Top 10 Ways to Tick Off Your Waiter
-->
Most of us have had jobs in the food service industry and we can all appreciate how difficult it can be, especially when dealing with customers who think the wait staff are their personal verbal punching bags. Order up: Here are the top 10 ways to tick of your waiter or waitress.
10. Demand a straw/Take a straw
It’s called “please” and “thank you”.Not even that: just ask nicely. “Could I get a straw please?” Your waiter or server isn’t going to slap you upside the head or spit in your food for asking for a straw. 99 times out of 100 there is a straw in the server’s apron and they don’t mind taking the extra two seconds to dig it out and hand it to you with a smile.
9. Tell the server how to do their job
They’ve been trained.They haven’t been fired yet. Don’t tell them what to do. Unless they’ve completely abandoned you (in the sense that you’ve probably irritated them to the point that they quit) then don’t play Hitler and demand this, that, and the kitchen sink.
8. Put a time limit on you server
Most of the time, you are not the only table the server has, the only table in the restaurant, or the only table in the world. If a server says that they’ll be back with your drink, chips, whatever: don’t pull out your stopwatch and assume that “right back” means “1 minute, ready, set, go!”
7. Assume that sending your food back will result in the servers spitting in it or in any way defacing it
If the server offers to take it back, then give it to them! It’s not that big of a deal! They’ll take it back, fix it, and bring it back with plenty of time for your appetite.
6. Associate any problem with your dining experience to be the fault of the server
If your food came out wrong, it’s the kitchen’s fault. If your table isn’t clean, it’s the bus boy’s fault or the host’s fault for sitting you at a dirty table. If something happens that is obviously the fault of someone else who works at the restaurant, then don’t shoot the server. They are the messengers of the kitchen, so politely inform them of the problem and they will notify the person in charge. (key word: politely)
5. Leave any kind literature on the table for us to read
We will throw it away.We are way too busy to stop and read your latest novel or whatever you are trying to sell. If it’s that important, talk to us. It’s our job to be social.
4. Tell us you’re ready to order, then change your mind fifty times
Again, you are not the only table in the restaurant.Your server has a laundry list of things to get done and if you decide that the words dribbling from your mouth are more important than the rest of the patrons of the restaurant, it gets old and frustrating and then we will probably spit in your food.
3. Say something rude
Try it and see what happens. Your server will give you a big smile and crappy service. We are people too. Just because our title is “server” doesn’t mean we are in any way inferior to you. If they offer you an appetizer, don’t retort that you haven’t opened the menu or something else rude.
2. Take out your problems on the server’s tip
If it wasn’t the server’s fault (See number 6) then don’t retaliate by giving the server a dollar or you pocket change. The kitchen, the managers, and virtually everyone will get paid more than the server and by attacking they’re tip you will not in any way get back at the person responsible.
1. Don’t tip at all
There is absolutely no reason in this universe to not tip. It doesn’t matter if the restaurant burned down on you, tip SOMETHING! It doesn’t prove anything except that you are a completely heartless jerk. (Side note: don’t find dumb reasons to not tip either. Lightning will strike you as you exit the restaurant.)
Written by Michael McNay
Related top 10 lists
I like this list – I tip 25% or higher for excellent service!
yeeah. i completely disagree with number 1. Tipping is based entirely on service. if the service is total crap, dont tip. they havent earned it. Tip actually is an acronym for To Insure Promptness. I have left great tips before and I have left no tips before. The only times i dont tip is for crap service or i simply cannot afford to tip, in which case, i feel completely horrible.
I disagree with one too. I tip, don’t get me wrong, but you guys also get paid, we don’t tip fireman for extinguishing the fire, or tip the cashier for ringing us out. Tipping is an automatic assumption that the waiter works harder than the rest of us.
in response did you not read the rest of that statement in number one? we get paid 2.13 an hour and 9 of ten times get VOID checks.. since all our”wages” in check form go to taxes.
we dont tip firemen or cashier because they make a considerable more then servers.
if you cant afford to tip maybe you should have not eaten out in the first place…and feeling” completely horrible” wont help that innocent waiter to pay their bills.
Hubby used to wait tables. Hasn’t done it for several years, but still has nightmares about the idiots he had to deal with. Customers need to remember that their servers are working hard and DO have brains. In many cases they are using this profession as a stepping stone to get to another one. Remember – what goes around, comes around.
I agree with Dan. I generally tip pretty good excellent gets around 25% however there have been those times when for whatever reason the service was crap.
Tips should and always have been a generous thank you for doing a great job.
Employers and the government has exploited the fact that servers get tips.
Outstanding. I’m a waitress in the real world, and even though I live in a little tiny town, I can relate to each and every one of these. Especially the “Tell the server how to do their job”. that’s always so much fun.
Great list.
i more or less agree with 7, but i also think it’s wise to be very careful how you treat people who see your food before you do…
never tip. They bring me a dish of food and a cup of water. A baby could do that
so could you. so stay home.
Tipping – if the server is decent and hasn’t screwed things up, I will tip 20%. If the server is very good at their job and makes great recommendations off of the menu for me, it will be 25%.
I have left once without tipping. I went to a diner type of restaurant with my girlfriend. The place was slow that night. Out of 50 tables, maybe 10 were in use for 4 waitresses.
From the time that we sat down for the waitress to ask us for drinks took 20 minutes. It then took 15 minutes for the waitress to return with the drinks. Upon delivering the drinks, she did not ask us for our order. She walked away to talk to her co-workers – the other 3 waitresses.
