Do you ever wonder why you're supposed to tip when you eat out? I mean, your server is already getting an hourly wage so why should you give them extra when they're already getting paid?
I always wondered why. Don't get me wrong, I have never been a bad tipper; from an early age I was instructed to double the tax and that was the tip I'd leave. But I would still wonder...and if my strawberry lemonade wasn't promptly refilled I would mentally talk smack about how crappy my waiter/waitress was.
Now that I work in a restaurant, I have seen the light!
I'm not going to claim to know everything about the ins and outs of a restaurant. I've only been working in one for about a month and a half. But I tell ya, I had mad respect for people who have been serving for a lengthy amount of time. It takes an immense about of patience and attentiveness to be an efficient waitress and even when I'm able to scrounge up enough I don't always get a good tip. I've only been serving for three weeks and already I have come across unruly groups of people who test my patience. I swear I haven't done anything obscene to anyones food but thoughts of spit water and sneeze muffins have briefly flitted through my brain.
I know a lot of you are probably like the post-waitress Bry, unaware of what to do or how to act in a restaurant. Or maybe you THINK you do know how to act. Maybe you go in to eat and feel entitled to great service, a constantly full glass of iced tea, and fresh bread before you even crack open the menu. Well sit back, relax, and pay close attention. Here are 5 tips for you, the customer.
1. Busy Restaurant? Don't ask to switch to a booth
If the restaurant isn't busy, by all means, ask if you can slide into that booth on the other side of the aisle. The hostess will gladly move your menus and silverware to that table. But for the love of Pete, if there is a 30 minute wait and you're being led to a table but see an open booth over yonder, don't ask to sit in that booth instead. There is a reason you're being led to the table!
Servers have to take turns getting their sections seated. That way, they can devote the right amount of time and focus to each of their tables. That booth you want over there is in the section of a server who recently got a 10 person party, he just took their drink orders and will be in the kitchen for three minutes loading up all the drinks and sending the alcoholic drink orders to the bar. He won't be able to greet you for a while. And of course to a
hangry customer, three minutes is really ten; you're gonna get all hyphy because you haven't been greeted after waiting 30 minutes for your table and you're going to take it out on your poor server who was just doing his job. So please, don't ask for a booth.
It isn't because the cute hostess who led you to your table has a vendetta against you, it's because she is following a carefully planned and outlined board. You can sit and eat at a table, most folks do on a daily basis. If you don't want to worry about the wait or what kind of seat to eat from, just call ahead and order take out!
2. Tip when you take-out
This is another one I didn't know about. I didn't realize how much work went into a take-out shift. The person you talk to you when you order your food does wwaayyy more than just take your order.
When I worked my first take-away shift (my restaurant calls it take-away instead of take-out) I was overwhelmed. There is typically only one person working in take-away. One person to take your call, put in your order, go into the kitchen, box up your food in a way that will keep everything fresh and prevent it from getting soggy, add all the extra sauces, toppings, and sides, toss in some free bread and butter, bring it back to take-away, spot the correct car outside, bring out your food, and take your payment. Maybe that doesn't sound like too much, and it isn't overwhelming if it's just one customer. But what about when there are five people on hold waiting to place an order, three orders up in the kitchen and four cars waiting outside???
I know we live in an impatient world, we all hate waiting. But be patient when it comes to ordering out, it isn't McDonalds, your food won't always be ready the second you drive up to the window. And add a little tip when you're ordering take-away from a restaurant. It doesn't need to be a whole 15-20%, but there is a lot of work going into preparing your food and making sure it's exactly what you wanted. If you're willing to drop an extra fifty cents into a "Thanks A Latte'" bowl at Starbucks for your $5 cup of coffee, then it wouldn't be too much to take that extra step and give a couple bucks to the person taking care of your take-away order. I promise, they appreciate it, and they earned it.
3. Don't ask for bread the second you sit down
I know you feel entitled to the bread. But hold your horses, you'll get it. There is a process for everything. Typically your server will ask you if you would like some bread
after they take your food order. Here, this is the usual order:
- What would you like to drink?
- Would you like to start off with any appetizers?
- Are you ready to order? Yes? Awesome.
- Would you like some bread while you're waiting for your food?
See? The bread will happen. Be patient! I know you want to stuff your face with free carbohydrates but there is a process...I'm just trying to prevent you all from asking stupid questions and pissing off your server. Give them some credit, they aren't trying to punish you by keeping you from your bread.
Most restaurants don't bring bread out until your soup or salad, and there is typically a restriction to how many pieces of bread and butter they can bring out at once. Please refrain from throwing a BF (b**** fit) if they tell you that they can't bring out a fourth serving of bread and butter, no one should be loading up on that many carbs anyways...even if you're running a marathon the following day.
4. Remember you only have one server
When it's busy, 8 times out of 10, the person delivering your food isn't going to be the server that greeted you, took your order, brought you your drinks and said "If there's anything you need, just let me know." It's going to be a food runner, another server who has a wee bit of down time to run trays of food out to tables.
That being said, they will ask you, "Is there anything else you need?" Psst....they ask that to be polite, they're really hoping you'll say "No! Everything looks fantastic!" I mean, if your salad needs a little more dressing or your steak needs some A1, you can let them know and they'll promptly get it for you. But please remember, they are not your server! They have their own tables to attend to. So, if you need another coke, or you want to order some mashed potatoes because your friend did and those potatoes are looking mighty fine, wait until your server walks by or comes to check on you, because they will! And they will gladly get you some spuds or a refill.
5. Never stiff your server
If you have the same mentality that post-serving Bry had where you don't realize why you must tip your server in the first place. Here is where I'll explain why you most certainly should.
I got my paycheck yesterday...no, that doesn't mean "YAY! I get to go shopping now!" When I get my paycheck stub, I don't rip it open in excitement to see what all my hard work has earned me in the last two weeks. I set it aside and mentally prepare myself. When I finally, begrudgingly open the envelope, I one-eye peek at it...then wince. Yesterday I got paid a whoppin' $158.64. No, my finger did not slip on the keyboard.
My tips get taxed, and those taxes get taken out of our bi-weekly paychecks. At the end of every shift, before we are allowed to clock out, we servers must claim our tips, there is a minimum percentage of our total sales of the day that we have to claim. Did you know that if a customer doesn't tip a server, the server still has to tip out the hostess, busboy, and bartender? So technically, your server just paid to serve your table.
I looked up the standard for tipping and as always google came through for me.
- Waiter/Waitress:
- 15% for adequate service
- 20% for very good service
- No less than 10% for poor service
- Bartender:
- 15%-20% of the tab
- minimum of 50 cents per soft drink
- minimum of $1 per alcoholic drink of beer or wine
- minimum of $2 for mixed alcoholic drink
Remember that when you go out to eat, you're paying extra for the service. If you don't want to pay for the service, then go to a fast food joint or eat at home and serve yourself. We are part of a society that feels entitled to the best of everything, and our society can provide that; but not for free. If you want extra, you're going to have to pay for extra.
Although I don't want to work in a restaurant forever, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to expand my area of expertise. No, I am by no means an expert in the restaurant business; but i have come to the realization that I have been under-appreciating the food service industry. That being said, I hope that I have been able to change your opinion about tipping and proper restaurant behavior. If I have changed it for the better, please come in and ask to sit in my section! If I haven't...go ahead and come in anyways but ask to sit in Monica's section.
