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wclboy
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TalesFromYourServer
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Worst week I’ve had yet
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I live and work in a resort town where, just like everywhere else but smaller and more accelerated, there’s mega growth for the rich pushing service workers out of town. People losing their leases left and right for Airbnb or to sell at 300+% increases in less than 5 years. Prices getting absolutely jacked up while developers throw up condo complexes in 2-3 months. Can’t even blame em but there’s absolutely no control or oversight. I think it’s something like 80% of homes sit vacant the majority of the year. So basically when people complain about service it’s their own damn fault.
So this week sucked. Thursday was a day I’ll never forget. I got absolutely berated and treated like shit by a 21 top with a million dietary restrictions and demands. Fingers in the face, telling me how to do my job, flagging down other servers for something they asked me for 30 seconds previously, asked for discounts multiple times (I denied), changing there order after it was sent to the kitchen multiple times, a million requests never at the same time and just so rude. I was not a person in their eyes. On top of the treatment, they barely ordered liquor, shared food and I would’ve rather paid them the $100 autograt (which they tried to argue) to have gone somewhere else.
Yesterday was a fifteen hour double with no major incidents but a long day. Opened and closed.
Tonight some guy decided it was his life mission to destroy me and my manager because he had to wait 45 minutes for his food. Food takes a while anyway cause we’re packed and have a small kitchen but he also had dietary restrictions which are the only restrictions we accommodate. But he could’ve ordered so many other things that fit his restrictions and insisted on this instead. I explained that it would be a while but he waved me off. Ended up cancelling his food at his request, charged him for his drink and sent him to my manager. I wasn’t putting up with him. I’ve reached that point where I refuse to help you if you’re being an unruly asshole. You’re reasonable even if you’re frustrated? I’ll do everything I can to make it right and get you a free drink while you wait. But I’m experienced enough to take the abuse rather than help you if you’re an asshole, especially if you’re just completely wrong.
He screams and fingers in the face her and leaves. He’s left complaints on all of our social medias including a terrible screenshot of half of his complaint to the usda? Threatened to contact “local authorities”. Unlike Thursday at least tonight was my Friday and kinda funny. Local authorities? USDA? And his only complaint is waiting for his food. It makes me smile to know he’s ruining his vacation trying to take us down for wronging him so terribly.
Money was pretty good this week at least. Thanks for the rant
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/wclboy/worst_week_ive_had_yet/
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w347sn
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TalesFromYourServer
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Karma is real
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Not a server but been on this sub for a while because the stories are good. Was in the airport today on business travel and got good service from a dude tending bar. I screwed up and didn’t account for a tip in my business expense limit when I ordered, so my tip on the corporate card was closer to 10% than 20% (because if I go over the limit I don’t get reimbursed at all).
And no cash on me.
Because of this thread I figured rather than stiffing the dude $2 I’d ask him if I could run a tip on a separate credit card. He thought about it a bit and ran a .01 charge and I left $5 on top to make sure he got closer to 25%. Not huge, but right thing to do.
Karma: walked out of there without my $100 sport coat. 5 minutes later he’s tracked me down at the airport and hands it to me. I think he would have done this anyway, but man, I’m glad I didn’t stiff him on the tip. Would have been so embarrassing.
Karma is real, people. What goes around comes around. Tip your servers.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/w347sn/karma_is_real/
| 206
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hot
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u6fqne
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TalesFromYourServer
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How was this so unusual?
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Last night my husband and I went out for Habatchi.
We had a great time and felt the service was amazing.
We felt the servers went above and beyond so whe we got our checks and only a 15% service fee was included (it was highlighted and circled) we added an extra 10٪ to mKe it 25٪.
The waitress came back to us showing us our mistake and how service was included.
We told her that yes, we understood that but we wanted to tip additional.
She then needed to bring her manager over so we could confirm it for him that it was "because of good service and for her".
This got us wondering, is it that unusual to tip on addition to the 15% charged? Could it be that the manager does not let them keep tips and thats why we needed to confirm it was for her?
Could it be we were both visibly drunk and they were covering their butts? (We had to leave our car and take a lyft home)
We felt bad that an extra $10 was so unusual we needed to be asked about it not once but twice. It's not like we left an extra $100, it was literally an extra $10.
I would love to hear from server's if this is that unusual or was it possibly another reason.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/u6fqne/how_was_this_so_unusual/
| 266
| 25
| 1,650,295,468
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9q718a
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"Slow Service" - A Douchebag Gets Bitten by Karma
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Some years ago I was waiting tables at a busy college spot. Everything was running smoothly til this guy at the head of a table (party of 8) excitedly waves me over. In a state of total annoyance, he says "Can we get the check?". I look around the table, a couple people are still finishing their food and half of them still have full drinks. "No problem", I say. When I return he snatches the check holder out of my hand as if he had been waiting since the dawn of time. My night kept chugging along and it wasn't until they're long gone that I look at the receipt and see they've left me 10%. I might have sucked it up without much complaint except that written next to the tip he wrote "slow service". My blood boiled. The service was timely and efficient. The only thing to indicate that there could have been slow service was this jerk making a scene when it came time to bring the check.
I was livid for longer than I'd like to admit. What would cause someone to act so douchey? Was he imitating a cheapskate move that his Daddy taught him? He had collected cash from others at the table and put the whole charge on his card......was he pocketing the tip money they gave him? ...or was it a table full of douches and as a group they left 10%?
The rest of my shift ended uneventfully. My workmates and I went across the street for our usual after-work drink. As we're walking in, I spot the jerk at the bar just as he's signing the check. I get right next to him to see what he's writing and there right next to the tip he's written "slow service".
"Slow service?" I say, "there must be a lot of that going around." He looks up, recognizes me and wilts. Then with as much backbone as he could muster, says "Uh yeah.....it was slow."
Now he might have gotten away clean if he had just turned tail and left, but he stood there, and with ever fading confidence pleaded his case to me. One of his friends was listening in and after learning all the details I see her go off in a huff to the rest of the group.
I would never chase after someone for leaving me a bad tip, or even stiffing me altogether, but to be there at the exact moment when he was repeating his douchery, so I could call him out on it, felt like divine intervention and I would have been remiss not to call him out.
Ten minutes later, one of the girls from their group comes up to me, hands me $20 and apologizes on behalf of the rest of the group. On my way out of the bar an hour later, I see the jerk pleading with his irate girlfriend.
So in the end, he got to pocket a few bucks but lost some friends and probably his girlfriend. Sometimes karma does work.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9q718a/slow_service_a_douchebag_gets_bitten_by_karma/
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33hnmn
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TalesFromYourServer
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Former Server: Best handling of "late arrival to our table" I've ever seen...
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Hey all! I've subscribed here for awhile but never really post. I'm a former server, and I'll be honest I was kind of terrible at the job. (I'm not a huge people person.) So I enjoy reading tales from servers today. As a customer, I almost always tip generously, but having been in the industry before I do have a few pet peeves that will really make me reassess the tip during my meal.
A big one? Being sat and then being *ignored studiously* by wait staff all around us even after our menus are down, and we've been clearly ready for ten minutes.
Well, this happened to us right after the Boston Marathon and I wanted to share how I went from being silently furious, to tipping 25% of what our bill **would have been** had we been charged for the surprise free dessert we got after our meal.
We were at a very fancy restaurant, a steakhouse in downtown Boston. We don't often eat fancy, but this was a huge celebration for my husband who has trained for years to qualify for and run the Boston Marathon, and he'd finished it with a great time earlier in the day, so we made reservations for 6:30PM. We arrived 15 minutes early to a quiet restaurant, and were sat. We read through the menu, my husband went to the bathroom and returned. We chatted, and multiple waiters passed our table without so much as giving a glance toward my attempts at direct eye contact.
My husband, knowing this is my peeve, said, "I'm sure we'll have someone soon." I said, "For the price we're paying, we'd better."
Just as I was about to hound the hostess asking where our waiter was, an older gentleman rushed by with his umbrella and overcoat on. He paused, "I'll be with you both very shortly, I promise. I'm sorry for your wait."
I watched him go into the kitchen (through the windows in the kitchen) from our table, and he continued rushing, pulling off his coat as he walked, and continued into the kitchen where I couldn't see him. Not two minutes later he was back, continuing to apologize, stating he had to run and get something during his break and he had asked they not seat his section right away. He saw my husband's Boston Marathon jacket and instantly said, "Did you run?" My husband said he had, and he instantly reached out to shake my husband's hand and offer a hearty congratulations. Then he turned to me and shook my hand as well. Then he settled down to business, asking if we wanted to hear the specials, etc.
Our drinks came out quickly, and our salads right after. Because this restaurant was so high priced, he offered up that a single salad would and could be easily split among two, and he was right. We each received a huge salad on our plates. He also suggested we order half portions of the sides, if we wanted to try more than one, so we did.
Every last moment of our meal was professionally, personally, wonderfully handled. He even brought the manager by to congratulate my husband (Boston really loves the runners!) and our waiter and my husband bonded over living in the same neighborhoods for many years. My husband lived in Boston for 17 years before moving away 12 years ago, and this was his nostalgic return to run the marathon in the city he loved.
By the time our salads arrived, I was in love with our waiter. Gone was the frustration of waiting at the outset of the meal.
We enjoyed our steak and lobster, and wine and beer, and after a bit he came by with a dessert menu. My husband looked at me and we gave each other a, "Oooof we can't eat another bite" look. He and I started chatting and my husband said, "I would probably puke if I ate something more. That chocolate cake looks good though, comes with ice cream. That always cuts the richness. Maybe I could handle that."
We chuckled, but it was clear we weren't ordering dessert.
Apparently our waiter overheard my husband, though, because a few moments later an enormous 7 layer chocolate cake slice, complete with a lit candle and scoop of ice cream ended up on our table!
At first I thought that the person who dropped it off had the wrong table until our waiter came back with a grin on his face and said, "You have to celebrate your first race here in your old hometown!" Big, hearty handshakes all around again, as we started to tuck into our cake.
We got the bill, sub-$200, but only by about $10 which was essentially the cost of the cake we got for free. I left a $50 tip, because I appreciated so much how well he took care of us.
I know that TGIChilibees servers may not be able to comp a huge slice of cake, or treat someone ridiculously special during the course of a busy Friday night, but the thing that really stuck with me was that our server 1) immediately recognized we had been waiting, 2) acknowledged it as soon as he could 3) really **did** bust his butt to get back to our table to help us ASAP and 4) made sure we knew we were in good hands for the rest of the meal.
I often feel like when someone's been late to my table at the outset, they feel like their tip is ruined, or we already have a bad perception of our service, and so it's not worth it trying to change that mindset, but really for me first impressions **can** be changed by an awesome, kind, friendly server.
I just wanted to share this great experience in hopes that it makes up for some of the bitchy customers I know you guys have, and to help share that when it comes to restaurants and service, first impressions *don't always* ruin a customer's perception of the service throughout the whole meal.
And as I always feel when I'm in this sub: Thanks to all of you who put up with the pain in the ass customers, who bust your butts, and who treat us well when we eat out. I know the job you do is tough. I couldn't hack it, so I live vicariously through your stories.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/33hnmn/former_server_best_handling_of_late_arrival_to/
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xxq19d
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TalesFromYourServer
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As a server, have you ever had an experience so bad as a guest at another restaurant that you tipped $0?
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Server of 6+ years here. Whenever I go out to eat, I make sure to tip a healthy amount (for obvious reasons), even when the service is below par. I understand people have their off days, could be new, and/or could be going through a lot in life. However, tonight I had the most horrible experience as a guest. I met up with my boyfriend and a few friends after my shift this afternoon for dinner. I arrive early and order everyone a water. I notice my server is the same server I had just the week before. When I had him last, he seemed weeded the whole time, forgetting to grab my beer that had been sitting at the bar for 20 minutes. Our food came out later than normal and it took us another 20 minutes to find him to ask for boxes. No worries, though, he’s just weeded. Tipped 25% and left.
Tonight was a totally different story. It wasn’t as busy as last week, so I figured it would be a quicker experience. After my boyfriend and friends arrived, he promptly came over and asked about appetizers. I insisted it would take us a few minutes to figure out an appetizer, so he left. My friends drink a lot of water, and in this time, they were almost done with their waters. Server comes back over. “I’ll grab some more water.” “Thanks” we said, and before I could announce that we had decided on an appetizer, he turns around. I said “excuse me! I think we also decided on this appetizer please. Thank you!” “Ok I’ll get that in for you,” he says. Minutes go by, no water refill. We notice him walking past our table numerous times to his other tables, still no refills. No worries, maybe he got weeded a bit. He comes back. “Are you ready to order?” “Yes,” we all say. We tell him all of our orders. My friend then asks if we can have more waters. “Yeah sure” our server says. He comes back a few minutes later with one water, not a pitcher. We all needed our waters refilled by this point, not just one person. We leave him be and think maybe he realizes and will be back with a pitcher. 10 minutes go by, nothing. 20 minutes go by, nothing. We constantly see him going back and forth to his other tables, but refusing to walk directly by ours.
By this point, I’m wondering what’s going on with our appetizer. It was a simple appetizer that is ladled into a couple bowls and sent out with chips. Did he forget? Who knows. 10 minutes later, our appetizer finally comes out. It’s on the brink of being cold. It’s okay, we will eat it because we are hungry and it’s not that big of a deal, right? We remind him about the water refill. “Oh right” he said and walked away. By this time we have been there for 35 minutes. I can see it getting busier in the restaurant. We eat the appetizer and wait patiently for the water refill and our food. Another 15 minutes goes by and here comes our food. It’s mine and my boyfriends food. Looks correct and looks good. He leaves to go get the other half of the table’s food, or so I assumed. We realized after he left that we had no silverware also. That’s okay, we will tell him when he brings the other plates out. I see him exit the kitchen 5 minutes later, but with nothing in his hands. Where’s my friends’ food? I hear my friends sucking up what little water they still had in their cups from the ice melting. And where’s the water refill too? 15 more minutes go by, still no friends’ food or water. My boyfriend and I are trying to slow down eating for the respect of our friends who still don’t have their food. We ended up not eating anything more until their food comes out. We flag down our server and ask if they are ever going to get their food or water to which he replies “yeah it should be out soon”. I’m thinking, man, if this was me, I’d get a write up or even get fired over this… here it is now 25 minutes after my boyfriend and I got our food and my boyfriend is livid. Our food is cold from waiting and they still have no food or refills. My boyfriend goes to find a manager. He returns to the table and the manager he spoke with comes to the table with water refills almost immediately. We thanked her and asked about the food. She goes to check on it.
Meanwhile, our server got word that we had spoken to a manager. He comes by the the table to take the empty glasses and with an attitude says, “we have 3 new cooks working back there, SO…” and walks off. What kind of excuse is that? I don’t care how many new cooks you have, my friends’ food should have came out at the same time as our food! We are the same table! 10 more minutes go by and we see our server approaching the table with a tray of food. Finally! We all get to eat! Until I realize it’s one entree and it’s not either of my friends’ food! He tries auctioning it off to our table. “Um, that’s not our food” my friend says. “Oh okay” says our server and goes to another table with that food. My friend is keeping track of how long it has been since my boyfriend and I had gotten our food. It as been 30 minutes. My boyfriend is fed up. And by this point, we are all ready to leave and my friends are wanting to eat elsewhere. My boyfriend gets up to ask for the manager to come by our table again. As soon as he gets back, here comes our server with our friends’ food. One of their entrees was incorrect, but they took it anyway. At this point, we all want boxes and just want to leave. Here comes the manager. A different one than who my boyfriend had spoken to earlier. She apologized profusely and aimed to make everything right. This was the first apology we had heard the whole night. We told her that it wasn’t her fault and thanked her.
Needless to say, I was absolutely appalled at the type of service we got. We would have been okay if all of our food took longer than normal, but my friends not having their food for 30+ minutes after ours was unacceptable. I honestly believe he forgot to ring theirs in somehow, but I still don’t know how that could have happened when we ordered at the same time. The whole experience took us 2 hours from start to finish. It was also the first time I had left a $0 tip to a fellow server.
Has anyone else had an experience this bad?
TL;DR: Fellow server here, had such a bad experience out to eat that I left $0 tip for the first time ever.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/xxq19d/as_a_server_have_you_ever_had_an_experience_so/
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11qo01i
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TalesFromYourServer
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Had a gift card today for a restaurant and was unable to tip anything
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Before I get destroyed in the comments, I always top over 20%. If my meal is 5, I'll tip 5 or more. Anyways, I've been able to tip my servers from gift cards at other establishments, plenty of times, it's never been an issue. So I go to a large restaurant chain, and I have a cheap 15 dollar meal. I was surprised I couldn't tip on the gift card when I asked, because the last 3 places has let me do it. So I offer to use my debit card to tip and they say I couldn't do that either. And I never carry cash, and I felt like an asshole. Granted I was in and out in like twenty minutes or less and never asked for anything, I still feel like a douchebag.
Is this normal to not be able to take tips off a gift card and unable to take it off a regular card? I just feel bad :/. Everyone around her was giving her such a hard time and I was gonna tip the remaining balance of the card which would've been a decent amount
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/11qo01i/had_a_gift_card_today_for_a_restaurant_and_was/
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51m7wj
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TalesFromYourServer
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My restaurant started TIP POOLING.... Looking for advice/venting
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So I work in a mid size fine dining restaurant. It is not a chain. My coworkers and I make the best server money in our city. We had large section for fine dining (8-9 tables), but made it work. Well, we used to...
Some management changes happened in April. I came into work on a Monday night and was greeted by my coworker with "have you heard? we are starting to tip pool now. Starting TODAY!" I was immediately pissed off - how could they change our pay structure without our consent? How were they going to calculate the share? Anyway, we got busy and I had to push the issue under the rug until later.
End of the night comes, I do my check out. I put ALL of my cash tips in with the pool. I am told by my manager that I can get my tips tomorrow. Ok, fine. I ask him how it is calculated - his dumb ass can't explain it to me. Red flag #1.
I got my tips the next day. Contributed around $250 walked out with $120. I was very, very upset. It turns out we pool with the BAR and it's an HOURLY pool. So they take all of the tip money earned, calculate TOTAL number of hours worked by servers and bartenders, and calculate an hourly wage. So if there were $500 in tips and 20 total hours worked, and I worked 5, then I would make (500/20)*5 = $125.
The bar is literally there from 1pm (we open at 2pm) until i11pm or 12am at night. My shifts are usually 5-10pm, so now the bar is making literally double our money and having a quarter of our sales. We tipped out the bar pretty fat before tip pooling (10% of alcohol sales - bottles), but this seems like a subsidy so the restaurant doesn't have to pay bartenders more hourly. Clearly, they think the bartenders deserve more than servers (understandably so), but do not want to compensate them themselves.
Months later, and I'm making about $300 less a week. Servers and even the bartenders (who are making at least $300/night) HATE the pool. However, management won't budge or even have a civil discussion about tip pooling - they are too far up the owner's ass (it was his idea). Everybody wants to bring it up at staff meetings, but we are told to shut up and be thankful - the managers work "50-60 hours a week and make less!" Red flag #2.
I have gotten shorted on my pay out twice by more than $50. Got a "who cares" attitude by management. Before anyone could explain to me that it was an hourly pool, I sometimes would forget to clock in until my first table and miss out on 1.5 hours of the pool, which can be $50-60. Nobody tries to fix it. Rumors of drawer shortages being taken from the pool when servers aren't even responsible for drawers. Rumors of management tipping server assistants extra out of pool w/o our consent. Red flags #3, #4, #5, #6.
People have no incentive to do side work quickly - you can sweep for $25/hour - which hurts the people who can generally get their shit done as soon as they are cut. Morale is low and I can tell people are up selling far less (WAY less bottle, dessert, and a la carte sales), so it hurts everybody. Clearly this is a bad business decision for employees and the employer.
I love my job, coworkers, and the money is still better than everywhere else in my smallish town. Despite the pay cut, I cannot afford to leave. So I'm looking for advice... Is this legal? (I'm in Michigan). Should I talk to the owner? Should the servers rise up? Should we write a letter? Anything helps!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/51m7wj/my_restaurant_started_tip_pooling_looking_for/
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1hl71q8
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TalesFromYourServer
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Worst Shift Ever
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I work at a small mom and pop restaurant in my hometown in California. Been working there for about 6 years. Today I clocked in to work a party of 40-50 people. One check. They’re ordering individually (we offer catering style and larger packages for parties) I’m one server working their reservation. Without giving away details (you probably wouldn’t know the restaurant anyway but still) We have exceptionally reasonable prices. It’s a work lunch thing for a company and they’re loaded 😀 they make comments about having their employees order from the cheaper section of the menu (they dont tell me it’s forced and I tell them what if they order from the not cheaper areas..?) they say it’s fine. They understand. Already they’re complaining about the prices subtly. I serve them, everything goes well, the bill comes. Their total is 1,300. For 50 people. We have auto grad for parties of 15 or more we auto grad 18%. I stamp their check with the auto grad and they refuse and complain about prices. We give them a 10% DISCOUNT. YES. YOU HEARD THAT CORRECT! Bringing their total to about $1,191. I stamp that with auto grad. They pay and tip $110. 18% of $1,191 is $238. The owner and managers say I can’t add the $238 tip. I can only add $110. Mind you… after tip out I only walk with about $60/70… Is this LEGAL???
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1hl71q8/worst_shift_ever/
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1hbz0gm
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TalesFromYourServer
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How’s your business this holiday season??
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Just as the title says I’m very curious how everyone’s holiday business has been. I’m particularly interested in hearing about breakfast/lunch cafes cuz that what kind of restaurant I work in. But, even if you do dinner or bartending lmk how things are going this year.
We are usually pretty packed almost every day starting November 1st through the new year. That has absolutely NOT been the case this year. We have been slower than ever. I can usually count on $200 a day at the very least. Sometimes during this season I can make $300-$400 especially on the weekends. Honestly I’m lucky if I’m breaking $200. That is what I need to pay my bills and live somewhat comfortably.
I’m 50 years old. I worked 5 days my whole life but I went to 4 a few years back because it’s just getting harder on me and 5 days burns me out.
However, I’ve been trying to pick up an extra shift here and there when I can but that’s hard cuz everyone is struggling and needs to make money to pay their bills and for Christmas.
I have asked around to my other server friends in my area to see if they were busy or it was just us. They told me they were slow too.
I thought maybe it was just us because our restaurant has been undergoing some changes. For example, we just got those fucking stupid toast tablets and not only do we not like them but the customers aren’t fond of them either. They have been changing the menu and raising prices. And, I’m not sure, but I think the 70 year old owner, a really great Greek man, is on his way out and they are starting to transition to his kids running it. His daughter is sweet but she lacks confidence and doesn’t always go with what her gut tells her. She can make good decisions but she questions herself too much. And then there’s the son who has a huge ego and people tend to not like him. He will be out of sight all day and she’ll make a decision about cutting the floor and he will walk in and veto her decision. I try and tell her she needs to be more firm. She needs to be firm, fair, and consistent. But she’s a little soft spoken and, even tho she’s older, I think in the Greek culture the man is in charge.
Either way I was happy to know it wasn’t just us. But, still, it’s been rough. I’m literally choosing what bills to pay and which ones can wait. I’ve never had to do that in my 5 years of working there.
I also think we are losing money because of these toast tablets. The tipping screen comes up and it’s 18%,20%,22%. But it’s based off the subtotal. I’m aware that this is the legal way to do it. But, most people would just look at the total of the check and base their tip off of that. And even tho it’s a small amount it adds up. I wish they would just take that screen off and just leave the custom tip option. What kills me about this is that we have to tip out on our sales after taxes which hardly seems fair.
I won’t rant too much longer but one of the girls shared a brilliant idea with me regarding the tipping page. She said if she thinks they are gonna be cheap she leaves the percentage page up. If she thinks they would usually tip more than the percentages on that page she just hits custom tip for them. Pretty good idea in my opinion.
It’s really not the customers fault. They have no idea that they are tipping less than they used to. So with our regulars, which is 90% of our clientele I just try to educate them on how the new system works. Many were very surprised to find that out and thanked me for telling them. One lady even felt bad cuz she said she “jipped” another waitress recently because she didn’t know that. I told her she didn’t “jip” her, she just didn’t know.
Anyway, yeah, business has been rough. How’s yours going??
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1hbz0gm/hows_your_business_this_holiday_season/
| 11
| 15
| 1,733,938,533
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hot
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1h0tqln
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TalesFromYourServer
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what the hell is in the air and going on in restaurants rn?
|
ive been at said restaurant for 3 years now. serving for most of those 3 years. every year around holidays such as thanksgiving and christmas is usually amazing. customers usually watch you bust your ass and usually tip really good for it. today 11/26/24 it seems as if a bunch of assholes have popped out of the works. we did have some crazy coupons going on and i know that brings out the worst in people, but a total of 2 tables actually used these said coupons. so that really shouldn't be a excuse. first table that really made me question my existence. they had 5 people but instead of a booth that can fit up to 7 demanded to push 2 tables together and make a 8 top. because its thanksgiving week that really fucked us over later. which is fine i got over it trying to make people happy and whatever.
my next table flat up scremed at me because of something coporate decided to start doing a year ago. thats fine whatever. they also tipped me 10% because of what they ordered had a upcharge. again i dont get paid hourly and im not coporate idk what you want me to do. my last table said i was the best server they ever had. then proceed to tip $1 on a $40 tab. he also chugged 10 sweet teas in the hour he was there, yes i was counting. that's when my mental stability actually left my body. however that was my last table of the day so i left after that.
the table that actually did it for me was mid shift. they are regulars that are apparently "gluten free". however they ordered absolutely nothing gluten free. sent back there salads three times. i can say the first one was genuinely my fault and i told them that. we're all human and we mess up from time to time. second time the complaint was their roasted chicken was "too peppery". our roasted chicken is not only dry but, unseasoned it seriously tastes like dry turkey. i told her i can do it without the protein so its not peppery since you cant do non-existent seasoning. then they wanted to buy $200 worth of giftcards. no problem there we have a contest for who sells the most and it puts my name in the hat. then they tried to pay with said gift card. 10 minutes later i realized we cannot take gift card purchases with a gift card. this is my first year selling gift cards so it definitely took me on a wild goose chase. i tell them i can only do the food with said coupon. they were fine with me splitting it like that however the BOGO coupon went off that check as soon as i split it. without me or customers realizing it i ran the card through without it. which turned into another problem where i had to void the whole check and do it again. this is all happening while i have 8 other tables to take care of. anyways after the whole hour they were there and the 15 refills they got i got a 10% tip. they didn't even pay for 2 $12 salads did all that for 10% and come in all the time?
with all due respect i think people like this should not be allowed to go out, and it should be okay to be told a simple "dont come back". am i overreacting, am i crazy? or what the fuck is in the air. its not giving very thankful to me, but maybe thats why people are so petty.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1h0tqln/what_the_hell_is_in_the_air_and_going_on_in/
| 252
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1geojcq
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TalesFromYourServer
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Check that tip calculator!
|
I'm not in food service anymore and havent been for years, but thought I would post a warning about something I discovered today.
Today was my youngest kid's 12th birthday. We went to an all you can eat Sushi place. With 7 hungry people to feed the total was $131.11.
Not bad really. Especially when you consider the food was great, the place was clean and the staff, especially the server, were all top notch.
She never let my drink get empty and she quickly brought us plate after plate of delicious food. She was one of 4 servers handling a packed restaurant with around 30 tables. Yet she was always right there when we needed her. I don't think she sat still 10 seconds the entire evening.
I knew right away I was going to tip and when the check finally arrived I was a bit shocked.
The place uses Clover terminals, the kind that precompute suggested tips. The highest tip was 30% which it calculated to be $25.
I hope you see the problem here.
In case you don't see the problem, 30% of $131.11 is $39.33.
For whatever reason the tip calculator was off by nearly half. Even if you assume the pretax cost of the meal as the basis $117, the tip should still have been $35.39.
When I asked the server to bring her manager over. The poor girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights. I could tell she was terrified. I tried to reassure her nothing was her fault.
First I complimented our server Brittney and told the manager about how rare it is to see someone genuinely concerned with each table and making sure everyone is well taken care of.
I then explained to the manager that I wanted to tip Brittney but I had concerned with the receipt.
I asked the manager about the tip calculation and at first she insisted it was right. But we calculated and recalculated it. It was just wrong with no rhyme or reason.
Maybe there's some kind of cap, I don't really know. There's no way the restaurant could benefit from this so I don't think it's an attempt at tip theft.
The manager finally caught on and said she'd look into it with her boss. In the meantime I just rounded it up to $50 and wrote it in.
In either event, now we're left wondering how many times Brittney and the other staff busted their butts to provide top notch service only to be screwed out of their tip because of a computer glitch.
All I know for sure is that whether you're serving or being served, don't trust the machine to calculate the tip.