After another 20 minutes of waiting, I dropped $2 on the table for the drinks and we split. We were in the restaurant for 55 minutes and we received drinks.
There is no exaggeration in this story. The waitress was just more interested in talking with her friends than serving her tables.
On a positive, we ended up at a great Mexican place with a waitress who ended up with a great tip.
If the service is bad, leave a penny so it doesn’t seem like you just forgot to tip.
I was a waitress in college to pay my way through, so I know how it feels, but there is no excuse for bad service.
I’ve done the changing your mind like 50 times one but on accident.
I still leave a tip no matter what, but the amount greatly changes if the waiter sucks.
Now, I tip >20% almost always, but I hate people who tell me tipping is mandatory. If your service sucks, you don’t deserve a tip. Period. Especially in my home state, Oregon, where you receive the same minimum wage I do plus your tips.
Though, to the person above who talks about not tipping when you can’t afford it: if you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to eat out.
Wow, this was obviously written by a waiter. Maybe I’ll put together a list of “Top Ten Ways to Ruin Your Customer’s Dining Experience”
Wow…although I almost always tip some(unless the truly piss me off!) I think its RIDICULOUS to say you must leave a tip.. when ur paying high prices for a meal, the resturant should pay then enough and if not thats not my fault they chose the job!
In Japan, we don’t have a custom of tipping at all (not at restaurants, barber shops, taxis, or hotels, etc)…and service is excellent.
tipping is a choice and don’t expect me to tip the pizza guy either
Tipping is one of my biggest pleasures. I’ve tipped up to 50% of the tab for truly outstanding service. Despite my son being a waiter during his college freshman year, this is not solely the reason I tip, though IT IS ABSOLUTELY THE REASON I NEVER SEND FOOD BACK I AM NOT SATISFIED WITH.
Now as for no. 1 – I have left a restaurant without tipping. I can forgive a busy day and a few oops, “did I get any on you?” But I can not forgive a waiter and owner personally greeting and attending to their most important guest, to leave us waiting for 30 minutes without even so much as offering us a glass of water!
They need not worry. Left as soon as the water came and never went back.
Servers make minimum wage. They survive on tips. Enough said.
the facts are if u are in a fowl mood when u come in 2 eat then there is nothing i can do 2 make nething better. u will find something wrong wit me, the food, or the resturant. i have been i waitress for 7 years & there is nothin anyone could do 2 surprize me. but not rocket science it a meal ur goona eat again, its not the end of the world when something goes wrong. if u are goona b super pick about everything then fix it 4 urself at home. we have bad days 2
If you don’t have the money to tip… DON’T even think about eating out! You are just an ass if you do! I’m to the point that I just want to start throwing dishes and food at the worthless customer!
everyone should tip! take into account all the stuff we have to do to prepare all the stuff your going to mess up! and then we have to CLEAN up your mess yet AGAIN!
I just got stiffed today for no reason by a doctor of all people! It’s feb and there is less time to earn rent money. every single tip I’ve gotten besides the $30 tip from my friend has been very sad! I know you people have money.
we ONLY get $2.13 an HOUR!think about that before you slap us in the face again with your lousy tips! otherwise stay at home and away from dinning out!
We’re already paying for the meal AND the service charge. Why should I be required to tip you when you’re already getting paid?
And don’t give us that crap about earning minimum – that’s your situation.
A tip is a privilege, not a right.
I have been a waiter for about three years now. I am a college student, and I find that the restaurant business is the easiest way to get the schedule I need to go to school full time.
With that said, I also live in Texas, where a waiter/servers so called hourly pay is $2.13 an hour. All of our paychecks for the most part, usually read THIS IS NOT A CHECK. Because the amount we are paid covers the taxes that come out of our paychecks. Occasionally, you will open your paycheck and be pretty excited to see that you’ve gotten $2 or $3 lol.
I do agree that tipping is not mandatory, however, that is how we make our living. That is how I pay my bills. Most states pay under minimum wage, and are only required to pay us more if we do not make minimum wage in tips(which even if that did happen, we would never see that money). There are some states, I believe California, that pay above. I think it is $8 an hour + tips, but the cost of living is also higher, so I think it would probably just even out.
The next time you go into a restaurant look at your waiter as a struggling college student. For some of us this is just a short stop on our way to our chosen career, so cut us some slack, if we weren’t there you would be eating at home.
I also disagree with #1. As a result of business travel, I have eaten in a lot of restaurants over the years. I am the easiest customer a waiter could want: no substitutions, no special instruction, no meals sent back.
Despite this, some servers immediately put me on the “pay no mind” list. I have had waiters who bring my meal and then I don’t see them again until they bring the check. If a waiter can’t be bothered to ask me if my meal is satisfactory and if I need anything, then I can’t be bothered to give them a tip.
Ummmmmmmmmmm I don’t agree with #1. I’m sorry but I tip based on service so if the person does a really crappy job (which it has happened to me before) then I am not tipping. I’m a very good/fair tipper but if you forget my order, completely ignore me, are rude, and I have to repeat something a million times (again this has happened to me)……….then don’t expect me to tip much, if anything at all!! Tipping is optional and based completely on service.
Whoever wrote this list is extremely spoiled.
You take your job for granted.
You are the worst type of employee, period.
This world doesn’t revolve around you, realize that and grow up.
