quesadillas that they probably threw away, told a manager, asked the manager if he or she could comp the entrée, and profusely apologized, he would have at least received 10%, but he didn't care, so I didn't care when it came down to tip time. See, he made *2* mistakes. He put the order into the computer incorrectly. Secondly, he didn't bother to REREAD the order he WROTE DOWN and compared it to the plate of food. So, in this situation, even if the cook cooked the wrong food, the SERVER SHOULD REREAD THE ORDER. He looked like an IDIOT. I'm sorry, but there was NO EFFORT and NO CARING(THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT TO ME) in our service, therefore, he received nothing deservably so. I treat people the way they treat me just as you pointed out. My point is, if servers would just act like they CARE, they'd get paid for a huge mistake like a completely wrong entrée. Honestly, I don't feel he meant the sorry because his actions didn't match the sorry. If he would have truly been sorry, he would have told a manager and said he was "SO SORRY" right as he realized what had happened. He wouldn't have left me without any explanation about where my food was. He HANDLED the situation as if he didn't care, so I didn't care one bit about his tip. A CARING WAITER would have IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED THE MANAGER. I didn't even call the manager over just because I just wanted my food, that's all. NOTHING was comped, no manager was notified, and I had to GET UP to ask where my food was as well as to get a TINY APOLOGY, well FUCK HIM!!! WHY would ANYONE treat someone so UNCARINGLY? I couldn't FATHOM treating a customer like that. You shouldn't have to get up to find out where your entrée was and to get at least ONE SORRY for such as situation. That's just WRONG and VERY DISRESPECTFUL! Would you have tipped a waiter that made YOU go up to him to find out WHY you didn't get your food, but the other person in your party got theirs and that YOU would have had to go up to the server to get a SORRY? I am just curious as to if you would have tipped this uncaring waiter? If you would have, how much and WHY when he had no RESPECT for his customer's feelings or time or money?
I also had a waitress overcharge me by pressing a wrong button. My husband and I both had entrées, which I added a salad to my entrée, my husband didn't. The salad was $1.99 if you add it to an entrée and it was $3.50 without an entrée. The waitress charged me $3.50. This restaurant was not a chain, it was a local small restaurant, which only had literally 1 party of 2 besides my husband and I as well as one person at the bar, that's it. Now I go up to her to ask her why the salad was $3.50 and she goes "It's whatever is in the computer", so I have to show her the menu which is totally RIDICULOUS that I had to do such as thing when it should have been HER to grab a menu and see if I was wrong or not. This was my FIRST AND ONLY TIME THERE, BUT I KNEW THE PRICES BETTER THAN SHE DID, WHICH IS TRULY SAD, IT REALLY IS. The fact is, the computer price DOESN'T MATTER, because if the menu states a certain price, well that's the price the server has to charge me, NOT what price is in the computer even if this would have been a wrong price on the menu issue. I HATE, DESPISE, that attitude that the computer only matters as if the ADVERTISED PRICE ON THE MENU DOESN'T MATTER. When customers order things off of a menu, they go by the price that is listed, NOT by a COMPUTER SYSTEM. Anyway, she had ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO VERIFY THAT CHECK, BUT DECIDED TO BE LAZY. She didn't even ask for them to comp something which I feel she should have since it was HER mistake, not a wrong price in the computer, but it was COMPLETELY HER mistake for pressing the wrong button. My finalized check was "add house salad to entrée" instead of just "house salad" as the first check had. Only thing she said was as she was handing me the corrected check "Sorry about the mistake." No "So sorry" as I feel she SHOULD have. This was over a dollar mistake, actually $1.51 to be exact, plus extra taxes and extra tip percentage that the higher check amount would have made her tip. Sorry, but I stiffed her because she HANDLED it as if she couldn't POSSIBLY be at fault when I went up to her. Telling me "It's whatever is in the computer" is EXTREMELY RUDE and it's also putting the blame on a computer, which even if the price was wrong such as (let's say the menu states $4.99 and the computer charges $4.49), it would still be on *HER* to notice that, NOT for the customer to have to notice it. I DON'T CARE what's in the computer; it's what's on the MENU that the customer sees, so that is what counts, NOT what's in the computer. See, if that would have been ME as the server in that situation, I would have automatically looked in the menu to INVESTIGATE the situation instead of blaming a computer, because we are SMARTER than computers. I would have also apologized RIGHT AWAY by saying I was “so sorry “ as well as asked the manager to comp the salad for the longer