*update* I received a callback today. Apparently it was a tip cap.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1geojcq/check_that_tip_calculator/
| 443
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hot
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9xvqte
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TalesFromYourServer
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"Dont worry about the bill. Imma bout to get this shit for free!"
|
So, I worked at restaurant chain for a couple months, because I needed something for extra money while I was trying to find a more permanent position. I've worked in offices or warehouses most of my life, but never served before. My mother had been a server most of her young adult life and told me over and over again that "EVERYONE should be a server, at least once in their life!" I knew what she meant was " Everyone should know what it's like to work your ass off for a bunch of dicks that leave you no tip". I totally get that and I now believe the same thing.
This was my first time serving. I'd been in customer service my whole life basically, so I felt like I was good at people pleasing. If anything, on a busy weekend night I felt super frazzled when for some reason I had to pick up more than my normal 4-5 tables, but other than that I always tried to put on a smiling face, and do what I needed to do to make it through another night and make some damn money.
I got this table of two, boyfriend-girlfriend, I assumed. Pretty young and pretty large couple. So they sit down, give them a minute, come over and take their drink orders and they ask me about alcohol (not a big drinker at this time anymore) so I give them some options of the popular ones and they pick. I go get their drinks and come back to take their order. Everything is going pretty good, I feel like they're pretty nice, and I'm trying to make sure I check on their drinks and to see if they're okay. The girl ended up complaining that the drink wasn't strong enough, so I told her about a drink that was kinda like a long island where it had a lot of different liquor in it and she chose it. Still said it was too weak. I took it back to the bar, bartender fixes another one and she says it's still too weak but whatever she'll drink it. Also at this point, dude is looking at me all pissed off like I'm the one making the drinks. I apologize and check on everything else and about that time, I needed to do my rounds so I left.
When their food was up, I brought it out to them and ask that they go ahead and make sure their steaks are the correct temp ( they both got 12+ oz steaks, with toppers and more than the just two sides to come with). They had an out right there, if it wasn't right, tell me and I'll take it to go get fixed! Both of them said it was fine. Okay. Cool. Anything else I can get you? No? Okay cool. Y'all enjoy!
Every. Fucking. Time. I came NEARRRR that table, there was something wrong with the food. This is cold. That's not hot enough. This tastes like it's been sitting out all night. This is watery. My drink is still too weak. This isn't seasoned properly. My steak isn't the right temperature.
I did ABSOLUTELY everything that I could to appease these people. I got them new everything, I got them to change her drink again. Ask to recook the steaks. I did everything I could as a server.
Finally all their shit was fine enough. They ate EVERYTHING off their plates! Shit, they ate some of the "bad" sides that I hadn't gotten off their table yet! I did end up letting my manager know just in case something ended up happening and she told me that as long as I had fixed what I said and everything was fine now that she would give them a 25% discount because of everything that happened.
I go back to give them their bill and all hell breaks loose! They couldn't believe that I didn't try to give them anything for FREE after the night they had. After I brought them cold food. After they had to wait another 5 minutes for the right steak temperatures. Their drinks were SO WEAK!
Dude was getting pretty loud, so my manager ended up coming over. Table talked to my manager and stared at me while they did so. When my manager came back, she literally took everything off of their bill except for the alcohol because we couldn't do that. She ended up taking off 98 dollars worth of food. She also told me that they said I was rude and acted like they were nuisances to me. ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT cause unlike some people, I can hide what I'm thinking really well and my tone had not changed with them AT ALL.
I take the bill back to them and apologize one more time for the rough night, and told them to have a great rest of their night and thanked them.
They left me fucking nothing. Not a dime. Not even a penny. I wrestled with this table for over an hour about drinks and sides and food and fucking everything. They drank their drinks, they ate ALL of their food.Even the shit they said the didn't like they ate!
After that night, I had the most sour taste in my mouth about serving. I never looked at it the same after that. The restaurant got shut down for lease shit a couple weeks after that. Even though I needed the money, I was so happy and relieved I didn't have to go and do that shit over again.
TL;DR Had a couple come into the restaurant that basically knew they were going to get a free meal over $100 out of us before they left the house. Didn't tip me shit, neitha!
Edit: Added TL;DR sorry bout that. Fixed a typo. First post.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9xvqte/dont_worry_about_the_bill_imma_bout_to_get_this/
| 4,017
| 360
| 1,542,454,673
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wip2l6
|
TalesFromYourServer
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The info I wasn’t given during the interview
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Started a new job at a burger restaurant- the first time I haven’t been in semi-fine dining.
>What they told me: it’s $15/hr PLUS tips!
>What I found out my second week: it’s $10/hr, and we take $5 out of your tips each hour to pay you. This is reported as paying you $15/hr.
>What they told me: Some shifts, it’s just you and a manager on the floor, so you don’t have to split your tips with another server/runner etc.!
>What I found out my second week: the owner doesn’t want to pay managers a salary, so he puts them on the tip pool; I don’t have to share my tips with bussers or runners, but I will have to give the manager 50%
What they just flat out didn’t mention: They take the credit card authorization fee out of my pay.
What they DO tell me: people just don’t want to work anymore!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/wip2l6/the_info_i_wasnt_given_during_the_interview/
| 3,335
| 183
| 1,659,903,672
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drp5pf
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TalesFromYourServer
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Rich People are Something Else
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Names changed.
So. I had been working at this fine dining gig for a year or so, in a new city, and it was a mixed bag. This was a classic restaurant situation—the staff did coke together on the regular, drinking a box of wine over two shifts was totally normal, and the owner was...a character. Conversely, you could make a cool 1000 in a weekend, 1400 if it were NYE, so, you know. The usual for fine dining.
Whatever. I loved it. Until my paycheck bounced but that’s a story for another day.
This is the story of hosting a private supper club for something like 300/head. They brought almost 20k in wine. We got about a quarter of that at the end. Fun fact, 600 dollar wine isn’t that much better than 20 dollar wine. Live and learn.
I did the private tasting with chef. Ate a ton of shellfish and foie gras, had an allergic reaction to the shellfish, all was well. Everyone seemed normal and polite, if, well, you know, ludicrously rich. The set up they decided on was passed apps, then five courses, culminating in a fucking phenomenal foie gras dessert. Yum. The private tasting was 10 people, the actual party was for 50+. Did they all show? Nope. Do we care? Nope, got that shit on deposit with autograt at 15%, with the expectation that they then tip on top of that, yeet.
So the actual party begins. I’m casually passing apps during the champagne bit, mostly wondering when I can justify a smoke and wine break with the GM, when there’s a bit of a ruckus. Someone dropped a champagne flute. Great. I drop my empty board in the kitchen and run to grab a dustpan. Chef yells at me. Whatever. I arrive with my dustpan and go to cleanup the glass like a normal person, and one of the men begins fussing immediately—“There’s glass in my shoes! I cannot believe this!” His wife(?) responds—“Let the staff do their fucking job, Tim. Your shoes will be fine.”
I clean up the glass. Great. Okay, time for a cigarette. As I’m heading into the kitchen and passing my coworkers I hear a further commotion. Great. Tim has glass in his shoes and this will surely cause his death. Okay, I’m still having my cigarette, fuck you, *Tim*.
Nope! One of these incredibly elderly men had dropped the glass because he was having a heart attack. Roughly 10 people begin caring for him. They ask for a box of seltzer to put his feet up. His wife says—“Oh, this happens sometimes.” No shit, Susan, he’s fucking 85 years old.
Chef and sous call 911. Old man is chilling on a banquet with his feet up, you know, in a state of cardiomyopathy. Meanwhile, everyone else has returned to drinking champagne and asking if there’s anymore of those “*adorable* little wagyu beef apps coming soon?”
The ambulance arrives. The paramedics show up. Again, everyone in the party is just…chilling with their champagne and we’re all still opening bottles and dropping apps and…idk just screaming internally and waiting for the world’s most satisfying cigarette. The old man is insisting that he’s fine and can stay. The paramedics are like, um, no, you’re, like, dying. So they bundle him into the ambulance and we think okay, fine, we can get the rest of this fucking party over with.
And then his wife comes back. “Hey, *so sorry*, but Harold didn’t get the first oyster course, and he was really excited for it.” So. So. So. So the ambulance waits while chef packs an oyster course into a takeaway box and his wife ferries it dutifully back to him and they leave.
So the rest of the party goes on. All is…reasonably well. At the end they toast to Harold, who may or may not be dead. They leave us a fuckton of wine.
And tip 15%.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/drp5pf/rich_people_are_something_else/
| 2,997
| 145
| 1,572,905,538
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ciui6a
|
TalesFromYourServer
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$100 tip
|
I work at a restaurant where the clientel can regularly tip 15% or less, I've been there 6 months. It's normal to have 4-6 tables on a Friday night and leave with less than $50. I took care of a lady who was celebrating her son's 36th birthday. The bill was about $260 for 7 people. She had earlier whispered to me to make sure bill went to her. The time came and after I swipped her card and dropped it, she called me over and said "here you go hun," so I took the receipt (I usually never touch it until the table is gone). I looked down and it said $100 in the tip line. I knew she had a couple of drinks, so I wanted to make sure she knew what she wrote on the tip line. I glanced over at her from the POS station (which was a tiny wall and she could see me), she says "your welcome" with a smile, I walked over to her to thank her. She said "you work so hard for your money, you're welcome." I was literally holding back tears and I straight up gave her a hug and thanked her again and told her she made my whole week. I walked out of work 2 days before and my tire was flat. I didn't have the money to replace it and was driving on a spare. The classiest part of it all... When I hugged her, she said "you're welcome," etc. Everyone else had walked out a couple minutes before. She didn't do it in front of her family and no one was in ear shot (customers, my coworkers, or her family). I hope I get to do this for someone someday. The story is longer, but the short of it is this. I will not forget her kindness.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ciui6a/100_tip/
| 2,976
| 65
| 1,564,311,212
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o80psu
|
TalesFromYourServer
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The fucking audacity.
|
I work at a somewhat fancy restaurant, I’ve been there for 7 years and I love it. Not trying to toot my own horn but I’m a kick ass server and I work hard for the decent money I make.
Anyways, I was lunch shift today and had a 4 top. At the end when I ask what we’re doing with the bill the woman offers to pay for the whole table. Of course everyone else is like “oh no you shouldn’t! Let me help!” But she insists. Ok cool.
The bill was $70 and she puts down a $5 tip. I’m annoyed but I’m like whatever it’s one bad tip today. AND THEN SHE SAYS “sorry I need to watch how much money I spend.” !!!??! If you can’t give me at LEAST 10% why the fuck are you offering to buy for the whole table. That comment made me more mad than the tip!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/o80psu/the_fucking_audacity/
| 2,894
| 249
| 1,624,669,571
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p77yi0
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Are my parents a*holes?
|
Servers, please let me know your thoughts because this is causing a lot of family strife.
Four people in the family, one that is in a wheelchair, one that uses a cane and two non-disabled family members. We all go out to eat as a family a couple of times of month in fancy restaurants, chain restaurants and local restaurants.
Here's some behavior that truly bothers me about how my parents act to waitstaff:
1. My mother's tone is smarmy and she appears to think everyone is an idiot. Example: We were out for Father's Day at a chain restaurant and the server we had was new. My mother is very particular about her food and drink (ie, I want my bacon crisp or I will send it back. One time I said to her do you think anyone wants their bacon not crisp? There's no reason to point that out to the person when she's not even cooking the food.) She got iced tea but didn't feel she had enough ice or enough lemon. She asked the waiter at least five times "where is that extra ice and where is my lemon?" The poor guy kept saying we ran out of lemon but we're getting more and I will bring it out to you as soon as possible. He finally came out with a big cup of ice and with a whole coffee cup full of lemon slices at which point my mother said well, we're almost done with our meal so I don't need it now.
2. It is difficult with a disabled person in a wheelchair dining out. First the difficulty of where to put the wheelchair where it is out of the main path of traffic. My mother does not like that and feels we should be able to sit wherever we want to sit. If there is even the least little bit of something like sunlight shining in on someone's face or a draft she will insist that we be moved to somewhere else of her choosing.
3. There are many people who are not comfortable with disabled people, especially those who are profoundly disabled and may not be able to speak clearly. When waitstaff takes our order, my mother insists that whoever it is come right over to my brother and his wheelchair and attempt to figure out what he is saying that he wants to eat. Example: We went to a very fancy restaurant last weekend. The waiter was very nice man and was standing between my mother and father as he was taking everyone's order. As I said, my mother is very particular about her food and wanted dressing on the side for her salad. When the waiter didn't say "uh huh" to her if immediately after she said she wanted her dressing on the side, she said are you paying attention? He said ma'am I'm writing this down. When it was time for my brother's order he was still standing in the same place and she said why don't you go over there and ask him what he wants because you're not going to be able to hear it from here. Guess what. Unless you are familiar with him and how he speaks no one's going to be able to hear him. Instead of just telling the waiter what he wants and letting the poor waiter get on with his job she has to basically make him stand there trying to understand my brother and a lot of times looking very uncomfortable. I feel like the man's doing his job and he doesn't need to be made to feel uncomfortable because my mother is on some kind of disability equality kick.
4. TIPPING. Neither of my parents has ever worked in retail of any type not to say any type of restaurant either. They believe 15% is a great tip no matter what. I cannot tell you the amount of arguments we get into over this. At the same fancy restaurant referenced above, our waiter got hung up trying to cash out our order. I could see him so I knew he was waiting for some of the people in front of him to get finished. My mother says loudly "every extra minute this takes, your tip is going down." This man had been an excellent waiter. I said he is back there trying to get the ticket and there are people in front of him who are also trying to cash out their customers. That means absolutely nothing to her. I would say 95% of the time I add at least $5 to $10 to the tip just because I'm so embarrassed, not only at their cheapness but at their general behavior. I work two jobs and I understand what it's like to work for a living. I've tried to explain to them that tips are vitally important and that when you don't tip that's basically stealing out of your waiter's pocket. My dad has said before I don't really care about that, that's not my problem if the restaurant owner doesn't want to pay them.
Thoughts? And I apologize to every single person who's ever waited on us. I told both my parents if I waited on you and you acted to me like you act to everybody else, I'd throw the food in your face.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/p77yi0/are_my_parents_aholes/
| 1,215
| 316
| 1,629,347,788
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relevance
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cq9315
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Bartender saves my ass
|
This happened about 20 years ago but it was brought to mind today when I ran into the story's hero, to whom you'll be introduced shortly.
Story starts long ago, when I was working at my first job - waiter at a certain pizza chain famous for its connection to Chicago. I was new but, looking back, I was doing a decent job. Made my mistakes, but worked hard and was eager to learn.
A couple of months into the gig I had a big group that started as a happy hour after work get together and morphed into an all-night drinks, dinner, dessert, and MANY more drinks extravaganza, with people coming and going. Took up a back room and was my only table. Probably 15 people at any one time, but at 30+ total counting the coming and going. All being put on one ever-growing tab. The group's leader made a big show of collecting cash from people who left. Let's call him Bob.
I was busting my ass all night, trying to bus the table as we went as plates and glasses piled up and new people arrived. Again, I think I did a pretty good job and had no complaints. They had a great time, offered to buy me drinks, and we were all on a first-name basis by the end of the night.
By the end of the night the bill was over $2k. As they began to clear out Bob was making sure everyone had paid him and got out the corporate card. I was clearing the table when he signed the receipt, and put it at the far end of the table from me, and hustled out. He and his group were putting on their coats by the bar.
I'm sure you can guess what happened next: tip on the credit card receipt was $0, and a nice crisp $20 bill for my trouble.
And here's where we meet our hero.
Bartender that night was an absolute killer; he was about 50 years old but built like a tank. Super friendly but also took no shit. I walked over to the bar and told him "That dude just tipped me like 1%, and I know that all his buddies gave him cash. He just stole my tip."
He glanced over. "That guy? In the red shirt?"
"Yup."
"I got you."
He walked over to Bob. "Hello sir - I'm the manager on duty tonight. Thanks for coming in - we really appreciate the business!" He was speaking REALLY LOUD. He was not the manager on duty. "I noticed that you tipped your server $20, which is less than 1%. I'm assuming that the service was sub-par so I wanted to apologize - can I offer you a free drink to make it up to you?"
Well, the whole group erupted. "What? You left the guy almost no tip? What the f*#&?" They knew they had all put in their cost + tip and he was pocketing it.
Bob stammered and tried to say that it must have been some mistake; his remaining colleagues took up a collection and Bob also pulled out his cash. In the end I got a huge tip as both Bob and his coworkers tipped. Bartender got a big chunk of it from me.
Some of his colleagues came back a few weeks later and told me that the group goes out all the time and Bob always pays, and they think he's been stealing from them & the servers the whole time. What a jackass.
I ran into the bartender this week; he didn't remember or recognize me at first but he remembered the story and we had a good laugh.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/cq9315/bartender_saves_my_ass/
| 3,807
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| 1,565,786,273
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relevance
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4z4nfh
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Is it okay to give a tip to another waiter?
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I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this but I'm not sure where else to ask.
Today my mother and I went out to dinner at a local steakhouse. The meals were good and the waitress was attentive and we didn't want for anything. My mother paid and as we were leaving I looked at the receipt and she tipped $5 on an $83 bill. She would have gotten incredibly offended if I dropped cash on the table to leave an appropriate tip, I usually leave 20% or more and she didn't even leave 10%. I had some cash on me so I was planning on dropping it on the table when she turned around but she kept talking to me and I couldn't do it discreetly.
Is it ever okay for me to give the cash to another waitress and ask to give it to my waitress? I had a chance to do that when we started heading for the door but I didn't know if she'd give it to her or if it would be okay to. I ended up doubling back and chucking the bill on the table before rushing to catch up with my mom.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/4z4nfh/is_it_okay_to_give_a_tip_to_another_waiter/
| 14
| 19
| 1,471,925,192
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relevance
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1466dlg
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Unsatisfied with current tipout system
|
I work at a small restaurant - at max we normally seat around 40-50 people on what we consider a busy night. I’m a waiter at this place, but because we’re so small, everyone on staff kind of helps out with my tables when they can (delivering drinks, running food, overall checkin, bussing). Also our bar is super small, seating only 4-5 people at a time, so our “bartender” rarely has people sitting there.
I’ll explain how our current tip system works. Best example I can give is from last night where we had 2 waiters, the bartender, a busser, and BOH. The tips that the customers leave the waiters are pooled together, as well as whatever tips the bar made. That gets added up, and 20% gets taken out for BOH. How that’s split up is not really up to me. Then, the tips are split 3 ways between the waiters and the bartender, and then we each give an equal amount from there to the busser. However, I just don’t think this is fair.
My tables last night LOVED me. I averaged around 27% overall tips. The total pooled tips for the night was around $420. Off of my tables, I brought in $220. I went home with $92. I feel like I’m being scammed lol. I would love any suggestions on a better tip-out system that I could bring up with my boss.
Edit: seems to be a bit of controversy lmao. To clear things up the best i can:
- i live in california, so minimum wage, even for servers, is $15.50 or $16. I’ve been at this restaurant for over 2 years so i’ve gotten 2 raises, so i make $17/hr + tips (started at $15 as a disher)
- im not saying i dont wanna tip people out at all, i just dont want to tip them out to the point where im not even bringing home half the tips i made off my tables.
- people also are commenting on the fact that my coworkers help me out. This is occasional. I run my own food, drinks, bus, etc for my own tables 90% of the time. Only if I’m tasked with something else at the moment do my coworkers do things. And again, i appreciate that, so they should get a small portion of my tips, but i dont think an equal cut.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1466dlg/unsatisfied_with_current_tipout_system/
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orihxa
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TalesFromYourServer
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ALWAYS make friends with the other side of the house, your job will be easier and maybe even fun. I got dirty and honest in the boys club and was a pampered bi$#h for the rest of my time there.
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Obligations:
This is my fist time posting via desktop, I'm used to mobile so formatting?I am dyslexic, spelling, grammar and flow are sometimes horrible, I did my bestThis was originally a comment on another thread someone suggested I make it its own postI edited the original content to clarify and fix some word problems, story remains unchangedThank you to the anon award giver on my comment, you are too kind
TDLR helped the BOH one night and made friends, blew up a poor tip out practice at the front of the house and my job was better for it.
Back in the day I worked at a buffet, my first job, attached to the busiest mall in our three mall state. WE could do 1,500 for dinner no problem.
The problem was in our equipment, we had a conveyor belt style dishwasher (think mini drive through car wash with an attitude problem and a chronic illness) it was installed when the restaurant opened 30 years prior. It was a BEAST. A VERY BROKEN BEAST.
My first year there I was just a line attendant so I changed out the food. My second year I started getting prepcook, floor and cashier shifts. This meant that I was one of the one people who could do anything FOH needed. I wasn't put in the dish room for two reasons, I didn't speak Spanish and the GM said it was "a mans job"
That man is for a different sub.
You guessed it, Friday night dinner rush, I'm bouncing between tables, helping some of the other table staff out (not taking tips of course) filling the front line with food and popping up to the register when I can trying to help kill the line of customers that's out the door and around the corner. GM and AGM are slinging food with their ties over their shoulders, we are all giving 110%. A well oiled machine. Now I see it, empty plate towers here, there almost everywhere dread suddenly consumes my body. AND THEN we all hear it "YOUVE GOT TO BE F$%@ING KIDDING ME!" and the whirl of the dishwasher goes SILENT. The Beast is down.
We all look up at our cursing leader like prairie dogs and can see the danger veins on his forehead. Well, no point in ringing in customers if we don't have plates to serve them on so I bail on the register and follow my GM to the dish room where complete chaos has overwhelmed the 3 seasoned dishwashers. GM crawls under the dishwasher to asses the part that is usually the culprit (full on laying in a few inches of questionable water with half chewed dinner rolls and lettuce floating around him, he could be a jerk when he was stressed but he always jumped in first to do the worst stuff rather than make someone else do it, kept a change of clothes in the office for the occasion) much grumbling ensues. The three dish guys are already elbow deep in the three stage sinks hand washing. Trash is overflowing clogging the floor drain, murky water and wet food is everywhere, my specialty.
I grab the floor squeegee and start raking food up and away from the drain relieving all of us from the standing water. I heap the food goo formerly occupying the drain space onto the trash can that is so full I cannot even lift it and steal the empty cans from the unused stations on the kitchen side and start clearing plates of the old food. There aren't gloves in the world to keep it off you, the food just gets inside them and you're working in that, it splashes up into your face and on your clothes but you can't stop because customers are coming in the BOH door to yell that there aren't any plates. They are beginning to mutiny, whatever you do don't stand between a hungry Buffet guest and their 5th plate of food!
There is a flurry of hands as we crank through the dinner plate mountain with out words, the silverware and finally just enough line pans to keep the cooks happy. Two of the three guys disappear to restock and grab our angry waitstaff bus carts (when a waitress/waiter clears the table they have a station with a cart so it's basically a station where they can bitch about their lives while clearing plates, sorting silverware and slamming dishes into the tubs, when they were even mildly full the habit was to whine at and berate the guys in the dish room who never complained because they would get tipped out by the waitstaff at the end of the night and didn't want their tips affected, this is important later) leaving Grumbling GM under the beast and the only dish guy fluent in English to my left dealing with the clean end as I was too dirty to be touching the good stuff.
Dish Guy "why are you back here"
Me "um, the dishwasher broke?"
DG "yeah, it always does, why do you care? None of the other FOH people have ever helped before, you're here elbow deep the the nastiest part when you could be dry out front with everyone else"
Me "well, if everyone else is out front then they wont be missing me, besides another set of hands will help us get caught up faster, plus I can cuss and yell all I want back here and no one will hear me!"
Bus carts arrive and we are swamped again, GM has declared we need the service guy to come out for the busted beast so he rolls up his sleeves (still soaking wet) and does the dirty stuff on the incoming dishes I move up a sink and the 5 of us work until midnight washing it all by hand having turned the ship around for a flawless night.
GM after complimenting my ability to hold my own with the guys (to be fair it was my first job, I was barely 18 and petite 90lbs soaking wet, if one were to make assumptions I didn't look like I could lift a ream of paper let alone a full dinnerplate rack and keep the pace) bumped me and the other guys up to maintenance pay for the whole shift ($15.75 when minimum wage was around $6.50 but we made $11 or so) and if we would come in tomorrow he would do it again.
Next day we were at it again until the repair. We were able to stay on top and keep up with demand since we were well prepared, even with a language barrier and an overwhelming task we were able to joke around and laugh throughout the shift.
Here's where the tipping is important, and where I accidentally spark a revolution. I should also mention that we did not do credit card tips, all tips were cash and honor reporting.
My next floor shift is kinda "slow" for us and I tip out 10% as I was told was customary so it was $15. My bilingual dish guy comes out with money in his hand to give back to me
DG: "you don't have to do this you know"
Me, very confused: "I thought we were supposed to tip out at the end of our shift?"
DG: "yeah, but only 10% this is too much."
Me more confused: "no no I made $150 tonight, it's the right amount"
DG: "it cant be you're the only one that ever tips out this much all the other girls never give more than $5 on a day like this, maybe $10 on a very very busy night" on very busy nights I could make $300...
Me: "I know for a fact they each (two other waitresses) made more than that tonight because I had to watch them brag count their tips in front of me (our waitstaff had attitude were the worst kind of people and I to this day fee zero guilt about this-->) they are lying to you.
Dish guy had been taking my "overpayments" thinking I was trying to win him over with money, was mildly insulted by it and didn't have time to get to know me until we were in the thick of it when the dishwasher broke. Waitstaff had been under paying him for YEARS and he's rightfully pissed. He happens to live with the other two dish guys who work the busy shifts (brothers and a family friend, they shared a one bedroom apartment here to send as much money home to their families as they could, he was also related to some of the female line staff who shared another one bedroom apartment) needless to say word spread quick.
For the next 2 weeks I was the only waitress who didn't have to bus her own cart, GM fully supported the dish room strike against the waitresses. I barely even had dishes that stacked before my cart would be replaced with a clean one. Vomit in my section? I'd go out back to start assembling the necessaries only to be shooed away by one of the dish guys so they could do it, everyone else was handed the rags and buckets and told to do it themselves (previously the waitstaff would tell the dish guys it was solely their job, it in fact was not, this also applied to bathroom issues, heh heh)
By week three the waitstaff, who thought they could outlast the dish guys who were making a full hourly rate and didn't need the additional $15 tops in tips they were collectively withholding from them for the hassle, caved HARD. Actual tears, because it was affecting their tips since they couldn't wait and bus carts and keep up... basically they started to actually have to work during their usual social breaks and they found out it was hard.
I still got mild preferential treatment for the rest of my time there. My cart would get changed before everyone else, I never had to ask for anything, if something needed doing that I couldn't manage one of them would drop what they were doing to help and I would be the first to jump in when SHTF outback. Honestly it made my job SO much easier and enjoyable, I'd still be there if there hadn't been a corporate takeover of our site that over managed and ruined everything.
Morale of the story, don't be a dishonest douche nugget, especially to the other side of the house.
EDITED: formatting, shocker
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/orihxa/always_make_friends_with_the_other_side_of_the/
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rtb1o1
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TalesFromYourServer
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no matter how crappy your NYE was, it was probably better than mine
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i picked up an NYE shift after asking around and hearing that NYE for waiters is always solid. my shift was from 5 and i was supposed to be second to last cut behind the dining room closer.
i got in and saw i had the crappiest section in the whole building. i mean, that sucks but if it’s packed like i was expecting it to be shouldn’t be an issue right ?? well i was wrong.
i had a total of three tables, all with their bills around 50-65 dollars. everyone tipped me 25%+, with my biggest tip of the night being 22 on 60. our dining room shut down at 9, and i finished my side work asap and left. i made 40 bucks ….
however, one of my coworkers, made 200 dollars. far superior section, and the hosts seemed to be preferring him. but according to management, my restaurant doesn’t play favorites. right.
just an awful night. i expected to make at least 400 dollars (i average around 120 at my restaurant, with my personal best being 300) but walked out with a tenth of that.
absolute fucking waste of my time. i hope you guys have a great new years.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/rtb1o1/no_matter_how_crappy_your_nye_was_it_was_probably/
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8yfpy2
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TalesFromYourServer
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Birthday table from Hell
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On mobile, apologies in advance for formatting etc etc.
TL;DR: waitress, early below min wage. Get paid with tips. Big birthday table. Bring their own cheap wine. Give them lots of attention. No tip and they received a free bottle of birthday champagne. Manager calls birthday girl out in front of friends. End up paying a 20% tip.
So, some background. I used to work in a sushi/Chinese food restaurant in South Africa. (So for any Americans, the exchange rate is about $1 = R10 (Rand or ZAR).
The person whose birthday it was had called and reserved about a month in advance. They had booked the entire backroom(seats about 12 people). The birthday girl called atleast once a week to make sure her booking was still in order. She even preordered everything to make things go smoother (grateful for this because it makes everything a lot simpler, especially when the table is big).
