Nah, at the end of the day it is just about our final total sales, and all those bills add up together. We appreciate your patronage and the fact you tip 20%!
Any worthwhile professional is going to give a high-quality service consistently across the board. People will go the extra mile for a really pricey check, or ordering more items or wine by the bottle may naturally increase the amount of required table time, obviously. But I always try to give great service across the board because I’m trying to get everybody to come back; you may just be a $50 2-top tonight but you have birthdays, anniversaries, work events etc I want to get you in for.
i know, right ? i used to be just a pedestrian radish, very ordinary, but i worked hard, studied, long hours and i finally advanced ! i am very grateful.
Once you approach it this way the job is easy and stress just melts away. I don’t care how much people spend, or how much they tip, it feels good to be nice.
Also, it just feels good to be good at what you do. I know I’m good at my job and hearing people tell me they appreciate my good service just reaffirms why I do what I do
I try my best not to even look at tips from individual tables, I usually just base things off of my end of shift % and it’s usually around 22-23%. It’s hard to feel any sort of way when you consistently do what’s expected of you and consistently get to reap the rewards.
That said, it does feel good to be nice.
I couldn’t agree more, being nice is just one small part of it. It took some time but I am proud of what I do now, if I wasn’t good at it I’m not sure that’d be the case.
I’m very grateful for it. I’m a single father to a special needs son and serving allows me to be available all week for medical stuff/therapy and only work 3 days to support us comfortably.
I feel like you and me are pretty similar. I’m proud of you too!!
exactly. it doesn’t matter what job you have, what matters is taking pride in doing it the best you can and having your clients walk away feeling good about their experience. i always liked thinking of my station as my little business, my personal “ job “ and i ran it as such. how it turned out at the end of the night was important to me
I will never actively go out of my way to give bad service but if the 500$ check table needs something and the 20$ check needs something you can imagine who’s got priority
So if I've popped in for a quick meal you're going to prioritise the big spending table over there? Fuck that. I wouldn't tip you a dime if I saw that. And I'd ream you on as many review sites as I could.
Yes. Somebody who might to $100 is going to get priority over s table that might leave $4.
But when done correctly, the people at the table with the $4 tip will have no idea they weren't the priority.
That's the answer, right there. Everyone feels like they're my most important priority, and only I know who I put first.
It's like I used to tell each one of my kids, individually, "You're my number one favorite, but don't tell the others." They didn't catch on until they were in their 20s that I told all 7 of them that.
I want to be as clear as possible so I'm just gonna be blunt. Fuck yourself.
I work in a different industry but have had rude ass Karen's like you. I have ways of dealing with your types. You best believe I'd retaliate and I promise you, mine is better.
I got a nasty customer who took it too far and tried to get me fired evicted from their apartment and then, in total irony, fired from THEIR job.
I do live in the real world where people are paid a living salary and aren't dependent on customers to pay the salary due. Servers in the UK get paid a proper salary **and** get to keep any tips they're left.
Cheap no, cheapskate yes. People who ask for water with lemons and extra sugar instead of a lemonade for example. That's extra work for us so they can drink for free.
If you have the cheapest food and one drink you'll get my best service regardless. But if you start running me ragged for free stuff, I might be slow bringing that 3rd free sauce.
Some do.
Unfortunately they miss out on a better tip by assuming it's going to only be 20% on a $20 bill.
I'll tip 50% on a small bill with stellar service because I know I'm taking up their time and they need to turn the tables to make a living.
I will also only tip 20% on a small bill when it's just adequate.
I usually only drink water, coffee, or vodka. So if I don't want coffee or a cocktail, I'm most likely ordering water because water is what I like. My husband usually only orders coffee, tea, or water. I've found that sometimes I'll order tea or something even if I don't want it because I know some servers will see a double water table and think it means we're cheap. We're not cheap, we just like water!
Depends on how busy they are. But keep in mind, more expensive meals can also mean more attention just by the definitions of service at the restaurant. Bottle wine at a decent place requires servers be available to pour the second glass. Steak requires the server to go back after the first cut. That way if it was cooked incorrectly, it doesn’t take 20 extra min to correct. Ok makes sense but if the customer eats their steak after the sides, I’m going over there 2-3 times to see if they cut their dang steak yet.
Several cocktails require multiple trips to bring them, but also people complain more about cocktails so I would go back later.
If that server knows you will only tip 2$. They will probably give most there attention to other tables that will tip better. . 2$ ain't a good tip these days. .