I am a server as well, and while I agree that rude and incosiderate guests are a pain… they are hardly worse than an inattentive and apathetic server.
I think that leaving no tip is a great way to prevent servers in general from becoming too complacent, as well as leaving huge tips. I used to stiff bad servers all the time…
However nowadays when I get bad service I leave a 25% tip, but not without giving that server a good piece of my mind. It’s a great way to get back at them while still having a chance of getting through to them.
Waiters and waitresses don’t come to work out of the goodness of their hearts. They would not do the job if it didn’t pay. Tips are a scam 90 percent of the time, and hourly pay rates aren’t the customer’s fault. You think you deserve four dollars for bringing me a plate and a glass? That’s entitlement.
Greedo- obviously you have never been a waiter. 6 hours on your feet running around non-stop?they chose to do the job, yes, but we work for it. before you even sit down in the resturant, we’ve spent hours getting everything ready for the evening (or whatever time ur eating) and we have to do it again afterwards! tipping is not manadtory of course, but show some compassion? when a waiter does a good job, yes they deserve it!!
Dan- um you said you don’t tip when you can’t afford it? don’t eat out then…that’s not he waiters fault.
seriously it should be manadtory for people to have to work in the service industry at least once!!
You guys are forgetting to mention that servers have to tip out other employees as well!! At my restaurant we have to tip out bartender, bussers, AND the food runner. SO basically if we don’t get tipped, we LOSE money and HAVE to tip our employees out of our own pockets.
I pity the people who think its okay not to tip at all just because they think we “chose” this profession. Yes I did choose to wait tables, I also chose to go to college full time for 4 years and waiting tables happens to have the most flexible schedule w/the most money in the shortest amount of time. so if you are that disgusted by hard working college students
I’m a waiter, and yes we do survive on tips, 7.75 minimum wage doesn’t pay my bills, and i say yes always tip, but if service sucks, leave a penny as stated above, it does show you didn’t forget to tip us, you remembered what horrible service is worth, but on that note, good service deserves a good tip, you might think we just walk your food and drinks over to you, but working an 11 hour shift, i could probably pull a marathon in a day, and when it gets busy, we work hard. not just minimum wage kinda hard, and we take a lot of crap from bad customers but still smile when we get to your table. so weigh your tip on your visit.
I don’t agree with #1. There are some situations where no tip is deserved. Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely happy to tip someone, and I have given 30%+ to servers who deserve it. I have worked as a server before, and I totally understand how hard it can be, but nonetheless, a tip has to be earned. If you treat me like crap, don’t expect me to leave you any money.
Rolling on the floor laughing at what an idiotic comment Dan made. IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO TIP THEN YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO EAT OUT IN A RESTAURANT.
I tip based on service and am more than happy to give a generous tip to an excellent waiter/waitress.
One time though, I had to leave pennies. Had to. Not in the least bit busy, the waiter had two other tables filled with older customers to whom he divvied all his attention to and barely said a word to my friend and me (rather certain it’s due to us being college students, though I have a job too, so it’s not like I can’t tip at all). He was about to hand us the bill without asking if we wanted desert, and so I said, “Yes, we’d love desert.” He was completely rude and undeserving of the pennies we left him.
Well in britain the tip is usually split between all employees at the resteraunt….kitchen stafff and waiting staff ect.
so if your in britain id the tip is usually seen as an idication of the overall dining experience….however it is standard to do 10% min.
There was only one time I didn’t tip a waiter. I’m extremely nervous about new restaurants to the point were I could be prone to cry.
This guy ask if we ate here before and we both (My boyfriend was there too) haven’t and we got our drinks. The menu was a small book so When I tried to look for something that I’d like but I had a hard time taking it all in.
So I asked the waiter a few questions to which he didn’t even really seem to try answer them so I asked if they had a certain food to which they did and he brought it to me with a side. He never asked what I wanted for the side or even told me that it came with a side.
to the people I’ve told about this they have said “Oh it is because your young and people don’t appreciate you as much.” well thats kinda wrong to do in the first place.
In Australia, you don’t tip at all… this was very uncomfortable for my American friends who came for a visit.
You can tip if you really want to, but you don’t have to.
Wolfie!
Having spent some time in the service industry, I agree with a lot of what’s said here. We also treat our servers as human beings, as you should. That being said, tipping is entirely based on service. If the kitchen screwed up our order, I’m not going to take it out on the server, but I do expect the server and/or the manager to come out and make amends even if its a simple apology.
I can’t recall if I’ve ever not tipped, but if that ever happened, you better believe that it was wholly your fault as my server. You screwed up pretty good if I didn’t tip you, but you’ll most likely know it because I would have spoken to the manager about the situation. Consider it a message that if the way we were treated was any sign of how you operate normally, you shouldn’t be in the service industry. Not everyone is cut out to be a server.
At the end of the day, 20% is my standard and I adjust accordingly. I know that being a server is a hellish job for very little pay, so I try to give respect and reward whenever I can.
the last one, about not tipping at all doesn’t apply in some countries. but it definitely does in America so don’t forget!
Meh… waiters get minimum wage, they live on tips. So I’d expect them to be good enough at the job to earn them. Yeah yeah, whine whine… but seriously, if a salesman lives on commisions, does that somehow obligate me to pay more for my car or books or computer or whatever stuff I buy? No. If they are not good enough to sell the products to more people, they don’t get paid as much as they want.