We have 3 waiters on shift each evening, 1 works takeaways and the smoking section(about 4 tables). 1 works the front (sushi belt and 2 tables) and yours truly was working the back; which includes he back room and 8 tables.
The birthday girl and her boyfriend arrive at about 7 (our busiest arrival time), I take them to their room. They give me a cake to keep in the fridge, chilled. Then she starts setting up the room with so much birthday paraphernalia. Banners. Candles and shit. Balloons. It's chaos. Now, a big birthday table. Always tips well (we basically get paid in tips, we earn R45 for a whole 7 hour shift from the owner). If we are lucky we take home about R500 each night, decent on a student budget.
We allow BYO. The table brings 2x 1.5 liter bottles of rose, that's cost about R60 per bottle. So not a good sign.
All their guests arrive and the owner has told me. Take care of them well. So I put a smile on my face and I am there every 5 minutes taking drink orders and dealing with all my other 8 tables as well. Everyone seems happy, making a lot of conversation, laughing at terrible jokes, making sure they are all happy.
The whole night I'm bringing out the orders at intervals so it's basically constant snacking. The owner gives me a bottle of champagne to take to them as a birthday gift. After the meal. I take out the cake.
At the end of the night. I take them their bill (tips aren't included in the bill, 10% is standard). I got to the birthday girl, who is paying. ( bear in mind, everyone is late 20s to early 30s). Their bill comes to R1000 (which is low for a big table). I take the card machine, NO TIP. NOTHING. ALL MY HARD WORK. so I suck it up and go to my manager.
My manager is shocked. So now I'm gonna put them in an uncomfortable position (AITA?). I ask my manager to ask if there were problems with the service and what I could do better.
Manager goes.
Manager: Hi there, was there any problem with the service you received tonight?
Birthday girl: no everything was fantastic!
Manager: *loudly says* well you didn't give any tip to our waitress, so is there something she can do better next time?
*table goes silent, birthday girl is clearly uncomfortable*
Boyfriend: I'll take care of it
Both of them come up to the bar and profusely apologizing (fairly, they just got caught out being shitty people) End up paying a 20% tip. And I kid you not. They took the UNOPENED bottle of champagne home with them (which probably cost the restaurant around R120).
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/8yfpy2/birthday_table_from_hell/
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1fv80ck
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TalesFromYourServer
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Is this real life?
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The place I work makes servers plate/garnish food.
Try to stay with me🫠
1 window has fried items, another window has grill, another has broil. Burgers/sandwiches on the bottom bun come up in grill window. Top buns come up in broil window. Servers plate it all. We prepare our soups/mashed/veg/drawn butter/au jus/marinara 85% of the time because cooks don't do it. We prepare our own salads(they cook the meat and it comes up in the grill window). We prepare all ice cream desserts. We prepare 95% of condiments/sides. On top of all waiter duties/running sidework/sidework.
Guys in the kitchen get raises & servers aren't compensated but management says they can't afford to pay servers more?
This is in NH.
If this is legal to do, is there a way I could propose servers be compensated for doing expo and other jobs that cooks should be doing & are def getting paid to be doing? They just don't because they aren't told they have to by said shit managers😬
I know there are other jobs. I can't just *work another job* due to other issues(currently working on untangling that web). Also, I was previously injured at this job, it changed my life, I didn't sue(I regret that), & they've done the bare minimum for me.
Looking for your own experience or what you would say in this situation. I've worked at different restaurants over my 21 years of serving & this wins for *most fckng terrible management*.
Regarding my injury, I was headed out to my car to get a $20 to tip my bartender because we don't get our credit card tips the day we make them (first server job where I've encountered this policy). We were required to tip out the bar 10% of our liquor sales AND RECORD IT ON OUR CASHOUT. This is problematic because in the state of NH it is illegal to coerce or persuade a paid employee to tip out another employee that is on the same payroll. I fell & snapped my left foot 85% off, tibia exposed, fibula shattered, my life completely changed in that moment because I decided to follow an illegal rule placed by management. All my tips were on credit cards so I was short cash to tip the bar and was supposed to write the tip on the days report. I should've just skipped out and hit them up later but it was a rule so I thought I'd just get cash from the car quick. I have pics of gross ankle biz if people are interested. After over a year of useless surgeries and picc line antibiotics for a bone infection(blasted my ankle out right next to dumpsters) & almost having to amputate - I transferred to Boston & an amazing surgeon saved the foot. The ankle was successfully fused (TT fusion) & despite the leg differential & now chronic pain & compounding injuries/issues from original injury, I'm back to waitressing & working because I'm not disabled enough for state help. I'm also ADHD/autistic so this is even more fun to navigate. Oh, & it took the ambulance 45 minutes to get to me. The restaurant is work at is 20 minutes from the state capital. Idk how tf it took so long for an open would bone fracture but that was the beginning of a really terrible experience being neglected by Concord Hospital staff/those affiliated.
Haaaaaaalp🤣😭😅⏳️
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fv80ck/is_this_real_life/
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150gp4n
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TalesFromYourServer
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New Job
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Hello fellow waiters, I was curious about your opinions on this.
I recently moved to Phoenix this month, and just got a job at what seems to be a very nice sushi restaurant.
The owner is also the sushi chef, and at the end of the night we have to tip out the sushi chef (like I said, the owner). Is this weird? I feel the owner shouldn’t be taking his servers tips. Now the part the REALLY get me though, is it’s 30% of our tips. Cash and credit tips. That’s bizarre, right? 30%?
Today I worked a double, was the only server in the morning, we were steady. I was one of three servers at night, and we were pretty busy.
At the end of the night I enter my tips. And in total I made $270…. I thought. The owner is taking $81 of that. So, in this 10 hours of being busy, working, I made 190. That’s ridiculous, right? I can’t be the only one who thinks that. Maybe things are a bit different in the big city?
I do want to add, we run all our own food, we don’t have a host, we don’t have a busser, we do everything for the FOH. EVERYTHING. And we still tip out 30%, that’s wild right?
Note: he also made two comments about my weight today, and all the servers there say he’s constantly a dick so I’ll be quitting, anyways. But, I just wanted to get someone’s opinion on the tipping out.
Let me know if I’m in the wrong, and him taking that much is normal. Thanks for any and all feedback!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/150gp4n/new_job/
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10tansy
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TalesFromYourServer
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All-in-One Guide version1 PLEASE GIVE ADVICE!
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**This is the first version of my All-in-One guide! I hope to use feedback from you to improve it for the final version!**
For clarity sake, the post will be divided up per job in the restaurant, though I believe that learning every part of a restaurant can help out!
I have worked many of these positions myself, but also talked to different people who have worked these positions.
**Host**
* You are the first person that anyone will see in the restaurant! Hosting is genuinely very boring, you have a lot of down time. Be sure to not look bored or annoyed when guests enter the restaurant.
* Depending on your restaurant, servers will try to take extra tables, change sections or skip rotation. You don't necessarily have to stop this, but it would be a good idea to at least let a manager know what's going on. These actions effect the restaurant or other people in ways neither of you may know.
* This one may be more personal, but be careful not to "outwalk" the customers. Grandma can't walk as fast as you, but you can clear a path for her. Make sure that they can keep up with your pace!
* Learn all the tables, you'll have to know the numbers. It will take a little bit, don't be afraid to look at the map at the beginning! I try to associate the table numbers with certain things (I can remember 29 is in the corner, then count down from that).
* Remember to offer a kid's menu and highchair when applicable!
* Once you start to learn a restaurant's flow, you can realize when a certain server is having problems or isn't noticing a table. It's alright to check if they can handle a table or let them know they were sat!
**Busser**
* Your responsibility is to make sure tables are clean. This job can vary drastically depending on the day, but it's by no means an easy job. You have a little bit of downtime when the restaurant is slow, but as soon as tables get up, your job truly begins!
* In the majority of restaurants, servers are encouraged to "pre-bus" their tables, meaning clear dishes during the meal. Obviously this makes the busser's job a lot easier, but often this is neglected by servers.
* Personally, when I worked as a busser I would "blacklist" certain servers until they helped bus. The servers that notoriously left all their dishes on the table, but this also can cause controversy. It's important to never make guests wait because you don't want to bus a table...*though it could be a different server that gets their table bussed*
* Be ready to touch gross food, it comes with the job. Don't leave all the food on the plates for dish, scrape it off. Sort the plates if your restaurant does that. Your job is to make sure everyone else's job is as easy as possible!
**Food Runner**
* In my opinion this is the busiest front of house (FoH) job. You are constantly running entrees, salads, soups, bread, drinks, appetizers and desserts. It always comes in waves, so just when you catch your breath, it's time to go again.
* Help out fellow food runners. If you notice your drink station is going down, but you have downtime on entrees, help them out! When you're in a rough spot, the people you helped out will be there to get you through it.
* Be sure to run everything in order. There can be exceptions, such as waiting for coffee or tea to brew. In general though, be sure to always run the first ticket in!
* I've experienced two different restaurants with food runners. The first were paid $12 hourly in addition to a decent tipout. Usually around $20 an hour, the second are grossly underpaid. Servers wages ($3.74 hourly) with tipout only reaching $10-12 an hour.
* From the above point, know your worth. If you're not being paid enough, speak up and change that.
**Server**
* It can be incredibly busy or mind-numbingly dull. That's the life of a server! Assuming you work in a state with miniscule server wages, your pay relies on tips. This is dependant on getting customers in the door and having them spend money.
* Choose your restaurant wisely. A cozy family owned diner can be nice, but the math doesn't lead to the same results. If a family of four eats at diner, it could cost them roughly $30, a 20% tip would give you $6. A family of four eating at a fancy steakhouse will cost them roughly $70, a 20% tip would give you $14.
* Burn and turn, but with patience. Obviously you want to flip tables. Get the old ones out and new ones in, but you don't want to rush people out. I like to offer the bill while also telling them to take their time. It's very contradictory, but usually people tend to "finish up" once the bill is mentioned. Often I will make some joke about "not wanting them to be the waiter on me" so I should grab it now.
* Expect what your tables may want. If someone orders fries, offer the sauces that you carry. If they are running low on their drink, offer a replacement. Whenever possible, I want to offer a replacement to a table instead of having them ask me for one. There are obvious exceptions, but it genuinely goes a long way once the tip comes!
* Kids are the key to families. If you can win over the kids, the parents will love you. Their night is now stress free because the child is happy. They can eat dinner in peace, plus they usually get along with you great as well!
* Don't be afraid to stand up to people. The amount of ridiculous requests is astounding, but understanding what is reasonable is important. You can't create new dishes, you can't create new discounts, you can't comp already ate food. The list here goes on and on, but in general know when to put your foot down.
* In relation to this, don't be afraid to get a manager involved. They are there for a reason, so you can get them to deal with the difficult tables. I've told people before "I'm sorry, I don't have time to handle this, but I'll get X manager right over here to help you out".
* Honesty is the best policy...sometimes. It's a delicate balance between honesty and blaming others. Mistakes will happen, sometimes the table gets told the appetizer was burnt and had to be remade, even though I forgot to ring it in. The keg of beer ran out, because the bartender was slammed. Sometimes it's better to own up to what happened, but sometimes it's better to blame it on those not present.
* Don't overserve your tables. This can be difficult, especially when it's slow, but sometimes people want to eat in peace. They would rather you don't stop by every minute and just want to eat their food. Find ways to pass the time when it's slow
* Keep track of where all your tables are at in their meal. I've worked with food runners, but it's still important to keep track of your tables. Appetizers, soups/salads, entrees, desserts and possibly even more. Know what "stage" of the meal every table is at to stay ahead of everything!
* Help out other servers. When you're having trouble, you'll be happy that you did! You don't want to be the person that never runs their own food.
* Understand what you're capable of handling. Different people can handle different sections, some are good with parties while others are better with couples. Some people can handle 20 tables at once while other can only handle 2. Push yourself, but don't overdo it!
**Bartender**
* Often the prime position within FoH, seasoned servers will often get promoted to Bartender. You may be told to handle tables as well as the bar, but one thing is for certain. You'll be busy!
* A bartender's job will vary drastically depending on the style of restaurant they work within. In extremely fancy restaurants, this could be in the form of a Sommelier, recommending wine to match meals. In dive bars, you may be everything there is.
* Bartenders are the most likely person to have "regulars". People that come to the restaurant to see them, or ask to be sat with them. Seasoned servers convert to bartenders, pulling their regulars to the bar with them.
* It's important to stay on top of everything. All the advice from the server category still applies, but you're also in charge of all the drinks.
* You have to be knowledgeable about all the drinks, to help the customers and your servers. They will come to you with questions and you are expected to have the answer.
**Togo**
* This position is very reliant on the type of restaurant that you work within. I've seen restaurants that have host, busser and togo all in one job, while others have them as three unique jobs.
* Togo is honestly a simple position. You may be required to put the food together or do some prep work for the next day, but overall it's a simple job.
* This is not considered a tipped position, meaning you are making hourly wages. You still have the potential to earn tips, but on slow days you will still make hourly wage.
* Honestly if you are looking to get into a restaurant, a local togo only position is a very good job! You're guaranteed to make at least minumum wage, but often you'll make more than that. In addition you have the opportunity to earn tips!
**Cook**
* Honestly an umbrella category for a lot of Back of House (BoH), the cooks are the ones that, well, cook the food! The job is tough, often cooks are some hard people. It takes a passion for cooking, but it can also be very rewarding!
* It's your job to make sure that the best food goes out in the fastest time to the customer. You have to know the menu, how to make everything on the menu and also how everything can be modifed on the menu.
* Food will be brought back. Customers will make complaints that have no logic, but we have to grit our teeth and move on. Medium rare can suddenly become medium well, we can all shake our heads about it, but in the end it's the food they wanted to eat.
* Keep on top of your stuff. Once you start to go down, it's very hard to come back. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it, but sometimes you won't get it. Stay focused in the stressful situations and focus on getting the next order out.
**Dish**
* I consider this to be my personal worst job in the restaurant. It's very monotonous, while also being stressful and busy. The end of the night is the worst, but the whole day sucks in the dish pit.
* You're the backbone of the restaurant, there are no glasses, plates, bowls, silverware or anything without you. If it doesn't get washed, it can't get used. You have to make sure everything is ready whenever anyone needs it.
* You'll get wet, touch a lot of gross food and definitely want some earbuds. It's cleaning dishes for hours on end, but it can pay well!
**Manager**
* Ahhh the Manglers, often the biggest problem in a restaurant. I've left more than one job because of terrible management. It's an important position that's often taken far too seriously by those that hold it.
* Your job, at the end of the day, is to make sure everything goes smoothly. You should be helping out everyone. FoH and BoH, depending what you're supposed to be covering. If a cook is shouting for help, give them a hand. If a server is crying, handle the problem.
* There's so many things I could tell managers not to do, because I've had issues with them. The main thing is to be on your staff's side. Back them up and help them out, it's way better in the long run.
* How you choose to run your restaurant is your own choice, but I've always believed that being friendly is better. Military managers are a thing, those that want everything done perfect or they will blow a fuse, but honestly nobody want to work for those people. Be the manager that others want to work for!
**Owner**
* The "man on top" the owner of the restaurant. This is a section that may not apply to a single person that reads this, but I'm still going to give my opinions anyway.
* Restaurants are run incorrectly, the tipping system is dead. Reddit is a prime example of this, mildlyinfuriating due to autograt tips or similar stories. Tipping relies on the customer appreciating what you did, but also recognizing the tip is necessary and deciding to leave said tip. It's a bad system that's set in place to take advantage of customers by not paying your employees.
* Obviously a new system would have to be better than simply "hourly wages". Servers, especially high-end, know that they will never make as much hourly as they can through tips.
* My proposal is part-ownership throughout the entire staff. The exact numbers would have to be decided via the size of the restaurant and the staff. Smaller restaurants would give their staff larger percentages, but in the end, everyone would own the restaurant.
* This comes with risks, if it goes under, nobody will make any money. You don't have an hourly wage to fall back on.
* I believe this sytem has the potential to increase profits for everyone, but also give people a true passion for their workplace. A reason to care about the customers that come in, because you'll directly earn a piece of what they spend!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/10tansy/allinone_guide_version1_please_give_advice/
| 11
| 6
| 1,675,501,303
| 14
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waiter tip
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hot
|
zv3zji
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
POS not calculating tip correctly
|
Went to dinner last night with the family and the place had a QR code with a table number to allow you to pay your tab. I pulled it up and the suggested tip was 18% and a little over 17 dollars. My daughter showed the waiter her loyalty reward and got the desert for free, knocking almost 9 dollars from the bill. The tip now showed to be about 16 dollars. I was always taught that the tip was based on the total before discounts. The POS was cheating the servers their tip money.
I just zeroed it out anyway and handed him cash.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/zv3zji/pos_not_calculating_tip_correctly/
| 306
| 33
| 1,671,994,211
| 14
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waiter tip
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hot
|
r7wfr1
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Tipping calculation help - holiday party
|
I'm holding a holiday party at one of the nicer places. There is a 22% gratuity built into the bill, that's fine. I mentioned to the banquet manager that it was good since the two waiters and drinks person (separate charge for drinks person) would be super busy. Got told that the tip is spread across everything, even the people that set up the room (separate charge for the room).
I want to make sure the wait staff make out Ok on the night. Do I ask them what their percent of the tip out is theirs or just give each of them a pair / trio / large stack of $20's? It's 20 people for 3 hours: apps, dinner, deserts. Thanks for the advice
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/r7wfr1/tipping_calculation_help_holiday_party/
| 5
| 9
| 1,638,528,287
| 14
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waiter tip
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hot
|
r53e99
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
New to the restaurant industry — would love some advice.
|
Hey there —
On a whim, I started working as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant that opened up next to my house. I thought it would be a good opportunity to keep up my Mandarin and maybe meet some new people. So far, the staff have been awesome — everybody has been incredibly kind and supportive. The food is also superb. However, I have a couple questions that I’d like to ask to the more seasoned restaurant workers:
1. Our restaurant closes at 9:30 pm, but we often have people stay late. We have no busboy, so I need to clean the dining room myself. I usually end up finishing around 10:00 to 10:30 pm. I do not get paid for my time. Is this normal in the industry? Is there anything I should do about it?
2. We only have one chef and a prep cook at the moment. That means that when we have orders at peak meal times, the kitchen gets really behind. Queue the disgruntled customers. Though I often run back into the kitchen to check on their progress and let them know that certain orders need to take priority, we still have some people waiting upwards of an hour and a half. How do I approach this problem with management, and is there anything I should personally do?
3. I usually have a full dining room with 14 tables to manage and I am the only waiter. I find myself running all evening from table to table — taking orders, bringing out food, and cleaning up. We’ve started to have a second waiter on weekends, but it’s still hectic. In an ideal world, how many workers should we have in the restaurant to alleviate our service woes?
4. Finally, I take home about 30% of my tips. I split it between the the front desk worker, who takes 50% as the de facto manager, as well as the two to-go packers. My base is $12 an hour in Chicago. Should I ask for a higher percentage or a base salary bump? I feel that I could earn more at nearby restaurants, but I’m not sure.
Thank you so much for your thoughts.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/r53e99/new_to_the_restaurant_industry_would_love_some/
| 12
| 10
| 1,638,213,839
| 14
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waiter tip
|
hot
|
qsuhap
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Confusing payment situation at restaurant and wanted to see if I could get answers
|
Hi Waiters and Waitresses of Reddit,
I just had a very anxiety-inducing and confusing situation happen at one of my favorite restaurants in town. My dad, my boyfriend, and I went out to dinner. We had a sweet, young server who was very personable, but service was a bit slow, to the point where she even offered to take our appetizer off the bill because it took so long to come out (probably not her fault, it was a Friday night).
We get our food, had a nice time, and my dad is handed the bill since he treating us. I see him put his credit card in the bill thing. Neither my boyfriend or myself see my dad sign the bill, but we honestly weren't paying very much attention. At some point, my dad goes, "well I already paid the bill so we can head out". Then my dad and I go to the bathroom and my boyfriend stands near the front of the restaurant waiting for us.
My boyfriend said our waitress came up to him, irate, and said that we had not paid the bill. He was pretty confused and upset, and hands the waitress his credit card and his card is run and a bill is given to him which he signs. I come out of the bathroom and he tells me what happened, I assumed my dad had forgotten to pay. Then my dad comes out of the bathroom and we tell him and he says, "No I definitely paid, I wrote down a tip and everything". It was a $100 bill, and my dad was so adamant about paying that I thought some mistake had been made. Our waitress says no one ever paid the original bill.
Her manager comes and diffuses the situation, my dad doesn't have the receipt but they ask if he checks his bank account and sees that he was charged, then he can call back and be reimbursed. My dad checks his bank account and he was never charged?
For context, my dad has always, ALWAYS given a 20% tip, would never dine and dash, and literally works for the state labor department fighting companies who mistreat their workers, but he is still completely adamant that he signed a bill and wrote out a tip and everything on a bill. I'm kinda rattled by the whole situation, so I am wondering, is it at all possible that something happened and some sort of bill/card mistake was made, or do I have to worry about my dad having dementia? Thanks!
tl;dr - is it possible to have your card scanned at a restaurant and write out a tip, but not have the payment go through?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/qsuhap/confusing_payment_situation_at_restaurant_and/
| 10
| 12
| 1,636,782,093
| 14
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waiter tip
|
hot
|
putnpt
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Is there anything worse than the Sunday Lunch invasion from the "God Squad"!?
|
Oy Vey...
We used to run a special Sunday Brunch menu and became a popular destination for groups to meet for more "fellowship" after church gets out.
You know all their tricks:
"Pray with us before we accept this bounty from heaven". Dude, I'm just the food runner. Your waiter is over there (pointing at him like those bears in the Far Side cartoon with the target on his back)
The religious tract that looks like a folded over $20 sticking out of your ticket book. Inevitably with no real tip
The zero's out tip line with note scribbled on the bottom of the charge receipt explaining that they gave your tip to Jesus
Endless slurping soda refill runs... Never at the same time. Bring one.. and some other ass at the table needs one now (his drink was full a second ago)
Their crotch goblins running wild and unsupervised everywhere while the choir ladies all debate who's sleeping with the new youth minister.
The "bring us a side bowl of lemons and some extra sweet and low" folks.
But...
Here was the one I hated the most.
I had a station with two 4-tops and two 2-tops.
Guy next station has the jumbo 10-top. A hoard of 16 churchies all come in at once. They seat all the adults (4 couples) at my neighbor's 10-top. Then all the crotch goblins at my two 4-tops pushed together. Completely blocks the aisle. No one will sit at the 2-tops next to these monsters.
Parents completely ignore them. Of course, it's also separate checks. I'm waiting on the kids but need to know which kid goes to which set of parents. Oh yeah... They won't sit still or in the same seat. Some order off the regular menu, but the parents say it was supposed to be kids menu. (The kid is 16!). Don't even get me going on the soda refills. OMG.
By the time the dust settles, and the parents paid the kids checks separately, bitching bout every item ("my kid didn't have the cheeseburger, he had the chicken fingers"... Lady, I don't know who your kid is...)
Then at the end they leave me ZERO tip and casually mention that they tipped on the adult ticket (but only 10% of just THEIR ticket).
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/putnpt/is_there_anything_worse_than_the_sunday_lunch/
| 311
| 63
| 1,632,521,182
| 14
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waiter tip
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hot
|
9urrty
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Manager got mad for "taking too much money" for a bill only to then apologize to me after seeing the tip.
|
First time poster, and only recently found this thread, but this happened a couple of weeks ago.
A little backstory, I was a busboy for 3 years and just got promoted to waiter about 5 months ago so my manager is on my case a lot about nonsense that he wouldn't bug anyone else about.
So for this story my manger will be M, I will be Me, my coworker will be CW, and the customer will be C.
This night wasn't too hectic but still very busy normal for a Saturday. I had a 10 top come on (no reservation just walked in) and so I got to work put them at the table, introduced myself, got drinks, etc. After I dropped deserts one of the guys came over to the computer I was at.
C: Hey can I have the check I don't want anyone else to pay it.
Me: Sure not a problem sir give me one second to print it out for you.
I gave him the check there so he could pay. He then handed me back the presenter and said
C: Here just come back over with the change (He then left with a huge grin on his face, didn't know why till later on)
Then here comes my manager in his whole grumpy ass mood as I'm closing the check, also at this point my coworker also walked over.
M: Why did you take so much money the check is only $240 and you have $400 there.
Me: Well the customer came over to pay the check and he handed back the presenter and asked for change, but he had a weird grin on his face (my bad attempt to try and make this moment not tense).
M: I don't give a damn you should have went after him and said you gave too much money.
At this point he was starting to get a little loud for god knows what reason, but my coworker is the best and sat there and defended me.
CW: Don't listen to him watch what happens when you bring him back the change. And watch he's gonna owe you an apology.
So I walked back over to the table and gave the guy his change just for him to turn around and give me all the change. I was astonished this guy just gave me over a 50% tip ($160), I was so thankful and ecstatic I really couldn't believe it. I didn't know if maybe he saw that my manager was giving me a hard time, or if he was just a nice guy, or if I somehow impressed him (not to toot my own horn but the looks I got when I dropped the desert platters I made were of awe) So I walk back seeing that both my coworker and manager are watching the whole thing. My managers was awestruck, like this mans jaw was to the floor. Meanwhile, my coworker is sitting there all smug.
CW: Now I think you owe (me) an apology.
M: (under his breath) yeah whatever. And grumbles as he walks away.
CW: And that why you don't listen to the cranky old manager.
I was so happy after this, it was just so satisfying to be able to stick one to my manager on the spot like that.
TL;DR Manager got mad at me for no reason and then apologized after seeing I got a huge tip.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9urrty/manager_got_mad_for_taking_too_much_money_for_a/
| 434
| 24
| 1,541,534,307
| 14
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waiter tip
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top
|
ekwxcw
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Sweet revenge
|
One night I had a party of 70 people by myself. The night went fairly well. Most of my party had already paid and left. One guy with 2 kids had been really nice and understanding the entire night. I’ll call him Cockstain. Cockstain ordered almost $50 worth of burgers. Everything came out correct. He never complained. When he asked for the check he told me to make sure I got it right. That set off the warning bells in my brain. I went to the manager and told him. The manager dropped the bill down to $18. Cockstain ended up getting furious because of what the bill was before the discount he got for no reason. He proceeded to try to pick a fist fight. At the time I was swimming 40 miles a week and fighting a couple times a week. I managed to keep from loosing it until the manager stepped in and took over. I disappeared to go cool off. The guy tracked me down an hour later and started giving me career advice for being a waiter.
He came in about a week later, found me, and asked if I remembered him. Turns out I did. The next couple months he came in once or twice a week. He always ended up in my section. I refused to serve him. He would wander around for about 20 minutes every time before leaving. Then karma reared her wondrously ugly head.
It was a slow night. A very good looking woman sat in my section and ordered a margarita and a water. She said she was waiting for someone. Naturally I started flirting. 40 minutes later and half way through margarita 2 her date showed up. It was Cockstain. It took him less than 5 minutes to start an argument. He was mad she had 2 drinks before he got there. I was hopping around like a jack russell on meth from excitement. I walked up, stepped between them, made eye contact with Cockstain, turned to her and said she’s an adult and can order whatever she wants. I walked away and watched from afar while giggling like a schoolgirl. The argument got pretty heated and she threw her water in Cockstain’s face. Immediately I was at the table with 2 full pitchers of ice water. I said it looks like you need a refill, filled her cup, put both pitchers in front of her, and walked away. She started historically laughing. I refused to acknowledge Cockstain after that. She paid her bill, left me a 150% tip, and left. Cockstain sat there alone and in silence for 5 minutes before he got up and left. He never came back.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ekwxcw/sweet_revenge/
| 215
| 27
| 1,578,330,480
| 14
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waiter tip
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top
|
14tpcav
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Manager suggested customer deduct mistaken price difference from server's tip
|
This is my experience as the customer, so I hope it fits this sub.
We ordered one thing and something else was given to us. We couldn't really tell the difference until the bill came and we were charged $4 extra for some extra burger toppings. The two menu items have nearly the same name and the server just misheard (like blaze burger vs glaze burger)
When we asked for it to be corrected, the manager was sent over and started being annoying. Asking us if we liked it, as if we are meant to pay for it. "Yeah! It just wasn't what we ordered."
She left to do the refund and then came back saying it didn't work. Then she tried to guilt trip me about the credit card charges involved in refunding then re-running the charge. And finally she just said to make things easier I can just put whatever total I want on the bottom of the original bill.
Essentially she just suggested I stiff the server of his tip so all the money for the mistake goes to the restaurant. I said that is ridiculous and she left to re-run the correct charge.