wait. I couldn't fathom saying "It's whatever is in the computer" to someone, because people are SMARTER than computers. We can catch errors better than a computer. Think about spell check. If I write "Their" and "There", the computer will not catch which "There" or "Their" I meant. We as human beings have the POWER to make sure the computer has the correct price by double checking the check. I feel her *attitude* about the situation is what made me not tip. If she would have been NICER about it, then I DEFINATELY would have tipped her at least 10%. Sorry, but we actually go out to eat every weekend, so we have been overcharged over 20 times LITERALLY since 2001 so I am really TIRED of showing the server PROOF that they overcharged me when honestly *THAT SERVER* COULD HAVE made sure they were charging me correctly. They make MORE money if the bill is higher too which is a higher overcharge than the exact amount. Like the $1.51 was like having approx. $1.75 taken from us due to not just taxes that are more but also percentage of tip more. I am just TRULY TIRED of DOUBLE CHECKING SERVERS for what *THEY* are supposed to be doing, NOT THE CUSTOMER! What really got her no tip was NOT the MISTAKE; it was her LAZY ASS, UNCARING, ATTITUDE. She acted as if she couldn't POSSIBLY be WRONG by telling me it's whatever is in the computer. THAT IS SOOO MEAN and VERY UNCARING. The computer price really doesn't matter, because I am ONLY responsible for the price listed on the MENU, NOT the computer price. It was just her UNCARING ATTITUDE about it as if she was too LAZY to even try to find out by asking her manager. Instead, I had to show her on the menu where it had that the side salads were $1.99 with an entrée as if I worked there or something. Trying to prove a menu situation whether it would be price or food related to a server should NEVER happen, because that server WORKS THERE, I DON'T. The main reason that I stiffed her was that she acted like she didn't even want to investigate what I was asking, which was why the salad was $3.50. She wants a tip, but doesn't care about her CUSTOMER'S MONEY, FUCK THAT SHIT. She DESERVED her NO TIP. Would you have tipped in that situation due to her nasty attitude about that the computer only matters when SHE actually pressed the wrong button as if she couldn't possibly be wrong or something? It wasn't even like it was busy, so I really don't feel bad about stiffing her. Would you have tipped her since her attitude was to blame a MACHINE and for her not to even INVESTIGATE that SHE could have been wrong considering she didn’t say "So sorry" or even ask her manager to comp something for HER mistake?
I had a waitress at Chili’s that actually ended up getting fired after I reported my bad service to corporate. She wrote down my order, but SHE brought out my food with the most OBVIOUS things WRONG. I ordered “Grilled Baby Back Ribs with honey bbq sauce on them with substituting the bowl of cinnamon apples that the ribs came with it for extra fries, 2 sides of honey bbq sauce, 1 side of ranch, and 1 side of mayo. She brings out the food with the BIG BOWL of cinnamon apples on the plate with only my side of ranch as well as NO extra fries and has the audacity to ask me when she brought out our food “So what did you order” when she WROTE IT DOWN as if she couldn't READ or something. That was just showing how VERY LAZY she was NOT to REREAD the order. She probably STUPIDLY threw the paper away. The manager told me she printed the ticket correctly. WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO TO PRINT A TICKET CORRECTLY IF THE FOOD IS WRONG? The ticket being correct doesn't matter if my food is wrong, I STILL have my food wrong. It's like whose fault is it for making my food wrong is NOT the issue; it's that the food is WRONG that's the issue. Bringing it to me like that makes the server look like a complete IDIOT when that BIG BOWL is on the plate and she took my order. If a food runner takes my food to me, that's an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT situation, but when it's the SAME SERVER that takes the order there should be some *EFFORT* to make sure my food is taken to the customer correctly as far as OBVIOUS mistakes go. It's like NO EFFORT on her part to make sure I had EXACTLY what I ordered. It makes me mad that they can’t REREAD the order BEFORE they take it to me. I NEVER got ONE apology from her, NOT ONE. I had reported this situation to the manager due to the fact that I had a margarita I had waited for a half an hour, so that’s why I reported her to begin with. Turns out they were out of shakers that the Presidente' margarita came in, so there was a mix up. The bartender made my margarita in the wrong glass. The bartender never told the server about the situation nor did my waitress find out about it within a reasonable amount of time, therefore, I ended up getting my margarita from the manager after waiting literally a half an hour for it(9:02p.m.