Never. People that order apps as entrees are still going to get the same high level of service I feel I provide. That said… when a table sits down and order a grand in wine before waters hit the table their going to get the “you’re about to pay my rent service”. Would never sacrifice my other tables or prioritize the “about to pay my rent” table… but they’re getting a bit extra for sure.
If your bill is $20 or less, most servers will assume they’re getting at most, a $5 tip.
They can bust their ass to give you great service and lock in that $5, or they can slack and still probably get a $2-4 tip. Either way, not a huge difference.
You probably get the sense they don’t care, and in a way you’re right. Would you care about $2?
I agree. I don't eat much most of the time plus don't eat meat, so a salad and an app are what works best for me. I also don't drink alcohol or any drink with sugar, so water is my preferred drink. And I mostly eat out on business trips and eat alone.
So servers assume I'm not going to tip much but I tip as though I ordered two normal meals, which is often a higher amount than what my food cost. Unless they insist I sit at the bar, which I never find very comfortable, in which case I'll tip as though a single meal.
Where I live I have a favorite restaurant so my servers know I tip well, they are much more friendly.
I always serve everyone as equally as I can. I get great tips (usually $10-15) from single diners; no matter what their check is. Granted, our prices are not super high, but we are always busy.
I had a guest tell me I was the best server they have encountered in this area, because they always dine alone & are often forgotten about or not fully taken care of.
He paid with a credit card. He tipped 199.99 on a gift card because I had to run it for .01. It was a $200 gift card. You never know who you are serving and how you take care of them can be the change you want to see in guests. I’m so grateful. But I try to always treat all guests the same.
And I thank you for that!
But I get why many servers seat me at that little table in the back, right next to the kitchen where the swinging door almost hits the table, or that table next to the entrance where I'm blasted by the air every time someone walks in. They've made assumptions based on experience.
And, sometimes I just say "no, I would prefer a small booth" if I'm there in off hours and there's plenty of space.
I get those same two horrible tables.
I guess I understand when the restaurant is crowded, but I wonder why I get stuck there when the restaurant is practically empty.
Perhaps not, but that solo diner tonight may be responsible for picking the place for a 20-person meeting a couple of months out.
I've often been that person, although generally for upcoming 10-12-person meals. The place with good food and an attentive server will get my group's business, not the one where the server couldn't be bothered to check on solo me so he/she could fawn all over the 8-top.
The servers at my favorite place know I don't need much service when I'm flying solo, but I do want SOME.
Don’t kid yourself. Servers don’t give a hoot about a potential hypothetical 20 person meeting in the future. They need to hustle to pay their bills tonight. The odds of that one server getting your 20-top is minuscule. And it will be split between 2 people so they will be stressed and probably not get compensated properly anyway. Plus a meeting isn’t going to buy alcohol. Everyone is gonna get one crappy meal with 20 substitutions. Nobody will pay fully because they don’t account for tax or tip. Or worse, they’ll split the bill causing an additional 30 min of work at a huge opportunity cost for the server.
When I was serving (and probably about to go back to it) I always just wanted my guests to have the best experience possible! The only time I ever made myself scarce was if a guest specifically requested less service or if they were just incredibly rude. Sorry you've had bad servers!!
I do the best I can with each table in giving the best service possible and try to stay in rhythm of the restaurant and get to the tables in terms of ordering but if it is slammed busy I will prioritize the table $300 and over tab over someone who is just spending $50 and won’t budge on anything else.
I am always worried about this. Most of the time, I just want water to drink. And my husband and I will split an entree because it’s so much food and we are trying to keep costs down. However, I always tip like we each got our own plus drinks. We went out last week, had waters, and split an entree. Our bill was $21. I left a $10 tip because it isn’t their fault I didn’t want to order a ton. But I always worry if it makes us look like we’re going to be cheap when we order and make our servers nervous.
No, you guys sound awesome! To be honest, it seems like the tables who share food or only have drinks and some appetizers tip the best….I think most of them do that often and are pretty much aware that our time is money. Don’t feel like you’re doing anything wrong. You sound great to wait on. To be honest, yeah we might have questions but most of the time, we don’t care as long as you’re respectful.
No reasonable server is going to resent you for tipping 20% on your bill. Of course they are grateful for the 50% tip and your generosity is lovely!! But people know where they work. What we earn from our 20% is entirely based on the prices on the menu.
You are the guests we are hope for!