This level of back and forth was embarrassing to my girlfriend, but in the end the server got a 30% tip and the bootlicking manager failed to save the Silver Spring, Maryland Tech Road TGI Fridays about 60 cents in processing fees.
GTFO with that. #teamserver
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/14tpcav/manager_suggested_customer_deduct_mistaken_price/
| 1,532
| 114
| 1,688,778,353
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
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7b153y
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Oh Hell No! - Terrible server steals my awesome server's tip.
|
I eat at a chain breakfast place that's open 24 hours.
I've been eating at this restaurant once or twice a month since I was in high school and I am on a first name basis with several of the servers, the managers, and a couple of the cooks.
There was a brand new server who was terrible the first time I sat in her section. She gave me a lot of attitude (She actually said "Ugh! If you don't get lemon with your unsweet tea, how am I supposed to realize it's unsweet? I'll just put it on the lip of the glass and then you don't have to put it in the tea, Duh!"), and she let my food die in the window while she stood behind the register looking at her phone rather than paying attention to the cook calling her name. When I pointed out that the food had gone cold, she started trying to blame the kitchen. I told her "I heard Jim call your name 3 times, and you gave him the 1 minute finger while checking your phone. I don't think this is his fault." She replied "Whatever!" and took my plates back to Jim with a "She says it's cold. Fix it!". So she only got a 20% tip rather than the normal $10 I leave on a $20 bill.
Ever since, she shoots me dirty looks or pointedly acts like she can't see me when I'm at the host stand waiting to be seated. Which is fine by me. I'm pretty sure she's not going to last much longer.
But then I went in today. I had one of the servers I've known for years who always goes out of her way to be friendly and awesome. I'll call the awesome server Cindy.
Cindy drops of the bill at my table with a "Take your time."
This is a place where you go up to a register to pay your bill rather than paying the server directly.
So I tuck a $10 partially under one of the plates and head to the register. As I'm standing at the register, Cindy (the awesome server) is getting food from the window to run to another table.
And I see terrible server walk over to my table, grab the $10 bill, and slide it into her pocket.
It's the only time in my life where I've been able to actually say "Oh hell no!" in real life. The manager had just walked up to ring me out. So I tell her "I'm sorry but terrible server just swiped the $10 tip I left for Cindy on my table. That's not acceptable."
The manager calls terrible server over. Terrible server, of course, insists she just grabbed the money so no one else would take it. And she had EVERY intention of giving it to Cindy when there was a moment.
Manager makes terrible server give her the $10 bill and then she hands it to Cindy who came over to see what was wrong.
I mean, I knew it was possible someone could do that. But I never expected to actually see it. Plus, she swiped the $10 but left the dirty dishes. It's not even like she bussed the table as cover for swiping Cindy's tip.
I'm just a customer, so I felt like all I could do was make sure the manager knew. And make a fuss until the money was in Cindy's hands where it belonged.
Have you guys run into this before? Do you or have you worked with severs who will swipe your cash tips? How did you deal with it?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/7b153y/oh_hell_no_terrible_server_steals_my_awesome/
| 1,282
| 102
| 1,509,923,850
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
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xbr3y7
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
From one server to another, you know a $40 tip does not cover your $400+ bill
|
Imagine with me, if you will, you work for a restaurant that was acquired by a large company a year or 2 ago. This is a fine dining restaurant and the same large company owns several other fine dining restaurants in your area. The only way these other restaurants are related to your restaurant is that they are owned by the same company.
Now, imagine with me, still, a server from another restaurant owned by the same company comes in to your restaurant on a Saturday night with her mom and 2 others. Imagine they sit at your table and order 2 bottles of wine, 3 apps, steaks and seafood, racking up over $400 in food.
Imagine this server asking questions about everything on the menu: "How many ounces is your lobster tail?" "What's the market price today?" "What do I get with it?" "Can we have our steaks oscared?" "We have this menu item at our restaurant, why don't you here?" And so on.
Imagine getting this server from another restaurant samples of wine they didn't even want just because they were curious about it. Imagine losing another table because between their neediness and getting a 6-top sat not too long after you just couldn't handle it. Imagine them getting their employee discount and knocking their bill down to just above $300.
Now imagine them leaving them leaving just $40 as a tip. Not even 10% of their bill.
Can you imagine that?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/xbr3y7/from_one_server_to_another_you_know_a_40_tip_does/
| 290
| 74
| 1,662,924,038
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
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13oumxs
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Question for servers in California, or other states where there is no tipped minimum wage
|
So I live in Florida and tipped minimum wage is $7.98 per hour, which is only $3.02 under regular minimum wage, and I’m thankful it’s not lower than that, but I know in states such as California and Nevada regular minimum wage and tipped minimum wage are the same, so I was wondering if people still tip 20% or question why they have to. Anyone know?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/13oumxs/question_for_servers_in_california_or_other/
| 59
| 70
| 1,684,770,560
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
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1bqvjd3
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Tip pooling concerns: Is this the standard for front servers?
|
Hey there fellow servers,
I recently landed a gig as a front server, excited about the prospect of earning good tips on top of my hourly wage. However, I've encountered a bit of a snag with our tipping policy.
At my new job, tips are pooled, and servers only take home 25% of what they make. For instance, the other day I pocketed just $50 out of the $200 I earned in tips. This setup has left me questioning whether this is standard practice in the industry or if it's fair.
Coming from a previous job where I made $30/hour as a nanny, the allure of potentially higher earnings in serving drew me in. But now, with the reality of the tip pooling system, I'm wondering if I made the right move.
I'd love to hear from other servers about their experiences with tip pooling and whether this arrangement seems reasonable or not. Should I stick it out and hope for better days, or should I reconsider my career choices?
Thanks in advance for any insights or advice you can offer!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1bqvjd3/tip_pooling_concerns_is_this_the_standard_for/
| 36
| 41
| 1,711,734,729
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
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1c29zyc
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I think my employer is skimming tips from servers
|
In the past few months, I moved to Georgia and was looking for a part-time job at a restaurant until I found a stable job out of college. I found a new family-owned restaurant and thought it could be good as the average price per person is quite high. However, the longer I work there it seems like the owners/managers are skimming tips off of servers.
This past week when looking at our paychecks I realized it is $100 short of what I made in tips and is equivalent to about 14% of my total tips. This does not make sense as we do not tip out bussers and supposedly the 3% withheld on our cashouts are going towards our bar staff. However, when asked for the exact percentages I was told that we do in fact tip out several people but the payroll team refused to state the actual percentages or amount tipped out per shift. Is it possible that they are stealing tips and is it legal in Georgia? I have tried searching online and all I can find is it is not legal to tip share with non-tipped employees.
I have also reached out to other employees and they have claimed to try and get answers about tip-outs and get brushed off by the owners. No one seems to be able to get a straight answer and our bussers also claim to not make tips as they are paid well above minimum wage. Seeing we cannot get a straight answer from managers, owners, or payroll it has been raising alarm bells and several are considering quitting.
Edit: The amount missing seems to equal about 14% of tips per shift which seems awfully high and as if its not based on total sales as I averaged about 26% in tips last week.
Update:
Sorry for the delay posting, yesterday was quite busy between work and life. Anyways, my manager ended up not calling me before my shift so I decided to just go in and act like everything was fine. About 20 minutes into my shift my manager saw a guest go out on the balcony and decided that was the perfect time to go outside and talk about the wage questions. I am assuming it was to catch me off guard and if I got angry it would have been in front of a guest and had been grounds to fire me ( I saw fire because he also tried saying I was late walking into the restaurant which they never track and I was not late). Since I was caught off guard I did not get the chance to turn on voice recorder but this is what was said: we do in fact tip out our bar and it is not the 3% listed on our checkout, that is credit card processing fees; the bar gets 10% of total sales, which is obviously incorrect as we are not missing that much and when I asked if it was total bar sales he said no which makes zero sense; and they take out an undisclosed amount to pay our busser $15 per hour, so when I asked so we are tipping him out then he said no we take out what is needed for him to get $15 an hour. This still seems quite fishy and borders the Georgia tip laws on hourly employees can not be supplemented through tips, but it seems like it could be a gray area. I acted like everything was fine and said okay like someone mentioned on this thread and went back to work. However, my shift Friday night and yesterday morning it was very obvious he was skipping me in rotation and at one point decided to quadruple seat me, probably hoping for me to fuck up and have reasons for firing. I spoke to my coworker who had similar suspicions as well and we both are going to start looking elsewhere in hopes of finding a new job and reporting our current.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1c29zyc/i_think_my_employer_is_skimming_tips_from_servers/
| 37
| 32
| 1,712,930,663
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
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um6ic0
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Servers tipping out bartenders
|
Was just notified at my work that servers have to now tip out bartenders. I make the standard $2.13 an hour and I rely solely on my tips. I just found out the servers will now be tipping out 3% of their tips to the bartenders. I know this is not a lot but it doesn’t seem fair to me. The bartenders get all the patrons from the bar plus 5 tables on average. A server gets about the same plus maybe 1 or 2 more, depending on how many people we have on the floor. Is this fair? Am I in the wrong for being upset?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/um6ic0/servers_tipping_out_bartenders/
| 13
| 107
| 1,652,145,237
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
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5is0ir
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
To my newer servers, though you may hate losing a little money, your tip out is your appreciation to the bussers/host/bar.
|
So today a newer server in my restaurant was working in our cafe. His tables were a bit dirty so the host stand paged for a busser, to which he remarks
*"Yeah, and remind him I tip him out, i don't know why."*
It boiled my blood. Our bussers work hard and clean our tables off, vacuum our section when it's messy, make our Peach Tea, Sweet Tea, Unsweet Tea and Raspberry Lemonade. They do a lot, and we give them 1% of our sales in tip, which they deserve. If they didn't clean our section, or make our drinks, our guests would have a worse experience and could possibly tip you less. The bar makes all of your alcohol that you sell, that margarita you sold, you didn't make that shit taste perfect for your guests, the bar did. Thinking that you shouldn't give them anything for helping *you* make that money is selfish and greedy. Be appreciative that you have someone to do these things for you, and give them that $10.00 out of the $130.00 you made tonight. They have a thankless job and you don't realize all they're doing for you until they're gone.
Also, this guy who said this also wants to quit because he thinks tipping out is bullshit. Why should he have to pay someone else when "he's doing all the work." We tip out 2% of our sales, 1% to bussers, 1% to bar.
EDIT: Not to mention one night my table came in drunk, vomited all over our floor and table, and the busser had to clean that shit. Little kid threw up in the middle of my section last week, busser got that too. Toilet clogged, grabbed the busser. Theres some nasty shit they do too.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/5is0ir/to_my_newer_servers_though_you_may_hate_losing_a/
| 196
| 120
| 1,481,938,081
| 14
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server tip
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relevance
|
1heuj6m
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Tip Percentages Wrong on Check. What Should I (the customer) Do?
|
The check total was $71.15. I k rw the 20% tip would be around $14. When I looked at the tip guide, it showed 20% as being $12.67. The 18% and 22% were also wrong (too low).
Why are tbey trying to cheat you guys out of money? Is that common or should I say/do something? Thanks
UPDATE/EDIT: Hi everyone! Thanks for answering my question. Apparently taxes were excluded when calculating the tip. I'd never heard that taxes aren't included in tips. I've always tipped based on the total. So I appreciate being educated today.
To the very few people that decided to be assholes, well luckily for us customers most servers are decent people and hopefully I never get sat in your section.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1heuj6m/tip_percentages_wrong_on_check_what_should_i_the/
| 20
| 40
| 1,734,275,524
| 14
|
server tip
|
hot
|
1g066jq
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Non traditional tip pool
|
I’ve read through so much law and jargon by now and am having a hard time navigating because I took this issue to my boss but feel exploited at work. I am a server at a restaurant who tip pools everyone in the restaurant equally. At first I didn’t have issues with this system but they have 2-3 servers for 39 tables (there is a qr system but most people don’t care for it) and I feel overworked and underpaid for what I do. For example I made $650 in tips on one weekend day and make an equal cut of that as anyone else there. Federally, they are allowed to do this tip pool but in NC it gets confusing. It’s not letting me attach pictures but law says you can’t take more than 15% of tips away from “contributing employees” and my employer is arguing that means contributing to the restaurant and not contributing to the pool. I was wondering if anyone had advice for me.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1g066jq/non_traditional_tip_pool/
| 32
| 21
| 1,728,519,108
| 14
|
server tip
|
hot
|
elun1k
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"Hell No I'm not Serving them"
|
Years ago while going to college I was a server @ a very well known Mexican rest. i was also the Certified Trainer.. We were slammed on that Saturday night. We all had 5 table stations and I soon noticed a couple sitting at a deuce and looking around... They had not been helped..
Soon after the hostess came to me and asked if I can pick that table up because Da*e was being an asshole.. So i didn't have time, but I made it over to the table and took their drink order.. (I still remember their order after 25 years) Da*e was in the back saying, "fuck that shit. They wont tip. Being a totally disrespectful ass..
Heres why: Turns out they were what some would call. Mountain folks.. The Husband was bearded. Longer hair. Lumberjack shirt. Jeans and looked a mess.. Also. He was missing and arm.. The wife was not dressed in style and had her hair up... But they were Genuine and very nice. Killed me to see them not being waited on because of their looks..
So they order 2 Cadillac margaritas and 2 macho combos.. Bill turned out to be like $49.00
They pay and the wife grabbed my hand gently while sobbing..
She says. My husband lost his arm in a logging accident.. We live up past Georgetown. (Nor Cal) and only come down twice a year to do major shopping...(meanwhile I was still slammed, but listened carefully) Each time we are reminded why we hate coming down because we get treated so bad.. They knew what had happened.. I didn't do anything different. Just treated them with respect... They paid with a $100. And said. We don't need change.. And thanked me for making a difference.. I walked up to Da*e and said, " 100% tip. 50.00 bucks. You lost out. I'll never forget how she was hurt . never judge. Just be kind.. Sadly, I doubt Da*e would have learned anything from that..
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/elun1k/hell_no_im_not_serving_them/
| 3,607
| 192
| 1,578,499,408
| 14
|
server tip
|
top
|
a6pb32
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"This is for you, not everyone"
|
Hey, everyone. Got a story for you today about my first job and an ex-employee.
To set the stage, I was 17, my first job, paid under the table, working weekends and nights after school and college classes. Overworked, understaffed, rode a bike about a half mile to work for every shift. Also, we split tips. Everyone put their tips in at the end of the night and it got split between the servers, the cook, dishwasher, AND the owner who sat on her fat ass doing nothing.
It was a Tuesday afternoon and we were pretty much dead. I had a lovely couple come in and sit. I made sure to take care of their every needs, as is the way. The man strikes up a conversation with me and it leads to this.
"Man, I used to work here. I don't understand how you make enough money to live." I laughed and replied with, "Well, it's hard since we split tips, but luckily this is just my job while I'm in school." The conversation continued on how he didn't believe splitting tips was okay and that the owner took money she didn't deserve. Conversation keeps going, etc etc.
Here's the thing though. Bill of $40. The guy pays, asks for me and goes to sit back down. I get called to the front and then told about his request, so, I walk over.
"Here. This is for you," he says as he reaches out a $20, hidden in a handshake. I didn't take it. I even told him, "There's a camera right there. I will get fired if I take that and don't split it." "Well, man. Where's your car?" I explain that I ride a bike and he nods for a minute and hands me a $5 for the tip jar.
"I've got you, man. You deserve the $20," was the last thing he said before he left with his girlfriend.
About 5 minutes later, I go on break. Now, I normally walk out the side door, but I decided to walk out the back door today which gave me a different view of my bike. My handlebar grips for my hands had always been ripped at the end, had mud in them from falling, etc. This man, this absolute legend of niceness, had cleared the mud out of one side and slid the $20 in there cause "I deserve the $20."
Tl;Dr: Customer wants to tip me 50% on a $40 bill, but I'd have to split it. Cleans my bike and hides the $20 in it cause "I deserve the $20."
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/a6pb32/this_is_for_you_not_everyone/
| 3,531
| 107
| 1,544,969,836
| 14
|
server tip
|
top
|
79euv7
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
50+ top, 2 waitresses, 15 separate checks
|
So, woman calls in early today, says there will be about 30 people coming in tonight. We are ready for them at 6:30. They trickle in until around 7. There are over 50 of them. The section we sit them in easily seats 70. They decide to spread out despite my attempts of telling them not to do so. There approximately 12 8 year old children screaming at me and my co-worker for more lemonade, that of which we have no free refills. Parents INSIST they have separate checks. I say we can only split by table. They end up spreading out and not even sitting with their families. They end up telling my co-worker and I that they will just tell us numbers and we can separate the checks for them that way. Their food comes out and NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE remembers what they’ve ordered. Meanwhile they’ve all moved seats again. Once we’ve got everything sorted out, my co-worker and I start to manually split checks on our completely outdated computer system that only allows us to separate checks by table, thus forcing us to correlate the numbers they gave us to actual table numbers. During all of this they start to send their kids out to us to ask us for the checks, multiple times. We finally get all of the checks printed and they all pay. Luckily they left us a solid 20%. One guy gave us $30 on $50. Nights like this make me so happy I’ll be out of this industry within the next year.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/79euv7/50_top_2_waitresses_15_separate_checks/
| 557
| 61
| 1,509,254,030
| 14
|
15%
|
relevance
|
182nsyi
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I got teased with cash today
|
I had a couple come in for a casual date tonight for thanksgiving. They only racked up a $43 tab. No big deal. They were very nice the entire time they were in. So here it comes. They ask for the check. I bring it. The guy pulls out about $100 total in cash and asks me how much he should tip me. I’m a newer server and have never been asked that, so I gave the appropriate answer and said “you give me whatever you think is fair for you to give me”. He took a 20 and put it back in his wallet and basically asked me again. I told him I can’t tell him how much to give me but that the industry standard is 15-20%. He then gives me $50 and takes the rest back. His bill total was 46.70. So he teased me by pulling out 100 and even setting it on the book, and then gives me $3.30 as a tip.
Why push me into a corner like that, tease me by putting the cash on the book, and then give me a completely shit tip after going through that whole convo?
Before you guys rag on me, I figured out very shortly after (just based on how the interaction went) that he wanted to see me show that I have a pair of balls and tell him I wanted what he put down on the table. So since I didn’t do what he wanted it was like “alright so you’ll be cool with this $3 then. Got it”.
As more experienced servers/bartenders, how would y’all have handled that situation?
My coworker told me I should’ve jokingly but firmly told him somewhere between 100 and 10 grand. Since I’m newer at this I’m still working on the whole being a yes man vs being the driver of the boat. I’m not mad about the actual tip since the tab was only $43 but I’m kinda mad about this guy thinking that my paycheck is some kind of game
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/182nsyi/i_got_teased_with_cash_today/
| 928
| 260
| 1,700,815,628
| 14
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15%
|
relevance
|
1f8jfiv
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The Fact Check: Your bad review? It's (mostly) BS.
|
Oh boy. Happy long weekend, everyone!
I served a table this week (two men that I estimated as mid-30s) that weren't necessarily rude, but SO cold, and then the one that paid the check tipped 5%. Later that day, he left a review online. And my angry ass wants to fact-check.
The Review:
"If you are in no rush, come to this place, the service is slooooooooooooow.
We waited 20 minutes for a menu and another 20 minutes for our drinks sitting upstairs on the balcony.
The place was not too busy which surprised me on how slow the service was.
The food was not worth the money, ($136.01 included 2 drinks ) we had the seafood chowder which was salty and lacking the actual seafood and mussels which were average.
The main course consisted of Lamb shank which was not bad, but the chicken curry was terrible with large pieces of almost raw onions and red pepper - I couldn't eat it.
Total time for lunch was 2 hours.
With the good review on this place we thought we would have enjoyed our lunch, but this review is reality."
The Fact Check:
1. You did not wait 20 minutes for a menu. That is literally impossible. The balcony patio is nearly always full & has a wait time 9 times out of 10. If you waited for a menu AT ALL (let alone 20 minutes; again, IMPOSSIBLE) it would be because you walked/ran past both the downstairs hostess telling you to wait to be seated when upstairs, the multiple signs telling you to wait to be seated upstairs, AND the upstairs hostess and sat yourselves at a dirty table.
2. You did not wait 20 minutes for drinks. You waited 7. Want to know how I know? Jay (the bartender) was working on the chit for a party of 15 that sat just before you. Shitty luck? Sure. 20 minutes? No. Plus, you ordered shaken cocktails. Takes a bit longer than a simple draft beer or soft drink. I also checked the printed drink ticket for the time it was rung in vs when I ran it to your table. 7 minutes.
3. "The place was not too busy". I don't expect customers to have eyes for this, but come on. Our patio was full to the point that we were seating tables inside who were both on a wait and not on a wait for the patio, and there were two servers on. That's 34 tables split between TWO servers. While not every table was full, we had at least 12 tables each that day. "Busy" does not always mean every table in the place is full. Restaurant staff are people too; you can't exactly sprint with hot plates and drink trays.
4. You ordered the most expensive appetizers and one of the most expensive main dishes on our menu. While this may not be true for every restaurant, this is a pub. It is logical to assume that fresh-made chowder and mussels are going to take longer than a basket of fries to hit the table. Same thing with the lamb shank: Our most expensive entree, cooked to order, is going to take longer than some chicken tenders. If you are in a rush, why would you order that? Better yet, why would you order an appetizer at all? (I won't defend the chicken curry. It's either good or bad depending on which cook makes it. This is basically the only part of this review that is somewhat valid).
5. "Total time for lunch was 2 hours". But was it? Because our POS shows when we punched things in (drinks, food, etc) and our POS also shows the time we printed the bill. You were there for 1 hour and 22 minutes when I brought you the bill that you then tipped 5% on. Which you asked for 2 minutes before I printed it. 1 hour 22 minutes? Excessive for some, absolutely. But when a table starts with appetizers, orders the good stuff, is seemingly in no rush, and each person takes over an hour to finish their one & only cocktail? Forgive me, really and truly, for thinking that you MIGHT have some time to spare. 2 hours my ass.
I got bad vibes from this table to begin with. That's why I checked the timing of everything. I also remember anyone who orders the lamb shank, because again, pretty bougie for a pub.
"This review is reality"? Nah. This fact check is reality. I paid to serve your exaggerating ass, so you can suck mine.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1f8jfiv/the_fact_check_your_bad_review_its_mostly_bs/
| 258
| 27
| 1,725,420,352
| 14
|
15%
|
hot
|
hl7ppe
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Look around, how many friends you got?
|
In the early 90’s I started bartending at a popular downtown bar with a long history. Like most bars that are have been open for a long time we had a large number of very loyal regulars, I would say 75% of our customers were daily or weekly regulars, very few new faces. As the ‘new guy’ they were slow to accept me, but that was OK, I knew I had to earn their respect. Patrons were nice enough to me, patient and polite, tipped well, but nowhere near as friendly with me as with the more senior BTs.
We always had very busy happy hours at the end of a work day and one Friday we were smokin busy. A guy I had never seen before came in and stood at the bar ordering a mug on tap. I ring it in, make change for him, carry on. Guy wants to talk but as I am hopping between the waitresses at the service bar, 15 stools and walk ups I am running. We are having the conversation in snatches as I stand at the taps pouring mugs.
I could tell the guy was a Douchebag because he was asking me where he could get some coke and some easy pussy. Told him I couldn’t help him on either. Orders another beer which I get for him, put it down and make his change. At that moment one of our regulars, who happens to have a different skin color, comes in and joins 2 guys seated at the bar next to DB, standing behind them as there were no free stools.
Douchebag says, in a loud voice, “Boy, sure got dark in here all of a sudden!” Then he looks around just beaming, so proud of himself. I ask him; what did you say? DB repeats himself, even louder this time, loud enough all the patrons seated at the bar hear him. All of the regulars are looking at me to see what I am going to do.
The bar is very noisy and music comes from a tape deck I control behind the bar. I spin around and push the stop button, go to the cash drawer and take out $3 bucks, go back to him and grab his beer and dump it in the tap drain, slap down the dollars and say leave! It gets very quiet in the bar as people start to notice the confrontation. DB says fuck you, give me my beer back. I refuse, and reiterate he has to leave. He threatens to come over the bar and fuck me up cus it ain’t right what I am doing, then he looks around himself for like minded patrons to back him up.
I tell him to give it his best shot, but first look around and see how many friends he has in the bar? I tell him every person in the bar is my friend. At that moment about 40 people seated at the bar, or tables scattered around all stand and approach the bar. DB looks around and realizing he is outnumbered says he was just kidding. I tell him to leave now, he hesitates again until one of the regulars at the bar, a hulking guy, who was always polite, but aloof to me, stands up and says in a deep booming voice “you better do what he asked you to do, he’s the boss around here”.
That did the trick, DB got up and with his tail between his legs left the bar. I hit play on the deck and things went back to usual. Except that a magical switch had been flicked, every single regular treated me like family now. Even people who weren’t there for the incident treated me differently the next time they were in. I had been accepted into the inner fold. My tips doubled, even tripled on the weekend. It turned a great job into a fantastic one.
Did it for a couple of years but eventually got a career opportunity in my chosen field so had to move on, but then I became an after work regular and I kept some of those relationships for 20 years until the owner died and his nephew ran the bar into the ground. All because of that one racist DB.
Thanks racist DB!
EDIT: Thank you so much for the Gold and the Awards! Your generosity is appreciated.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/hl7ppe/look_around_how_many_friends_you_got/
| 3,030
| 62
| 1,593,885,900
| 14
|
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|
top
|
adl515
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
No I will not tip you out extra for doing zero work
|
So I have worked at a chain restaurant for a couple of years now. One of the policies we are made to adhere to is if we have a table with more than 12 guests, two servers are required to help them, even if the tables only take up a single servers section.
To set the scene, I am working a busy Friday night about a month ago when a family comes in saying that they have a total of 30 coming in about 45 minutes (we don't do reservations, it's first come first serve) so they ask to be added to the wait. I'm in one of the more party-friendly sections with just tables, no booths so the hosts start flagging my tables to get things ready. So far all business as usual. Then one of my managers comes up, a real stickler, says to make sure I take the table with the other server in the adjacent section to mine. I already knew the drill so I of course promise to make sure.
Here's where things started to suck. This other server (I'll call her S) is notorious for being very lazy and very table greedy. Tries to do just enough to get a table in and out, not a team player etc. I wasn't looking forward to taking the table with her but I thought I'll just make things easy as heck for us.
When the table got sat I began by introducing myself and S, and began by asking if we we're all going to be on a single check or needed them separate. Found out that since it was about 9 different families with kids, we'd need 9 checks. No biggie, what I did is then assigned each family a number from 1-9 I told them to remember their number if they needed alcohol refills or anything brought for them so S and I could be on the same page even if we couldn't find each other. The group liked the idea and the kids loved telling me their number when they ordered their drinks.
Now halfway into taking drink orders, S goes to her section to take care of her tables, no biggie, but I was a little annoyed. As soon as I finish taking orders, I let her know that once her tables start getting up, I'll take half to help make everything easier. This is a normal thing as well when a servers whole section is taken up by a big top and is splitting it with someone with an open section. She agrees and I move on to getting waters poured for the party while she takes care of her section.
Dinner service continues and S is nowhere to be found. I bring drinks, take orders, send the orders to the kitchen, refill glasses and clear dishes away, all solo. S apparently has just been in her section taking more tables without letting me know that they had turned. Dessert comes and goes and I drop off the 9 checks. One family thanks me for being so attentive when they hand me payment and all I can think is "well I had to be, my other server was nowhere to be found." I pick up payments and they all go on their way. Suddenly, S is right there ready to find out what her half of the tips will look like. I'm a pretty passive dude and I don't like confrontation so I just start calculating what the total is and subtract the 3% tipout to the bussers and bar. It comes to $60 to each of us. (thank God the table drank)
When I tell her this, she has the audacity to say "hey, would you mind tipping me an extra $15 on top of that? I still have to get Christmas presents for my kids and since you don't have any kids..." I was completely shocked. I had to look at her for a minute before I said "look, I wasn't going to say anything, but you were completely absent from the table. You focused on your own section and didn't even let me take any of the tables leaving me to take this alone. You're lucky I am even letting you still have half of this." She gives me this look like IM the asshole and tells me a sob story about her boyfriend losing his job and that she just wants her kids to have a nice Christmas. I say "look I'm sorry, I have bills too." She is now visibly pissed and storms off to our manager. She claims to him that it was a total of $150 after tipout and that I am trying to only give her $60. He looks at me, fuming, so I show him the receipts and tell him the whole story. He chews out S for not following policy and instructs me to keep the full tip. I decide to keep just $100. So I hand her a twenty and with a shit eating grin I say "Merry Christmas"
TL;DR: Server assigned to a 30 top with me does zero work, hogs tables in her section, asks for extra on top of half the tips. Manager gets brought in by her to try and get me in trouble when I say no. Manager finds out the whole story and chews her out and tells me to keep it all. I still give her a small amount with a "Merry Christmas"
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/adl515/no_i_will_not_tip_you_out_extra_for_doing_zero/
| 2,699
| 80
| 1,546,889,010
| 14
|
15%
|
top
|
d4hj9b
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
To my 4 hour table...
|
Y'all were cool, but this isn't how we do things!