-9:35p.m.) way after me and my husband were done eating. Someone else apparently ended up getting the margarita that was mine. The waitress NEVER ONCE apologized for all those mistakes. Backtracking here, at about 15 minutes(9:18pm.)waiting for my margarita she asks if I had been brought the margarita by some other server, which I told her no, but I couldn't help myself, I told her about all my complaints, because I was really getting SICK of her horrible service without ANY APOLOGIES. I had to ask for utensils TWICE. I told her about that I had to ask for utensils twice and she replied "That's the hostess's job" right to my face. I ended up reporting her to corporate and she got fired. Yes, I STIFFED the bitch, DESERVABLY SO. She could have gone to check on my margarita after the 10 minute mark(9:12p.m.), NOT almost 15 minutes which is what she did. My husband and I were WELL finished our meals even with the mistakes she made by the time my margarita arrived. That was one of the RUDEST waitresses I've EVER encountered. If she would have said she was sorry at least once even, I probably wouldn't have been so pissed off. Some servers are really UNCARING and MEAN. Would you have tipped a server that made NO EFFORT to "BRING" the food out CORRECTLY, that made you ask for utensils twice, that told you it wasn't her job basically to get some utensils, to not APOLOGIZE even ONCE for all of that, for making you wait 30 minutes for a margarita without checking on where the drink was all of that time and for her not even asking the manager to comp anything, which nothing was comped? If you would have tipped her, WHY in the world would you have tipped someone that told you "It's the hostess's job" and for them being so UNCARING of your TIME and YOUR FOOD BEING OBVIOUSLY CORRECT SINCE SHE BROUGHT OUT THE FOOD? What amount would you have given her if you would have tipped her and WHY? Do you feel she deserved to get treated like a human being at that point? Do you feel she treated me like a human being? I feel she treated us like dogs. We are people with feelings, so I feel we COULD have been treated like we have feelings, just as SHE has feelings. I truly cannot believe you would tip someone like this if you would have. Look at all of those mistakes with no apologizes, rudeness, and RIDICULOUS LONG WAIT for ONE MARGARITA. Also look at her LAZY ATTITUDE that that's the HOSTESS'S JOB and THE KITCHEN STAFF'S JOB TO PLATE THE FOOD CORRECTLY as if she had no common sense to VERIFY what the items on the plate. Her attitude was that another runner would have brought out the drink instead of HER double checking where it was at. Would you have tipped her?
Have you EVER had 5 or more mistakes in ONE dining experience? My husband and I have, which we left zero tip. The waitress was rude because she kissed her boyfriend bye and told him bye while she was getting my drink order interrupting me ordering my drink, but even if she didn't do that, sorry, but I can only take SO MUCH before I feel the server ISN'T TRYING AT ALL AND DOESN'T CARE AT ALL ABOUT HER CUSTOMERS. My husband's soft drink was wrong(root beer instead of diet coke) which she even told my husband root beer and he said "No, diet coke" when she brought it to the table(this happened because she was TOO BUSY kissing her boyfriend and chit-chatting), appetizer came with our entrées instead of as an appetizer, pickle with a toothpick on top of the bun(VISIBLE TO THE SERVER’S EYES)(ordered without pickles), cheese fries were supposed to come with ranch according to the MENU(ANOTHER VISABLE mistake on her part, because NO RANCH was there, NO mayonnaise was brought for my burger as I ordered. Backtracking here, when she had came back with my husband's soft drink she repeated the wrong margarita I ordered which means she didn't even put the order in yet for the margarita which I had to repeat my order again to her due to her worrying about her precious boyfriend instead of doing her JOB. So she wasted my time all because she was more worried about her boyfriend than my margarita order. She should have ALREADY PUT IN THE ORDER FOR THAT MARGARITA, ((((BEFORE))))) coming back to the table with the soft drinks. I also ordered the burger with no tomato, which there was a slice of tomato(the manager told me she didn't put in the order correctly so that mistake was on her). Normally you can't see a tomato on a closed-faced burger or sandwich so I normally don't blame the server for things the server can’t SEE is wrong unless they admit they were at fault for putting in the order wrong, but I could that time, because the order wasn’t put into the computer correctly and the mayo packets I asked for when I ordered weren't there(ANOTHER VISIBLE MISTAKE). Sorry but when you have THAT MANY MISTAKES, YOU AREN'T TRYING YOUR BEST. YOU JUST DON’T GIVE A CARE! I don't feel that's even worth 10% tip. You didn't go through the bad experience, so you have no idea how it felt. It was aggravating to have to keep repeating my order constantly for things she wrote down and can you believe she wasn't going to write it down the food orders? I had to ask if she could please write the order down. I can't imagine what our meal would have come out like if she wouldn't have written it down. It would have been more screwed up more than likely. I feel that's a ZERO tip for not trying. 