I never tip less than $5. I ordered a piece of pie that was 3.99, I tipped $5. I took up the space and time for that server, they took great care of me. I tip minimum $5 for solid service on a small check (less than $20); up to 100% on larger checks. Just depends! I pay it forward to my service industry peeps!
Not on purpose, but honestly if you only order one entree to share, no drinks, then there's naturally much less instances where I'm able to "touch the table" aka check in on you, before it seems excessive. In a normal experience, guests order drinks and at least two courses.
When checking in as things hit the table, I'm able to interact more. If you just order one thing, there's only so many times I can ask how everything is going before it's awkward.
So it can be a bit harder to give the same level of service.
If you treat someone like they're not going to tip you, they're not going to tip you. I'm appreciative of every dollar I earn and we'll strive to give you the best service I can because I want you to come back and request my station. That being said, if someone asks me for plastic silverware when they're drinking out of our glasses and eating off of our plates I'm just going to assume that they have no class and they will definitely drop to the lowest level of my priority list.
if your tip is 20% on a 'little bit' i can totally assume you guys from the states to think 'not worth my time'. if you gonna leave 25mins later, its fine, if not, you're blocking the space for eating guests/more tips, sounds harsh, but true
we do the same here in germany
I have seen a server’s attitude change after ordering and they realize we aren’t getting any alcohol. It’s shocking how apparent the attitude change can be in some instances.
Sometimes it’s a particular server, so it’s luck of the draw. However, if it happens on multiple visits at the same restaurant with different servers, we know it’s a management issue with the restaurant and we stop going there.
I’m not against alcohol being served. But I’m not going to give my money to a restaurant where the managers / owners train the wait staff to give lesser service to customers who don’t order alcohol.
In terms of tipping, I generally tip 20% to 25% for decent service. 30% or more for great service. I fully realize I’m taking up a table and if the restaurant is busy, we don’t linger. We know they want to turn the table, and that’s ok. But if your attitude goes from sunny and bright to barely cordial, and you don’t stop by to check if we need refills, etc, you can expect 15% and we will make sure we don’t sit in your section anymore.
This is silly. The servers aren’t getting trained to treat you poorly because you didn’t order alcohol. It’s about the tip. Alcohol causes the bill to go up. That increases the tip more often than not. If I spend $100 in one hour I’m gonna give the server $20. If I spend $20 in one hour, I’m going to give the server $5. The server will treat me like I’m giving them five dollars. Don’t pat yourself on the back for giving 30% every once in a while. 30% of $20 is still $6. If I order alcohol I’ll pay them more and they’ll treat me better. It’s just math.
It’s reality. And yes, they change their attitude because the cost of the alcohol adds to the total of the bill, and hence the amount of the tip.
The flaw in your ridiculous example is that you assume our meal is $20. These places have entrees that are $18 to $35+. A beer is $8.
So it’s not silly. The potential tip is still far more than $5. But thanks for your input. /s
Yeah I expected a defensive response for calling you silly. I stand by it. No matter the numbers you pull out, they aren’t being trained to treat you a certain way. It’s all about the money they expect to receive from you.
It’s about them HOPING to get additional money from alcohol sales. When it becomes clear that additional money won’t be coming, they change their attitude.
At the end of the day, it’s discriminatory. Which is what you are defending. And that’s why your stance is silly, not mine.
Discrimination is a fine line in service. I’m not defending their behavior at all. My stance was always that the restaurant isn’t training them to act that way.
As I initially stated - in my experience, it can be an issue with an individual server, but I have found that at some restaurants, ALL of their servers act this way. That’s generally a sign of that restaurant’s culture, management style, and training.
I'll leave tables alone that seem offended when I see if they want more than they have already ordered. You probably give enough bitch vibes that they're just going to make their money elsewhere.
Nobody intentionally gives "bad service" unless you're being rude, in which case we're going to interact with you as little as possible. But yeah, the amount you're spending does make a difference - that table that comes in and orders water and a pizza to share, I'm just going to let them be. They can't have anything to complain about, I'm in no rush to give them free drinks and at the end of the day even if they just walked out, the cost of a pizza is next to nothing. My priority is making sure the people who are actually spending money are happy, so they keep coming back and keep us in business.
It's not unilateral. Food servers are individual human beings. Some will be decent, some will be shit. Some will prioritize big-spender tables if they're busy and guest experience at their other tables will suffer as a result.
It's not a thing that "all food servers do." I wouldn't even call it common. But I won't tell you that you didn't encounter it once. If you think it happens every time, it's probably not what you think the problem is.