If the waiter doesn’t provide a good enough service to get good tips, then he is in the wrong business. How is that my fault, and how is that my problem? If I want to give to charity then some incompetent guy who actually has a job but doesn’t apply themselves will not be my first choice.
Now if the service is good on the other hand… well, then I tip well (according to local customs) and likely become a return customer.
Newsflash – if what you are given by other people for your level of service is what keeps you from starving, then pull your head out of your ass and do you job well. As long as you do, there will be enough good tippers to keep you fed. Or you could unionize… There are many countries in the world where minimum wage does not exist and everyone is actually paid decent wages and does not have to be “slaves” to survive. But hey, your choice. If you choose to stay a slave, be a good one, or you’re not getting any of my tablescraps, or any of my money.
Meh… waiters get minimum wage, they live on tips. So I’d expect them to be good enough at the job to earn them. Yeah yeah, whine whine… but seriously, if a salesman lives on commissions, does that somehow obligate me to pay more for my car or books or computer or whatever stuff I buy? No. If they are not good enough to sell the products to more people, they don’t get paid as much as they want.
If the waiter doesn’t provide a good enough service to get good tips, then he is in the wrong business. How is that my fault, and how is that my problem? If I want to give to charity then some incompetent guy who actually has a job but doesn’t apply themselves will not be my first choice.
Now if the service is good on the other hand… well, then I tip well (according to local customs) and likely become a return customer.
Newsflash – if what you are given by other people for your level of service is what keeps you from starving, then pull your thumb out and do your job well. As long as you do, there will be enough good tippers to keep you fed. Or you could unionise… There are many countries in the world where minimum wage does not exist and everyone is actually paid decent wages and does not have to be “slaves” to survive. But hey, your choice. If you choose to stay a slave, be a good one, or you’re not getting any of my table scraps, or any of my money.
#1 and #2 are completely true. Anyone who disagrees with them are cheap and have obviously never been a waiter or had any other job where their main income is based on the customers directly.
I haven’t worked as a waiter…but I have worked in the service industry for awhile now and I gotta tell you…Some customers blow my mind. I’ve cashiered for fast food, I’ve worked in a pizzeria, and the one thing I’ll never understand, is a customer’s unflinching belief that we were put in that job to worship the ground they walk on. As I read the comments here I am curious how many of the people who left comments fit under that category. No matter what job in the service industry one picks, a customer should never assert themselves so far above that person that they treat them any less than a human being. Server’s are human, to make mistakes..that’s human as well. To sit there and require absolute service, then to demote their actions as simply “bringing you a plate” is selfish, and to deny any satisfactory compensation for their work is incredibly rude. The sad facts are this. Servers in almost every state in the US, make $2.13 a paycheck…I’m sure most of you commenting couldn’t wipe your ass with that kind of money. And they are paid that low because of tips. Business can screw over servers because tips are custom in America.
So the next time your server is running a few minutes late, or your food didn’t quite get to you as fast as you want…or if your server isn’t standing by you ever 5 minutes for an update, remember this…You’d never in your life accept $2.13 with a smile on your face and an upbeat song in your heart. You’d never put up with idiots (not unlike yourself) complaining about you and your service like they’ve been doing it their whole life. And until your willing to subject yourself to that kind of life…tip, smile, and walk away.
One time I was at a restaurant late at night. My girlfriend and I had a seat and while waiting for the waitress to come take our order….two other tables came in. The waitress had time to talk to both tables before she even acknowledged our presence…and we were there first. She basically ignored us and talked to the other tables most of the time because she knew the people. She got no tip. That is not the fault of anyone BUT her.
Regarding your number 1, I’ve worked in two restaurants (same MAJOR US chain, two different stores) where there may as well have been a fire. In the first store, the mall it was in did catch fire. We didn’t get tipped. Or paid to stay an extra 2-3 hours to clean the place and throw all the food in the kitchen out. In the second store, the kitchen next door caught fire and we didn’t see any business from it.
So, the restaurant catching on fire, does involve you not getting a tip.
If tips are what you work for then you have to work for them, if this means putting up with snotty kids, grumpy customers and getting no tip on occasion then so be it – no one is forcing you to do the job. If you don’t like the job get a different one.
Biggest problem with waiters is that they are mostly young kids who think the world owes them a living and us, the customers (read surrogate mom amd pop), should support them while they ’suffer’ trying to get through college. Next time I overhear a waiter bitchin’ that if she/he doesn’t get enough tip tonight they won’t be able to go out Sat night I’m leaving no tip.
YOU are providing a service which I’m paying for through the cost of the meal. The cost of the meal includes service. A tip is EXTRA, end of story. If YOU provide extra you get extra and usually enough for me is a sincere “How are you today?” and a little attention paid to my table. It’s not asking much and makes all the difference.
Check out http://waiterrant.net/ good advice for all customers and the waiters/barstaff
I also live in Japan, where there is no tipping of any kind, to anyone, at anytime. The service is wonderful, on average the best in the world.
Tipping is a horrible system. Far better that service personnel receive a proper wage and serve diners from a sense of pride in their work.
I’ve tipped 100% before. It was my anniversary, and a busy night, and the server was absolutely wonderful and even paid for our dessert. We gave him $30 in tip.
Wow, this list is clearly biased and assumes waiters always provide excellent service, and we as customers are always wrong.
Waiters get paid to do their job, no matter how crappy it is.
We have every right to change our mind as many times as we like. It’s not our duty to make your job easier.