I'm told I'm getting a 14 top. Ok. Tables get moved around, I head out to greet them and it's 2 people. Usually that means the others are coming down from their room. I don't even think about doing my normal 90 second run through/explanation, and just ask if I can get them drinks while they wait. Alcohol, ok, a nice start. I drop those off and tell them I'll keep an eye out for when more arrive. 5 minutes later, nothing. 10, nope. 15 minutes, and a teenager shows. Soda. Another 15 minutes later, two more teens. More sodas. At this point the first 2 got a plate of food. Ok, I guess you're not waiting for your family? 15 minutes later 3 more adults shows up. More alcohol. More alcohol for the first 2 as well. This trend continued, but the teenagers were quickly gone, barely haven eaten anything. More adults, more drinks, more leaving, more coming in. I have an amazing management team, but I warned them this could be problems. The first two did warn me about separate checks. I told them I would deal with it later, but this table got chaotic. I had random adult saying, "Bring 3 more beers" and then they were passing them out. Finally at about the 3 hour mark the last two arrived. Throughout all this, one guy did seem the most apologetic, and at least realizing that he was not making my night easy. At the 4 hour mark one says, "I think we're ready for our checks." I told them I would be over in a minute.
Normally, split checks are not problem for me, but I've had countless people leave, and then more come in, a massive amount of liquor ordered...I'm at a loss. Luckily I don't get stressed. I get back to the table, and stand next to the one guy who I liked and said... "Ok...I have no clue what has happened over the last 4 hours so raise your hand if you're paying a bill." 5 guys raise their hands. "Ok, let's do it this way, tell me your first name, how many adults you're paying for, and how much liquor you're paying for." They sort of laugh. I take notes of their answers, and it adds up to 19 people. There's like 9 people left at the table, multiple teens who has eaten and left, some wives gone...I'll take their word on 19. They were 2 short on their drinks guesses (most drinking the same draft beer), so I did those two on a separate check and asked who wanted them. The nice guy picked those up.
All in all about a $1,000 tab, each guy left 20%, the nice guy dropping an extra $50 in cash. Thanks, but I still kinda like the normal family of 4, in and out in 90 minute type thing.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/d4hj9b/to_my_4_hour_table/
| 2,415
| 137
| 1,568,533,606
| 14
|
15%
|
top
|
jf4g98
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
“You were going to get 20 percent, but now you’re only getting 10”
|
Because I couldn’t give them happy hour price on their top shelf drinks.
Happy hour is half off our signature cocktails.
I reallyyyy wanted to clap back and say “well that would still be the same amount of money, because 20% off of half your check is the same as the 10% of your current check, so I guess I’m not missing out on much.”
But I chose to kill them with kindness instead because I KNOW they were looking for a fight. Oh well, I still got to laugh about it with my boss later on.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/jf4g98/you_were_going_to_get_20_percent_but_now_youre/
| 1,603
| 98
| 1,603,247,544
| 14
|
20%
|
relevance
|
10ztk1d
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Some people just don’t get it, and some people just do.
|
To the man who picked up his friends’ checks totaling $250 and handed me a $20 bill saying “the paper is all yours,” that’s not even 10% you’re what’s wrong with society.
To the two ladies who took up a 4 top booth for the entirety of my 7 hour shift, then tipped me $200 on $120, sincerely, thank you. You get it.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/10ztk1d/some_people_just_dont_get_it_and_some_people_just/
| 1,603
| 436
| 1,676,138,222
| 14
|
20%
|
relevance
|
1ga3hdr
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Florida Tipout
|
Ok, for context, I typically don't care about tipping out our kitchen but today it rubbed me wrong and I'd love some outside opinions
At the bar I work at we have Bartenders, Barbacks & Kitchen staff, bar staff are the only ones who make tips directly and we have a mandatory Tipout of 5% of our tips to the barbacks (if we have one). Kitchen gets 5% of total food sales, usually food sales aren't that high so kitchen tipout is between $10-$20. Today it was $75 mandatory that we had to give to the kitchen. The only person working in the kitchen tonight was the kitchen manager and from my understanding management/supervisors are excluded from tip pool.
This is the only job I've had where BOH gets a mandatory tipout but I think it's strange we also have to share with the KM and I'm mostly wondering if it's legal in this state?
If anyone wants my rant about why tonight I'm bothered by it I'll gladly vent but mostly after the legal-ness of this.
After his hourly he made more than any FOH staff but we all made above federal minimum wage. Tipout is calculated nightly if that adds anything to the equation.
EDIT: KM is hourly at not tipped wage, FOH is tipped wage
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1ga3hdr/florida_tipout/
| 9
| 11
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20%
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hot
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r8ai8m
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TalesFromYourServer
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The time when I confronted a customer about their tipping
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Hey there, I hope I'm not in violation of rule 9, but I just wanted to share with you the time I confronted a couple about their tipping. It's kind of a long winded post so here we go.
So my restaurant is the "fanciest" place in town. We are the most expensive place in town with the cheapest menu entree starting at $18. The restaurant is locally owned by a couple that actively take part in the success and day to day of the restaurant. We specialize in food made from scratch and fresh seafood. We present wine professionally and use good decorum. I make great money where I work because of our generous patrons and our higher menu prices. An 18-20% tip is the NORMAL and it's a standard in our eyes for the service we provide.
There was this couple that came in on a certain day of the week when we had special shellfish specials. They would come in, run us ragged, keep us from our other tables by talking our ears off, and order only our discounted shellfish specials. Among other things, they weren't our favorite. The cherry on top was the tip they left every time was around 5-10% of their already discounted bill. We have a small staff and we are all extremely good at what we do. I know how to take my lumps when I've done a poor job (we all have those days), but that wasn't the case.
Finally one day I had enough of these guys. After they paid and I picked up their signed receipt, I noticed another 10% tip. Now the husband that owns the restaurant told me that he once received a poor tip after doing an excellent job waiting on a table years and years ago. He took it upon himself to ask the table if there was anything he could have done better or provided to them to make their experience better. They said no and asked why. He simply explained that the tip they left for him was a direct reflection of his service and it made him believe he did a poor job.
That is exactly what I did with my cheap couple. I asked if I could have done anything better or if they had any problems with my service. Could I have made their experience any better for the next time they came in? They said no that I was great. Why?
I told them the same thing that their tip was a reflection of the service I provided and made me believe I could have done more to make their evening too notch.
They scoffed and said that they always tip 10% no matter where they go..
That was the end of that and I just restated that I hoped they would tell me if I could have done anything better and that I wanted them to have a great night. They left and the next day emailed my boss to complain about me. The wife backed me up and restated that their tip was a direct reflection of my service and that it was a fair question. They finished the email by saying they never wanted me to wait on them again (Thank God because I didn't want to wait on them either).
They gave the restaurant a two month hiatus but returned again. The next time they came in they left 20% for their server. Same with the time after that. And after that.
Finally one day, it was just me and the bartender working (owner was out of town and the bartender was managing that day). The couple walks through the door. Sees me and almost walks out. I greet them like nothing ever happened and since I was the only server on the floor I waited on them. The whole time I treated them like every other patron and didn't think about giving them bad service because I let bygones be bygones. They weren't difficult and since I remembered them I predicted their needs and brought them early and in a timely fashion (think tobacco, extra bread, cocktail forks, refills, butter). After their meal they paid and I got 20%. I thanked them for coming in and told them to come back soon.
Morale of the story is that it didn't take much to educate a couple about modern tipping standards. I may have offended them in the moment but I think after seeking validation from their friends and family, they were then told that what they do is wrong. A point to note is that I'm very fortunate to work for a couple that takes pride in their restaurant and stands up for their employees. If you think you'll lose your job for speaking up then don't take my advise or seek new employment. But all it took was to phrase the question in a way that made it about the customer and their experience. Not that they were cheap and I didn't like their tip, but that maybe their experience wasn't as great as I thought it was.
I get cheap tippers sometimes but don't confront them. It happens. I work in the restaurant industry. I have only said it to this couple because they return and nobody wanted to wait on them anymore. So it didn't matter if they came back or not. Sometimes my boss says after a rough table that "they just weren't our customers" and to "fire them as our customers". Sometimes you just need to do the hard thing and see how it goes.
Thanks for reading this far. Have any of you done anything like that?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/r8ai8m/the_time_when_i_confronted_a_customer_about_their/
| 793
| 190
| 1,638,570,054
| 14
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bad tipper
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relevance
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2tft9n
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TalesFromYourServer
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Petty revenge for a bad tipper
|
6 top, great service, constant refills, timely food, even a spilled drink, $65 ticket.... 4$ tip. $34 in change, in $1 bills :)
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/2tft9n/petty_revenge_for_a_bad_tipper/
| 18
| 13
| 1,422,044,383
| 14
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bad tipper
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relevance
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5ar1uf
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Why can't every customer be this awesome?
|
Pie shop girl. When you work in the cafe part of the store (not doing sit down service) generally you make 10% of your sales for the night in tips (plus a much higher than minimum wage hourly rate). My coworker was in the back tending to some new inventory from the kitchen since we were relatively slow and it had to be done before we could go home anyways.
We were having a terrible night tip wise. Then Richard came along. Richard was a breath of fresh air from the get go. I greeted him with a "hey how are you?" and he smiled soooo widely and looked so happy and said "I'm great how are you?" He proceeded to put in a pretty big order, but no big deal, I've got this, even by myself. When I get his order prepared and give it to him he gives me $15 in cash for the jar and asks if I use cannabis. It's legal here, and I do occasionally indulge (I think most people in this industry to). I respond in the affirmative and Richard, this sweet angel from heaven, proceeds to give me two brownies sealed from the kitchen they were produced in. Then he tells me they are about 2.5 times stronger than the typical brownie. Now, Richard here was already a great tipper, extremely polite, *and* he just tipped me with WEED BROWNIES?! WHERE DO ANGELS LIKE THIS COME FROM?!
So I give the other to my coworker (I was so tempted to keep both!) and about twenty minutes before closing we eat up. I HAVE NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN CLOSING IN MY LIFE. We were still efficient and clocked out on time, but everything was more enjoyable. THANK YOU RICHARD AND TO ALL OF THE RICHARDS OUT THERE.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/5ar1uf/why_cant_every_customer_be_this_awesome/
| 373
| 23
| 1,478,105,746
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bad tipper
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relevance
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p7v9v3
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TalesFromYourServer
|
Servers - how much do you tip out your bussers?
|
(Obligatory “if this isn’t meant for here please delete and I apologize” intro)
Okay, so I serve at a busy bar and pizza joint where I live. I make decent money for the most part, love who I work with, the location, the hours, etc.
I feel like as a server I tip out fairly decently. 10% of my liquor sales to the bartender and I tip out the host and busser accordingly depending on how much I make.
Now, to the juicy bits, I worked tonight and made $180 and some change after tipping out. I tipped out the bartender 10% of my liquor sales, the host $5 on card and $5 in cash and the busser $10 on card and $10 on cash (I, for one, prefer keeping most of my card tips because they just go right into my tip card the next morning, so if I can tip out in cash I do it that way, but a majority of the time I do half and half). I always make sure to tip the busser well due to me preferring to not buss my own tables and it’s some hard work.
A busser (not bussing today, but working prep in the kitchen) came up to me as I was checking out at the end of my shift and was yelling at me for being cheap for not tipping out well enough (we have a tip sheet so anybody can look and see who tips out what on card). I tried explaining that I split it up between card and cash and this dude just wasn’t having it - calling me dumb, cheap, ignorant, all of the above. I felt so bad but also so flipping mad because I know I’m a good tipper in general but especially with the busser.
SO, how much do you tip the busser? Am I tipping too low? Is that guy just an asshole? Lemme know!
TLDR: I thought I was tipping out my busser fairly well until sir asshole called me cheap for tipping the busser $20 when I made $180 after tip outs.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/p7v9v3/servers_how_much_do_you_tip_out_your_bussers/
| 16
| 23
| 1,629,434,727
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bad tipper
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relevance
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xutycg
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Be very careful with autograt
|
This happened yesterday, but is still bothering me like crazy so I felt I should share.
I got an 8 top, so I was supposed to get autograt. Whew, I sure needed it. It was extremely slow and everyone had made like $30. This party was great, no issues except being out of a thing or two but otherwise all smiles.
However, when it came time to split checks, they wanted them split up uneven and I think got real annoyed with my clarifications on how they wanted them divided. I have ADHD and executive function disorder and forgot to take my medication today so it was really hard for me to keep track of who ordered what. Even though I write every single thing down, I somehow still fuck up my number system. They ended up offering to write their initials on the itemized check (which seems to be a common thing? Large parties have offered to do that without me even hinting I’d have trouble so maybe I’m not just incompetent?) which I told them I greatly appreciated!
When I went to split them, I forgot I had to manually add the autograt back on. The way you do this is to change the number of people sat to 7 or more. Most people who are an autograt table just pay with one card or split one check evenly and just toss all the cards on there, so I usually forget about it. I just wanted to get them their checks back quickly because I felt bad.
Now here’s where I REALLY fucked up and I believe is the reason for the stiffing. Basically the one person who was paying solo just happened to be the last to divide so he remained on the original check with the grat. This person was the only person in the party of a certain demographic that is unfairly stereotyped as being poor tippers. And only his check has autograt. I literally didn’t realize till after I cashed them out and I feel fucking awful. Their check was around $200 and autograt is only 18% so it wouldn’t have been huge, but I still got mostly stiffed (surprisingly the autograt dude actually tipped me a little extra) on the other 3 checks or got $1. I think they noticed because I profusely apologized for my confusion after I dropped the checks, they didn’t seem angry at all and said it’s okay.
I texted my manager after my shift in case a bad review comes up (since I don’t work again till Friday and wouldn’t be there to defend myself) and she said it’s okay, just ask for help next time. I already ask for way too much help due to my disabilities and I’m infantilized for it, and I literally have no issues with large parties other than uneven check splitting but each time I ask it solidifies in their mind I’m incapable and it’s continued to affect me financially, like they’ll keep sitting me with 2 tops.
I’m just really fucking anxious I’m gonna walk in on Friday and be told I’m being let go because they can’t risk having a “racist server” (I really, really hope I’m not but my anxiety is convincing me I subconsciously did this on purpose even though his check had 1 burger on it and the autograt was $3, so if I was one of those servers that wouldn’t be any motivation! I just need reassurance I’m not a POS I guess.
TLDR- Accidentally forgot to add autograt back on when dividing checks and the last person who I left on the original autograt check was the only black person in the party, paying solo. Got stiffed for it.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/xutycg/be_very_careful_with_autograt/
| 8
| 9
| 1,664,827,644
| 14
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bad tipper
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relevance
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aorhx6
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Is it rude to not split your tips with a trainee?
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Hey there! Bartender here who is normally an extreme tipper (almost to a fault). at work, I tip out even the cooks on a busy night. When i have a night off i tip bartenders around 30%. i understand it’s not standard, but it honestly just makes me happy. And i’ve worked so many nights where one good tip saved my attitude/outlook on an entire night.
i’m training a new bartender at my job and he’s given me extreme attitude about not tipping him enough. tonight, we were staffed with me, the bartender i normally work weekends with, plus the dude i’ve been training. The shift was so slow, that if it were any other night, one of us would have gone home and left the other bartender by herself. the only reason we both stayed was to train this dude.
not that he is a bad bartender, but i am 100% sure we would’ve made better tips had he not been there. he isn’t totally familiar with prices, how to ring things in, how to close tabs etc. so what would have been an easy solo night for one of us, turned into following this dude around, teaching him how to do everything and making sure he makes no mistakes.
when it came to closing time, i let him know that “the taxes on MY credit tips come out of MY hourly, plus we have to tip out the busser and karaoke person”. the other bartender and i ended up tipping our trainee out $40 and walking out with $150 each. (subtract about $20 each in taxes, and $20 each for tipping out our regular staff). we ended up with about $90 each.
the dude proceeds to flip out and say it isn’t fair and that we should all split it evenly?? even though it was a one bartender night, forced into a THREE bartender night to train this dude. he literally sped off in his car screeching the tires??? am i being rude?
sorry for the terrible grammar and punctuation but i am tired :(
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/aorhx6/is_it_rude_to_not_split_your_tips_with_a_trainee/
| 33
| 30
| 1,549,711,075
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bad tipper
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relevance
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o0t9o2
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TalesFromYourServer
|
The struggle is real. I've been serving tables for years and I'm glad that people can still shock me with their generosity.
|
I worked at a popular steak house. A Texas roadhouse knockoff where you could throw your peanut shells on the floor and country music played loudly throughout the restaurant. We were packed every weekend with an average wait time of at least 45 minutes to an hour.
The food was amazing. We served quality steaks, smoked our own pork and brisket, and made a crawfish chowder from scratch. Most of the staff had been there for years, and the restaurant had a loyal following in the community. I loved working there.
I worked every Saturday, usually a double shift. Most Saturdays I'd be lucky to get a full 30 minutes between shifts, and that was fine with me. I was fine without a break at all. I was all about the money. Saturday was a huge money day for me.
On one Saturday in particular we were slammed with large parties, and my section had one of those large tables that could be set up to fit a party of 12 or a divider could be put up and 2 parties of 6 could be sat there. We'd finally started to slow down and the lobby began to empty out and I was looking forward to being cut off the floor and going home. My tables were all sat and eating food or finishing up their meals and close to cashing out. I assumed my night was nearly done, but if you know anything about the restaurant business you know you should always expect the unexpected. In the blink of an eye the lobby filled up again.
I was sat a party of 10 at my large table and once they were all sat comfortably I greeted them mustering up whatever genuine cheer I had left in me, which wasn't very much. I had started at 11:30 and it was 10PM now. Remember, I also didn't get a full 30 minutes between my lunch and dinner shifts either. I wasn't irritated, it's not the guests fault I worked a long day. I was just exhausted.
I started taking their beverage orders and was informed that they were celebrating a birthday. They were all adults in there mid to late 20's to early 30's with no small children. They all ordered bar drinks and the last gentleman's drink order I took ordered a round of shots for the table. They were looking for a good time, and I wasn't sure if I was up to giving them what they needed.
I got the drinks ready and passed everything out starting with the shots. The guy that ordered them did a little toast and I passed the other drinks out while he did his thing. When I got back around to him he asked if it had been busy that night, and how I was doing. I always found it amusing when guests asked me about my day. Did they really want me to be honest? I smiled and told him honestly, "I'm exhausted, it's been a mad house all day. I've been here since 1130."
He replied, " We'll take it easy on you, promise." I'm experienced enough to know that usually means the opposite of what they say. Just like, "I'm a really good tipper." Or, "I never complain about my food, but..."
I took the parties order and covered my exhaustion expertly. I got back to the guy that ordered the shots again. We'll call him the host of the party. He asks me a couple questions, orders his meal, and asks me if separate checks would be too much trouble. I tell him absolutely not. Separating the guests checks on our computer system was simple and only took a few minutes if you knew what you were doing. I told him we could figure out the checks later. He then orders another round of shots and says, "Keep em's coming and I'll tip you 100%" YEAH RIGHT! I responded with an eye roll and a disbelieving smile. He assured me he would keep his word.
I take a lot of pride in what I do. I'm very good at it, and I've made a decent living as a server. People look down on those of us who have chosen the restaurant business as our careers. People don't think we make very good money. That we're all one day away from being completely destitute. That's simply not the case. I've made a good living as a server. I made more money than my ex husband and my current husband.
I did as the host asked without getting anyone completely shit faced and kept bringing drinks to him and the birthday boy. I entertained the table between drinks and served them food somewhere in there as well. I boxed everyone's leftovers up and brought out a sundae for the birthday boy and got the staff to sing our restaurants horrible birthday song. All in all, the celebration was a success, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
I split the checks up, dropped them off, and when they were ready I cashed them out. When I brought the hosts credit card and receipts back for him to sign he said, " I promised you a 100% tip and I'm a man of my word. You were awesome. We all had a really good time. You were honest with us about having a long busy day, but that still didn't stop you from giving us good friendly service. You could've been a total ass hole. Thank you!" I tried to stop him from tipping me that much telling him 15-20% was enough. I'd made enough money throughout the day. The gesture was kind but not necessary. He didn't listen. He tipped me $164.65 on his bill of the same amount. My mouth fell to the floor. I just couldn't believe someone who actually followed through with what they said they were going to do. I felt completely dumbfounded. I had no words.
I try to remember this story every time I'm having a bad day. I know this kind of thing like never happens but just knowing it's possible might help someone else get through their day. Someone will surprise you, and it'll be the most unlikely person.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/o0t9o2/the_struggle_is_real_ive_been_serving_tables_for/
| 86
| 7
| 1,623,805,841
| 14
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bad tipper
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relevance
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ty6aq4
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Coworker worse than my worst customers! Ugh!
|
Another fun night in Paradise as I call it. I work in a smaller local restaurant. Basically connected to a Truck Stop so we have LOTS of regular truckers & of course your locals.
S started a couple months ago. (She’s in her 60s and I only point that out as she’s old enough to know better. She also brags about all the money she has, doesn’t need a job and just took a $85K job wherever she’s moving.) To begin with she complained constantly about her tips. They left me 75 cents. They left nothing. Blah blah. Those weeks, we were just going every other table as it was slower when cold - “I only get the 1 tops. I only get the non-tippers. I made $24 all shift the other day.” (Live in a minimum wage state for server jobs. So we are making money either way.) I nicely explain she needs to be friendlier, faster and tips are essentially a reward for good service. She complained every shift about her tips. And was NOT improving on her skills.
Today she’s back for her final week as she’s moving. I nicely tell her we’re back to doing sides as we’re getting busier. She wasn’t impressed. She does sides when she works with the other slower waitress and nobody goes to hers. So tonight, sure enough customers find out we’re doing sides and pick mine. I was feeling bad and about to offer her a table when I realized she still hadn’t got drinks or orders for the TWO tables she has.
Later I hear her tell my table - “When I said you could sit anywhere, it would have been nice if you went to my section.” Whattttt? Bit later she makes a comment of not knowing why she’s even there and she should just go home. I nicely agree, tell her to vacuum and go ahead and go. I’ve now done my tables, 90% of the side work and am over it. Instead she gets herself some soup and spend 45 minutes eating it and complaining about her tips where she thinks I can’t see her. Again, tell her I’m taking a break, she needs to vacuum and go. She’d had the option of plenty to go orders and was even ignoring anyone they didn’t look like a good tipper. (She’d of made enough tips for the whole night if she’d of taken the one she flat ignored he tipped so well - 4X the price of his food.)
Last straw - Table comes in that always sits in the section I have and never tip a dime. This time they choose hers. Inside I die. Karma? The next thing I know this crazy woman is yelling over the vacuum - This isn’t funny. I’m telling them my section is closed. I’m NOT DOING THIS. Tonight has been awful. I don’t make any money. I stop her, advise this is not tolerated and she cannot act like this. Especially out front where they can hear her. She then begins yelling about not getting tipped and nobody sits where she is. Cut her off, told her to leave the vacuum, get her stuff and clock out. Unacceptable. She then tells me she is staying until 9 pm to get her hourly wage. No. You. Are. Not. Not acting like this. Called my owner from the back, told her the story. Came back out. She still hadn’t waited on the “non-tipping table”. Owner called and told her to clock out. And I continued to wait on her poor table.
Yeah, they don’t tip. They’re older, somewhat developmentally disabled, on a fixed income. They just want freaking coffee. Are they annoying? Sometimes. But they’re humans too. It is what it is. Smile. Serve. Karma is real and my other tables make up for it.
When I finally left - She was buddied up at the bar next door with a trucker driver she met yet again tonight. The whole reason the owner was firing her if she hadn’t of put in her notice.
And THAT is my rant. I’d rather wait on the crappy tables than deal with someone who feels entitled to tips. I so wish people in this town wanted to work and we could afford to fire people AND get good staff.
Thanks for listening. I feel much better.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ty6aq4/coworker_worse_than_my_worst_customers_ugh/
| 49
| 3
| 1,649,310,891
| 14
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bad tipper
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relevance
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naqv3e
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Onward - A Reflection
|
I've worked only 5 out of the last 12 months. Thanks to the Canadian Government, this didn't make me loose my house or my car, but my savings are gone, my credit is feeling the burden, and something had to give.
Onward
When my regulars return, something will be different. Something will have changed forever, and they will miss me as I miss them today. I will miss the young couple on date night with the order I can ring in before I even greet them. I will miss the chance to do the same for another young couple I was just getting to know. I will miss the husband who likes to talk about our garnishes and has that funny way of saying persimmon, and I will miss the fond way his wife rolls her eyes. I will miss the kind but pretentious golfers with their huge order and mediocre tip, because they stay all night and treat me like one of the gang. I'll miss the bus loads of Japanese tourists who smile appreciatively at my tiny smattering of Japanese phrases and manners, as though I've made their whole trip. Most of all, I will miss the charming couple who come in twice a year with their impeccably dressed children and mild British accents. The children, all of 8 when they first started coming , place their own orders as politely and tastefully as any adult guest, and they always order a full pound of king crab legs (the most expensive item on the menu), and polish them off expertly, with narry a splash or shard of shell on the table. They're better behaved than 90% of the grown-ups. The parents joke with me and treat me like a member of the family. I'll likely never see them again.
Onward
I'm free of wearing a tie while walking 20,000 steps in 5 hours in the summer heat, serving a patio full of heavy drinkers and light tippers. I'm free of the 7-tops of young people dressed for the club who leave $5 on their $400 table bill, leaving me well in the red at tipout time. I'm free of the countless Karens who confidently order medium-rare, and then send the perfect steak back until it's all but well-done. (Which is of course my fault). I'm free of that last table who walk in two minutes before our last seating, eat slowly, and don't tip, walking out an hour past closing with narry a thank you. I'm free of the ladies who think that a singing server is an invitation to a dance, and maybe even a kiss on the cheek. I'm free of the embarrassing salt stains on my shirt when hour 5 hits, undershirt be dammed. I'm free of the rudeness, ignorance, and incivility that has a stranglehold on our culture.
Onward
I will miss the smell of the char from the grill when a guest orders a Chicago steak, the whiff of bouquet off a nice California cab when I pop the cork, the calm stillness when the manager turns off the music as we finish our closing duties when the last guest is gone, and the subtle energy in the air when I arrive before opening, the anticipation of the chaos to come.
I will miss my teammates. The five-second check-ins in the kitchen during a rough service. The twenty-second vent sessions as chef plates the next order. The humble brags about good nights and the comiserations about bad ones. I'll miss the hard-up guy who always asks to run the food to the tables with ladies he finds pretty. I'll miss the headwaitress who is always ready to give him a ribbing for it.
Onward.
Perhaps one day I'll return. Perhaps.
May your tips be plentiful, your guests be polite, your managers be kind, and your food come out perfect every time.
Onward
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/naqv3e/onward_a_reflection/
| 64
| 2
| 1,620,831,886
| 14
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hot
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ce1ful
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Regular saves my night from insufferable drunk dad
|
God bless the sweet regulars y’all. This is long but probably the most agitated I’ve ever been w a table.
Last week, I was working the Monday night shift. Not super busy at the dive bar I work at downtown, as per usual some regulars were hanging out at the bar. I had a four top walk in (older mom, dad, son and daughter in their early twenties around my age). We will now refer to the dad as DD (drunk dad).
So I greet them w my usual charming shpeel, pass out menus/silverware and I ask them if they would like anything to drink besides water. Immediately pick up that this table would indeed piss me off. DD interrupts me and says “We’re thirsty” and stares at me with this dumb blank expression that I had to resist slapping off. I sort of chuckle, tell them I’ll grab them some waters and be back if they have any menu questions blah blah blah. Come back and set waters down, they all ignore me, and I say I’ll give them a minute. DD repeats “We’re thirsty” as I walk off to greet the three other booths who all sat down at once. As I’m waking back and forth getting them situated, the son calls for me and says “UM can my mom get a mule?” in the most condescending voice I’ve yet to hear. The mom quickly cuts his rude ass off and tells me to finish attending to the other tables first and come back. I Get her a mule, come back and ask if anyone needs anything else/ask if they want to order. The dad looks up at me again w his glazed eyes and goes “WE’RE THIRSTY” wtf dude? I’m caught off guard and sort of stare for a minute before I smile and go “so what are you drinking?” He smirks and asks for a bourbon coke. That’s all you had to say sir!!!! The rest order drinks and I bring them out immediately.