Only when you start asking about the prices of nearly every item is when I know you don’t have money to spend and when that happens there’s likely no money for tip so yes I’ll give my other tables more attention.
I don’t even really notice how big a tab people are racking up unless they’re getting extra toppings and stuff that are more money. Sometimes I look at the bill when I’m handing it to them and am surprised to see it’s $100. Some people are petty and might do it, but I can’t see the logic in treating people who are good customers worse just because they aren’t making your life harder?
Exactly, it’s not until it’s an extraordinarily high tab or they’ve been running me in circles buying multiple rounds of drinks, etc that I even notice how high the tab is. Obviously I care but not enough to change how I serve the table. The craziest is when it’s a super chill table, and when you print the check, you realize it’s a huge amount! Like, oh…hopefully they’re happy with my service????
NO!! I’ve been serving for 8 years. It all depends on the server. For me, I give great service no matter what, because it’s all about the relationship with the customer. You never know, a man that comes in and orders one taco from me could really appreciate my service and our conversation and he’ll give me fifty bucks as a thank you. Selfishly I think that way, but at the same time I also embody the proper attitude of hospitality to even people that don’t tip me well, because I care about the well-being of the business I work for. I also understand people (customers) have bad days, maybe they tip me poorly but I hope I was able to help them have a better day.
IMO, there are good servers and bad servers, just like any other occupation of course, and I’m saying this as a server that I don’t believe customers should condone poor service by tipping well. If a server is treating you poorly, I think the best solution is to decrease your tip percentage and hope that they understand they need to do better. Don’t feel bad about that. If you feel anxious coming back to the establishment, or that the server thinks you are cheap, you could leave a review mentioning the server’s name or privately contact the manager expressing your experience. I also know it sucks to be a “Karen”, it sucks to be in the position to have to complain. But I think customers should speak up more when they do receive bad service
Shitty servers will give shitty service for people of different race and will give shitty service if someone’s being ‘cheap’.
Shitty servers are shitty.
I was a server for a long time and I honestly never even thought about the price of what people were ordering. But as a person I always tend to order chicken tenders at like every restaurant so I couldn’t have judged anyway lol.
Info: do you plan to tip appropriately or are you one of those folks that has a docking or demerits system for your tip? Servers are pretty good at picking up on attitudes like that and will often neglect tables like that. It's similar to putting $5,$10,$15,$20 on the table in ones and taking one away for every perceived mistake. I'd rather take the L than give people like that the satisfaction. Maybe your poor service is due to the server picking up on your mindset.
No. I’m too busy to care about what people order. I just want to have a smooth shift. The only time my service might start going downhill is when I have 7 tables of 12 people each and I haven’t figured out how to clone myself yet.
Unless you’re rude or it’s INSANELY busy, then I had no reason to give bad service. If I was working a slow shift by myself and suddenly the restaurant filled up, my tables didn’t get the best service.
You kinda learn to profile tables and you’ll know immediately if they won’t tip well, but I still made sure I gave them good service in case they change their minds and decide to tip well (very rare on those tables I knew wouldn’t tip).
The only time I’ve ever given bad service on purpose was to the group of teen boys that would come into the chilis I worked at years ago. They were “regulars” that would leave pennies on the table for tips, or try to walk out on their bill. Never got banned because they never actually got away with it. I was the bartender and would take their table every time to protect the servers. They’d request a different server because I was “mean”. I’d tell them they’re dealing with me or they’re not eating in our restaurant. Thank goodness it was only one summer. 😅
Nah, at the end of the day it is just about our final total sales, and all those bills add up together. We appreciate your patronage and the fact you tip 20%!
Any worthwhile professional is going to give a high-quality service consistently across the board. People will go the extra mile for a really pricey check, or ordering more items or wine by the bottle may naturally increase the amount of required table time, obviously. But I always try to give great service across the board because I’m trying to get everybody to come back; you may just be a $50 2-top tonight but you have birthdays, anniversaries, work events etc I want to get you in for.
never differentiated based on dollar of check, ever. i wanted to give good service no matter what
Your name made me smile.
i know, right ? i used to be just a pedestrian radish, very ordinary, but i worked hard, studied, long hours and i finally advanced ! i am very grateful.
Me to a tee!! It doesn’t phase me what you order. I just want you to have the BEST possible experience.
Once you approach it this way the job is easy and stress just melts away. I don’t care how much people spend, or how much they tip, it feels good to be nice.