1-3 mistakes that are small is tolerable, but getting to the 5 mistakes area is a VERY BAD I feel. To begin with, she showed us lack of RESPECT by INTERRUPTING me ordering my margarita for her to kiss her boyfriend and chatted for a moment. I even get better service at MCDONALD'S than that. Just as you feel you don't want customers to interrupt you with the greeting, which I don't personally, well servers should have the same respect. At least a McDonald's cashier is NOT trying to kiss her boyfriend bye while taking my order. I feel you be rude to me, no tip for you. Also, you would have thought the waitress would have said she was sorry for interrupting me, which she DIDN'T. She did say she was sorry for a couple of mistakes, but that's about it. To mess up so many times on drinks, is just really not trying at all. Having to ask a server to write orders down after they had made mistakes is RIDICULOUS as well. Even if she wouldn't have been rude to us at the beginning with the kissing her boyfriend issue, we would have still left nothing, because there were too many mistakes that were COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE. She really acted as if she could care LESS about her customer's happiness. If you went through this experience, I truly think you would have left nothing too. A server is NOT supposed to be INTERRUPTING you ordering to kiss someone. That is just SOOOO DAMN RUDE and a person like that doesn't have any manners to speak of. Would you have tipped this waitress for caring more about her personal life(NON-EMERGENCY SITUATION) than her own customers or her tip? Would you have tipped her for not caring about your time by not paying attention to an order and just making so many obvious, VISABLE mistakes? If you would have, how much and WHY? WHY would you tip someone to be uncaring, EXTREMELY SELFISH, AND RUDE? I'd rather tip a McDonald's cashier than her personally, because I get more respect most of the time at McDonald's than I did that day. It's sad, but TRUE!
Honestly out of ALL those situations, do you HONESTLY IN YOUR HEART think that a tip of ANY KIND was EARNED? I understand that these servers worked for nothing basically and lost money on my husband and I, but look at what we had to go through. It RUINED our meals. I NORMALLY DO TIP 20%-25% for great service, sometimes even 26%-28% if the service was fantastic, but when servers don’t try or even CARE to apologize, they will be hurt by the non-existent or low tip just as they HURT MY FEELINGS. I am a HUMAN BEING. I don’t feel I should be DISRESPECTED, just as I don’t “DISRESPECT servers. In all the situations I mentioned here that I didn’t receive even a “sorry” is 100% TOTAL DISREPECT! I couldn’t imagine not apologizing if I was the server in these situations. I say “thank you” when servers bring me things. Basically, what I am saying is, I don’t feel my husband and I deserved to be treated that way. We are people with FEELINGS just as the server has feelings.
So, SOMETIMES, servers DO DESERVE NOTHING. In the situation with the waitress at Chili's that told me "It's the hostess's job" with all of those mistakes, WHY would you tip such a person that DOESN'T ****CARE****** at ALL about what they are doing to their customers? Would you really tip a server that decided her KISSING HER BOYFRIEND WAS HER PRORITY OVER HER OWN JOB? It's not like someone died or she had an emergency, this was a GOODBYE KISS. She could have been CARING about her customers and her tip instead of just SELFISH SELF! Utensils are the hostess's job, but customers shouldn't have to get up to get their own, so it ends up sometimes being the server's job. Sometimes servers have to do things that aren't their job for things to run smoothly. All of these situations, the SERVER was at fault, so the tip should reflect HOW they HANDLED the mistakes and HOW MANY mistakes they made. When that waitress told me "It's whatever is in the computer", my jaw almost dropped from her laziness, not caring, and rudeness. You DON'T EVER tell a customer that. If the customer is wrong, you can at least INVESTIGATE the situation instead of doing NOTHING. I could have been wrong, but I KNEW what I had read. It's a shame I was only there about an hour and the VERY FIRST TIME IN THAT RESTAURANT, but I noticed this considering there was hardly anyone in the restaurant. I just want to know if you would have tipped all of these servers? I bet you say you would, because it wasn't (((YOU))) that WENT THROUGH ALL of that CRAP. When you go through rude servers and bad service, you understand from the CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE. As you said "This goes back to the respect issue, and treating people the way you like to be treated", well then WHY would you actually PAY someone to STEAL, BE RUDE, AND UNCARING? There's NO RESPECT, SO THERE SHOULD BE NO TIP WHEN THESE TYPE OF SITUATIONS HAPPEN. It's ALL ABOUT THE WAY YOU HANDLE THE MISTAKES AS WELL AS IF YOU ARE PUTTING FORTH ANY EFFORT.
