Waitstaff Etiquette from Fark

[Revalos]

So I was perusing Fark this morning, and saw a thread with like five hundred comments...about waitstaff etiquette. Is this seriously that much of a contentious issue? Or is it that everyone has their own opinion about how to treat/be treated by waitstaff. Or is Fark full of trolls...that's probably it.

http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4754560

Anyway, I worked as waitstaff for about four years and yes, I am a hell of a lot nicer than most to waiters and waitresses for things they have no control over (quality of the food, kitchen slowness, how busy the restaurant is, etc...) but I will hold things against them that are their fault (getting orders wrong, not bringing the check for like 20 minutes, rudeness, etc...). I tip between 15-25 percent unless they do something very wrong, and then I usually let them know it personally, or leave them a note as to why they didn't get the tip. Maybe that's weird, but I think it is better than when I was a waiter and I'd just not get a tip and wonder if the people were dicks or if I had done something wrong.

[Jace Solo]

I work at an outback in the south. I think a lot of people done know how to treat servers or how to tip them.

Unless someone is horrible 20% is my standard where 15% would be acceptable. If they were horrible and people would tip 10% I'd still leave 15%. If they were awesome it's anywhere from 25-50% depending on amount of order.

I feel like it's race based...most whites (unless rednecks) tip 15-20. Most black people leave between 2-5 bucks no matter how much they order. I think it's just ignorance to how people should act.

[phantasm]

I could go on and on about waiting on rednecks/blacks.

[radamanthys]

I could go on and on about waiting on rednecks/blacks.

Why don't ya?

[Jorddyn]

I could go on and on about waiting on rednecks/blacks.

The good news is, they're rarely at the same table.

[Shari]

Maybe its just me, but some of those just seem common sense. "Don't touch the rim of glasses." Really? How about spitting in the food, is that bad?

And this:

7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.

This is how most women get their tips. That and unbuttoning their top just a wee bit more. GUILTY.

A lot of this can be applied to any workplace, not just a restraunt.

[Kuyuk]

working in kitchens, I can categorically say 80% of all waitstaff are overpaid dumbasses who work half as hard as everyone else in the workforce. The only rough part they have is not knowing exactly how much they're making.. which is why people dont want to do it.

I work 10-12 hours a day for usually ~$100/day, they work dinner service (6-10) and make more than I do.

Not that I'm overly pissed about it - I could become a waiter - it's just silly that they manage to complain about it.

I delivered chinese food for a while, I can make comments based on what I got tipped from different races/genders. Most of them are similar to other peoples comments, so it's obviously based on some truth.

But, like I always say, do what you love to do, whether it's cooking, science, or being a waiter, and who cares what you get paid, as long as you enjoy what you do. I may not make a lot of money, but I (usually) enjoy my work.

[Keller]

Best advice I ever got when I was cutting my teeth waiting tables was to look for the jewelry.

Second best advice I ever got was that when it comes to Persian women, jewelry doesn't mean a damn. Worst. Tippers. Ever. And they were the highest maintenance guests.

[thefarmer]

Also depends on where you work.

When I worked at Olive Garden during one semester, I got shitty tips from just about everyone, white, black, yellow didn't matter. I asked around the staff, wondering if it was just me and was told that was common there.

After awhile I realized that where I, and I imagine a large portion of the PC, thought it was strictly middle-grade, for a majority of the customers, it was 4-star fine dining. The customers literally couldn't afford to tip more than 10-15%. To them, the meal was the same as some $100-$200 sushi/steak/etc joint.

After that semester, I learned to stick to higher ticket places.

[WRoss]

Bartending will get you pissed off pretty quick with customers, servers, and managers, until you learn you can drink for free and you walk out and the end of every night with at least $200.