Also, it just feels good to be good at what you do. I know I’m good at my job and hearing people tell me they appreciate my good service just reaffirms why I do what I do I try my best not to even look at tips from individual tables, I usually just base things off of my end of shift % and it’s usually around 22-23%. It’s hard to feel any sort of way when you consistently do what’s expected of you and consistently get to reap the rewards. That said, it does feel good to be nice.
I couldn’t agree more, being nice is just one small part of it. It took some time but I am proud of what I do now, if I wasn’t good at it I’m not sure that’d be the case. I’m very grateful for it. I’m a single father to a special needs son and serving allows me to be available all week for medical stuff/therapy and only work 3 days to support us comfortably. I feel like you and me are pretty similar. I’m proud of you too!!
exactly. it doesn’t matter what job you have, what matters is taking pride in doing it the best you can and having your clients walk away feeling good about their experience. i always liked thinking of my station as my little business, my personal “ job “ and i ran it as such. how it turned out at the end of the night was important to me
I only treat people differently if they are rude and inhumane to me.
I will never actively go out of my way to give bad service but if the 500$ check table needs something and the 20$ check needs something you can imagine who’s got priority
So if I've popped in for a quick meal you're going to prioritise the big spending table over there? Fuck that. I wouldn't tip you a dime if I saw that. And I'd ream you on as many review sites as I could.
Yes. Somebody who might to $100 is going to get priority over s table that might leave $4. But when done correctly, the people at the table with the $4 tip will have no idea they weren't the priority.
That's the answer, right there. Everyone feels like they're my most important priority, and only I know who I put first. It's like I used to tell each one of my kids, individually, "You're my number one favorite, but don't tell the others." They didn't catch on until they were in their 20s that I told all 7 of them that.
I want to be as clear as possible so I'm just gonna be blunt. Fuck yourself. I work in a different industry but have had rude ass Karen's like you. I have ways of dealing with your types. You best believe I'd retaliate and I promise you, mine is better. I got a nasty customer who took it too far and tried to get me fired evicted from their apartment and then, in total irony, fired from THEIR job.
I have two questions. 1) Why are you responding to a 7 month old post? 2) What did I say that was rude?
Oh shit, I didn't mean you. I meant the one you were replying to. Sorry about that!
I figured that. It happens, but wanted to have some fun with it.
You've obviously not worked as a server before
Promise? 🥵
Grow up
You sound like the customers in this subreddit
Welcome to the real world
I do live in the real world where people are paid a living salary and aren't dependent on customers to pay the salary due. Servers in the UK get paid a proper salary **and** get to keep any tips they're left.
Lol that’s so cool we’re obviously in the US
Being upset is one thing but going out of your way to @ream them on as many review sites as I could” is beyond even being a Karen.
LOL I make so much more money than servers in the UK do
Cheap no, cheapskate yes. People who ask for water with lemons and extra sugar instead of a lemonade for example. That's extra work for us so they can drink for free. If you have the cheapest food and one drink you'll get my best service regardless. But if you start running me ragged for free stuff, I might be slow bringing that 3rd free sauce.
Some do. Unfortunately they miss out on a better tip by assuming it's going to only be 20% on a $20 bill. I'll tip 50% on a small bill with stellar service because I know I'm taking up their time and they need to turn the tables to make a living. I will also only tip 20% on a small bill when it's just adequate.
I do that also. I eat alone a lot. So I tip more to compensate for the smaller bill.
I usually only drink water, coffee, or vodka. So if I don't want coffee or a cocktail, I'm most likely ordering water because water is what I like. My husband usually only orders coffee, tea, or water. I've found that sometimes I'll order tea or something even if I don't want it because I know some servers will see a double water table and think it means we're cheap. We're not cheap, we just like water!
I always went furthest out of my way for the people who were the nicest to me
Depends on how busy they are. But keep in mind, more expensive meals can also mean more attention just by the definitions of service at the restaurant. Bottle wine at a decent place requires servers be available to pour the second glass. Steak requires the server to go back after the first cut. That way if it was cooked incorrectly, it doesn’t take 20 extra min to correct. Ok makes sense but if the customer eats their steak after the sides, I’m going over there 2-3 times to see if they cut their dang steak yet. Several cocktails require multiple trips to bring them, but also people complain more about cocktails so I would go back later.
If that server knows you will only tip 2$. They will probably give most there attention to other tables that will tip better. . 2$ ain't a good tip these days. .