"1. If your food came out cooked wrong, it's not your server's fault. Don't take it out on them."
This is the most STUPIDIEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD OF for MOST food mistakes, NOT ALL, notice I said NOT ALL! If it's the SAME SERVER that took my order that brings me my food(meaning no food runner involved), it's the SERVER that should NOTICE I don't have the correct side dish, because they should have a written down order that they wrote that they can COMPARE THE PLATE OF FOOD WITH THE WRITTEN DOWN ORDER for things that a server can SEE WITHOUT having to touch the person's food or have to cut it open. Like a burrito filling that's wrong would be the cook's fault if the server put in the order correctly into the computer.
http://www.mtsusidelines.com/media/paper202/news/2003/10/01/Opinions/Tips-Are.Earned.Rewards.Not.An.Ordained.Right-508957.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.mtsusidelines.com
"Never, ever take food out that is incorrectly done (I had a waitress rip me a new one for something I goofed up on as a cook and she demanded I fix it then and there - and she was right and I learned)."
Read this article, because any server that is too stupid to LOOK at what they are bringing to the table to not see the DIFFERENCE between French fries and a baked potato for instance, DESERVES a BAD TIP for not TRYING to make sure the order is correct. You want a decent tip, double check your co-worker's work. WHY would ANYONE be so stupid as to trust the cook for their tips when there are very obvious mistakes? I know why, it's because servers like you are TOO DAMN LAZY TO REREAD the written order or sometimes servers don't take the effort to even write down the order. Considering you know mistakes affect your tip, don't you think you should make sure the correct side dish, the correct entrée, and that there is nothing missing such as condiments on the plate? WHY do you expect the customer to have to repeat their order when their food arrives OBVIOUSLY wrong? It's like DUH, you took the order, so you should realize that it's not the correct side dish. It's a 2-step process. Putting in the order is only the first part that you have to do correctly. I've had quesadillas delivered to the table instead of bbq chicken nachos delivered by the waiter that took me and my husband's order. He ended up admitting he pressed the wrong button. It's the fact that he didn't even LOOK at what he was bringing to the table. He just did a "SERVE-N-RUN" type of situation. The server has an opportunity to make sure what they are taking to the table is correct as long as it's something that's obvious. I am NOT talking about undercooked steaks or pickles under a bun. I am talking about OBVIOUS things like wrong side dishes, wrong entrées, and missing items that aren't covered up by anything. If you don't take the EFFORT to make sure you are taking the correct food to me, you are showing how UNCARING and LAZY you are. TAKE SOME EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THE FOOD IS CORRECT IDIOT!
WHY should I get mad at the kitchen if YOU WASTED VALUABLE TIME bringing me the wrong food? I should be mad at YOU!
http://www.red-shift.net/index.php?p=266
This is someone's blog.
"Get the damn order right
Forgetful? Carry a frigging notepad and pencil! Strangely, it’s the upscale places that really seem to fuck this up. At the Chop House, a $40/pp steakhouse here in Denver, I’ve gotten sirloin tips when I ordered a steak, beef when I ordered buffalo, and mashed potatoes when I ordered rice. That’s why they’ve permanently lost a customer. $40 for pot-luck is bullshit."
Can you believe that a server would be that STUPID NOT to NOTICE mashed potatoes when the person ordered rice? It's like if you write the order down, there's NEVER an excuse, EVER, not to have a way to VERIFY the food UNLESS "YOU" actually don't bring out the food. As far as condiments go, my server can bring those BEFORE my meal NO MATTER WHO brings my food to me.