He orders his food by slapping the menu in the general direction where his desired food is located. I ask him to clarify, he slaps the table again. Wife interrupts and orders for him. Bring their food out ASAP. Son and daughter warm up to me a little bit, mom is nice. DD orders five bourbon cokes throughout the night by shaking his glass in my face. As I walk to bring him his fifth glass, I offer to take his empty one. He chuggs the rest and I stand there for a split second thinking he wanted to hand it to me. He waves me away as if he was trying to swat a fly. Point taken. Thankfully my manager was on the floor and saw it and was appalled.
Anyways, I refill drinks, take plates, no complaints on the food and actually receive praise that it was delicious. Get them the check and they pay and leave. Bill was $150. He tipped me $6. I stalk over to the bar in a indignation over the nerve of DD and show the bartender. The regular asked to see it and immediately broke into a rant about what a disgrace DD is, how bad tippers are the bane of society. He says while he can’t stop bad tippers all the time, he can stop this one and pulls out his wallet and gives me $30. I almost cried. Take that DD!!!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ce1ful/regular_saves_my_night_from_insufferable_drunk_dad/
| 28
| 7
| 1,563,303,828
| 14
|
bad tipper
|
hot
|
bunba7
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Good tip on a low bill?
|
This has always bothered me. I'm a good tipper. It impresses dates, and it's just good form. 15% is what you give a BAD server, this a minimum in my mind. I normally budget for a 25% tip. But what about when the ticket was cheap? Today I went to a restaurant and orders two drinks and one entray. The entray in infamously big, so it's pretty common for 2 people to share it, and we did. The ticket was $15. We gave a $5 tip. It's 25%, right? But 5 just *feels* low, you know? What are your thoughts, servers of Reddit?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/bunba7/good_tip_on_a_low_bill/
| 4
| 12
| 1,559,180,537
| 14
|
bad tipper
|
hot
|
b5093v
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
A Happy Story!!
|
Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster, and on a smartphone so bear with me. I also apologize for the wall of text, there’s a summary at the end!
I have been working for a wonderful family-owned restaurant/bar for about two years now, and this is a first for me. I really wanted to share because these people were so kind and they deserve some recognition for how AWESOME they were.
Let’s set the scene. I was waitressing. It was a slow night and the people who came in were not... the best tippers, if that is okay to say (I’m talking 10% and below on $20-40 checks). I’m not trying to sound money hungry or anything, but your girl has got to eat and pay bills. Most of the patrons who were coming in were really rude and needed a lot and talked down to me, which did not help my mood. I was the closer that night, so I cut all the other waitresses, and took the few tables that wandered in.
It was 25 minutes until the kitchen closes when two young women walked in. I sat them at a booth, carded them, joked about the out of state license, and got their drinks. They were really kind from the start, joking and explaining this was their night out so they needed to go crazy. I got them settled and went to go check on my only other table, which had cashed out.
I went to collect the credit card slips and cash tips lying on the table when one of the patrons asked for another beer. I told her the price and she said to me, “just take it out of your tip.” I was confused and angry. I almost started crying since I already had hardly any money in my pocket to begin with, and this woman told me to take money for HER drink out of the tips that she left me. I know it sounds bratty, and I get that it’s her money, but please don’t put a cash tip on my clipboard and then tell me to pay for a drink with it, especially when you call them my tips to begin with.
I went back to check on my other table and served them their food. My mood was back to sad, so I started to joke with the pair again. We chatted and laughed, one girl got another drink, and we were getting along really well. My night was improving because these women were treating me like a human being and I was having a great time chatting with them. It got to the point that they were my only table, it was 20 minutes past kitchen close (the bar stays open), the pair were waiting for two more friends, and I really wanted to go home after such a spotty night. I explained to the two women that my shift was over, and that they can close out with me, or I can transfer them to the bar. They asked to cash out with me “since we are waitresses and get that you want your tip.”
I then sat down next to one of the two women and asked her if she wanted to hear a wild story that just happened because, waitress to waitress, I needed to complain. The woman said she had a plethora of crazy stories and she’d love to hear more. So, I told her about the lady that just told me to pay for her personal drink out of my tips. I thanked her for letting me vent, we joked a little more, then I dropped their bill off and went to do the last of the closing side work.
When I came back she handed me the clipboard and told me to keep the change. The “change” was $60. I immediately rushed back over and told her that I would only accept $5 and that $60 is waaaaaay too much, that they had been so kind and that was all I needed. She told me that I deserved it, they were perfectly content, and that she always makes sure that she has extra cash to do this for waitresses she likes. I apologized and told her that it looks like I complained so that she would give me a good tip, and that I was sorry if I put her in a bad situation. She told me that that was not the case, she felt no pressure to give me such a tip, and to take the money.
So, I bought her and her friends bazooka bombs (since it was their night out) to thank them.
I am so grateful for the kindness and friendliness of that table. They took my really shitty day and made it an even better one through their kindness. I will make sure that I pay their generosity forward so that I can maybe brighten up someone’s day like they did mine. To the two women in the booth: thank you, and I hope your lives are as awesome as you guys are.
TL;DR I had a crappy day at work, a party of two cheered me up and made my day through their kindness and generosity.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/b5093v/a_happy_story/
| 39
| 3
| 1,553,455,213
| 14
|
bad tipper
|
hot
|
7ic8yh
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Quick Rant; if your friend is covering your meal actually leave a tip
|
Quick rant, but I had a table of 6 adults with a bill just under $300. The one guy who is a regular (nice and good tipper) pays the bill for everyone and let's me know the others are leaving the tip in cash for me. Go to clear the table and nothing. Hostess tells me they had cash out but put it back away. So they either pretended to tip or got so confused they forgot. They even commented to the manager on their way out how service was amazing and they had such a great time. My tipout is 6% so I lost money. Fml.
If it was intentional then how cheap can someone be that they get free meals and can't even leave something? What a shit thing to do to your friend too, it looks bad on him. I'm not even the type of server that expects 18-20% but at least enough that I didn't pay my own money to serve you. I'm so disheartened, it was a slow night so that was a big chunk for me. What a shit way to end the night.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/7ic8yh/quick_rant_if_your_friend_is_covering_your_meal/
| 59
| 9
| 1,512,705,693
| 14
|
bad tipper
|
hot
|
49wm6o
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
A new side of hangry
|
I work at a mom-and-pop sushi restaurant in my area that's decently busy. With that said, although the restaurant is in a relatively nice part of town, the customers who come in are terrible tippers, with us being lucky to even receive a 15% tip for a table. I'm lucky enough that I don't have many bills to pay for, but I have a few coworkers who definitely struggle financially as a result of this situation.
This brings us to a table we had the other night. It was a party of 4 who ordered various sushi rolls and one Korean BBQ dish that we serve. The thing is, the sushi rolls are prepared by the sushi chefs behind the sushi bar. The cooked food comes out from the kitchen and is prepared by a separate team of chefs. Needless to say, the sushi rolls often come out relatively fast due to the nature of sushi being relatively quick to prepare. The cooked food will almost always take longer than the sushi -- about 10-15 minutes for each order, at most 20 minutes.
3 of the people in the party ordered sushi, while one lady ordered a BBQ dish. The first 3 customers inhaled their sushi orders the minute they arrived. Shortly after they finish their sushi, one of the them rudely waves for me to come over and demands to know what's taking so long for the last BBQ dish. I apologize and check the computer to see that their order was only placed 7 minutes prior to that moment. I check the kitchen and the order is about 5 minutes away from being done. I let him know and in the next few minutes he flags down my manager and demands to have the order cancelled because it was taking too long, even though it was literally about to be plated.
Our entire team was just completely confused about why they were so impatient, but tried our best to make the best out of a bad situation. After checking in on them throughout the rest of their meal and catering to their needs, they were calm. Of course, when they left, we saw that they had left $0 tips on a $40 bill.
TL;DR -- Hangry customer thinks 12 minutes is too long to wait for food to be prepared. Leaves $0 as tip as a result.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/49wm6o/a_new_side_of_hangry/
| 30
| 17
| 1,457,660,309
| 14
|
bad tipper
|
top
|
rzzshh
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Sunday lunch crowds, am I right?
|
10% to God, 5% to your server. This is probably going to get downvoted to pieces by church goers but I have been in this business for 20 years and Sunday after-church diners are the WORST tippers.
Jesus was a socialist. Tip your servers people, especially if you’ve received good service. Don’t write a huge bubbly, live, laugh, love “thank you!!” on a $53 check and leave a $5.00 tip. Be better.
Edit: Ha! you guys are great! This has been fun but don’t spend money on awards, we all need it to pay rent and obviously…just tip your servers. For all you non-servers, thanks for being here and 20% isn’t even the going rate for exceptional service these days. 20% honestly is a minimum need with our $2.13 / hr given our current economy.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/rzzshh/sunday_lunch_crowds_am_i_right/
| 2,568
| 294
| 1,641,757,711
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
8rdzp8
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"You don't f%$# anything up this time. Good girl."
|
Back in the day, I worked at a famously trashy breakfast place where kids ate free for dinner. I had a lot of regulars because I'm good with kids. One family of regulars I had, however, became my regulars because the dad was a cruel loser freak.
Cruel Loser Freak was known by all the servers to be an asshole. When I was new and his family was sitting in my section for the first time, all the other servers warned me but everything went off without a hitch. CLF seemed kind of weird because he had this unsettling stone of a face with nothing behind his eyes and I had an off vibe about him because his wife and kids (two sons. One around 10 and the other around 5) didn't speak and would instead whisper their orders to CLF, who would in turn order for them. He was a shitty tipper but that's not unusual for a weird dude known for being an asshole so I didn't care that much.
I had that family a few more times by chance without incident until one night, we had a new cook. CLF and his family came in and it was my turn on the rotation. The new cook had chopped onions and french toast with the same knife so the french toast was all onion-y.
How the hell would I have known that, you ask? I don't know! I asked CLF and his family if everything was good and checked in on them multiple times throughout their meal as I always do, and everything was fine each time. At the end of their meal, after they'd finished all their food, CLF looks at me with his strange, unchanging expression and unblinking gray eyes and tells me about the toast.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I'll let the cook know. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"It was absolutely disgusting. I'm not paying for it."
He finished the plate lol. But he scares me so instead of telling him that he finished his plate and that he's dumb, I went and got my manager. There's some back and forth and the manager comps it. inb4 'the manager shouldn't have comped it' yeah i know it's fine it was 3 years ago
I come back to the table after to drop off their new check when CLF looks me in the eye and throws his soiled napkin into my face. Literally into my face. Not in my general direction, but right splat into my face.
I was 18. Young, dumb, and full of......non-confrontation? Timidity? I cashed his family out and cried in the back for like 10 minutes.
From then on, Creepy Loser Freak would specifically request me every time he came in with his family. He would send me back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. He would complain about everything. He would drop things on the floor for me to pick up or sweep up. Often times, because of the shift I was working, it'd just be me on the floor so I couldn't get another server to take them anyway. He would scream for me from the other side of the room. He would never tip. His son stopped looking me in the eye. His wife would actually giggle when CLF would talk shit about me in Spanish (I'm sorry, but like 80% of teens in America speak some amount of Spanish. Maybe talk shit about me in more difficult words? Or just talk shit about me in English if you really care that little.)
So yeah at this point, it's my fault for never bringing it up with corporate. I told my night managers, I told my GM, I even told the owner of the franchise. No one did anything. I have a hard time blaming myself only because of how young, naive, and uninformed I was but whatever that doesn't matter.
One day, out of the kindness of his heart, CLF tipped me a whole DOLLAR! Oh my golly gee. He slid me this dollar bill with that same soulless expression and said to me,
"You didn't f*ck anything up this time. Good girl."
It's been 3 years and I still want to hunt him down and vomit into his eyeballs. Lucky for me, it was my last day there because I was about to transfer schools.
I said to him, "I'll be right back with your to go boxes."
I went to the back, clocked myself out, took off my apron, and walked right up to the front and flicked that dollar bill onto the floor near his feet.
"I just clocked out. You have something to say to me?"
In a perfect world, the story ends with him sputtering and melting like the witch he is but actually he started screaming at me and I *almost* started crying until my manager made me go to the back. What happened after that, I don't know because I got cashed out and never went back lol
**TL;DR:** Dude had a vendetta against me because a french toast tasted like onions and decided to forcibly become my regular just to enact some sort of revenge by being an absolute evil d*ckhead for months until one day I'd had enough and also it was my last day and I had my own petty revenge kind of
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/8rdzp8/you_dont_f_anything_up_this_time_good_girl/
| 664
| 58
| 1,529,093,612
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
r9bu6b
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
What is something you have said/done to a no/low customer that you are even surprised you did?
|
Tdlr; stiffed on a $100+ tab, told her I didn’t care if she tipped but she needed to sign the cc recipe, ended up getting a tip.
Genuinely really curious. I have never confronted/questioned a no/low tipper in my 6+ years of serving. I always chalk it up to a “part of the territory” moment and try not to let it ruin my day.
I just left my old serving job of 6 years on and off and now work in a city an hour away. In those 6 years I had been given a $0 tip exactly twice. At my new job, we have very different clientele. Everyone gets stiffed at least once a week, and 10% is unfortunately very common w some of these customers. It’s been very hard to handle at times.
Anyways, the night before thanksgiving I had a 13 top of early 20-something’s come in. Generally all considerate kids. Got their first round of drinks in and 1 of the couples asked for 13 shots of tequila & they were buying. They asked to cash that specific check out right away. They placed the checkbook at the edge of the table so I grabbed it. They had taken 1 of the receipt copies and left the other one for me in the book. $0 on a $105 tab. I was very annoyed by this because I thought 1) great, this group is that type of clientele 2) annoying that they are generous enough to buy a round for their friends but won’t tip their server & 3) most importantly, I have to tip out 3% of my liquor sales. So I went up to her and said “listen, I don’t care if you tip me or not but I need your signature,” handed her the book again and went on with my night. When I grabbed it again awhile later, to my surprise, she tipped me $20.
Sorry, overly long story and I know it’s not that exciting but damn it felt good to call that out for ONCE. I’d really like to hear your experiences and how you handled them/stuck up for yourself for once as well.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/r9bu6b/what_is_something_you_have_saiddone_to_a_nolow/
| 198
| 73
| 1,638,695,269
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
18obk4a
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Transfer: crazy couple
|
Got to work today, was transfered a "weird table" from the bartender.
The couple looks innocent enough, but definitely strange.
Explaining to them that I'm taking over, I reach over to grab a empty beer glass and the man states "oh no! do you remember how you learned in school that matter is neither created or destroyed? There's a good 2-3 drops of beer that have formed from the gas bubbles you introduced to my beer, I'll be keeping that glass"
....
We continue on with *fun* antidotes about science and beer throughout the next hour.
I'm giving my usual 95% at work, fully expecting this to be a 3% tip on a $50 tab.
NOPE
$20 tip, and a $2 bill (yay special)
I'm ecstatic, since all signs pointed to them being awful tippers when then...
The guy asks if he can tell a joke to the bartenders.
.... sure, but let me hear it first .
Guy proceeds to tell some asinine reindeer joke and I choke out a laugh. He then proceeds to go to the bar, and stand on a chair AND SCREAMS THE JOKE AT OUR REGULARS.
Nobody laughs, he yells out "people don't understand jokes these days" and leaves.
The rest of my tables are uncomfortable, I'm trying to hide doing silverware, how was your Thursday??
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/18obk4a/transfer_crazy_couple/
| 227
| 14
| 1,703,239,419
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
2ita80
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
8% tip?!? I'll fix that for you!
|
So last night was a pretty quiet night. I had the big round table, with a reservation for 8 people at 7pm. Five people arrived right on time, asked me to recommend some beers and appys for them as they were visiting for Slovenia and Switzerland. About 15 minutes later, two Canadian (local) guys show up. Turns out it was a nice drinky business dinner.
Everyone is ridiculously happy with the food and drinks I picked for them and after a few hours ask for the cheque. I think it was $580 altogether. One of the Swiss guys insists on paying. Automatically I say a little prayer and hope for the best (as Europeans aren't prone to being huge tippers as its not generally part of their culture). I hand him the credit machine, he does his thing and I give him his copy. $40 tip. Yuck. Oh well. I thank them, tell them to enjoy your visit and walk off.
As I'm standing by the server stand, one of the Canadians walks up to me.
Him: Quick question? These guys are Europeans... I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of properly. I used to work in the service industry, I know it can be hit or miss sometimes.
I'm not one to really discuss others tips... don't want to embarrass anyone so I tell him not to worry, it was fine.
Him: Can I see the slip?
Me: Again, its all good! It was a pleasure to serve you guys.
Him: Sighs... just show me the slip. You went above and beyond tonight. Hell, you looked up Slovakian phrases to say to these people. Its more than I've done for them! (I have a weird thing with other languages so I like to try and pick up little phrases here or there to say to a table when they're visiting)
I relent and pass him the slip.
Him: That's like 8%! Don't worry, I've got you covered. I'll look for you on the way out.
Five minutes later they're up and about to go out the door. He walks up, shakes my hand and thanks me again for the good service while discreetly sliding money into the shake. I put it in my pocket and out they go. Pull it out of my pocket... five 20's. $100 extra! So basically this guy is my customer superhero. I call him TipMan!
**TLDR - Guys business associates give me an 8% tip (which they assumed was good). He slides me $100 cash as they're leaving. Thank you TipMan!**
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/2ita80/8_tip_ill_fix_that_for_you/
| 391
| 62
| 1,412,902,388
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
zwpglz
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
does anyone else round up when tipping?
|
I tend to round up when I go out. And this is mostly at establishments where I know the workers are paid tipped wages. So I do things like less than <$20 I'll round up to $5, or between $25-$50 I'll round up to $10, $50-$75 round up to $15, and $75-100 I'll round up to $20 so on and so forth, if the service is really good. Otherwise, I stick to 20% and maybe will do less if the service is just that bad, but I don't know if I've ever really tipped less than 10% because I don't think I've had a server that was "bad", just busy and overwhelmed. If there's an issue especially, I'll stick to my round up rule if they handled it well or it seems like their boss is giving them a hard time.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/zwpglz/does_anyone_else_round_up_when_tipping/
| 30
| 19
| 1,672,173,468
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
pdha7l
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Took some good advice from some of you!
|
And sweetly called out a chronic non tipper.
The approach was suggested on here a few times over the years and I finally got to execute it.
STORY:
Two girls come once every other week or so and order the max items we allow for two(we had to cap it because it got crazy it use to be over $130 worth of food) which is still a large amount of food (8 items) totalling 90 plus dollars.
Never. Ever. Tip. Not even a dollar. Always pretty unfriendly and got really rude when we first told them we had to limit what they could order.
Today. Same. We loose 2 customers because they don't want to wait.
When I hand them their food. One girl comes up. In my cheeriest voice say
Me: "Hey, just wanted to ask you a quick question. You obviously love our food and come here often, we work hard to get you your food quickly and with a smile but I've noticed you never tip us. I was wondering if there was something we could do better for you"
Girl 1: "oh I didn't sign the thing, I didn't know she didn't tip you. I think she didn't tip you because last time you forgot something"
This is BS and I'm 100000% sure I have never forgot an item in their order.
Me "oh, I'm sorry about that but you come often and she has never tipped me"
Girl 1 "oh. Uh. I don't know. I'll have to ask her"
Me "yeah, no worries we just work really hard and want to be sure our customers are happy!"
Girl one leaves with food. Goes and tells Girl 2. Girl 2 and I have the following exchange.
Girl 2 " hi, my friend said you have a question about service or something? "
I repeat the line I gave her friend about not tipping and wanting to be sure we weren't doing something wrong Ect..
Girl 2 "oh no! We love you guys! I totally want to tip you, I just never have cash and I never saw a tip option on the signature screen"
This is also BS but I didn't call her on it.
Me "ohhhh that makes so much sense! Totally get it! Thank you for coming to talk to us and letting us know!"
Any way. I would be surprised if she doesn't tip next time. If there is a next time... but this worked great because I was able to do it so it came off not aggressive but it solved the issue. Thanks guys!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/pdha7l/took_some_good_advice_from_some_of_you/
| 62
| 26
| 1,630,182,518
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
6fylqv
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"It's your 21st birthday, I know you need that paper! So go get another job!"
|
Long time reader, first time poster. I've been a server for just over three years now and of course I've got a lot of stories I'd love to post here, but I think I'll start with one of my most recent horrible customers.
To preface, this all went down during a dinner shift the night before my 21st birthday. I was first phase, which meant I would normally be able to get out around 9pm on a Tuesday, allowing me plenty of time to get ready to hit the bars at the strike of midnight. But unfortunately it was graduation week for our college town, so I knew I'd be there later. I had just finished up an eight top grad party and was already pissed off because they tipped me about 5% on a $300 check. Nevertheless I am great at my job so I didn't let it effect me when I was sat with a two top after they finally left.
Now, they seemed nice. The woman was chatty, gave me a laugh when I ID'd her for alcohol (company policy, she was in her 40's), I joke about how I can't wait to get carded as it's my 21st birthday, and told me how she and her husband were celebrating their anniversary. I wished them a congratulations, took their drink orders, cracked some jokes, etc. Considering I was phased almost immediately after them being seated, I didn't really mind that every time I stopped by their table she tried to talk my ear off. It's kinda nice to be able to talk with customers, plus it usually bumps your tip up anyways.
So after listening to her talk for a solid ten minutes, I finally get her order. Two appetizers, three entrees, one to go. No problem. I put them all in and get a start on my side work. Five minutes later I run back to grab her appetizers. As I'm bringing them to the table, she gets this look of confusion on her face.
"Oh, didn't I say we needed them to go?"
Nope. But not a problem ma'am, I'm happy to do it! I ask if she wants all of her entrees to go as well and she says yes, so I do that as well and bring them out when they're ready, along with the check.
This is where shit (slowly) hits the fan.
Five minutes pass. Ten minutes pass. Twenty whole fucking minutes pass and she has not even looked at the check. They're literally just sitting there, piles of to go food and desserts sitting on the floor next to their tiny booths, slowly sipping away at their overpriced drinks. I go and check on them, ask if she's ready for me to take the bill.
"No. I will come get you when I am ready," she says, glaring at me.
Ok.
Cool.
So now it's about 10:45pm and I could have left about half an hour ago. I finished my side work, wiped down my other tables and booths, tipped out (we do them based on sales not on tips), and am now just standing around in the back helping run food to the very few tables that are still there. I stand by the POS near my tables with a bunch of other servers, shooting the shit and talking about how most of us got royally fucked by shitty tippers that night, just waiting for the restaurant to close so we can all go home.
Eventually it hits 11pm, closing time for our restaurant. The lights get a little brighter, the music dies down, and it's clearly obvious that we're closed. She *finally* reaches for her massive purse and starts digging around for her wallet.
Then it happens.
11:05pm.
She flags me over and says she's ready to pay.
I breathe a sigh of relief, run her payment as quickly as possible, resign myself to a shitty tip because they camped for almost two hours with only two drinks and a bunch of to go food, and walk back over to get her signature.
"You know, I couldn't help eavesdropping, but working as a waitress isn't good money. You should really try to find a job at [location 1] or [location 2], they're always hiring! I know one of my friends worked there and..." continues talking for five minutes before I can even say anything.
"Yeah, sometimes it sucks, especially when people don't tip, but I love my job!"
"Oh girl, but it's your 21st birthday, I know you need that paper! So go get another job! Don't waste your time here you need real money!"
She flashed me a big smile, signed her check, and handed it back to me.
And on the tip line? A big fat zero. On a $150 check.
I didn't even say anything. I processed the payment. Printed out my reports. Angry smoked a cigarette or three. Dropped my cash. And by the time I left it was 11:45pm. I headed to the nearest bar where I met up with some coworkers and proceeded to get absolutely smashed off of free drinks.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/6fylqv/its_your_21st_birthday_i_know_you_need_that_paper/
| 271
| 13
| 1,496,894,364
| 14
|
good tipper
|
relevance
|
ozc2gy
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't necessarily think more expensive menu = more money in your pocket.
|
Obviously a higher cheque average will probably average you more tips, but hear me out. I've worked at 3 restaurants now and the first, which was a great fit for me, was more "polished-casual" and was right next to a busy movie theater, with a 1% tipout that got doubled to 2%. Many people there encouraged me to try working at somewhere wish a more upscale, expensive menu, but the next one I served at (casual fine dining) had a pricier menu and cooler food, but had a 6% tipout and way less consistent business, and the demographic there tipped a lot less. I went from 21-20% average tips to about 17%, and $30-50 an hour down to $25, even on the busy days. Also the casual-fine dining place was a lot more work with all the extra table settings, utensils, and drink tasters we had to bring and other, extra ways of presenting water for example.
I think if I had to do it over again I would just stick with wherever seems easy enough, but respectable, and a good culture fit, as long as the tipout% is reasonable. At the very least I would have asked more questions about tipout, tippers, and how busy the place is during my interview.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ozc2gy/correct_me_if_im_wrong_but_i_dont_necessarily/
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good tipper
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hot
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ebp0ax
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TalesFromYourServer
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Newspaper Recommends 20-30% Tips!
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Never been a server myself (too busy being a newspaper deliverer, security guard, and convenience store clerk), but I enjoy the subreddit. I did not see it discussed here, so I thought I'd share a recent column by David Brooks of the *New York Times* ([The Tipping System is Immoral: You Should still Generally Leave 30%](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/opinion/tipping.html)). He thinks ideally servers would be paid a living hourly wage, but given that tipping is not going away in the U.S., he recommends that diners tip 30% on meals under $25, and 20% on meals over. He also notes, I am sorry to report, that there is discrimination in the tips received by servers. If I were a server, I'd make some copies of the column and hand them out to people who stiffed me! Seriously, he makes a good case, so I'm now a 20-30% tipper. I hope your tips have been going up.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ebp0ax/newspaper_recommends_2030_tips/
| 1
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| 1,576,547,741
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good tipper
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hot
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aihz91
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TalesFromYourServer
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Fired for being gay. A little petty revenge.
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So I’ve been wanting to share this story for a while now. I’ve mentioned it in passing comments a few times in the past. But I was reflecting on things today, and I was reminded. This happened ~10-12 years ago.
Also, this is in no way meant to be a political post or statement in any way. So if you have come here for a debate or have issues with gay people, then I suggest you move along.
This is going to be very very long. Like all my posts. Scroll to the end for the TL;DR.
A buddy of mine snagged me a job working as a server at this little brewery that serves burgers and stuff. I was excited to work there, because I had been a patron for many years, I already lived and worked in the neighborhood, and I knew several of the people that worked there.
Now the owner. He was/is a well known restauranteur and class A narcissist d’bag. I didn’t really associate with him as a patron. He was rather obnoxious. But people seemed to like working for him, and from what I’d heard, he treated them fairly well. Most of them, anyways. We will call him *”Jon”*
Also, within a few days, there was a huge red flag. A couple of the servers came up to me and told me not to let Jon know that I was gay, or he would find a way to fire me. He didn’t care about gay women, but he was hardcore catholic and repressed. So gay men made him uncomfortable so he would always find some way to fire them. Okaaaay. Good to know.
So I knew this going in. I needed the money desperately, so I took the plunge and the job. Besides, I’m not flamboyant or really telling, so I figured I would be good. Even though he would regularly sit at the bar with his buddies and loudly exclaim his sexist and homophobic opinions.
The servers there were mostly young college girls and a couple guys. The brewers were all middle aged men. Pretty typical. Not everyone was nice as I had come to find out. There was a lot of drama and gossip and overall negative things servers typically do. Shark tables, talk shit, act all egotistical. All that jazz. Not my ideal place for moral. But like I said, I was almost homeless, I desperately needed the money. Also free beer.
So this place is pretty hoppin’ on the weekends, especially when the local sports team is playing. For home games, they have a little pre-game special and run a party bus shuttle to the local arena for games. People usually grab a burger and beer to go and enjoy it on the bus on the way to the arena.
This was my first time working a home game weekend.
So I had the lunch shift on game day. It had been a good day. The usual crowd of tourists for most of the day, a few regulars, and by the late afternoon, the sports fans start to arrive.
My mod, a short white chick with dreadlocks. You know that meme with the “triggered” hippie chick? Yeah,pretty much her. I’d known her for a while before I worked here. She has been there since forever and that place is her **whole life**! Anyways, she walks up, we’ll call her *”Granola”*. Her personality is bubbly, but very disingenuous. Perfect restaurant manager material.
So Granola walks up and asks me if I wanna make a little extra money, since my section was clear they wanted it to seat an 8top and the next server wasn’t in yet. I was in a good mood. I said, sure. Big mistake.
Like most restaurants, we have a policy of not seating incomplete parties. For whatever reason. This didn’t happen this time.
In comes a gentlemen in his late 50s and his two college age sons. Ready and excited for game day. I put on my best smile, hoist up my shoulders and get ready to stumble my way through sports talk. Yay. I feel so butch.