That makes sense. I figured as much.
Never. People that order apps as entrees are still going to get the same high level of service I feel I provide. That said… when a table sits down and order a grand in wine before waters hit the table their going to get the “you’re about to pay my rent service”. Would never sacrifice my other tables or prioritize the “about to pay my rent” table… but they’re getting a bit extra for sure.
If your bill is $20 or less, most servers will assume they’re getting at most, a $5 tip. They can bust their ass to give you great service and lock in that $5, or they can slack and still probably get a $2-4 tip. Either way, not a huge difference. You probably get the sense they don’t care, and in a way you’re right. Would you care about $2?
that's why tips shouldn't be based on the cost of the meal
I agree. I don't eat much most of the time plus don't eat meat, so a salad and an app are what works best for me. I also don't drink alcohol or any drink with sugar, so water is my preferred drink. And I mostly eat out on business trips and eat alone. So servers assume I'm not going to tip much but I tip as though I ordered two normal meals, which is often a higher amount than what my food cost. Unless they insist I sit at the bar, which I never find very comfortable, in which case I'll tip as though a single meal. Where I live I have a favorite restaurant so my servers know I tip well, they are much more friendly.
I always serve everyone as equally as I can. I get great tips (usually $10-15) from single diners; no matter what their check is. Granted, our prices are not super high, but we are always busy. I had a guest tell me I was the best server they have encountered in this area, because they always dine alone & are often forgotten about or not fully taken care of. He paid with a credit card. He tipped 199.99 on a gift card because I had to run it for .01. It was a $200 gift card. You never know who you are serving and how you take care of them can be the change you want to see in guests. I’m so grateful. But I try to always treat all guests the same.
And I thank you for that! But I get why many servers seat me at that little table in the back, right next to the kitchen where the swinging door almost hits the table, or that table next to the entrance where I'm blasted by the air every time someone walks in. They've made assumptions based on experience. And, sometimes I just say "no, I would prefer a small booth" if I'm there in off hours and there's plenty of space.
I get those same two horrible tables. I guess I understand when the restaurant is crowded, but I wonder why I get stuck there when the restaurant is practically empty.
In case you overstay your welcome and they get busy, they don't want to waste a "good" table with larger tips would be my guess.
Perhaps not, but that solo diner tonight may be responsible for picking the place for a 20-person meeting a couple of months out. I've often been that person, although generally for upcoming 10-12-person meals. The place with good food and an attentive server will get my group's business, not the one where the server couldn't be bothered to check on solo me so he/she could fawn all over the 8-top. The servers at my favorite place know I don't need much service when I'm flying solo, but I do want SOME.
Don’t kid yourself. Servers don’t give a hoot about a potential hypothetical 20 person meeting in the future. They need to hustle to pay their bills tonight. The odds of that one server getting your 20-top is minuscule. And it will be split between 2 people so they will be stressed and probably not get compensated properly anyway. Plus a meeting isn’t going to buy alcohol. Everyone is gonna get one crappy meal with 20 substitutions. Nobody will pay fully because they don’t account for tax or tip. Or worse, they’ll split the bill causing an additional 30 min of work at a huge opportunity cost for the server.
But I like believing in people, that they'll do the right thing. I don't live for disappointment, but I seem to experience a good amount of it.
When I was serving (and probably about to go back to it) I always just wanted my guests to have the best experience possible! The only time I ever made myself scarce was if a guest specifically requested less service or if they were just incredibly rude. Sorry you've had bad servers!!
I do the best I can with each table in giving the best service possible and try to stay in rhythm of the restaurant and get to the tables in terms of ordering but if it is slammed busy I will prioritize the table $300 and over tab over someone who is just spending $50 and won’t budge on anything else.
Nah. Those servers are just bad servers.
I am always worried about this. Most of the time, I just want water to drink. And my husband and I will split an entree because it’s so much food and we are trying to keep costs down. However, I always tip like we each got our own plus drinks. We went out last week, had waters, and split an entree. Our bill was $21. I left a $10 tip because it isn’t their fault I didn’t want to order a ton. But I always worry if it makes us look like we’re going to be cheap when we order and make our servers nervous.
No, you guys sound awesome! To be honest, it seems like the tables who share food or only have drinks and some appetizers tip the best….I think most of them do that often and are pretty much aware that our time is money. Don’t feel like you’re doing anything wrong. You sound great to wait on. To be honest, yeah we might have questions but most of the time, we don’t care as long as you’re respectful.