"Would you eat it?
Look at the plate you’re about ready to take to the table. Does it match the order (you’ve got your notepad, right)? Does it look edible? I shit you not, an adult waitress at Chili’s served us salads with rotten lettuce. Not just a few pieces, mind you, the whole damn salad was rotten. Even worse it was unwashed! There was literally dirt from the field on the plate! That’s why they’ve permanently lost a customer."
Again, if you can **********SEE*************** something is WRONG with the food whether IF you are the person that took the order as well as bringing out the food, if it's something BURNT that wasn't ordered burnt, a wrong side dish, a wrong entrée, or missing side dishes or missing condiments, it's my server's fault 100% for not taking ANY EFFORT to make sure they were bringing me my food correct as much as they possibly CAN. I have had servers bring the condiments BEFORE the food came out whether or not they actually brought the food or someone else did.
If a person has a wrong burrito filling or a pickle under a bun or a steak that is supposed to be well done instead of medium well or raw food, OF COURSE a server CAN'T POSSIBLY KNOW if the customer has something wrong, but I am *ONLY* talking about OBVIOUS things. Wrong entrées, wrong side dishes, and condiments are in plain sight. I feel if the customer can see the mistake without touching their food, so can the server.
Also, any condiments can be brought out by the main server if you feel another server will run the food. There's NEVER a reason to put 100% TRUST into another server for your tip that won't be tipped from the customer for sides or bottles of condiments. If I ordered a side of ranch for fries, it's up to YOU to make sure I have it, NOT the other server that ran the food to me. YOU are making the tip, NOT that runner. That runner or other server is getting tipped out based on SALES, NOT on what amount of tip I chose to give. It's up to YOU to get my order right as far as sides or bottles of condiments go that is. Don't depend on someone else for your tip, because you will be very disappointed. People don't work as a TEAM today, so don't be surprised when my food doesn't have the ranch and you end up going to get it anyways after the fact, but by doing that, makes the customer wait to eat their food, thus, lowered tip, when the mistake could have been PREVENTED BY YOU to begin with if you were to take CHARGE of what is truly IN YOUR CONTROL.
So see, MOST mistakes get to customer's tables BECAUSE of the SERVER. I NEVER SAID ALL, because for instance, in your example about the food being burnt, unless you brought it out burnt(only if you could SEE it was burnt), it would be the cook's fault 100%. There are just MUCH MORE THINGS that are the SERVER'S FAULT, than other co-worker's faults is what I am saying. So there's not too many things I can blame the kitchen staff or managers for in general, but there are SOME things I can. Most mistakes reach the customer's table because of the *****SERVER*****, NOT other people. It's not my server's fault if another server brings me the completely wrong food and the order was put in correctly, BUT, it's still PART of the customer's service, so the tip will get affected. You may say it's not fair, but it's not fair for customers to tip for lousy service. I think tipping out percentage of sales is an UNFAIR system and that's why the food runner system DOESN'T WORK VERY WELL. At Applebee's one time, I had ordered 2 sides of mayo, 1 side of mustard, and 1 side of ranch for my chicken sandwich. Another server brought out my food without ANY of the condiments and the waiter said just like this "They are too lazy to read the ticket." I truly believe he wasn't trying to save his tip that he really did put the order in correctly. If you think about it, WHY should that other server CARE one bit if I had the condiments I ordered? She wasn't going to see any money from us. This food runner system doesn't work well with complicated orders. It may work pretty well if you order "AS IS" from the menu, but that's about it. It doesn't always work well though, because I have had twice 2 side dishes forgotten at Outback from other servers.
My main point of this is SERVERS DO NOT ALWAYS DESERVE A TIP AND MOST MISTAKES GET TO CUSTOMERS DUE TO THE SERVER. There will always be cases where the cooks are at fault for mistakes such as burning my food(as long as my server wasn't stupid enough to bring me burnt food(if it was visible that is)), raw food such as raw chicken tenders, undercooked steak(like medium well instead of well done), pickle under a bun, burrito filling, making the food wrong(the server noticed it BEFORE bringing out the food, so the delay would be the cook's fault) etc. would be the cook's mistakes. The server can notice some things that are wrong BEFORE they bring out the food. If you can't see I don't have a side dish or don't have a side of ranch, you are blind. My point is, the server is at fault for MOST mistakes in general, so when you say "not much", you DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALK ABOUT. I will agree with you about the things you are talking about with the food not being cooked right or tasting like fish, that your tip should NOT EVER be affected by things like that. If you can SEE that it's not cooked right, you would be at fault for (((BRINGING)))) it to me wrong. It may not be your fault for cooking it wrong, but if you can SEE it's not cooked right, it's like DUH, don't bring it to me.