I’m a server and I don’t want to brag, but I freaking rock at my job. So to say there is never any reason not to tip makes my effort seem pointless. If I get rude, slow service i don’t tip.
But I liked the rest of the list.
Sorry dollface you gotta earn my money
Tips? Only if your service was good, if not: no tip.
To all moaners here: it is your job to serve food and your choice to do so as a job. If you are not satisfied with your wages find a better way to earn more money. To all those that said if you can’t afford to tip stay at home…please…it is my money and I can do with it what I want. I am not obliged to give you extra money for serving me a glass of water and my food if you even stink at doing so.
Servers
I make a lot of people upset with this opinion, but I hate waiters, waitresses, servers or whatever you want to call them. I know hate is a harsh word, but it is kind of where I am at after 14 years working with them. As a former, busboy, dishwasher, bartender, chef, assistant manager, manager, general manager and even a server, I can tell you that explicitly that I hate servers. In my experience, servers are lazy, greedy and self-centered. They come in late so they don’t have to do the prep work, and leave early so they don’t have to do the breakdown. And then complain when they don’t get enough hours. They cry about not having enough tables and then cry because they have a large group. I don’t necessarily hate them as people, just their behavior. Perfectly normal people will become racist morons when they become servers.
Proving my point is this post.
10. Demand a Straw/Take a straw
I know what you put in your apron, so why would I want a straw you pulled out of there? And as for saying please, to you, the server, whose job it is to serve me, the customer, just blows my mind. Why should I even have to ask you for a straw? Give me a break. I will say please and thank you when it suits me. You work for me. I am your boss.
9. Tell the server how to do their job
Once again, you work for me, the customer. If you want my money then behave in a manner that I am the only table in the place. The reason you haven’t been fired is because the manager is too worried about person who will take your place. Better the evil you know…
8. Put a time limit on you server
Yes, I can. If you deliver my food and I ask you for something that you should have brought, I should not take so long that I have completed my dinner before you return.
7. Assume that sending your food back will result in the servers spitting in it or in any way defacing it
Do you have the internet? There are stories all over about what things servers have done with food that has been sent back.
6. Associate any problem with your dining experience to be the fault of the server
You are the face of the restaurant. You are probably the one person the customer sees. Get over your hurt feelings, make it right, or bring the problem to your manager let him/her take care of it. And keep apologizing even after it was taken care of.
5. Leave any kind literature on the table for us to read
Umm, this is just petty.
4. Tell us you’re ready to order, then change your mind fifty times
My prerogative. You want my money, I can change my mind all I want. I order something I don’t like, I will send it back and order something else. You should be there for me.
3. Say something rude
Okay, one out of 10, that I agree with.
2. Take out your problems on the server’s tip
1. Don’t tip at all
Your tip is based on the service that you provide to me. I always leave at least a 10% tip no matter what the service. I know how hard it is to be a good server and 25% for great service.
If you don’t like the way you are treated by customers, then “please” find a job where you don’t have customers. But don’t presume to dictate how the customer treats you when you work for them.
As a 14 year veteran of the serving industry, I just want to say….thank you to all of the wonderful people who continue to tip accordingly even in this lousy economy. There are still some lifers out here making a living. Not all of us are using restaurant employment as a stepping stone during college. I treat my guests as I want to be treated when dining out. READING your guest makes or breaks your tip. Being able to anticipate their needs and exceeding their expectations are my main focus. Please remember that we do only make $2.13 an hour, and we DO have to tipout bussers. bartenders, food runners…etc… whether you tip us or not. thanks for taking time to read my comment….and NoTipDan….go to McDonald’s/Wendy’s/Somewhere with a drive thru…..Peace and Luv Robyn from Atlanta!
What about the diet water trick?
When the waiter asks u what kinda drink u say diet water
That ‘Attention Foreign Travellers” sign is great! I’m from England, and I live in Japan – a service charge is automatically included in both countries, so us Brits and the Japs will only tip if the server has rescued us from a burning car. When I visited the USA, I’d heard that Americans always tip so I left 10 percent, like they do in France. Now I find out I was being an A-hole. Oops. Ok, I’ll tip more next time I’m in the States!
dan #2 poster
if you can not afford to tip, you should not dine at that restaurant.
and furthermore, by not tipping you maybe costing the server. servers, especially in big city restaurants tip out the support staff on the total sales amount they made, not their tip amount. so by not tipping your server, not only does your server not make any money off wasting their time with you, they may very well have to pay 10-20$ out of their own pocket to support staff for the opportunity of serving your stingy self.
instead of tipping. in europe we do this thing called not paying waiters shitely. but still tip some. i just get pissed off when they add like 10% or something serving charge
My my husband and I went to dinner with some friends in Dallas Texas. The waiter at the Mexican place was incredibly nice with just a little small talk, very attentive and fast with requests. Between the 4 of us he got a $25 dollar tip on a $37 bill. the very next day we went to a wing and pizza place where a lot less was expected of the server. Even so it took her 15 minutes to acknowledge us, 30 to get our food and another 30 minutes for our check. I had ordered a beer from the bar and had to ask twice before I got it. She got 72 cents on a $30 bill. If you can’t do the job then find another one but that server just about ruined my night and didn’t even deserve the change.
Well, I don’t agree with everything said here, I worked my ass off as a waiter, and managed to keep a smile on my face the whole time.