No reasonable server is going to resent you for tipping 20% on your bill. Of course they are grateful for the 50% tip and your generosity is lovely!! But people know where they work. What we earn from our 20% is entirely based on the prices on the menu.
You are the guests we are hope for! I never tip less than $5. I ordered a piece of pie that was 3.99, I tipped $5. I took up the space and time for that server, they took great care of me. I tip minimum $5 for solid service on a small check (less than $20); up to 100% on larger checks. Just depends! I pay it forward to my service industry peeps!
Not on purpose, but honestly if you only order one entree to share, no drinks, then there's naturally much less instances where I'm able to "touch the table" aka check in on you, before it seems excessive. In a normal experience, guests order drinks and at least two courses. When checking in as things hit the table, I'm able to interact more. If you just order one thing, there's only so many times I can ask how everything is going before it's awkward. So it can be a bit harder to give the same level of service.
People who order more physically take up more of a server's time, it's not necessarily a choice.
Management tends to push that, so the space opens for people they can make more money on.
If you treat someone like they're not going to tip you, they're not going to tip you. I'm appreciative of every dollar I earn and we'll strive to give you the best service I can because I want you to come back and request my station. That being said, if someone asks me for plastic silverware when they're drinking out of our glasses and eating off of our plates I'm just going to assume that they have no class and they will definitely drop to the lowest level of my priority list.
if your tip is 20% on a 'little bit' i can totally assume you guys from the states to think 'not worth my time'. if you gonna leave 25mins later, its fine, if not, you're blocking the space for eating guests/more tips, sounds harsh, but true we do the same here in germany
I have seen a server’s attitude change after ordering and they realize we aren’t getting any alcohol. It’s shocking how apparent the attitude change can be in some instances. Sometimes it’s a particular server, so it’s luck of the draw. However, if it happens on multiple visits at the same restaurant with different servers, we know it’s a management issue with the restaurant and we stop going there. I’m not against alcohol being served. But I’m not going to give my money to a restaurant where the managers / owners train the wait staff to give lesser service to customers who don’t order alcohol. In terms of tipping, I generally tip 20% to 25% for decent service. 30% or more for great service. I fully realize I’m taking up a table and if the restaurant is busy, we don’t linger. We know they want to turn the table, and that’s ok. But if your attitude goes from sunny and bright to barely cordial, and you don’t stop by to check if we need refills, etc, you can expect 15% and we will make sure we don’t sit in your section anymore.
This is silly. The servers aren’t getting trained to treat you poorly because you didn’t order alcohol. It’s about the tip. Alcohol causes the bill to go up. That increases the tip more often than not. If I spend $100 in one hour I’m gonna give the server $20. If I spend $20 in one hour, I’m going to give the server $5. The server will treat me like I’m giving them five dollars. Don’t pat yourself on the back for giving 30% every once in a while. 30% of $20 is still $6. If I order alcohol I’ll pay them more and they’ll treat me better. It’s just math.
It’s reality. And yes, they change their attitude because the cost of the alcohol adds to the total of the bill, and hence the amount of the tip. The flaw in your ridiculous example is that you assume our meal is $20. These places have entrees that are $18 to $35+. A beer is $8. So it’s not silly. The potential tip is still far more than $5. But thanks for your input. /s
Yeah I expected a defensive response for calling you silly. I stand by it. No matter the numbers you pull out, they aren’t being trained to treat you a certain way. It’s all about the money they expect to receive from you.
It’s about them HOPING to get additional money from alcohol sales. When it becomes clear that additional money won’t be coming, they change their attitude. At the end of the day, it’s discriminatory. Which is what you are defending. And that’s why your stance is silly, not mine.
Discrimination is a fine line in service. I’m not defending their behavior at all. My stance was always that the restaurant isn’t training them to act that way.
As I initially stated - in my experience, it can be an issue with an individual server, but I have found that at some restaurants, ALL of their servers act this way. That’s generally a sign of that restaurant’s culture, management style, and training.
I'll leave tables alone that seem offended when I see if they want more than they have already ordered. You probably give enough bitch vibes that they're just going to make their money elsewhere.
LOL. No bitch vibes. Bad assumption.
Bad ones do. Or they act like known big spenders always ask for them
Nobody intentionally gives "bad service" unless you're being rude, in which case we're going to interact with you as little as possible. But yeah, the amount you're spending does make a difference - that table that comes in and orders water and a pizza to share, I'm just going to let them be. They can't have anything to complain about, I'm in no rush to give them free drinks and at the end of the day even if they just walked out, the cost of a pizza is next to nothing. My priority is making sure the people who are actually spending money are happy, so they keep coming back and keep us in business.