So the dad is a nice guy. His oldest son, very nice. His youngest? Nope. Typical jacked bro dawg. He is already red faced and looking a little toasty.
The dad tells me he is paying and they are expecting more people. As he says this, another guy in the party walks in. We now have 4 out of 8. The dad explains, the hostess let them come in and they know what they want and are ready to order. The older son is on the phone with the other 4 guests, who are en route, to get their order. He apologizes and tells me that classic pickup line “Don’t worry. We’re good tippers.” Oh man, how can I resist that charm?
I offer them a few beers, check id, and we’re off.
At this point, I let Granola know what’s going on. She is mod, and she is on expo. Gee, we really must be short staffed. She rarely leaves the space between the bar and hostess stand. You’d think that desert case would fall apart if she wasn’t leaning on it. But I digress, She tells me to give her the order when I get it and she will put it up. Okay. Sounds good.
So I get the party the beers, and start taking orders. They get some starters, the dad tells me to put those in, they are still on the phone with the rest of the party. Sure thing, and off I go.
At this point, it’s been a good ten minutes. They are still not ready to order. Still coordinating with the other four, who now seem to be lost. They order some more beers. Still chill.
Now we’re getting close to 30mins. The party finally orders. I put the order in. The other four, still no where to be seen.
So finally about fifteen minutes later, the other four guys show up. I seat them with the party and grab them some beers. I let them know they are just in time, the burgers should be out soon.
The tests determined *that* was a lie.
After a while of waiting for my order and a few back and forths with the party, I check in with Granola at expo. She informs me that they are swamped, she’s struggling and that the order is working. I remind her it’s coming up on almost 45mins since the order went in. That the bus is leaving in another hour or so and my party is eating in. They got here early specifically to eat.
So Granola retorts that it hasn’t been 45 mins, it’s only been 15. She put the order in when the **rest of the party arrived**.
I confirm. “You mean the four guys that *just* walked in?!”
“Yes, it’s the policy, not to serve incomplete parties.” She says smugly.
So aside from the fact that her interpretation of the policy is technically correct, it wasn’t in this instance. The father told the hostess and myself and I told Granola that they wanted their food right away and the other four guys were fine. I should mention, that of those four, only two of them were eating.
So I am now feeling that burning sensation on the sides of my head. I remind myself that this is the end of my shift and it’s been a good day. I’m somehow able to suppress my rage.
I immediately let the dad know what is going on. I offer him a few beers and some chips and quell their fury to buy some time. The dad was a peach. This is however, the point where his youngest son plays his role in our sordid tale. We’ll call him *”Chunky Larry”*
So Chunky Larry’s drunk ass decides that his contribution will be to drunken scream and babble about his impression of the establishment and its service. Enjoy frivolous use of homophobic epithets.
I’ve got to now get Granola involved. She is less than happy to be pulled from expo, but she can’t resist a chance to kiss customer ass. She sweetly lets them know she is sorry for the miscommunication, takes responsibility, and offers to box their meals Togo and she will comp some beers and have me bring them their food when it’s ready. On the bus. Where they can be loud and drunk all they want. Good job Granola.
Dad asks me for the bill, I oblige, he signs, with tip, $20. Good tipper? Sure whatever. He thanks me against, apologizes for his son, rounds up his drunken brood and herds them to the bus. Bullet dodged.
Unfortunately, the wait is a little longer than usual. We are very busy. All the servers are fully sat and swamped. I’m still on the clock. Standing by the hostess station. Staring at the expo line. Tapping my foot. Did I mention I’m 3 hours last the end of my actual shift and I haven’t eaten all day.
Finally, the line Chef puts a neat little row of eight plates, followed by eight little tufts of lettuce. That’s my cue.
I hop over to Granola, and remind her that the order is to go. She shoos me off. The chef continues to fill the plates for dine in. Now I’m getting impatient. Granola isn’t getting to go stuff. Maybe I should help. Servers are no where in sight and she’s not a good expo.
I kick into gear and go to grab some clamshells and bags and stock them up on the end of the line in preparation. I ask Granola if I can help to box these up to go. My party is *still* waiting. She barks at me that she still needs to check all the phone and to get away from the line.
It’s apparent that she is wasting my time, the chefs times (and line space) as well as the guest’s time and hers by doing the extra step of waiting for him to plate (and garnish) 8 burgers, which are supposed to be to go, which is an entirely different presentation. Okay fine. Whatever. I’m not tempting fate. I go back to the hostess stand. Where dad is now standing with Chunky Larry. Here we go again.
Dad is visibly upset, and understandably so. I go up and calmly explain everything. That food is being boxed up as we speak (we both turn to see frustrated Granola arguing with an irritated line chef who is yanking plates of the line and angrily slamming lettuce *into* burgers.) and I will personally bring it out in two minutes. He thanks me for my hard work and gives me a $20 to go with the $20 he tipped me on the card. He turns and leaves with Chunky Larry.
But Chunky Larry doesn’t leave. He does an about face on the patio and comes right back in. Without daddy watching, his toxic masculinity is unleashed. He immediately gets in my face and demands their food. Pitching a fit and saying how I’m rude and a shitty server blah blah blah. How they have never been treated this way, how upset his dad is, how special sports are and how much he likes watching sweaty men play with balls. (Okay, he didn’t say that last part, just making sure you’re still paying attention!)
I’m dumbfounded, not really reacting. I can’t react, he is inches from my face. I can smell shitty craft beer and the stench of fries cooked in week old oil.
Suddenly Granola’s face appears to my right. Chunky Larry turns his ire to her and continues his tirade. She looks at me and pulls me aside, I try to explain to her that the father is fine and knows the food is coming out. This guy has been drunk and belligerent all night , I have no idea what his deal is. She shushes me and turns me around by my shoulders and pushes me away.
She gets Chunky Larry to go away. Food bags in hand.
She comes back to me, I’m now clocking out.
Her usual smile switches off like a lightswitch. She starts laying into about being by the line and how I shouldn’t be rude to customers and how angry that guy was.
She tells me that I am suspended until I can talk to Jon. That I don’t have the right attitude.
I’m completely at a loss for words. I’ve never had a guest complaint. Ever. Every gets along with me. The owner’s wife was really nice to me and she hates everyone. I’ve been nothing by professional and courteous the entire month I’ve been here. I even had positive reviews online where people mentioned me specifically.
I try my best to defend myself and remind her the father was paying, he was happy in the end and even tipped me extra. If I was rude or horrible, why would he do that? Why would she believe the drunken son. She knew he was drunk and she knows how I am with guests.
She tells me it doesn’t matter, that she comped and refunded the entire meal, tip included. That I need to surrender my $20 and put it in tip pool. Which is not even a thing here. She chastises me again and now her issue is that I was on the line and claims I was insubordinate to her and challenging her skills because I offered to help her. Somehow that was offensive to her as a female. I have never seen her act this way, even with other servers. I didn’t know what else to say. Her mind was made and clearly she saw or heard something I didn’t have any clue about.
Two days later, i meet with Jon. He asks for my side of the story. He tells me that he understands my POV, but doesn’t agree. He is going with Granola’s interpretation of the events. He tells me that I’m a good server, but that I make people “uncomfortable” and that I’m not a fit for their “culture” or their guests.
So now that I’m fired, I ask him point blank what he means by uncomfortable. He rambles about mannerisms and some other bullshit and ends with this is a “family friendly” establishment. Dog whistle much?
Okay. So now it’s family friendly to drunkenly yell “faggots” at the bar with your buddies in the middle of a crowded dining room?
That just last week the father of an underage guest accused a brewer of hitting on his daughter, the brewer told him to “fuck off”, and proceeded to get wasted in the event room. He is not fired.
He berates me for even daring accuse him of any impropriety. That we are an at will state and he can fire me for whatever he wants. That if I think he fired me cause I’m a “homo” then that’s “my problem” and it’s “his business” and “I can hire and fire who I want, when I want.”
Well...it was my problem. Because I lost my job, I lost my apartment. Luckily, my buddy let me crash at his place. His building, incidentally, is adjacent to this particular establishment.
Now I’m sure many of you, dear readers, would assume this to be salt in the wound. A twisted reminder of my ruin. On the contrary, dear reader. I submit to you, the perfect opportunity for petty revenge.
So a few weeks later our local sports team is headed to the final playoffs. The big game for all the marbles. Another championship title win for our fair city. Oh joy! What fun! All the bars and restaurants in town are ready to reep in the big bucks.
It’s the night before the big game. Late at night. I sneak out of my buddy’s place and up to the roof. There’s a nice garden up there. Good view of downtown, and, the restaurant next door. I sneak over the ledge and drop down to the restaurant roof. The only sound is traffic and the gentle hum of an exhaust fan. An exhaust fan connected to a walk in inside the restaurant of a dbag named Jon.
I quietly and quickly pull a length of quarter inch dog chain out of my jacket. I nimbly slide the end of the chain between the wires of the exhaust fan cover. I let hold the chain above the fan. Once quick look around. I let go.
I’m up over the ledge as swiftly as a squirrel as the crunch of metals rings out over the parking lot. I hear the strains of mechanics and the pop and sizzle of electronics. It’s now quite enough to finally get some sleep.
The next morning I look out my window is to see a repair van in the parking lot and a puzzled Jon standing on the roof of his restaurant staring at the exhaust fan. A repairman shaking his head.
Let’s just say I didn’t have to fight much traffic on my way to watch the playoffs that weekend. The city made lots of money that weekend. Bars and restaurants packed with tourists and sports fans. People making bank. But not old Jon. Nope. But that’s his problem.
Thanks for reading my sordid tale.
As a little addendum. I should say, that no good servers were harmed for my act of petty revenge. The ones working that weekend were just as mean and fake as dear old Jon. The ones that did suffer a bit bounced back fine and are not even there anymore. I was a dumb young punk, probably would never do something like that again.
The brewer ended up going to jail and coincidentally is now a registered sex offender. Years later he was a line cook at another restaurant I got hired at. I happened to mention his status to a manager. Turns out he didn’t disclose that little tidbit to them. Oh well.
Jon never did find out how his restaurant got sabotaged on one of the busiest weekends of the year. I’d heard he blamed someone else entirely. I don’t really care. I had my petty revenge and it felt good. Jon is still a total d*bag. Better breweries and restaurant combos opened up,in subsequent years, and Jon’s rat invested restaurant is now old news.
Thanks for reading. Bye now.
TL;DR: was warned my boss would gay people, he did it to me and admitted it. I got revenge by getting his restaurant shut down during the playoffs.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/aihz91/fired_for_being_gay_a_little_petty_revenge/
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good tipper
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hot
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61bh45
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TalesFromYourServer
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A host who's tired of being bullied, harassed, talked down to, and yelled at by servers
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I've got too many stories to even tell here, but I walked home crying because I'm just sick and tired of it. I'm a good host, the best that they have, with two raises, a training position, and the best shifts under my belt. In two years I've never been late, never called out, and am currently the most senior of our hosting staff. I enjoy my job and most of my coworkers, but I'm seriously considering finding a new job.
I'm tired of servers belittling me and treating me like I'm beneath them because I'm a host. I'm tired of them telling me that because they tip me out (1% of sales, which after taxes is usually about two dollars per server per day) I'd better buss all of their tables or that I'm not wiping them fast enough. I'm tired of servers trying to tell me that I don't do the rotation right, when I'm the only one the managers trust to run the rotation chart on a busy night. I'm tired of servers coming up to yell at me because "all" of their tables have been shitty tippers and it's my fault.
So if you've got a good host, go hug them. Because I've played nice so far, I'm an adult and I don't play childish drama games, but I've about reached my tipping point. I don't care if you're a host, server, dishwasher, cook--whatever you do, you'd better treat all of your coworkers with the respect they deserve.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/61bh45/a_host_whos_tired_of_being_bullied_harassed/
| 93
| 17
| 1,490,387,600
| 14
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good tipper
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top
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zcytj4
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TalesFromYourServer
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tip from NOTORIOUS no tippers!
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ive been serving at a restaurant for close to a year now, today i had a table, greeted them as normal etc. a few of my coworkers came up to me saying how they’ve been coming in for a couple years and have NEVER tipped anyone not even a single cent. it was a super slow day so this bummed me out expecting to get nothing, especially since they were quite needy and pulled me away from other tables, but nonetheless very polite and kind people. they pay their bill and leave, bill was around $40 and though this is almost nothing, they tipped me $2 and it made my day, i hope they had a good experience :)
edit: spelling
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/zcytj4/tip_from_notorious_no_tippers/
| 447
| 149
| 1,670,220,553
| 14
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no tip
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relevance
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xarzpq
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TalesFromYourServer
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"Oh, she's just waiting for her online order!"
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So someone sat themselves in my patio section (not a big deal, we weren't terribly busy but they really should have seen our host to be seated). I was gonna head over to greet her when I'm told that she was actually here to pick up an online order. Again, no big deal. We weren't busy and sometimes customers who order online just sit at a table while they wait. I go out to check on her and she lets me know she already ordered and she wants me to bring it out to her when it's finished. Also, she'd like a water and a margarita. I grudgingly ring in her marg and bring it out to her and she tells me that she'll be enjoying her meal on the patio. "I know that's gotta mess you up, sorry!" I grit my teeth and keep my server smile on because I know my MOD won't have my back on a confrontation with her. She gets her food, she drinks her margarita, she hangs out for like an hour and then she goes. But here's the kicker: she tipped 10% on her online order, which I won't see a penny of since online order tips go to the bar. She tipped 20% on the margarita though, which was nice. Except for the fact that 6% of my total alcohol sales go to the bar, so I actually only made 14%. She got a meal, a margarita, and took up space in my section for over an hour and tipped less than $5 between the two orders. I made just about $1 serving her.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/xarzpq/oh_shes_just_waiting_for_her_online_order/
| 1,523
| 234
| 1,662,823,349
| 14
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big tip
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relevance
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uvtnxh
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TalesFromYourServer
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To the non-servers commenting on this sub
|
I have been serving for 6 years and I like having this sub to rant on but for all that is good and holy stop commenting on things you know nothing about.
FIRST AND FOREMOST. Servers are people, they make mistakes, they forget things, and sometimes we’re run so ragged pulling overtime hours for shit pay. Did you know most of us make $2.15 an hour? So yes, anything under a 20% tip, most of us consider a “stiff”
SECOND. We do not get to keep all our tips. The place I work, management expects us to pay for others paychecks. That means our hosts, bussers, hell even our dishpit gets fucked. They make way less hourly because management wants our tips to go to them so they get to pay them less under that excuse. That being said, a big table comes in, $200+ and you leave 10-15%? You’re fucking me, my host, my busser, and my dishpit because the less money I make? The less they make. You think $20 is worth all the crap of the cooks trying to get your food out in a timely manner, causing that many dishes to pile up that the dish has to rush to turn around just so we can set the table for the next party, the busser scrambling to make the table look nice including a quick vacuum because your crotch goblins spilled food everywhere, and the host going out of their way to top off your drinks was worth it? $20 for four+ people isn’t considered a “stiff” to you?
And THIRD. People have to wait. Yes, things are getting better, but for the next three days I will be your only server for that time slot. If you all expect to just walk in and have a nice sit down meal IMMEDIATELY? You’re dead wrong. I’m busting my ass bringing 11 more ranch and running drinks to 53 and apps to 42 but fuck! 41’s order is up and I can’t let that sit in the window because it’ll go bad, but I also have to type in the order for 31 because they all ordered burgs done different temps and with different cheeses and sides and our system sucks so now I have to go tell the kitchen this person doesn’t want this on their burger because I don’t have an option to type that in. And I swear to god I am RUNNING trying to get everything out to people. So I’m sorry you just walked out instead of giving me those extra ten minutes.
I’m just sick of using this sub to rant and just get nasty comments from those of you who have no clue what it’s like to work in a restaurant. And I honestly have it pretty good compared to others I’ve seen post here. Or is it just me getting shit from people when I post and I should just figure out another way to let off some steam besides this sub?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/uvtnxh/to_the_nonservers_commenting_on_this_sub/
| 821
| 409
| 1,653,286,112
| 14
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big tip
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z8tkd5
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TalesFromYourServer
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i can’t even
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I work at a small local Italian restaurant. We mostly just have regulars but occasionally get new customers as well. There’s 10 tables and 4 seats at the bar, like I said, small. 2 servers at a time max. Tips are generally never an issue, at least 20% or more. Last night I get a table of 3 older women, 1 who happens to know the cook and asks me to get him so they can chat. I get their drinks, they ask for all sorts of random drinks we don’t generally serve but made anyways. They ask for extra bread and oil so I bring more than the usual. They ask for a refill on their extra bread & oil so I bring it. They get their salads and all 3 ask for extra dressings so I bring it. They get their meals and all ask for extra red sauce so I bring it. It turns out it was one of the ladies birthdays, so they want dessert. We’re not a place that makes a big deal for birthdays & sing etc. They order tiramisu and ask if we have any candles so I dug through the basement & found one. They proceed to ask me to sing with them although it’s again, not something we normally do. I do it anyways because the ladies are actually kind of cute although annoying af. They ask me to take their picture as well, so I do. I hear the birthday lady talking about how after dinner she’s going home to get in her indoor pool and relax after the big meal. The bill comes to $138 and some change. They want to pay $70 in card and $70 in cash. Sure. I bring them back the change & card, and one of the ladies hands me $5 and says “here’s a little extra for you”, I assumed there’d be a tip on the card portion as well. Nope. $5 for all of that. 😂😂😂
End rant
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/z8tkd5/i_cant_even/
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| 1,669,820,233
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1fjmccx
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TalesFromYourServer
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Got stiffed by a customer who asked for my name and schedule, said they'd request me next time
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Normally I don't care at all as long as they're nice. I'll be a little annoyed but not a big deal. However we've been dealing with slow season really badly at my location and every table counts. Not to mention our tip out is extremely high compared to other restaurants at 6% of total net sales, so I had to pay $6 out of my pocket to take care of that table lol. I normally never complain about tips but this one really ruined my night, especially knowing that he will come back to request for me.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fjmccx/got_stiffed_by_a_customer_who_asked_for_my_name/
| 234
| 113
| 1,726,641,042
| 14
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big tip
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hot
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1dnwngm
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TalesFromYourServer
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Quit my sketchy job - abusive manager reaction
|
UPDATE for anyone that was interested in the legality of the situation
I spoke with the fed DOL, and there are two violations here.
*tip-out and charging for mistakes are both not legal*
In order to tip share or require tip outs, all of the employees participating in the tip share need to make minimum wage. So servers need do be paid $7.25 an hour if they are sharing with their tips with hourly employees (we are paid $2.13)
It is illegal to charge for anything including walk outs, messed up food, mistakes, etc. they are referred to as Tip Credits. If you are paid 2.13, owe a tip credit, then your hourly rate paid by the restaurant will be less than minimum wage. Tips do not count towards this policy. Making a tip employee pay out of pocket is illegal.
The DOL will be investigating and the restaurant may be required to pay back all tip outs. I estimate this will be over $300k, since there are a dozen servers and we generally tip out around $100.
Hope this is helpful in understanding the law.
Thank you for all the comments
———————-
1 was asked to pay for the remainder of a bill that didn’t get rung in by mistake. It was $63. We are forced to pay for ALL mistakes even if it is partially managements fault, kitchen etc.
I tip out a ridiculous 30% or more of my tips every shift, so I was annoyed to have to give back basically all my tips for the shift since I’m already paying half the employees salary..
The weird thing is they want you to hand them cash without ringing in the items. Not the price with tax added, no receipt, just cash. I told him I didn’t have enough cash, I asked if I could charge my card. I was told to send to the managers personal cash app…. I then questioned why it wasn’t going to be rung in, since it was supposed to be compensating for items that weren’t paid for. I said I wouldn’t pay without a receipt, so I quit and walked out. I had already done my checkout, so I only had my $40 cash tips on me, none of the restaurants money.
I was CHASED out to my car by the out of control screaming male GM (22 year old buff aggressive guy with too much power clearly). I’m a female, full on panic attack, terrified, shaking, and felt like I was going to be physically attacked. It is 11pm, pitch black, no one around. He continued to scream and cuss me out demanding money. I tried to get in my car and he screamed at me still saying I’m not allowed to leave, don’t touch your car, demanding I take off all my shit and give the uniform back. I threw my apron on the ground. Clearly I’m not going to strip off my clothes… Then was screamed at to get off HIS property (which is a public parking lot in a shopping center. He’s also a GM not the owner of shit 🙄)
I was terrified and I’m still shaking. Has anyone else been abused this way? Can someone just tell me how big of a piece of shit this guy is to make me feel better? 😂
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1dnwngm/quit_my_sketchy_job_abusive_manager_reaction/
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1cp4l88
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TalesFromYourServer
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The strangest bar guest tipped me the most for almost nothing.
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I volunteered to bartend at a different location of our company, solely cuz I was off today and figured why not (I’m mainly a server but I want to gain more experience). The day was relatively normal and nothing crazy, aside from humiliating myself by splashing a white tea shot all over my face lmao, but anyways.
This random little dude sits at the bar and orders peach high noon and an underrated pizza I convinced him to try. He raves about me to my manager, he loves the pizza, service, so dope.
Two high noons in, he tells me to guess a theme song he’s about to sing. Ignoring the inner cringe, I said, “sing it, dude.” I knew it was Full House, a show I vaguely knew, but I was actually more familiar with the tie in novels they released back in the 90s because I was more of a reader than a watcher back then anyway. This guest was over the moon and started a rapid fire trivia on Full House while I’m cleaning dishes. So bizarre, but I guessed most of them right (to my astonishment, I’m not a big fan by any means lmao) and he tips me 100% on a 50 dollar bill. Also asked my manager how much money he would have to pay to get me to take a shot with him and her unamused face was hilarious. Hope everyone had a great day 😂
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1cp4l88/the_strangest_bar_guest_tipped_me_the_most_for/
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1cebuoj
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TalesFromYourServer
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Should I quit this new server job? Tell me if its just me, or this place sucks.
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I started working at a pretty nice Italian place. I worked at a steakhouse/seafood restaurant for over a decade in the past (managed).
Within the first few weeks working there I noticed a lot of signs that the owners are cheap as hell penny pinchers.
1. On my nightly checkout/reports I noticed a few dollars was taken out of my tips every night for a mysterious charge (they already take out 5% of the rongout nightly for tip pool). After a few nights I asked another server and she said "that's what we pay to use the computers". I was confused and asked what she meant. She said "the POS system costs money every month to use and that's how they pay for it. They take some of our tips every night". My response was "are you serious?". She didn't even seem to find it odd. Another example, they dont give utensils or napkins with to-go orders. They say its to cut back on costs. They set about 4 of those cheap restaurant rags around at the side stations for cleaning. If you need a new one, you have to go to the office and ask. its to cut back on paying CINTAS to clean them.
2. Last week they implemented a new policy about requesting time off. You can't request a day or two days off. You can only request three or more days off. If you want just one or two days off, you have to wait for the next week's schedule to come out and ask someone to cover your shift for you (which is almost impossible because they're opened tues-sat and almost every works 5 days a week) . If you can't find anyone, you can't get the day off. I was a manager for over a decade and it's clear to me that they're just trying to get people to not request days off, or they're just too lazy or incompetent to write a schedule. I did it for years and managed to schedule people accordingly. The management said they are doing it because they have too many request off slips and it's hard to keep track of.
3. Worst of all, the owner. He's an old Peruvian guy who's balding on top and has a pony tail. He's notorious in town for being a pervert. He had to sign the business over to his wife (who's like 30 years younger than him) because he had so many sexual harassment lawsuits that it was more financially viable for it to be in her name. He berates and insults us regularly. He has learned to pretty much leave me alone because when he does it to me I just basically look him in the eye to let him know that I'm not scared of him (which seems to work because he's just a bully).
For example, on my second week I was cutting bread, and he ran over yelling "NO NO NO you're cutting it too thick!!". I said "oh you want thinner slices. Ok". He said "no, not ok! I fire people who say ok!!". I just looked at him and said "thank you" and walked away. Like what the actual hell. He does stuff like this all of the time. Sometimes he can be kind of chill, but you never know when he will fly off the handle and be an ass.
4. Also the overall vibe of the employees seems a bit off to me, like they have a superiority complex. My family ran a restaurant for over 20 years, and it definitely wasn't as high class (think more red lobster-ish), but we had to close it down because Texas Roadhouse bought the lot it was on. We werent fancy per-sey, but we served wine, lobster, crab, prime rib etc. and were big in the community and well loved. On my first week at this place I was talking to a couple of the waitresses about it and they were straight up talking trash about my family's business right in front of me. They said "yeah I heard awful things about that place. I went and it was awful. Ive only ever heard awful things". I said "wow you talk a lot of shit for me standing right here". Another time I was talking to the kitchen manager about a meal she hosted for some big shot guests, and I made a joke about how I like to eat taco bell and she said "ok well this isn't taco bell and this isn't your family's restaurant. We do things different".
I'm a pretty laid back guy and I generally let things roll off my back. Plus I'm only working this job to earn money while I go back to school to get my degree, but the attitude and general atmosphere of the place does grate on me. I'm not crying every night or anything, but the thought of my next shift does cause me a small amount of anxiety because I feel like I'm entering a somewhat hostile work environment every shift. There are actually some really cool people there, but most of them are the younger bussers and hosts etc, plus the kitchen who barely speak English.
I'm thinking of quitting for a better place though. The tips are alright but servers only get like 15-20 hours a week, so every two weeks check is only like 1500 dollars or less (you get credit card tips on your paycheck.
Would you put up with this kind of shit at a restaurant?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1cebuoj/should_i_quit_this_new_server_job_tell_me_if_its/
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17kaoxd
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TalesFromYourServer
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A high-profile faux pas...
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There was a high-profile regular at my restaurant named Mr. Smithhisler.
He was the CEO of the biggest, most Catholic hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, and he loved to drink red wine. He would order the most expensive bottle of red wine on the menu every time he came in.
He tipped exactly 17.5% no matter what. If his bill times .175 equalled 75.684, he would tip $75.68.
He came in one Easter Sunday at about noon with three Catholic priests. I stood at the table, and he casually said to the priests, "Well, since we've already had some red wine today, how about we keep that going," and he looked up at me and charmingly gestured to his usual bottle on the menu.
One of the priests cleared his throat, and said sternly: "That was the blood of Christ."
I stood there awkwardly and made a big, dumb, frog face while Mr. Smithhisler backtracked desperately.
It was uncomfortable at the time, but now I look back and laugh my ass off.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/17kaoxd/a_highprofile_faux_pas/
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16sru2s
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TalesFromYourServer
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Literally WTF happened?!?
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Warning Long Post: starts wild and gets crazy.
So… I had the most insane experience I’ve ever had with a table. Now I’ve had awkward interactions, mean people, things go wrong, even a guy who overdosed but it still doesn’t compare to this girl yesterday. To preface I’m a pretty obviously gay man. I have a pride pin on my apron and my voice/mannerisms aren’t so much feminine as they just lack masculinity haha.
So I walk into work and get my first table. 2 nice older women and we get along great I get there food in and all is good. Then I get my second table on the patio. It’s a blond lady probably about 35 and a slightly older guy with her. She was wearing a shirt repping a bail bondsmen who’s sister used to work with us and her whole family are amazing people so I thought “oh they know —— they’ll be great” I was so wrong.
I asked if I could start them with anything other than water when she just starts going off. She starts saying she just divorced a (emphasis on) GAY man (she repeated that about 12 times) and I (as a gay man) had no idea how to respond so I was just like “wow that crazy” trying to change the topic. But then she proceeds to tell me about her friend who’s husband is a Furry with a carebear buttplug and paints his dick rainbow. She also went off about how he’s Mexican and she got to “steal his cool last name”. After 10 minutes I finally find a moment to run away. I get inside check on my other table and fill in my coworkers on wtf just happened and they tell me to “sacrifice the tip” and just get in and out lol but that didn’t really work out as planned.
I go back out with their drinks to take their food order. She then says “I like literally everything and never take anything Togo because I eat so much so what do you recommend” she listed 5 or so things and asked what the best is. I gave her my top 3 and then she decided to spin off into another rant. She then started talking about how much she hates this city and the men here. She even started screaming that she hates it here and yelling at pedestrians that she went to the snoop concert with our mayor. THEN she told me “a BIG BLACK MAN slapped me across the face the other day” and she then repeated multiple time “a BIG BLACK MAN LIKE A BLACK GUY” and I was extremely uncomfortable at this point. But she didn’t stop there. She then said she retaliated by calling him the hard R (which she repeated to me several times) and kicked him in the shins. She THEN said it all got her really horny and turned on to call him that. Bitch what?!?!? She also kept ranting about how cheeseburgers make her horny and how she’s a sag with a vag and how all her friends are either Libras, Cancers, or Pisces’s and that she’s a clairvoyant and can talk to her dead mom through monarch’s because she was born on a total lunar eclipse. She also popped her leg up onto the table and shows me her ankle monitor. Just to show it. No story. That’s when (thankfully) my coworker sent out a host to save me and ask for me back inside. I said I’d be there soon and went to take their food order. The lady then said “if you get yelled at just tell your boss you went to college with my cousin Kelsey and she’s a slut!” To which I responded “ok and what can I get you to eat” lmao she ordered 2 meals.