I will agree 98% of the things that are under or overcooked would be the fault of the cook’s, but the order can be put in wrong. There are other things the server or food runner CAN SEE such as a person orders crispy bacon. Let’s say it’s hanging outside a sandwich or an open faced sandwich that has bacon. If you can see it’s flat like a tape measure, you should KNOW it’s NOT crispy. If the person orders it “crispy”, if you can SEE that it’s NOT “wavy”, you should tell the cook to cook the bacon more. Especially if you can see the white fat on the bacon, that is a good indication it’s not crispy, because normally, if it’s crispy, you don’t see the white fat. If my server input the order as "medium rare" instead of "medium well", then WHOSE FAULT IS IT? OF COURSE IT'S THE SERVER'S. You can't expect a cook to know what you MEANT TO PRESS. Now if you put in the order correclty, then OF COURSE it's NOT your fault UNLESS it's something totally OBVIOUS like if I ordered a well done steak and you bring me a steak that has blood on it that looks really red. If you can catch ANY mistake by **SEEING** it without having to touch the person's food, it's YOUR FAULT for TAKING IT TO ME WRONG!
Another thing is I order my fries “lightly cooked”, because I hate overdone fries. One time at Outback, a waitress took my order, which I ordered my fries lightly cooked. She brought out my fries dark brown. I could tell it was overdone WITHOUT having to touch ONE fry even, so WHY the heck couldn’t she tell the cook that I wanted “lightly cooked fries?” I know why, because the waitress didn’t care, so her tip was crappy. I sent them back and she never once apologized, even though it was HER FAULT I was "RECEIVING THE MISTAKE." She should have told the cook to cook another set of fries instead of being so LAZY not to **VERIFY** the food IN THE KITCHEN since her tip was on the line and it's up to HER to BRING it to me as CORRECTLY as she possibly can SEE with her EYES. I might as well have given the order to the cooks instead of her, because she WASTED MY TIME. She told me "I put it on the ticket." I am thinking "SO WHAT" if it was THIS **OBVIOUS** my fries were extremely BROWN as can be. WHO CARES if the order was put in correctly if the final result is WRONG? Does that really matter if the server put in the order correctly if the food is BROUGHT out OBVIOUSLY WRONG? It sure doesn't. She could have brought out some of the food without the fries or waited until the fries were completely done to bring all the food out. It’s possible she may not have even put in the order correctly. My point is, if it’s something the server or food runner can SEE without having to touch the food, it’s NOT the cook’s fault. The server should be OBSERVANT to mistakes that are on the plate as much as they possibly can without having to TOUCH the food to notice the mistake.
Take SELF-RESPONSIBLITY FOR YOUR TIP!
"2. If you don't like the dish, it's not your server's fault, ESPECIALLY if they told you before you ordered it that you wouldn't like it."
I AGREE 100% with this one. What does not liking a certain food have ANYTHING to do with SERVICE?
"3. If you had a bad day and you're in a shitty mood, it's not your server's fault. They have just as many bad days as you, if not more, and they don't take it out on you."
I AGREE 100%, although sometimes the server does take things out on you.
"4. If you don't have a lot money, it's not your server's fault. If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to eat out. Order take out or cook at home."
I AGREE 100%!! When you dine out, if you get decent service, you should tip DECENTLY!!!
springs, I read through the comment you left, as well as a little of your blog, and all I can say to is stop eating at Applebee's. I'm going to respond individually to everything you said; despite your effort, it's just not worth it to me. It's clear to me that you don't know what good service is, let alone appreciate it. You're ripping on kids who don't know anything about guest service and who work at establishments that are renown for not teaching their employees service. You seem to enjoy eating at glorified fast-food chains, and that was clearly not what I was talking about. I'm not making a career as a server, but I am a professional who works in a professional environment. Stop eating at these low-end restaurants and then complaining about your bad service. You're asking for it every time you go into one of those places.
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