If a customer was rude, or didn’t tip, or bitched about every little detail(allergies aside) they received the same service as the people who made my life easier by smiling back and being easy going, and the rude people usually didn’t tip, knowing this I still kept a smile on my face, it was my job after all and I hated every minute of it.
I worked for 4.65 an hour and according to my manager the minimum wage was EXPECTED to be covered by tips, I had to tip out at the end of the night as well. The worst part was in the event I wasn’t tipped, I had to PAY out of my pocket to SERVE people, of all things. The bus boy, host and bartender, got their share for cleaning/turning my tables, sitting my tables and making my drinks(not soda, water or tea/coffee), we didn’t have a food runner, I had to get my food and drinks to the tables myself.
It’s not right to assume we don’t try, and believe me, half of the people I worked with deserved nothing, were lazy and never did their running side-work(cleaning while working and restocking necessities I.E. napkins/straws/ketchup/etc). I managed to hold my temper on even the worst customers and never desecrated anyone’s food, for any reason.
Being a server/waiter whatever you want to call it is a lot harder than people appreciate, especially in dress shoes.
I don’t expect anyone here to have their minds or opinions miraculously changed or anything, and I wholeheartedly believe you have the right to be picky about what goes in your mouth, but be easy going about it is all.
I can’t tell you how many times my last table made or broke my night with a smile or no tip.
Oh, one thing that still irks me to no end, if the restaurant is about to close, leave, go someplace else, usually everything is being cleaned and the grill/flattop/oil is being cleaned/changed, you often cause the closing server/servers and cooks to stay 1-2 hours later in some extreme cases. It’s awful when you have to open the next morning, and even worse when you had something planned. You ruin everything, just go to a 24 hr diner.
Poorly written. The grammar mistakes in this list are annoyingly distracting.
I fully reserve the right to -not- tip if the waiter does a terrible job.
America in particular has this problem. Instead of earning the tip it’s expected. Waiters should be going above and beyond their job if they expect to receive anything. A tip is something that needs to be earned, not entitled regardless of how poor the service is.
This list disapponts me. I thought it would be a fun how-to guide. Instead, it’s a whiny rant against customers.
If you can afford a meal but can’t spare a tip, you still have every right to eat out. It’s a free country (communists).
I happily tip well for good service and leave little for poor service. One way to decrease yout tip from me is, when I hand a waiter cash for my bill and they ask me “Do you want your change back?” My normal response is “Yes, if it’s not too much trouble.” followed by their tip being cut in half.
I’ve seen several posts on here where the poster complained about needing tips because minimum wage wasn’t enough to pay their bills. What about people earning minimum wage and getting no tips? Want more money, get a job at McDonalds or Burger King. The ones here pay well above minimum wage.
Several of my friends that teach school full time still wait tables part time because they say the money is so good.
The difference between people who work at a place where tips are common and those who work at a fast food place and don’t get tips is one has a higher pay. I work at a fast food place and get about 7.30 and hour. My best friend is a waitress at a tea shop, and gets about 4. The difference is supposed to be made up in tips, because their minimum wage is significantly lower than people who don’t get tips.
i kind of agree with this . even though i totally disagree that tips are mandatory , if you did a sucky job youre not gettng a tip . if you want one so bad then work for it .
I live in Hollywood, CA and am in my 2nd year of serving while I get my filmmaking (director) career started, and I want to put in my two cents:
EVERYTHING on this list is BS EXCEPT for #3. There is never any excuse for rudeness, ever. If you are unhappy say so or don’t. Being rude does nothing but waste breath and get people upset over nothing worth getting upset over. No matter what a customer says to me (and drunken Hollywood-types have said plenty), I am never, ever rude and you shouldn’t be either.
Now, as for the infamous #1 rule of Not Tipping Your Waiter:
Not tipping is your right as an opinionated, dissatisfied (or in Dan’s case poor) paying customer and I never get mad at people who don’t tip me, I pity them. Dining out is NOT about you the customer or about your server or even about the food. Dining out is a social experience, and a chance to eat a meal someone else prepared for you and someone else is serving you. It’s a taste of the good life out in public for all to see. Servers who make the experience all about them and their “job” are terrible servers, and customers who make the experience all about them and “their needs” are selfish, insecure people that take someone doing their job badly, personally. These insecure people feel vindicated when they show how petty, greedy, or self-righteous they can be by not tipping. I pity people who focus on the negative and then act on it. And you don’t know what is going on away from your table and the only reason to not tip is if your waiter is purposely ignoring you. PURPOSELY ignoring you. If you are waiting waiting waiting and things are going wrong, you assume it must be because of ignorance or arrogance so you don’t tip but in reality you don’t know what’s going on, you just assume the worst, and you act accordingly. I pity you. It’s not always about you, even when you’re a paying customer. Social manners and social customs are valuable because they make us focus more on the people around us instead of ourselves, you people that think all a server does is “bring me a dish and a glass” would do well to remember this.
I swear some of you people disgust me.
To not a leave your server a tip is like telling them that they are unappreciated for what they do.
Most servers these days are college students who have other things on there minds working two jobs and still not making it. They can’t get a job somewhere else making more money because they don’t have time. If your too judgmental to leave your sever at least $5 then you should stay at home and cook your own meal and have your 19 year old daughter serve it to you. Maybe if it was your own child you would understand oh and look at the bright side you don’t have to work about leaving that tip. There is nothing worse than hearing someone complain because of other peoples mistakes not the server’s. It took 15 min for your server to come out. Did you ever ask what they are doing? I work at a pizza place I have to mange getting the door, taking some idiots delivery order, and getting your drinks to you in 5 min or less while my others table’s food has been sitting there waiting for me to take it our for 5 min. Are you joking people we don’t have super powers. The biggest way to piss your server off is to blame them for your messed up food.