By this time I haven’t been with my other table in 20+ mins and I had been sat with an 8 top. While trying to take care of them this outside table gets their food. Once I’m done with the other tables I went back outside to check on them.
She told me she didn’t like the first meal so she gave it to a homeless man and then she said she needed a box because she was so full from the 2 bites she took of her food (after saying she loves everything and never takes leftovers lol) I quickly cashed them out and got Tf out of there.
When I was leaving she said “make sure you don’t marry a gay guy” and then they sat there another hour and only tipped 10%. Because of this whole debacle my first table stiffed me and my party only tipped 15% on $200 which I don’t necessarily blame them because I did make mistakes and take a while but it was still very upsetting that I couldn’t give my best service because of this psycho lady that just simply would not shut up. I just had to get this all out in the open somewhere lol thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far.
Tl;dr-I’m a gay server that had a psycho homophobic, racist, and crazy lady at my table that wouldn’t shut up and continued to say slurs and yell at pedestrians while I served them.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/16sru2s/literally_wtf_happened/
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87e4w1
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TalesFromYourServer
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"In 7 years, I've never seen this happen"
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On mobile, first time posting here, formatting, so on and so forth.
I work in a small, high end restaurant. A lot of the clientele are...well...a little entitled and sometimes very hard to please.
Let me preface this by admitting I am NOT the best waitress. Just being honest, I know my limits. I'm a fairly new server who was trained from the ground up. I get very overwhelmed, very quickly. If I limit my tables, I give excellent service.
This week I have a really busy week of doubles but today I only had to work lunch. On my way I prayed for an easy day seeing how the rest of the week is probably going to be very long, and prayed that if it was busy I could keep my cool.
This morning started off easy enough. The normal lunch crowd came in and I handled it well by myself (it's usually just me and a manager who will take tables if I need help).
Then a 12 top came in. And I definitely panicked internally, especially since I still had tables that were still waiting on food.
I called up to the office, and told my manager I might need help. She got their drinks and said, "eh you can take it."
I thought, "fuck, I hope so."
So after I start the apps and salads, and enter their lunch orders...my manager comes to me and tells me to get it together. She says if this table tips 20% it'll be $50. She says stay on top of them because one of the gentlemen was pouring their own tea from a pitcher I had placed nearby.
Fuck. I must have missed the drinks as I was rounding the rest of the dining room.
I stay on top of the table and they seem pleasant and pleased. I deliver the check and one by one they leave each other. I wait until the last one leaves and pick up the check.
Tip: 500.00
Um. What. No. Surely I am making a classic afterglow mistake. I check the total. Total:750.25.
No no no no no no no this is wrong and I'm having a typical afterglow moment.
But no. It very clearly reads Tip: 500.00.
I. Lost. My. Shit. I had to run to the bathroom and get it together.
When my manager comes down shortly after, she says, "oh no. What happened?"
I said,"well. Let me show you."
I go to grab my tip book and show her the receipt. Her eyes went wide and all she could say was,"no."
I just looked at her.
She joked, "fuck. I knew I should've taken that table. In 7 years I've NEVER seen this happen."
I'm blown away. And I'm feeling so blessed.
Best lunch shift ever.
Tldr: thought it was going to be a shitty day. Made a $500 tip. Shocked myself and my manager.
Edit: spelling
Edit2: it was definitely not my intention to paint my manager in a bad light. I think my wording is causing some misunderstandings. She was absolutely happy for me, and even called the big boss to brag on me.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/87e4w1/in_7_years_ive_never_seen_this_happen/
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p4nmdh
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TalesFromYourServer
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Karen screams at another table for “stealing hers” and forces them up.
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So I was scrolling on tiktok and found a story that reminded me of this gem when I was working this summer. At my restaurant we take 30 minute call aheads. Absolutely no reservations. If your in a large party you need the whole party to be sat, but we are lenient if it’s say a 13 top and 10 of the guests are there.
So Im working a double and I help at the host stand when I get bored during the slow hours. I remember answering this lady’s call ahead for her 11-13 top and it was only around 3:50 or so. I told her no problem we will put her name down. We have over half our tables outside and clearly 2 tables specific for larger parties. Only a few minutes go by and it’s a little after 4 when she comes in with her mother and I tell her she’s more than welcome to enjoy a drink at the bar while she waits for her party to arrive. They go to the bar and then seat themselves at one of the large party tables as their next to each other through our large open slider doors.
I go over and say the typical “I’m sorry ma’am but you cannot sit her until your entire party has arrived, it’s policy but your again welcome to sit at the bar.”
She laughs and says oh sorry and they move over. So far no big deal. During this time we start getting lots of calls for call aheads and we have happy hour so the guests start pouring in. I’m one of the servers that will have one of the large party tables in my section so it’s 50/50 I serve her. We end up getting multiple large parties coming in and it’s closer to 5 at this point and she still only has her mom and her at the bar. Our hosts go and seat one of the 2 large party tables a party of 8, for a different server.
As soon as other server, we will call J, goes over and is in the middle of her greet Karen decides to go over and SCREAM at them and J. Saying how dare she serve people at HER table and screaming at the guest they have to get up that it’s not their table and she has a reservation. These poor people actually get up and she immediately seats her and her mom there. J grabs our manager and she refuses to get up as her party members finally started to arrive. J refuses to serve this table and asked us to swap which I do cause I don’t mind difficult guests.
GM goes over and very plainly tells Karen what she did was wrong and probably spent 15 minutes going back and forth with her. In the end she agrees to pay for a full round of drinks for them. I go over immediately do my greet and get their drinks and app orders. GM hands me the bill for the round of drinks from the other parties table and I go over and hand her it. She immediately is red and fuming saying there’s no way a round of drinks for 8 adults costs $130 and states she will only pay $40 worth.
I just walk away and get GM and say she won’t pay the bill and I keep serving the rest of the guests. One of her friends pulls me aside to ask what is going on and I quickly explain and she’s horrified. Karen does this a lot apparently but promised no drama as it was a special occasion.
As I’m at the table talking to Karen’s friend she cusses out my manager and screams that how dare he force her to pay. My manager looks her in the eye and says “Its not my problem you forced other guests up from their table. You will pay this bill and then you will leave or I will call the authorities.”
Insert shocked pikachu face. She then demands her beverage and apps so I run over and grab it all Togo and bring it right back with her bill for her items. Her boyfriend ends up paying for the drinks and my manager stood next to her the entire time and said “don’t forget to tip 20% for your atrocious behavior to my staff”.
YALL! I about died!!! She ended up leaving 15 minutes after and I got a wonderful tip from her party. But I couldn’t believe the absolute entitlement that she had displayed. Over a fricken table. When there was an exact same table 6 feet away. Literally hunny your people arnt there, so duh we’re gonna seat one of the tables.
Edit to add: I never thought I’d have to say this but if you agree with how this Karen acted, you are part of the problem.
Edit 2: ours drinks prices range typically $13-18. Were a tequila bar. Example : one margarita is an Anejo tequila with grand marnier and Cointreau that costs 15 plus tax. It’s the most popular drink because it’s strong and tasty. Our drinks and food cost money because it’s a high end restaurant in south Florida on the water.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/p4nmdh/karen_screams_at_another_table_for_stealing_hers/
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arvuk3
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TalesFromYourServer
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My night from hell, complete with confetti... for your reading pleasure servers of reddit
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It's been a long time since I've felt I couldve cried mid shift. Since I've wanted to dump bacardi 151 across a table, set that bitch on fire for my amusement and walk out like its nobodies business. A long time since I've had a 'serving nightmare'. Tonight, I vent to you, my fellow servers, in hopes that I dont dream about this later. Strap in, it's a long one. There's no TLDR, there's no way to condense this shit show.
First off, I'm 32 yo. I've been doing this for YEARS. It's my go to in between degrees, and right now I'm saving for my masters which I start in the next few months. I currently work at a great little steakhouse. Fine dining where the bottles of wine run up to the $300s, and the steaks a la carte start at $30 and go to $80. Apps, sides, salads and soups extra. Hand made cocktails, caymus BTG. You can bet your ass you are going to have some swanky, self entitled wankers just about every night... NBD. I'm used to it. And to be fair, we have some lovely loyal locals.
Sunday night ensues. I'm in a section set for an 11 top the moment the doors open. I have 3 additional tables (2 two tops, and 1 four top). My 11 top birthday party starts settling in. A lot of musical chairs and drama ensues. 5 min to sit is not typically a good sign to get the night rolling. I can tell instantly, it will be tough to direct this table and avoid total chaos. Plus they're not even quite all here yet. Must pay attention to drink orders because in an off chance they split tabs, my seat numbers better be in order. And with stragglers, changing seats is much more likely to happen.
A Karen with an obnoxious birthday sash swaggers over exclaiming it's her birthday as I'm making my introduction. She proceeds to present me with her birthday platter. A large plate with birthday sayings all over it. I am to give it to the chef, this is what she would like to dine off of tonight. 'Sure, of course! It's your day lady, we are celebrating you!' I exclaim grimacing so hard my cheeks hurt. This has the potential to be a $1000+ tab, you can eat on whatever you want at $100 a head. After all, we are in the yes business.
I begin welcoming the group, explaining specials and offering drinks while we wait for the other few folks to arrive. That's when I see it. Bat shit mom opens not one, but THREE bags of confetti and starts dumping it across the table. In glasses (yes!!), on plates, across the table, on the floor, chairs, you name it. I catch the hosts eye, hes murderous knowing what kind of cleanup this will entail before the next turn.
I start to take drink orders and they're obnoxious despite mentoring to gently organize. Mom telling me what order to go in. All ordering out of turn, wine tastings, specials, BYOs. A damned ICED herbal tea! Why yes, I French pressed an herbal tea, cooled it, added honey and served it as per request, because well, they dont like regular iced tea, they prefer our loose leaf. Drinks are ordered than changed as one lady likes her friends cocktail idea better. Yadda yadda. You get the picture. Grandma wants a chilled red wine. (What?) All this while the rest of my section gets triple sat.
As per the notes I checked ahead of time: a two top with an anniversary (bring the free champagne toast!), another two top that's a birthday (explain the special bday discount and check the ID, they're friends of mine, they'll want to chat), and a 4 top- the restaurant owners adult children that enjoy full courses, cocktails and bottles of wine. Ladies and gentleman, hold on to your panties and thank God I chugged coffee at 4:55pm cuz FML. Grin and bare it, right? I push back the panic.
Finally I manage to break away to start my other tables, avoid eye contact with the big top for 10 min and power through my other 3 getting them started w bread and drinks on the way. I am completely relying on coworkers to run drinks to appropriate seat numbers at my big top in the mean time and hoping 10 minutes or so should be just enough time for them to make a decision on dinner. Thorough. Efficient. Timely. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what we trained all these years for right!? I'm a professional dammit, you cant sway me.
Nope. I circle back around to the table and take app orders. Some squabbling over how many of each and which likes what while i try to explain sizes and what might be realistic as far as sharing. We use an electronic device so I get the order, send it so its started and on the way, then begin taking the entree order. Again all ordering out of turn. I'm sharing with her, extra plate here, bowl of soup on 3rd course but 4 salads on 2nd course, each split with different dressings because they are sharing. I get to seat 6 and after giving me a spiel about how he wont be dining because he is in so much pain from knee surgery, he proceeds to take out his phone and show me pictures of the surgery, the screws, his previous back surgery compared to the knee surgery. Seriously. Mid dinner order. I can feel my other 3 tables staring at the back of my neck waiting to place their dinner orders too. The second I am able to consol him and move to the next person, seat 11 (whose order I havent taken yet) gets up and leaves to go next door to the pot shop to by edibles for seat 6 because of his knee pain. Yes, his dinner will be cannabis infused tonight, nothing from our menu will do thanks. But wait, I havent taken Seat 11s order yet? NBD, when he comes back, ill circle back around, add to course(s) and visit different stations in the kitchen to clarify with chef(s) why I have an ad on order.
Finally, FINALLY the dinner order is in and I am off to zoom around to other tables. You can bet this 11 top needed a change of silverware between every course, constant water and cocktails refills, no pleases or thank yous, and Karen being obnoxious the whole time. Everything, and I mean every dish brought to the table had to be explained in detail as per request of Karen. The sauces, the preparation, how the sausage on one of the apps was made, the different ingredients on the quail, the ages of the cheesed on the charcuterie plate. Sometimes explained twice because not all were listening. Yes, she ate off of the tacky platter the entire time. It was washed between courses. Yes, my lead chef was irritated with their ridiculous requests, my dishwasher was grumpy about multiple platter washes, and my bartender would appreciate it if I could ring in those old fashioneds and hot toddies all at once instead of one every 5 minutes.
Side note: Nothing like hearing from your manager mid shift (after he sees your panicked look and zoomies) that said Karen is indeed bat shit and was 86d from his last place of work. She'd been pulled from that restaurant by the police kicking and screaming for losing her shit there.
Another server informed me that seat 1 (the herbal iced tea guy) stalked her at a coffee shop she worked at. She wouldn't go near my table. 'Jeff is a creep.'
On to desert. Karen pulls me aside and orders one of every desert on the menu and asks for a candle on each. She also grins devilishly and says 'dont offer desert to anyone else. I want all 9 of those set IN FRONT OF ME, I'm going to make a joke about it.' You got it, I giggle like I'm in on it, we're in cahoots, Karen, our little secret. We are friends.
Right before the deserts arrive, I set 11 spoons out on the table. Crazy B number 2, call her Jennifer, asks why they havent been offered desert yet. I say, 'weve got some goodies on the way' and wink at Karen knowingly.
Karen explodes. I've ruined her secret by bringing the goddamn spoons too early. All this while desert is starting to be delivered by food runners that very moment. A candle arrives and I opt for a diversion to distract her. I do something I never do, havent since my serving days at applebees 10 + years ago..... I start singing happy birthday. I lead the damn table in a beautiful rendition. Karen is pleased. Karen is distracted.
3 and half hours later, they begin to leave. After asking for discounts, (no demanding it, they're 'locals') bill is paid and I am ignored. The tip is an acceptable 20%. Hardest 20% I have ever worked for. And yes, we pool tips. I will take it and I am grateful because at this point I was prepared to be stiffed.
Nothing like struggling to keep my head above water for 4 hours straight, needing exactly 9 things for every damn table at every waking moment, having irritated BOH coworkers, and trying to maintain and appear cool calm and collected with each customer.
It is nights like these where every extra second is precious, a coworker topping off water saves you, a distraction with a song diffuses a situation and a stiff glass of bourbon at the end of the night reminds me that this shit is hard. Serving is humbling. There are assholes in this world and let that shit go....even if I'm still picking confetti out of my damn apron.
But seriously, fuck you Karen.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/arvuk3/my_night_from_hell_complete_with_confetti_for/
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d4r5qt
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TalesFromYourServer
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A table broke me last night, that hasn’t happened in many, many years.
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Super long rant/story; I just need to get this off my chest.
I’ve been in the service industry for ~16 years now. My skin is much thicker than it was when I started in my early 20s. Last night it felt so thin I thought it was translucent.
A bit of the lead up to the break. My night started out well, I came in at 3 and knew I was closing because it’s the one night a week we do karaoke. Which is a nightmare in and of itself.
We have a lot of younger staff, it’s a small place (12 tables) so there’s usually only 3 servers and a bartender. There’s a lot of stress here due to the owners, husband and wife, and the way the wife thinks she needs to treat the servers. She used to be principal of a grade school, and treats us all like children.
I have to help a lot because of the teenagers/YA I work with. We have auto-grat for 8 or more. This is important.
One of the tables was being absolute dicks to their server. They were dicks to me too, but I only had one small interaction with them. They asked where their bread basket was and I said we don’t offer that, but if they’d like to order a side of garlic toast I could make that happen.
The server didn’t want to get stiffed on this 6 top, so she added an auto-grat and this table went nuclear. Beforehand she asked me and the bartender if she should grat and we said no, it’s a terrible idea, and there’s only 6. She did it anyways. They asked for the manager, and there wasn’t one in the building so the bartender stepped in. He’s the “acting manager” when the owners aren’t there. There is no actual manager for this place.
The reason they went nuclear? Me. How rude and uncooperative I was for not bringing them bread. That’s not even a choice I have. The kitchen won’t hand out anything without a ticket. Not even a side of mayo.
The owner came in a while later and got the lowdown, then I got talked to about tipping and how we shouldn’t expect it. WTF. It wasn’t even my table and I had nothing to do with it besides the bread crisis.
Side note: We have a loyalty program, spend $150 and get $25 off. When I use the discount I write original total on the check, that’s what I’m getting taxed on and tipping out on. The tip out is 5% of my total sales.
The tip conversation turned into the owner telling me I’m not allowed to write the original total on checks. Whatever.
This just made me aggravated because the whole issue arose because this younger server broke the auto-grat rules and I end up getting the brunt of it.
I don’t lose sleep over bad tips, I figure it all comes out in the wash.
I moved on with my night. Then karaoke happened. We had a group of regulars come in with out of town family. They ran their check up to ~$175.00. If they wouldn’t have been there I could’ve gone home around 11, they didn’t close out until almost 1AM.
So I’ve been killing time, side work and more has been done. All my paperwork is done. I’m literally waiting for their CC slip so I can turn in my papers/money and walk out the door. I’m tired, over people and their entitled BS, and I just want to make the 30 minute drive home.
I walk by and ask how things are going, and he says loudly to his group and the other regulars I wait on every. single. weekend. that I’m just hassling him because it’s a big check and I don’t want to get stiffed. I have had enough of the night at this point and I loudly said actually I’m really tired, I’ve been here for 10 hours and just need his slip to get out of there. I was out of F’s to give at this point. Also, I was so embarrassed.
That’s when I broke, when my integrity had been insulted for the 2nd time that night. I was embarrassed and my feelings were super hurt. I started crying, not ugly crying, but crying nonetheless.
I got my paperwork turned in and decided to have a cocktail. I was sitting at part of the bar that isn’t super visible. I can’t explain without this story getting waaaaay longer. The wife of the regular walked by where I wasn’t expecting her to and she saw me still crying a bit. Then her husband, the insult guy comes up too. Feck. They are slightly intoxicated but immediately put 2 and 2 together. They apologized profusely, especially the wife. She. was. mad.
I’m not a crier. It’s not my thing. I was just so tired and insulted that I broke.
I found a $100 bill in my pocket later, so that was nice.
The end.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/d4r5qt/a_table_broke_me_last_night_that_hasnt_happened/
| 1,857
| 56
| 1,568,584,190
| 14
|
big tip
|
top
|
bl9hoh
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
To the One iHop Server
|
Okay, so there’s this iHop that I go to quite frequently with my coworkers (one of which is actually my boss but I digress) very late at night.
We walked in at around midnight, and was greeted as usual by a server. Our drinks came out promptly after we ordered them, and the food also came out altogether after a reasonable wait. I’m a patient person, so waiting is honestly not a big deal for me.
... Except for my boss.
There were several things that made my boss upset; her order was not modified the way she wanted; the table got the wrong refill after our first glass (unsweet tea over sweet tea); being asked whether we were ready for our checks twice through our stay; and finally when we were ready for checks, getting the split completely wrong.
Now, none of this is a big deal to me. Actually, they’re all easy fixes. It’s super late at night, and I do not expect the most lavish service from a casual diner like iHop. In fact, that’s why I love iHop.
My boss was unfortunately not happy and sought after speaking to a manager, detailing her issues and how poor the service was for the night. She is my boss, so I kept my mouth shut.
After everything was settled, I try to drop down cash to pay for the bill and also tip. I planned to at least tip a solid 18%, but my boss was adamant about me not tipping at all. So we paid for the food only and left.
I felt horrible. Like, my stomach felt like it was down in my groin and my heart was in my throat. It was just not a good feeling, and I had to go back and apologize.
So I did.
I went back ten minutes later to find her, and when she saw me it looked like she was afraid. She asked me in a really soft and polite tone, “Did you guys forget something?”
I explained to her that I didn’t agree with my boss having to drag management about something that could have easily been fixed. She started to cry, telling me that my manager made her tear up earlier.
I handed her a $20 (the tab itself was around $24) and told her that I don’t know her, but she could have had a hard night for all I knew. She told me her past several weeks had been very hard on her. We exchanged hugs as she thanked me in tears. I wished her good night and left.
You were absolutely fine, Madison from iHop. Your tattoos were also super cool. If you see this, please let me know when you complete your neckpiece because I would love to see it.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/bl9hoh/to_the_one_ihop_server/
| 1,692
| 110
| 1,557,131,535
| 14
|
big tip
|
top
|
jolbkf
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Thanks for the most generous tip I've gotten in 12+ years of serving
|
I’ve been a server for 12+ years and never had this generous of a tip before. I work at a steakhouse and had a 5-top (2 parents, grandparent, 2 small and kinda loud kids) come in first thing. While talking to them I find out that they came from out of state to take one of the kids to our children’s hospital all week. I relate to them that we have taken our kid to the same hospital twice this week and that I hope they receive the help they need, and an overall successful trip. They were kind people and wished me the same for my child.
Their dinner went pretty smoothly with a bit more conversation, although the kids made quite a mess. I actually did have a couple of tables opt not to sit in my section because of the loud-ish kids. In fact, they were my only table until the 5-10 before they left (which I didn’t really mind bc who knows what’s gonna happen in the night).
After dropping their bill off, I notice the dad writing on the ticket and some cash peaking from behind it while I was clearing the dishes. I figure I’ll let the bill hang out there, and if he needs change then he’ll hand it to me. I wished them a good evening, thanked them for coming in, and let them be to pack up and clear out. I came back, shoved the ticket book in a pocket, and cleaned up the large-ish mess with some help from a manager. I ran around for a minute getting my second table set up before I even looked inside the ticket book. “Holy sh\*\*!” comes out of my mouth when I find **4 C-notes** under the **$150 bill** with a note that reads, “The tip is for you! God bless.”
**If this finds you somehow, thank you guys so much for your generosity! God bless!**
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/jolbkf/thanks_for_the_most_generous_tip_ive_gotten_in_12/
| 1,671
| 53
| 1,604,592,196
| 14
|
generous tip
|
relevance
|
11j7xp6
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
How do y’all do it?
|
I’ve been in the service industry for 9 years now. I’ve managed a bar in Montana, served at fine dining steakhouses, now work at in Indian restaurant in down town Austin TX. I’m at the point where every day I come home enraged that I have to dance like a monkey to make more than the $2.13 an hour I’m paid. I get stiffed on at least 2 tables a day. Rarely see a 20% tip, even with outstanding service. I have to tip out 6% of my sales, usually walking away with less than 10%.
I feel like I’m begging for money from my customers, and they do not like being generous..
EDIT: I wanna say thank you to everyone offering advice, I appreciate it more than you know. I have spent the last 24 hours applying to new jobs, I will escape this place soon!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/11j7xp6/how_do_yall_do_it/
| 545
| 146
| 1,678,043,198
| 14
|
generous tip
|
relevance
|
3w8e1n
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The $100 tip that I don't want
|
$100 tip
So, I am a server at a restaurant and I have been wanting to share this story for a while. I have been serving for about a year and a half now and have had my fair share of bad tables.
This, by far, was one of my worst tables I have ever had - and also the best tip I have ever gotten.
As I have gained experience serving, I have become more aware of when I am giving good service and when I am giving bad service. What I mean is that sometimes I just get busy. Sometimes I forget that refill, or miss a greet because my other table just can’t decide between a salad or tilapia, or who said they were paying for the appetizers? So, I am aware of when I have neglected my tables. And trust me, I don’t feel good about it either. Server nightmares are a real thing, look it up.
So, it’s either a Friday or Saturday night, I don’t quite remember, I just know I was busy. A table of six older ladies and gentlemen is sat at one of my tables and I greet them immediately.
I stand on one side of the table and greet everyone, and immediately the man sitting across from me motions for me to stand next to him and says “I am paying the bill, I am responsible for whether or not you get a good tip, so you stand next to me”. Gulp. Immediately after he says this, the man beside him says, “No, don’t stand next to him, he’ll grab your ass”. So at this point I have been scolded, warned, and sexually harassed all in the matter of 15 seconds.
While I am extremely uncomfortable, I just laugh it off - “The customer is always right”.
I kid you not, each and every time I returned to this table I heard “You better watch yourself, your tip just keeps on going down”. Whether or not I was doing my job correctly or not, he said it.
I didn’t understand much of this man’s behavior, but this one just baffle’s me: He was a white man. I am a white woman. And he told me he was racist against white people. Another odd, rude comment that I laughed off. Mostly because - what do you say to that? I thought he was joking, he wasn’t. But that’s another story.
I was giving this table good service. I really was. Yet he continued with the “You’re going to get an awful tip, you poor, poor girl.” “Why are you even a server if you can’t handle it?” “You think you deserve my money?”
So, finally I give them their checks, wish them a good night and book it. Get me away from this guy! I go to the host stand near the front door and am talking with some of the girls as the group walks past to exit the restaurant. The man sticks the black booklet in my face, “Open it”. I say, “Oh, no sir, that’s okay, I’m sure you’ve got it covered. Have a nice evening”. Nope, not happening. He shoves it closer, “Open it”. Reluctantly, I open the book to see a $100 tip. And he is grinning ear to ear. Not only does he tell me to show everyone the tip, but he announces it to everyone around us. He demands that I bring my manager up front so that he can publicly compliment me. Another server tells me to hug this man and asks, “How aren’t you crying? This is so cool!” People are starting to gather around staring at me, some looking jealous others looking at the man like he is a hero. And he thinks so too. He’s taking it all in. As he exits he says with a wink, “Treat everyone nicely, sweetie, you never know who your secret Santa might be”.
Call me rude, call me unappreciative, call me whatever you want, but I did not want that money. This man has just ridiculed me for the past hour and a half just to turn around and make everyone think he was this great guy. I 100% appreciate his money. Absolutely. I have student loans to pay off and am still working to get my degree, so that money really does mean a lot. I know that not everyone can afford to give so generously.
That being said, I am a person. I have feelings. And I don’t appreciate people treating me this way thinking that they can make up for their behavior with money. It is unacceptable.
I have had my fair share of bad tables and typically at the end I am just glad that they are gone. This one has stuck with me for about a month now, and that's why I wanted to share. I don't think people realize how much their words/behavior can affect their server.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/3w8e1n/the_100_tip_that_i_dont_want/
| 566
| 124
| 1,449,760,851
| 14
|
generous tip
|
relevance
|
exfjhh
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Stereotyping Servers
|
I have worked roughly 11 years in the restaurant industry in both Arizona and California, ranging from Fast Food to Dine In. It's been over a decade since I've worked in any type of restaurant, however some outstanding events will never leave my memory.
I'll post this one first and when I have the time, I'll post others.
I used to be a server at a popular seafood restaurant in the Inland Empire. There was a large Black population in the city the restaurant was in, so a large portion of our guests would be Black people. This never bothered me because, well, why the heck should it? I took care of everyone all the same who crossed my path and I've never had any issues.
Well, it wasn't until I was about a month into this restaurant and working the lunch shift that I started to fully pay attention to how my fellow servers treated customers. This particular day had a lot of Black guests. There were groans coming from my co-workers, all complaining that Black people are cheap, they don't tip, blah blah blah. So I asked one server if it's that much of an issue for you, I'll be happy to take your table. They happily said yes. Soon the majority of servers all gave up their tables to me simply because the people were Black and they thought it would be a waste of time.
I was really pissed and disappointed in everyone, but I didn't have too much of a backbone nor an understanding of how to begin to have a talk about race with others, so I did the next best thing. Any time a table had left, I went to check my tip then I went to the server who gave up their table to me and told them how much I was tipped. Each time it was at least 20% tip, each time they seemed shocked and a little upset they gave up the table. By the end of my shift, I made about $200, though that would be the only time I would ever make that during lunch because other servers didn't give up as many tables to me anymore.
After the lunch rush I had come to the conclusion that maybe Black people don't suck at tipping, maybe your crappy attitude towards them affects how you serve them and you just suck. Why should they tip you?
In Arizona, Mexican people were the targets of this stereotyping. Again, I've never had an issue with any person of any race. I was tipped based on how well I served them or from what they could afford. Everyone deserves to have a night out, but that doesn't mean that they can also afford to tip generously.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/exfjhh/stereotyping_servers/
| 295
| 59
| 1,580,603,281
| 14
|
generous tip
|
relevance
|
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