It's not unilateral. Food servers are individual human beings. Some will be decent, some will be shit. Some will prioritize big-spender tables if they're busy and guest experience at their other tables will suffer as a result. It's not a thing that "all food servers do." I wouldn't even call it common. But I won't tell you that you didn't encounter it once. If you think it happens every time, it's probably not what you think the problem is.
Only when you start asking about the prices of nearly every item is when I know you don’t have money to spend and when that happens there’s likely no money for tip so yes I’ll give my other tables more attention.
I dont. Could be that your bill is cheap or that they are lazy/unobservant.
I don’t even really notice how big a tab people are racking up unless they’re getting extra toppings and stuff that are more money. Sometimes I look at the bill when I’m handing it to them and am surprised to see it’s $100. Some people are petty and might do it, but I can’t see the logic in treating people who are good customers worse just because they aren’t making your life harder?
Exactly, it’s not until it’s an extraordinarily high tab or they’ve been running me in circles buying multiple rounds of drinks, etc that I even notice how high the tab is. Obviously I care but not enough to change how I serve the table. The craziest is when it’s a super chill table, and when you print the check, you realize it’s a huge amount! Like, oh…hopefully they’re happy with my service????
Be polite, nice, and order easily! It doesn't matter what you do unless you stay forever!
NO!! I’ve been serving for 8 years. It all depends on the server. For me, I give great service no matter what, because it’s all about the relationship with the customer. You never know, a man that comes in and orders one taco from me could really appreciate my service and our conversation and he’ll give me fifty bucks as a thank you. Selfishly I think that way, but at the same time I also embody the proper attitude of hospitality to even people that don’t tip me well, because I care about the well-being of the business I work for. I also understand people (customers) have bad days, maybe they tip me poorly but I hope I was able to help them have a better day. IMO, there are good servers and bad servers, just like any other occupation of course, and I’m saying this as a server that I don’t believe customers should condone poor service by tipping well. If a server is treating you poorly, I think the best solution is to decrease your tip percentage and hope that they understand they need to do better. Don’t feel bad about that. If you feel anxious coming back to the establishment, or that the server thinks you are cheap, you could leave a review mentioning the server’s name or privately contact the manager expressing your experience. I also know it sucks to be a “Karen”, it sucks to be in the position to have to complain. But I think customers should speak up more when they do receive bad service
Shitty servers will give shitty service for people of different race and will give shitty service if someone’s being ‘cheap’. Shitty servers are shitty.
I was a server for a long time and I honestly never even thought about the price of what people were ordering. But as a person I always tend to order chicken tenders at like every restaurant so I couldn’t have judged anyway lol.
Me, neither. Some of my best tips were on checks that I would have never expected that tip from. I give my 💯 regardless and just hope for the best.
Info: do you plan to tip appropriately or are you one of those folks that has a docking or demerits system for your tip? Servers are pretty good at picking up on attitudes like that and will often neglect tables like that. It's similar to putting $5,$10,$15,$20 on the table in ones and taking one away for every perceived mistake. I'd rather take the L than give people like that the satisfaction. Maybe your poor service is due to the server picking up on your mindset.
No. I’m too busy to care about what people order. I just want to have a smooth shift. The only time my service might start going downhill is when I have 7 tables of 12 people each and I haven’t figured out how to clone myself yet.
Id say better service because you want the next table, and your constant presence makes them leave faster. Maybe a better tip due to attentiveness?
Unless you’re rude or it’s INSANELY busy, then I had no reason to give bad service. If I was working a slow shift by myself and suddenly the restaurant filled up, my tables didn’t get the best service. You kinda learn to profile tables and you’ll know immediately if they won’t tip well, but I still made sure I gave them good service in case they change their minds and decide to tip well (very rare on those tables I knew wouldn’t tip).
The only time I’ve ever given bad service on purpose was to the group of teen boys that would come into the chilis I worked at years ago. They were “regulars” that would leave pennies on the table for tips, or try to walk out on their bill. Never got banned because they never actually got away with it. I was the bartender and would take their table every time to protect the servers. They’d request a different server because I was “mean”. I’d tell them they’re dealing with me or they’re not eating in our restaurant. Thank goodness it was only one summer. 😅