It is not my fault that it is a Friday night and it is taking 30 to 40 min to get your food out.
When I tell you i really am not sure how much longer after i have went and asked the kitchen myself do not get a smart mouth with me because its going to take just a little bit longer to get it out.
I have more respect for servers now them i ever did and unless you have done the job yourself and no how bad it sucks to smile and be nice to some of the biggest ever then do not be so selfish to not tip your server.
TOP TEN WAYS TO PISS OFF YOUR CUSTOMER ENSURING YOU WON’T GET A TIP
(response from someone who has been on both sides)
10. Ignoring me
Keep on walking by and acting like I am not sitting here. It only subtracts from how much money is going to be left on the counter. I understand you have other customers. Seeing them five times and ignoring me the whole time is rude. You’re supposed to have social skills to have a job like this; use them.
9. Talking down to me
I am not Stephen Hawking, for sure. But I’m no slouch, either. Just because you are in college working towards your bachelor degree in Psychology does NOT make you smarter than me. I have had my I.Q. tested in the past year. I know what it is (I had it done twice for good measure), and I can guarantee you the numbers I got back from said testing are not on the same end of the scale as the double digits.
The fact you don’t know me from Adam does not give you carte blanche to try and play the trivial banalities game with me. Believe me, you will lose some times.
8. Blaming me for writing the order down wrong
I say it EVERY time I get ANYTHING that might have ANYTHING to do with fresh tomatoes: No Tomatoes anywhere on my plate, pretty please with sugar on it. I cannot abide by the smell, let alone the taste. You forgetting to write it down on your pad does not make it my fault. Easy enough to deal with, but don’t blame me because you didn’t have your mind where it belonged. If the kitchen screwed it up, fine. But when you tell me I didn’t tell you that, it only shows how foolish and crappy a liar you are.
7. Acting put out having to wait on me
Hey, it’s a job. The number one paying job for undereducated females or females in transition of getting said education. Period. Don’t like the work? Quit. Find somewhere else to work. But don’t take it out on me because you would rather be playing XBOX or cuddling with your honey than filling my coffee cup.
6. Deriding customers because they are poor
Hey, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s tough out there. Some people can’t find work. Others can’t work because of a disability. If they have been able to scrape enough money together to treat themselves to a meal out, who are you to point a finger? You’re not so rich yourself, or else you wouldn’t be waiting tables to begin with. Pot, meet kettle.
5. Refusing service for stupid reasons
This one is a total kicker. I heard waitresses actually claiming the other day they refused to wait on someone because the customer was a poor tipper. What. The. Hell. Excuse me if I am wrong, but doesn’t the law say that in a profession where tips are accrued and taxed, that the employer has to make up the difference if the employee is short of minimum wage? Uh, yeah, that’s what it says alright. Want to make more money? Quit and work at a factory for $8 an hour. It’s a lot harder work, but you’ll make that almighty dollar.
4. Overcharging me
You ran down the specials for the day. You gave me the menu, and I looked it over. Every single food item and plate had a corresponding price attached to it. Don’t try to charge me for a $35 surf and turf when I had the $5.99 blue plate special. It’s in your pad, check it.
3. Acting like it’s my fault you work so hard
I have done it. I have had worse jobs.
Millions of people do it every day. And a lot of people do it at home, for no pay at all, oftentimes shopping, preparing, and cooking your food, and then washing the dishes themselves afterward.
Face it, it isn’t that hard of a job. Yeah, you’re on your feet a lot. So are doctors, policemen, factory workers, door to door salesmen, and garbage collectors. Everyone has a crappy job. If you don’t believe me, just ask them. You get drinks, give a menu, write down an order, punch it into a touch screen, bring the food out when the little bell rings, and then take my money at the end (and not all of them do all that, but that’s a good main gist). You sometimes find the time to come around to ask if every thing is okay, if I need more coffee or soda, or would like dessert. Sometimes you have to deal with rude or stupid people. But it really isn’t all that hard. If it’s too hard, quit.
You want hard? Get a job in a steel foundry. Try shoveling the slag around the press when you just got done forging a steel ingot that has to remain above 1900 degrees Fahrenheit. Cause that slag is not feather light. And the heat gathered in the surrounding metal of the press and slides sure as hell doesn’t make it any easier. Do that for a couple of days, then we’ll see how hard you think taking orders and carrying food is.
2. Fighting over who gets the next table or where they sit
Yeah, you survive off your tips. Ergo, the more customers you wait on, the bigger the wad in your pocket. But I don’t want to hear about it. Whose ever turn it is, work it out. It’s what managers are for if you people can’t get along.
And telling me, a single diner, I can’t sit at the counter cause it isn’t in my waitress’ section is total BS. She walks by the counter on the way into the kitchen. How is that keeping her from waiting on me because of my personal seating selection? And think if I was in a booth designed for four to six people alone, and a family came in, and all that was left as far as seating was… a single stool at the counter. Use your brains to do a little math once in a while. It won’t hurt you, and you need to stop thinking about how much partying you are going to do this coming weekend.
1. Clean my friggin’ area
I know a lot of restaurants have bus boys, and it’s their job to clear the table and make sure it’s cleaned sufficiently for the next patron. But not all of you have that luxury. So would it completely kill you to make sure my dining area doesn’t have dried bits of whatever the previous patron had all over it? Please? And maybe a cup with no lipstick on it (back when I was still drinking I was actually accused by a bartender of putting the lipstick on myself, until I made them realize it just wasn’t my shade)? For pete’s sake, you certainly wouldn’t want to eat in a pig sty, why would you think I would?
HONORABLE MENTION
I don’t give a **** about how drunk you got the night before. I don’t give a **** that your boyfriend broke up with you. I don’t give a **** that your grade on that exam yesterday probably won’t help your overall G.P.A. What I do care about is getting my Popeye Omelette out here with no tomatoes on or in it. Sounds cold as hell maybe. But I am not your friend, I am your customer. Feed me, treat me halfway decently, and I will do you in like.
its time the USA got over this tipping nonsense and paid waiting staff a living wage. A tip is not a salary it is a reward for doing a good job and the way the US hospitality service try and palm off their responsibility for paying a wage by making the customer tip is crap.. I tip for good service, irrespective of where I am and forcing me to pay the waiter so that they can live pisses me off, especially if the service has been crap. Come to New Zealand, we don’t tip unless the service is really outstanding and the staff get a decent wage. If I get bad service, as i did once in Hong Kong, I will go so far as to demand the service charge be removed from my bill, let alone tipping. Get real US and get your employers to do what they are supposed to do – ie employ you, that way if you are good you get an extra benefit of a tip, and if you are bad – you don’t
On tipping, I’m a bartender and I won’t say it’s mandatory, but if you intend on visiting a place more then once, it’s a very good idea.
Tips are how almost all servers and bartenders in the USA make their money, yea we get an hourly wage but it’s barely worth cashing that check for most of us. Simply put, if we know you’re not going to tip (or are only going to tip a small amount), we have no reason to give you good or prompt service.
I always give the best service I’m capable of on their first visit. If you don’t tip (or only give me a dollar or two on a $50+ tab) I’ll remember you the next time and you can wait until I finish with those that will before getting you your weak drink off the rail (yes, I heard you say Grey Goose, but I’ve moved to the other end of the bar and you’re chatting with your friends).
As someone who’s worked in Retail, and other Service related jobs, including being a dealer (cards, just to clarify!) I’d say Tipping is never ever maditory for servers. If it’s not manditory for every other serivice profession out there, it’s not manditory for servers, especially in places they make minimum wage or higher. I’m sorry but if you’re doing the same amount of work as me, in fact I think that servers do less work than dealers do at a casino, sure you may be running around, but dealers have all the pressure, and you also don’t have to be standing accross from people for hours on end (and yes there are patrons that will sit at one table for eight + hours, and they usually aren’t the nice ones.). As someone who has recieved tips, I will say this, they are extra money. You do your job for the wage you are hired for (and I am speaking for places that don’t have a special wage for servers, which I believe is all or most of canada, and some of the states at least).
I’d also like to say that here in BC I’ve known waiters that made $12 an hour plus tips, I didn’t even make that dealing, I made just over $9, and dealing is harder, much much harder. And I worked in retail both in a department type store and a shoe store, I had endless running around to do for customers, did I get tips? nope. The shoe store was the worst because sometimes I would spend an hour with a customer and still not have them buy anything, or have them buy something and return it, for no good reason (and no I wasn’t a crappy sales person), so my numbers went down for that (not that I got commission). There are a ton of other jobs out there that should be tipped, servers should be greatful they’re one of the few professions that people feel it’s “manditory” for.
I am a server making my way thru med school…I’m obviously not an idiot and have worked in the food industry since i was 14. i love to help people, and to make their dining experience special. I genuinely care about my tables. sometimes though we are busy. A lot of times we are ordered by our bosses to do something else (other then take out your food- which really upsets me since customers are my #1 priority)
just this weekend at work i was taking an extremely complicated order from a large party by my myself (we are NEVER allowed to take tables of 8 or more by ourselves, we were just that busy) i also had 4 other tables of 6 people each. all my table were extremely understanding towards me. but while i was taking this order, one of my tables stood up waved at me. so i motioned that i would be right there, (only one more order to go).
when i walked over to the table THIRTY SECONDS LATER the man grabbed my wrist and cursed at me for ignoring him. told me to “F******G GO STRAIGHT TO THE REGISTER YOU F******G IDIOT DO NOT TALK TO ANOTHER PERSON OR DO ANYTHING ELSE ON YOUR WAY DO YOU HEAR ME??!”.
i was completely shocked. his service had been just fine up until that point. He had actually physically harmed me…never OK!
all I’m trying to say is sometimes we aren’t ignoring YOU we are doing our rounds at our tables to make sure EVERYONE is attended to. I’m not going to stop in the middle of helping someone else to get your credit card. that is not fair in any sense to the other customers. nor does it make sense to grab me and curse at me.
PS i do agree with asking if someone needs change. you are just ASKING to have you tip lowered.
but in general i have great guest and love my job.
Interesting list (spelling aside). But #1 is totally off-base. Tipping is voluntary, and is based on quality of service. And please, servers, there’s one — and only one — response to a tip, and it’s the same that you teach your kids when they receive a gift. ‘Thank you’. Never expect it, and always be grateful that you got anything. Period.